God’s love is shown in the entire world that surrounds us. The birds of the air, the plants, and the animals even the soil on which we stand indicate God’s willingness to love and provide for us.
As we begin the Lent season, a season of reflection 40 days before the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, we will walk weekly through the Bible stopping at various places to expose “God’s Love” for his wonderful creation, man.
1. THE FORMATION OF MAN AND WOMAN
• The Bible goes through the first five days of creation describing how God “made/created” the various types of living and breathing things Gen 1:1-25
• In verse 26, we have the first mention of a species called ‘Man’
• God said, “Let us” and “In our” indicating the presence of another being
• That being is Jesus Christ (John 1:1-5)
• The wonder of the moment is the characterization in Chapter 2:7 that man was “FORMED” not made
• In verse 26 of Chapter 1 God said “Let us make man” and not until verse 7 of chapter 2 do we see that man was “Physically” produced; a clear indication that the spirit of man was created before the vessel to hold it
• John 4:24 “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”
• Genesis 2:7 tells us that man was “FORMED”: A clear indication of God’s intent on making a complex and desirable being
a. This was a gradual process in that the work was done with great accuracy and exactness
• “Value is not in the physical components that form our body; but it is in the quality of life which forms the soul.”
2. NOTHING FORMED HAS LIFE UNTIL GOD GIVES IT
• Genesis 2:7b “…and breathed life into his nostrils the breath of life: and man became a living soul.”
• I Corinthians 15:45 “And so it is written. The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.” ‘Quickening Spirit can be interpreted ‘life giving spirit’
• “The tragedy of life is not that it ends so soon, but that we wait so long to begin it.”
• God has given the Christian the breath of life and we must not sit around and wait to do his work
• Sin sucks life out of those who fall victim to it
a. Romans 6:11 “Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
• Paul was telling the Roman’s that sin prohibits life and the only way to truly be alive is through Jesus Christ
• I Corinthians 15:22 “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.”
• God’s love is LIFE in Christ Jesus
3. CREATION BRINGS NEWNESS OF LIFE
• God created and therefore there was newness of life on a planet and with it’s contents
• God creates in us a new heart after salvation and therefore brings newness of life into our personal world
• II Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all thins are become new.”
• “London businessman Lindsay Clegg told the story of a warehouse property he was selling. The building had been empty for months and needed repairs. Vandals had damaged the doors, smashed the windows, and strewn trash around the interior. As he showed a prospective buyer the property, Clegg took pains to say that he would replace the broken windows, bring in a crew to correct any structural damage, and clean out the garbage. "Forget about the repairs," the buyer said. "When I buy this place, I’m going to build something completely different. I don’t want the building; I want the site." Compared with the renovation God has in mind, our efforts to improve our own lives are as trivial as sweeping a warehouse slated for the wrecking ball. When we become God’s, the old life is over. He makes all things new. All he wants is the site and the permission to build.”
• Ephesians 4:24-32
• Colossians 3:10 “And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:”
• God created something new when he created Adam and Eve and gave them all of the blessings of heaven if only they would obey him
• God has offered Christians the same deal if only we follow him and accomplish his will
4. BLOOD IS THE SUSTAINMENT OF LIFE
• All through the Old Testament it was the blood of sacrifice that atoned for sin
• When God breathed life into the nostril’s of man, the heart began to pump life giving blood throughout the physical body
• God’s love is the manifestation of his Son in the flesh and the shedding of His blood for our sin
• Colossians 1:14 “In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:”
• We have redemption through the blood of Christ and nothing else
• Hebrews 9:22 “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.”
• “And they overcame Him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. (Rev. 12:11) This is the last reference in the Bible to the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ; here it is the overcoming blood, enabling believers to withstand the deceptions and accusations of Satan. There are at least 43 references to the blood of Christ in the New Testament, all testifying to its great importance in the salvation and daily life of the believer. Judas the betrayer spoke of it as "innocent blood (Matthew 27:4) and Peter called it "the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot" (I Peter l:9). It is the cleansing blood in I John l:7 and the washing blood in Rev. l:5, stressing that it removes the guilt of our sins.”
• Just as God created man perfect, Jesus has re-created us in His perfection, though man sinned in the Garden of Eden, God’s love is that he sent his only Son to be a propitiation for all mankind.
• John 1:4 “In him was life and the life was the light of men.”
