“…history shows that no tribe or nation has ever risen morally above its religion. … And remember that no religion has ever risen above its
conception of God. If the heathen believe that god is tricky, sulky, nasty and deceitful, their religion will build itself around that concept. And
they will try to be sneaky with their god and act the way their god acts. … A local church will only be as great as its conception of God. An
individual Christian will be a success or a failure depending upon what he or she thinks of God. It is critically important that we have a
knowledge of the Holy One, that we know what God is like. 1 A. W. Tozer
Adam part 2: The Garden
Remembering God’s Goodness
I. God is Good (Gen. 1:31)
1.) God’s goodness defined: God is kindhearted, gracious, good-natured and benevolent in intention.
God
wants His creation to flourish and live life as it was intended to be lived…very good.
a. And God saw everything that he had made and behold it was very good! (Gen. 1:31)
b. Every good and perfect gift flows down from the Father of lights. (James 1:17)
c. ..why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone… (Luke 18:19)
d. If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your
Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! (Matt. 7:11)
2.) God’s good design: God created humans to flourish and live in freedom in an unburdened, stress-free way.
God created humans “Imago Dei” (in the image of God) with dignity, dominion, distinction and profound
purpose.
A. Imago Dei
The Imago Dei gives us distinction? (Genesis 1:26-27)
Genesis 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
Dignity – Created with great value, to live forever, with significance, purpose, and meaning
Dominion – Created to rule over the animals and the earth, to tend and steward God’s creation
Distinction – Created distinct from the animal kingdom
1. Created with material and immaterial parts, body and soul and/or spirit, the ability to relate to God.
2. Created with an inner moral bearing
3. Created with mental reasoning and logic skills and with the ability to think abstractly.
a. Ability to create, design and build
b. Ability to follow first time abstract orders – (Understanding word connections and concepts)
c. Ability to develop and enhance socially – (new sleek designs, nicer homes, better ways to travel etc.)
The Image of God gives us purpose
Our ultimate purpose was and is to reflect the goodness of God to all of creation…to image forth His
majesty and glory!”
B. How do we live out our designed purpose to glorify and enjoy God and to image forth His goodness?
To live not for our selves but for the glory of God (Is. 43:7; ps. 50:10-11; Job 41:11; Rom. 11:35-36; Col. 1:16)
Through worship and thanksgiving:
“Praise the LORD! Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his love endures forever!” (Ps. 106:1)
Through living righteously
“No good thing does God withhold from those who walk uprightly” (Ps. 84:11)
Through asking, seeking, and living in God’s good and pleasing will
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing
you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Rom. 12:2)
Through delighting in the LORD
“Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart” (Ps. 37:4)
Through loving God and then people
“love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deut. 6:5)
“The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Mark 12:31)
1
Tozer, A. W., & Fessenden, D. E. (2003-). The attributes of God, Volume 1: A jouney into the Father's heart (41–42). Camp Hill,
PA: WingSpread.
The Mona Lisa is a half-length portrait of a woman by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci, which has been acclaimed
as "the best known, the most visited, the most written about, the most sung about, the most parodied work of art in
the world."
If you tried to add to or take away from this classic piece you would be a moron… and a criminal!
Don’t add to or take away from an artist’s work when He is finished…Especially if that artist is God!!!
II. Man attempted to add to God’s goodness and found death and evil
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.
Man sought more freedom in rebellion and found slavery
True Freedom is found within God’s good word
True Freedom is found within God’s good design
Sin is enslaving (John 8:34) “…everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin”
Christ came to set us free from the slavery of sin
John 8:36 “…So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”
Romans 6:17 “But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from
the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed”
Man sought more wisdom in rebellion and found idiocy
Gen. 3:6 “…and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it”
True wisdom is found in God and inside His good commands
Sin is insanity (Romans 1:28)
True wisdom is refreshed in Christ who is called Truth… God’s living word
Man sought more God-likeness in rebellion and marred their original God-likeness
(Gen. 3:4-5) “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you
eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
In the fall…original sin...man’s Imago Dei was corrupted, though not beyond repair
Our Mind was affected by lies and half truths
Our Spirit was affected by separation from God
Our Will was affected by slavery to sin
Our Body was affected by physical death
Application:
What do I do?
1.) Trust in God’s good design and submit to it
2.) Trust in God’s good word and submit to it
3.) Trust in God’s good plan and submit to it
4.) Trust in God’s goodness and surrender all … in order to find life and truly live!
Where do I start?
1.) Pray and ask God to help you see His goodness and give you strength to trust Him
2.) Pray and ask God to give you a hunger for His word, a desire to study and know truth
3.) Ask God to help you find and know His good will for your life.
Case study:
18 year old girl: A Christian Teenager 18 years old has always struggled socially and feels ugly and
unwanted falls way too hard for a guy and becomes obsessed with him because he makes her feel
wanted, beautiful, and valuable .. She feels like she has to comply with his every wish or she will
loose him. He says all the right things but pressures her into doing things she knows is sinful. She
comprehends she ought to stop and tells him this often but he doesn’t seem to care. After a year of
this borderline abusive situation she realizes she can’t continue to date this person and grow in her
relationship with Christ….Decision pending!
How do you counsel her?
If there was only one thought about God that you could pour into her head what one thought would
that be?
Just a thought: It is a foundational truth that God is good. In Gen. 1:31 God steps back from His
creation work and says it is very good. It is really true that God is the highest good; the standard of
goodness itself…so much so that James 1:17 is actually true. (There is nothing truly lastingly good
outside of God and nothing good comes from other sources) Then why would this girl be trying to
find satisfaction and goodness outside of God’s plan….probably because she doesn’t fully
comprehend the goodness of God. She may say, “I believe God is good.” But her feelings sway her
away from what she knows to be true about God. The feelings of the moment distort the reality of
God’s goodness. In other words…God created her good, with value, purpose, dignity, and worth;
and He calls her beautifully and wonderfully made, then He redeems her by dying for her and
demonstrating his love and goodness to her on the cross … so the more she realizes this truth about
God and herself at a foundational level… the less she will want to seek satisfaction and significance
in other people…especially those who pull her away from her good Creator, Savior, and her specific
good design. Do you see how God’s goodness is a foundational truth.
…A truth worth praying through and meditating on.