Review from Previous Lesson

God Made All Things (WCF 4.1)

Teaching Note

It is of fundamental importance to remember that God is God and we are not. God’s creation of all things is like our creation of things in this world but also fundamentally different. In contrast to us, he started with absolutely nothing.God existed before time and space and matter completely independent. He freely chose, without any necessity or compulsion of doing so, to create all things, whether visible or invisible. He created exactly as it is revealed to us in Genesis in the space of six days and all very good.

Scripture Verse

For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day… (Exodus 20:11).

WCF Text

1. It pleased God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, for the manifestation of the glory of his eternal power, wisdom, and goodness, in the beginning, to create, or make of nothing, the world, and all things therein whether visible or invisible, in the space of six days; and all very good.

Teaching Content

• God Made All Things: One of the key differences that has separated the Christian religion from everything else is the universality of its claims about God. God is not the god of a single river or mountain or people or concept, like the pagan gods of old. God’s power is not limited by anything. So when we say that God made all things, we’re not merely making a statement about creation, but about source and authority. “All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made,” (John 1:3). If you make something, you have complete authority over it, and God made all things, visible and invisible. (Psalm 24:1-2, Acts 17:24-25, Colossians 1:16-17)
• In the Space of Six Days: The Westminster Divines felt this phrase was important to include in the confession because it is scriptural, and because in the history of the church there have been several attempts to undermine this truth. Augustine famously and mistakenly taught that God’s creation was instantaneous and that the Genesis account was allegorical rather than factual. The modern world either rejects entirely God’s work in creation or denies that it happened at all as described in Genesis. Yet, we affirm what the scriptures teach, that God made all things, of nothing, in the space of six days. (Genesis 1:1-31, Exodus 20:11, Hebrews 11:3)
• All Very Good: What we find in Genesis 1 is that everything that God made was good. In Genesis 3 man will choose sin, which is bad, and submit creation to the curse and the futility of death making our experience of many things become bad, but the flaw is not in creation itself but in Adam’s sin. This is incredibly important for us to remember lest we adopt the pagan philosophy that the flesh is evil and only the spirit good. God made the flesh and spirit good, and what we ultimately long for is a full restoration of both in the New Heavens and New Earth in which righteousness dwells. (Genesis 1:31, Romans 8:20-22, 1 Timothy 4:4-5, 2 Peter 3:13)

Discussion Questions

1. Because God made all things out of nothing, He possesses absolute authority over everything. In what ways does God’s total ownership challenge the way our culture views personal freedom and autonomy?
2. The confession explains that God created the world freely to display His glory, power, wisdom, and goodness: not out of any lack, loneliness, or compulsion. How does knowing God didn’t need creation change the way you understand your purpose and relationship with Him?
3. Since God created the physical world and declared it “all very good,” how should that truth shape the way we view, care for, and enjoy physical things (like our bodies, food, work, and nature) without falling into either asceticism or idolatry?
4. Why do you think our culture pushes back so strongly against the biblical account of creation, and how can we encourage one another to hold fast and stand confidently on what God has revealed in His Word?

God Made Man (WCF 4.2)

Teaching Note

Modern science and philosophy have done everything they can to obscure this truth, but man is the capstone of God’s creation. While we share a physical reality formed from the dust alongside the rest of the creatures, we are fundamentally different because God created us with reasonable, immortal souls in His own image. As a result, we bear unique responsibilities toward our Creator and His world. Moreover, contrary to modern ideas, we are not fully independent beings who exist in a vacuum; we live under God’s authority, and as such, we rightly stand under the covenantal consequences of Adam’s headship in the garden.

Scripture Verse

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them, (Genesis 1:26–27).

WCF Text

2. After God had made all other creatures, he created man, male and female, with reasonable and immortal souls, endued with knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness, after his own image; having the law of God written in their hearts, and power to fulfill it: and yet under a possibility of transgressing, being left to the liberty of their own will, which was subject unto change. Beside this law written in their hearts, they received a command, not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; which while they kept, they were happy in their communion with God, and had dominion over the creatures.

Teaching Content

• The Image of God in Man: All creation reflects God in some way and glorifies Him, but man is directly made in the image of God in a unique way. The shorter catechism gives us helpful insight into what it means to be in the image of God, saying “God created man male and female, after his own image, in knowledge, righteousness and holiness, with dominion over the creatures.”^[1] The fall marred and defaced the image of God in man, but did not destroy it entirely. It remains, though corrupted, until it is restored by Christ. This image of God in man is one of the key foundations for why we are to treat our neighbors with love and kindness. (Genesis 1:26-27, Genesis 9:6, Colossians 3:10, James 3:9)
• Adam’s Freedom in the Garden: Reformed theology rightly speaks of the different states of man’s freedom: In the garden Adam was able not to sin, after the fall man was not able not to sin, in Christ believers are able not to sin, and in glory to come believers will not be able to sin. What this gets at fundamentally is our freedom in regards to rebellion against God. And as such, Adam was free in a way that we are not, because there was nothing in his nature, as created by God, that compelled him to sin. He was free to choose between good and evil and freely chose evil. Thus Adam’s nature changed, fundamentally, from able not to sin, to not able not to sin, this is the consequence of the fall. (Genesis 2:16-17, Genesis 3:6, Ecclesiastes 7:29)
• Adam’s Duty in the Garden: While Adam was free to choose between good and evil, he was duty-bound to obey God. He was placed not under the covenant of grace, but under the covenant of works, which the Larger Catechism says was upon condition of personal, perfect, and perpetual obedience, promising life upon obedience and threatening death upon transgression. This included the general precepts of the moral law written upon Adam’s heart and the specific command not to eat of one tree. We cannot conceive of the lightness of this duty to obey God while in sinless perfection in the garden, for us obedience always brings with it the challenges of living in a broken world, but for Adam this was not so. As our first father and federal head, Adam’s choice was made not just for him, but for all of his children and so we have inherited the guilt and corruption of his sin. (Genesis 2:16-17, Romans 5:12-19)

Discussion Questions

1. How would you summarize what makes human beings fundamentally distinct from the rest of creation, and what does it practically mean that we are created in the image of God?
2. The lesson outlines the different states of human freedom before and after the fall. In your own words, how did Adam’s original freedom in the garden differ from our condition today, and why is that distinction crucial for understanding the brokenness of our world?
3. Even though the fall marred God’s image in humanity, it was not completely destroyed. How should the reality that every person bears God’s image directly shape the way we speak to, think about, and treat difficult people in our everyday lives?
4. In the garden, God gave Adam clear boundaries to test his loving obedience, yet Adam chose to follow his own wisdom rather than God’s. In what areas of your daily life do you find it most tempting to distrust God’s good boundaries and decide for yourself what is right?
5. Modern culture often swings between viewing humans as mere animals or as completely self-governing individuals. How does the biblical truth that we are image bearers under God’s authority provide a healthier, more secure sense of identity and purpose?