Vintage Faith Community

What do we learn about God, humanity, and ourselves as we read Genesis 1-3? First, we learn about God. He is the Creator of all that is, who fashioned the universes with simple but powerful words. As Creator, he is also the rightful King of Creation. Everything that is made belongs to him and finds its fulfillment in Him. Second, we learn about humanity. God creates humanity in his image - they are to find their life, identity, and source of significance in relationship to Him alone. They reflect him. Humanity is made in community, not as single isolated human beings, but as a family. This family is given the task of cultivating the earth God has made, bringing forth a God honoring culture in every sphere of life. Third, we learn the sad story of the brokenness of the world. As we hear the Story of Adam and Eve spurning their loving Creator in pursuit of the self-sufficiency, we learn the source of all the brokenness in the world. We learn that sin is not so much breaking laws as it is mistrusting God’s good intentions. They’d learn that running from God is humanity’s natural bent, and they’d see their own participation in that rebellion. Thousands of years later, in another garden, another man would experience the temptation to mistrust God’s heart. Jesus Christ would see the cross, understand the full implications of taking the Sin of the World upon his shoulders, and willingly step forward in obedience to his Father. To Adam God had said, “Obey me and live;” to Jesus God says, “Obey me and you will die.” And in the obedience of Jesus, God opens the way back into the Garden of Eden, back into fellowship with God. The Bible’s main theme is “God saves sinners.”