Transcription downloaded from https://sermons.gracespringfield.com/sermons/42525/sunday-school-roger-phipps-from-creation-to-the-deluge/.

Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions.
Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt.


[0:00] okay we'll begin by reading chapter 8 or chapter 8 chapter 2 verses 8 through 17 um i'll allow you to uh get familiar with that and then we'll we'll begin our uh questions and discussions from the dust of the ground what did god do with him i'm sorry put put him in a garden what garden the garden of eden um was that garden part of the original creation that's a trick question isn't it we don't know we're not told specifically but it does say that god planted a garden in the east um now he placed adam in that garden now describe that garden okay it was abundant with what with vegetation what what with trees specifically what kind of trees fruit bearing trees trees that were good for both for food and they were beautiful they were delightful to the eye so the garden looks good and it bears fruit um there were other other plants in the garden and god put in that garden some specific things a couple of things are mentioned what are they the tree of life the and the one that's going to come up here pretty soon right the tree of the knowledge of good and evil so let if you have the booklet you have a sidebar if you don't um turn to uh we have a couple of verses we i'd like to look at um just to mention but before i give it away where have you heard of the uh tree of life elsewhere revelation revelation and in proverbs those are a couple that uh are notable revelation 2 7 if you turn to that this is this is the angels speaking or the lord speaking to the angel of the church of ephesus and to that to the church of ephesus he writes in revelation 2 7 what does he tell them okay to him that overcomes i will give to eat of the tree of life which is in the midst of the paradise of god

[4:05] that's in revelation 2 7 but and then way back into revelation 22 verses uh 1 and 2 what do we see about now go ahead okay so the tree of life which grows on either side of the river the river that flows from the throne of god this is a description of the new new jerusalem now yes steve there are two sides it grows on i don't no i i take it as one tree it's called one tree apparently there's a in the root in the it's a big tree and apparently it's a tunnel like tree through the through the um over the river it spans the river that's the description at least that's given now what about the fruit of that tree these aren't necessarily please understand me these are not necessarily um points that have to be proven by the christian to anyone as necessary and it it doesn't necessarily pertain because the word of god doesn't tell me that it pertains to this tree of life in eden i don't know but this was interesting to to explore how the tree of life is used elsewhere in scripture when we go to proverbs we're going to see it used metaphorically but here describe this tree in revelation 22 something about the fruit and something about the leaves the fruit bears every month and so it's a year round tree a year round fruit bearer and leaves are for the healing of the nations usually in the greek new testament when the well and actually in the old testament usually when it's rendered or used the nations he's specifically speaking of gentile nations usually in in normal use in the scripture rarely there are sometimes but but usually only in an individual statement when for instance when caiaphas says it's it's necessary that one man die for the whole nation there he is referring to israel but normally it's israel and then it's the nations so for what it's worth the leaves on that tree are for the healing of the gentiles that blesses me just even if it's even if it's picturesque we as gentiles in this day of grace the the wall of separation that was in the temple has been broken down as it were and there is now no longer know we any man after the flesh there is neither male nor female slave nor free jew nor gentile though once

[8:07] we knew christ that way we know him that way no longer that is the way is open now for anyone for salvation joe yeah yeah okay would somebody go to proverbs or all of you for that matter proverbs 3 13 through 18 we see another reference to tree of life this is used metaphorically harking back to when we read our scriptures sometimes there are word pictures and sometimes there are literal pictures so this isn't a literal one what is the tree of life here wisdom this is the part that says wisdom will be to you a tree of life as opposed to foolishness which is going to be a problem for me now by the way when proverbs uses foolish foolish it's a moral sense it's not just someone who's simple minded it has to do with someone the fool has to do with someone who knows the difference between right and wrong does the wrong and doesn't really care it's not a simple minded person it's not a person who doesn't have the facility to discern it's the person who really doesn't care that's the simple the scorner takes another step the scorner knows right and wrong chooses wrong and wants everybody else to do it and looks down upon those who do right and then the wise is the other person right this is the person who the beginning of wisdom is what you know this the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom and the knowledge of the holy is understanding the wise the person in order to be wise and to have understanding

