Adam: Real Men Relate To God Series

10-11-04

ADAM: Real Men Relate to God

Genesis 1:1-3:21

When I began studying Adam and learning what it means to be a real man, I asked myself, "What will the women be doing while I am speaking?" Well, I have an answer for all the women this morning. You’ve worked hard all your life. You deserve to rest. For the next 30 minutes, you have my permission to dose off. You can think about what you are going to do this afternoon or think about what you’re going to have for dinner. There is absolutely nothing for you this morning. I’m just kidding.

Practically everything we will learn about men will apply to women. The Bible tells us that men and women are created equally but differently. An article I red compares men and women in this way:

• "Women are compassionate, and loving, and caring. They will stop at nothing to get what they think is best for their children. They know how to comfort a sick friend. Women bring joy and laughter to the world. Women are easily brought to tears by injustice."

• "Men, well, they are good at moving heavy things and killing spiders."

Our images of men, real men, have changed with time. There was time, when real men didn’t cry, or so we were told. Today, we are told that real men are sensitive, compassionate, in touch with their feelings and do cry. The American cliché, "Real men don’t eat quiche," has been altered to "Real men not only eat quiche, but they also cook quiche."

But what does the Bible say about real men? After all, the Bible is God’s Word. The Creator ought to know what He created and what He intended His creation to be like. For the next 30 minutes, I’m going to read portions of the creation account from the Bible. Then I will make two observations, one about the origin of man and the other about the image of man. After that, I will close with three ways real men relate to God. Let me begin with the reading of Genesis 1:26-29; 2:7-9; 15-25, and then 3:1-12, 17-21.

Genesis 1:26-29

26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

29 And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food.

Genesis 2:7-9

7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

8 The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed.

9 And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Genesis 2:15-25

15 Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.

16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat;

17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

18 And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.”

19 Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name.

20 So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him.

21 And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place.