God's Relationship to Man - Provision

We established that God created man, gave him purpose and the authority to carry out that purpose, and also provided for man. He provided food for him to eat as well as a beautiful garden in which to live. There are many verses throughout the Bible that talk about God's promises and provisions for man. One thing worth mentioning in this context is that it is God's every intention to provide for and bless his creation.

Luke 12:22-30
Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest? "Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

He tells us in these verses that He knows what we need. We can look at the creation around us and see that He is able to meet those needs. He also tells us that we are more important than the flowers and birds, so therefore we know that He is also willing to meet our needs. His plan is to take care of all our needs while we spend our time seeking His kingdom. What does that mean? He wants us to concentrate on our relationship with him, get to know Him, learn to hear and follow His voice, understand his desire and will for our life here and for our eternity. He should be our focus. Why? Because He knows what we need and what waits ahead. Our journey of life is like hiking or taking a trip...and God is the map. He can show us the safest, quickest, most productive and even blessed way to get where we are going. If we take our eyes off of Him, we are likely to get lost, fall in a ditch or perhaps even die.

So, having said that...back in the Garden of Eden...that is exactly what happened with man.

Genesis 2:15-17
The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."

Hmmm...God provided for them, but there is one thing He told them they couldn't have. Man (Adam) had it made. He had a great place to live, food, a wife (Eve - the helpmate that God created for him in Gen 2:20-24), and a relationship with his Creator. The Bible says that God walked with Adam and Eve in the garden. This is how Adam and Eve got to know their creator. It is the same in our earthly relationships. If we do not spend time together, how can we become close? The Bible does not specify how much time went by, but at some point, they took their focus off of God.

Gen 3:6
When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

What was Eve looking at? God? No, she was looking at how the fruit (that God told them not to eat) would provide for her body.

• Good for food.
• Pleasing to the eye
• Desirable for gaining wisdom.

She stopped depending on God to meet the needs of her body...took her eyes off of Him and His instructions (which are meant to lead and guide us in a safe journey)...and chose to meet her own needs. Then, Adam ate also.

What was the result of their decision? That will be the topic of the next blog.

God's Relationship to Man - Creation

Now that we have (hopefully) established that the Bible is the word of God, we can begin to find out "What's in the Bible". The first thing to talk about, possibly the foundational issue is God's relationship to man. When we talk about God's relationship to man, there are several topics to look at.

• Creation of Man
• Fall of Man
• God's Plan of Salvation for Man

Let's start with the Creation of Man. The very first book of the Bible talks about the creation of man.

Genesis 1:27-29 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground." Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.

We learn several things from these verses.

• God created man.
• God made man to be like him.
• God gave man purpose and authority.
• God provided for man.

Before God created man, he created the earth, sky, vegetation, birds, fish, animals, stars and all that we see when we look around our world. When he created man, it was different. He created man in his own image. When a man and woman have a baby, that baby has characteristics of each of those parents. The child is like it's parents. Since God created man in his own image, we are special, set apart from all other creation. God wanted us to be like him, so that we could relate to one another, so we could be in a relationship. Not only did he create us to be in relationship with him, he breathed the very breath of life into us.

the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

Next, God gave man a job to do...a reason for being there. God put him in charge. He was to fill the earth with more people and rule over the animals. God gave him power and authority. He could only do that if He Himself had the authority to give. Matthew Henry put it this way: God was giving man a position as representative. Man was to honor his creator by representing HIS authority on earth. Wow! What an honor, but also, what a responsibility.

Lastly, we learn that God provided for man. He gave to him plants and fruit for food. He also created a garden...a place for man to live.

Genesis 2:8-9 Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

So, God created man to be in a relationship with Him. He made man in His own image and then blessed man - just as a parent would bless a child with things that were meant for man to enjoy. He was given life, purpose, authority and provisions. That is what God intended. In our next blog, we will find out what happens when man tries to enjoy something that God did not give to him.

How do I know... The Bible is God's Word?

It occurred to me that not all readers are as convinced as I am that the Bible is truly God's Word. This is a very important question to answer.

• If the answer is "No", then the Bible is just another book of history and poetry to read for fun to find out about cultures of another time and place.
• If the answer is "Yes", then the Bible is not only history and poetry, but it is also a personal letter (e-mail, text message - whatever you prefer) right to your mailbox!

If you do believe that the Bible is God's word, then stick with me and we will study it together, cause let's face it...who wouldn't want to know what the almighty Creator of the universe had to say to us personally.

If you don't believe the Bible is God's word - or even if you do, but you are not sure why, I found a really good article called: "Is the Bible truly God's Word?" It is a good place to start as you search out the answer to this question.

Why do I need to know... What's in the Bible?

As Christians, the Bible is a key factor in our walk with God! It is the very words of God spoken to us. To sum up what's in the Bible in an introductory paragraph would be impossible, but just a start... The Bible is "Sharper than any double-edged sword." The Bible has authority to judge and convict the heart of man and the power to save him. The Bible has wisdom and power for the walk of a Christian. The Bible is food for the spirit. The Bible is the solid foundation to stand on that never changes The devil constantly questions the words of God, because he knows that if he can cause that foundation to shift in the mind of the believer, he can make them fall. Jesus himself quoted God's word when he faced temptation. If we don't know what's in the Bible, we have nothing to stand on. God wants to bless man. As Christians, we have the resources of Heaven available to us, but if we don't know from the Bible what those resources are or how to access them, we will never experience those blessings. Growth and maturity as well as blessings come from hearing and doing the word of God! There are endless reasons to get in there and find out What's in the Bible.