[11:01] I need to study my God don't I it is that that it's not just knowing about God it is that knowing God that the intimate relationship with my God which amazes me as we're studying I know I'm going to reiterate this anyway but it amazes me as we study creation that the God who created and sustains that not only did Jesus participate in the creation all things were created by him and for him without him was not anything made that was made and in him all things consist they hold together all of this universe that we see holds together in the

[12:06] Lord Jesus Christ and he died for me that's amazing that's amazing when I when I study the heavens and the handiwork of your hands what is man that you are mindful of him but he is and he did it because he chose to do it so let's look at Proverbs 1130 this is one more of the fruit or of the tree of life this is another metaphor four and in this one the writer of Proverbs says what's the tree of life it's the fruit of righteousness so in looking at this day of grace my righteousness has nothing to do at all with my salvation my eternal security does it we do understand that right it is entirely dependent upon the finished work of

[13:33] Christ entirely completely there is nothing I can do to make to make that salvation more complete or to diminish it the Lord Jesus Christ did everything but that doesn't mean my behavior doesn't matter it does doesn't it and the fruit of righteousness will be a tree of life if in fact as we read through the letters of the churches you notice regularly Paul is writing to the churches he writes theology he writes doctrine and he also writes behavior and he says do this don't do that if you want to have a good life generally you do this if you want to have a rotten life you can but you don't have to be a miserable Christian you can be you you can you can have a fulfilling life yeah yeah yeah it's well we're gonna actually we're going to bump into that you bring that up again in a few chapters okay because you already know where this is you know where this is going don't you so those were just a couple of things and then the last one

[15:03] I'll I'll I'll look at Proverbs 15 4 and this came to mind largely because we were just in James and when if if we pick up good morning if we pick up James Nathan's going to be approaching this subject real early on in chapter 3 right so here what is the tree of life I'm sorry a soothing a wholesome tongue the tongue there there are a couple of other uses of the tongue see in James you're going to read the tongue is a is a fire and it's like the rudder on a ship which is true so I can use my tongue in either way can't I here a wholesome tongue is a tree of life and that's a tree of life to the hearer this is what I should be doing wholesome word and though it's

[16:35] I didn't print it there I'm going to mention Proverbs 25 11 you probably know this verse like apples of gold in settings of silver is a word fitly spoken it if you will it's like it's like golden fruit in a beautiful setting is a word properly given my tongue matters what I do matters and in Proverbs 16 24 the same idea I hear pages turning so I'm going to let somebody read that would somebody volunteer to read that please Marvin a pleasant word is like

[17:47] I just asked John about it this morning pleasant word is like a honeycomb it's sweet and it's health and that also is to the hearer there is there is a ministry that the body of Christ has one to another and it matters how I speak it matters what I do so that was just an aside thank you for trailing with me on that now that's the the two trees once again one the tree of life and two the knowledge of good and evil so without the eating of the tree of the knowledge well we're going to get there because be thinking about that so that's one of the fruit in the midst of the garden isn't it now we're going to go on here but what was

[19:07] Adam to do in that garden I heard it he was to cultivate it or till it he was to care for it incidentally in the beginning man was not created to sit around well now every place you go nearly I I it's hard to imagine a doorway a frontispiece on any store or restaurant or place of business that you don't see what right now hiring I I just recently retired it took them only six weeks to try to call me why now we are not man was not originally created just to just to hang his hammock in the garden right he was supposed to till the garden now there's going to be a difference because this garden is yielding prolifically and easily

[20:44] God God has speaks a word about it it will the earth yielding its strength is what he calls it the earth yields its strength okay now he's to cultivate it he's to keep the garden and he gave him God God gave Adam a command regarding that garden what is it regarding the trees specifically eat eat freely of any tree except don't force me to pry it out I didn't bring a crowbar except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you may eat of any tree except this one this one you don't eat up okay is that a simple enough instruction yeah now now let's think about when I was a child

