Study Guide / Outline
Introduction
- Overview: Focus on Chapter 2 of Genesis, retelling of creation, emphasizing humanity and the Garden of Eden.
- Key Point: Importance of human relationship with the divine.
Theories of Creation
- Literal Six-Day Creation
- Description: God created the world in six literal 24-hour days with an appearance of age.
- Key Point: God’s capability to create a mature world.
- Gap Theory
- Description: A temporal gap between Genesis 1 and 2, involving a pre-Adamic flood.
- Key Point: Explanation for the void and formless state of Earth before Adam.
- Theistic Evolution
- Description: Harmonizing evolutionary science with Biblical narrative.
- Key Point: Genesis as mythological or poetic, evolution as God’s tool for creation.
- Framework Theory
- Description: Genesis 1 as a poetic, literary structure.
- Key Point: Structured creation story, space creation (days 1-3) and filling of space (days 4-6).
- Day-Age Theory
- Description: Each ‘day’ in Genesis represents a long period (thousands of years).
- Key Point: Reconciliation of the creation timeline with scientific understanding.
The Fall of Man: Genesis Chapter 3
- Pre-Fall Conditions
- Description: Man’s life with God, intelligence, dominion, and fellowship.
- Scriptures: Genesis 1, 2
- Key Point: Ideal living conditions and direct relationship with God.
- The Fall and Its Consequences
- Description: Disobedience of Adam and Eve, resulting in spiritual and physical death.
- Scriptures: Genesis 3
- Key Point: Introduction of sin, decay, and the need for redemption.
Satan’s Role and Strategies
- Description: Satan’s deception and his goals to undermine God’s creation.
- Key Point: Understanding the devil’s tactics and the importance of divine authority.
Redemption and God’s Plan
- Proto-Evangelism
- Description: Early promise of redemption and the coming of Jesus.
- Scriptures: Genesis 3:15
- Key Point: Introduction of the concept of a savior and God’s plan for redemption.
Sin’s Pervasiveness Post-Fall
- Effects of Sin
- Description: Sin’s spread through humanity, leading to widespread corruption.
- Key Point: The inherited sinful nature and its consequences.
The Flood and the Noahic Covenant
- Description: The flood as divine intervention, Noah’s preservation, and God’s covenant.
- Scriptures: Genesis 6-9
- Key Point: God’s justice and the promise to preserve humanity.
The Tower of Babel
- Description: Human disobedience leading to the scattering of peoples and languages.
- Scriptures: Genesis 11
- Key Point: God’s intervention to ensure diversity and fulfill His plan.
Conclusion and Prayer
- Summary: Reflection on the lessons from Genesis chapters 2 and 3.
- Prayer: For understanding and application of these teachings.
Lesson Content