[22:04] I had some pretty simple instructions from my father they weren't hard to understand they weren't difficult to discern did I obey them you already know the answer because you're just like me right in that respect right so it's not it's not that it was tricky it's not that it was difficult it was very simple so the command is you may eat freely of any tree except the knowledge of good and evil and he puts on there not only the instruction but what's going to happen for when you eat of that tree you will certainly die that's going to be kind of important here in another chapter isn't it that's going to be an important verse okay let's go to verses 18 through 15 unless now feel free to interrupt please and

[23:26] I'll pretend I'm not offended I mean I won't be offended okay verses 18 through 25 let's look at that chapter 2 verses 18 through 25 then the Lord God said what it's not good for man to be alone come on I'll make a helper for him that is what suitable or a help meet is the older English term we don't use that word M-E-E-T as often anymore unless we mean to go join somebody at the restaurant or something we're going to a meeting but meet literally means suitable or proper my father was from

[24:45] Appalachia they still used that kind of terminology when I was a boy when you went back back home they those hillbillies were kind of isolated and they still spoke kind of they used interesting language there well some of them used real interesting language but that's another matter alright so it's not good for man to be alone I'm going to make a helper suitable or meet for him let's keep going see verse 19 there we see something that we've seen before but we haven't seen it in relation to this so what does verse 19 say he what before that he formed the beast out of the ground the same way he formed

[25:55] Adam from the earth and it has to do with he used the same collection of atoms and molecules that he used every place else in creation it's not like mankind has only one set of molecules and the beasts have another set and the earth has something else all of them are the same he just combines them in certain ways right so this yes well the sequencing isn't necessarily the same here because the basic sequence was given in chapter one with on the days and so the animals were made on the sixth day and then and he formed man on the sixth day male and female created he them this is adding detail to those first verses so he formed the animals out of the ground let's keep going and

[27:28] Adam named them all so he brought the he brought the beast before Adam we have been we have been as a as a culture we have kind of been instructed if you will to believe that the further back in history you go the more simple men were have we not so simple what's the Geico commercial it's so simple even a caveman can do it right we we've been kind of taught we've been indoctrinated to believe that the further back you go the more rudimentary men thought Adam by himself named the beast and whatever he called them that was their name we may be devolving not evil the further the further from well is that not true in my

[28:54] Christian life the further from the base the Lord Jesus Christ I go the worse I get as far as my behavior as far as my emotional stabilities as far as my thinking you know there's an old adage that that Johnny fell out of bed because he went to sleep too close to where he got in you know in my Christian walk I should be maturing shouldn't I and the further I draw from my Savior the less fulfilling and the more unhappy my Christian life is going to be and if I rebel as look at 1 Corinthians if I rebel it's going to get downright miserable in fact that's where the apostle

[29:59] Paul said look my judgment is I've consigned his body to Satan for the destruction of his flesh so that his soul may be saved right that is Paul was saying look as an apostle I'm exercising authority here and I'm saying that as long as he's in rebellion dissipation is going to be the result he's going to pay a dear price in his flesh now he'll be saved but I again I don't have to live my Christian life miserably God has provided life abundantly and the Christian should be joyful and happy and abundantly alive because of what Christ has done and because of a walk with our Lord okay that was an aside I hadn't planned I'm sorry about that but let's go on then so verse 21 this is the detail of the woman so what did

[31:18] God do describe the making of the woman boy I'm glad he did right because this has got to hurt took one of his ribs boy you're making this keep going and from that rib he he fashioned the woman and what does what's the result of that okay he brought okay God brought her to the man and Adam says what yeah wow that's true he named her Eve because she came from man and what else this is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh now this passage not only is it used ritually in wedding ceremonies rightly so but it's this passage forms the very basis for the primary institution of all society this is the primary basis that's why the primary basis of any society rests in the family husband and wife one in fact in

[33:18] Matthew it was it was this institution that the Pharisees used to try to trick actually I don't think it was the Pharisees that was the Sadducees wasn't it that tried to trick Jesus I didn't write it down I need to think about it but when I think about the question it seems more like a Sadducee type question they used it to was it the Sadducees they tried to trick Jesus now go ahead to Matthew chapter 19 verses 3 through 9 right well that was part of their trick which incidentally or it is incidentally and it's but it is worthwhile mentioning since she she mentioned that is it not fascinating when you think about the time leading up to the crucifixion the whole issue of of

[34:44] Israel's rejection of Messiah is it not interesting the two groups that got together arm in arm to accomplish that who were they the Pharisees and the Sadducees why was that odd they weren't just kind of opposed they were the the Sadducees said only the Pentateuch only the five the five books only this nothing else the Pharisees said no no no no scripture also includes the writings and the prophets so the Pharisees believed in the prophecies in the coming of the Messiah the Sadducees had no because they rejected it the

[35:45] Sadducees had no basis for belief in Messiah so they rejected it they rejected even the concept the Pharisees believed in because they believed in the writing they remembered what Job said when Job said though my flesh be eaten of worms yet or though this body die and is eaten of worms yet in my flesh I shall see God it's a that's a wonderful prophecy isn't it that's that's the prophecy of the resurrection well the Sadducees rejected that the Sadducees rejected a life after the grave they had no basis because they didn't believe the prophets and they didn't believe the writings that would have been like

[36:50] Job and and Psalms Proverbs Ecclesiastes those writings they because of that they made very strange bedfellows when it came to the Lord Jesus Christ didn't they and the only reason they got arm in arm was because they both rejected the Lord it wasn't because they they were in agreement they were only in agreement because they rejected Christ or Jesus as Christ if we're talking in that time so Paul when he's on trial in Jerusalem when they grabbed him and forcefully pulled him over and he's standing trial

[37:57] Paul's going to use that against him isn't he he's going to Paul perceiving that some were Sadducees and some were Pharisees said my brethren it is for my belief in the resurrection of the dead that I stand trial here today and what happened they got in a big fight they got in a big fight so the Romans pulled him out you know and he escaped that situation just for that moment so back to the back to the real point here they used that here in Matthew what did they say to Jesus in trying to catch him up in his words Matthew chapter 19 for for any reason at all is it is it lawful to divorce your wife for any reason at all because

[39:13] Moses said give her a certificate of divorce what's Jesus reply this this what God has done together and no one separates.

[39:47] This passage then was used when Jesus came to Israel. This passage was used to try to trick him.

[40:00] And he reiterated the foundation of society. And that in saying for this reason marriage does a man leave his father and mother and here's the it's not good enough to leave a man has to also what?

[40:26] Cleave to his wife and they're one. And therefore Jesus said what man has joined or what God has joined let me let me rephrase that what God has joined let no man put asunder.

[40:45] So basically Jesus is saying to them well not basically literally what Jesus is saying to them is no. No.

[40:57] It's not legal just to divorce your wife willy nilly. there is only one reason given. Now there's only one reason revealed and I'll go no further with this but it's important to remember or it's important to me to remember that this foundation of any society of any culture for that matter is under horrid attack today.

[41:36] There are um there are those out there who desire to destroy the concept of marriage of family and no culture can even survive that way.

[42:08] There by the way lest I get too complacent there is no such thing as any society that is that exists and here we're going to end because I put a timer on you'll be happy with that.

[42:28] Here we're going to end today but no society anywhere has ever existed as a as an anarchy.

[42:42] It will always always descend to tyranny and lest I get complacent I need to know that and it starts at the family it starts at the family because without mom and dad together as mom and dad are the center of the family and their children are if you will the satellites but mom and dad can't break the family is important and as a church we need to uphold families and support families not replace them right the children do not by the way children do not belong to the state they don't belong to the school they don't belong to anyone they are under well they belong to God but they are under the control of the parents so

[43:43]  I'll end that have a great morning and we'll pick up next week