Title: Did Man Just Happen?
Bible Book: Genesis 2 : 6-27
Author: Keith Fordham
Subject: Creation; Eternal Life; Origin of Mankind; Human Worth; Evolution
Objective:
Introduction
It is the sixth day of Creation; God has made everything else, now He is about to make man. Genesis l:26-28, "And 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 fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him, male and female created He them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth."
Did man just happen? How did man get on the scene? In the book of beginnings, Genesis means beginnings, we can see that the force behind creation is the living force of God. We are shown that God planned, designed, and began to put this world together piece by piece. God worked for six days; those days were six literal days, and each day was a twenty-four hour period as time is counted in the cycle of the sun. The Hebrew word "yom" means one day in the context of Genesis chapter one. "Yom" is always used as a literal twenty-four hour period when it is used in this same context throughout the scripture.
In Genesis l:l we are told that God created the heavens and the earth. There is a difference between making and creating. Man makes; God creates. Only God can make something out of nothing.
Michelangelo had to use paints in order to create a beautiful picture. He also had to use a canvas to receive the paint. Things are made over and over again every day. But God is the only one who can create from nothing. (Hebrews ll:3; Romans 4:l7) In the beginning God called out of nothingness this great mass, space, time-universe, and prepared it for man to live in.
It is now the sixth day, and God has made all the animals. God has made all the creeping things for all the girls to like, and even a few toad frogs for the boys to play with. From a mongoose with a special anti-cobra venom gland, to a bird like the Magnolia Warbler that flies by the stars, God created a world that is good. Now God is ready to crown his creation by making man.
In Genesis l:26 God says "let us" referring to the Hebrew word for God which is "Elohim." It is a plural word in a singular setting. It is the royal plural referring to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. "Let us make man in our image."
Did man just happen and does it really matter? We find today, all across America, our children being taught in our schools through our text books, that man just happened. They are taught as if it were a fact, that the entire universe was just a freak accident. Somewhere in outer space there was a great cataclysmic accident, a big bang, and all of a sudden the world began to spring into place. There followed a puddle of primeval ooze and out of that grew an amoeba. That amoeba accidentally did what no amoeba has ever done in the past or the present. It started to divide as all amoeba's do to reproduce, however instead of becoming two amoebas, this one became a two-celled creature and did this over and over again until all present day animals came into existence. This theory also explains that one of the links in this imaginary chain was the extinct fish known as the coelacanth.
This fish was supposed to have been the link between the fish and the land animals by developing legs and turning into a salamander type animal. The coelacanth thus became extinct 400 million years ago and through organic evolution eventually turned into a land animal and then into a man. This theory forgets to mention that over l5 years ago, the coelacanth was discovered and is still living in the ocean today. Also, there are no fossils of this fish during its in-between phase to prove that it transformed. The coelacanth was created a fish, and has always been a fish, and will always be a fish.
Does it really matter to you and me whether or not God created us? I Believe That It Does! Let me tell you why. If God did not create us, then you and I are nothing more than a biological accident in the chain of time. We would have no purpose for existing. There would be no meaning to life other than self-gratification, and there would be no hope for the future, nor any real reason to live.
But God had a far greater purpose in mind for you and me when he created man. God created us to live a life of fellowship, praise, and excitement for Him as sons of God. God desires for us an exciting life of faith and fellowship. There are many debates and many controversies about the creation of man.
I want us to look at the biblical account of the creation of man. There are three views about the way man was created or that he began. First of all there is the Evolutionary point of view that says that man came out of a puddle of primeval ooze and through eons of time evolved into man as he is today.
Secondly there is the view of the Theistic Evolutionist. He believes that God chose to use evolution as His tool to bring about the Creation of this world and of man. The third view is the Creationist point of View. The Creationist believes what the Bible says. He believes that God created the heavens and the earth, and that He Created man. When God's Word uses the Hebrew masculine word "bara" over and over again it literally means that God created from nothing, and then uniquely and instantaneous made and formed what he created in six literal days.
We want to look at the Biblical account of man's creation. Look with me at the scriptures.
I. Human Creation
Did man just happen? Well the first thing I want you to note is that God said let us make man in our image, not a monkey's image. There is not the slightest indication that God made a monkey and then refashioned it into the shape of a man. God spoke and out of the ground formed a man. Then it says male and female created He them. In chapter two it tells us that God took a rib from Adam's side and formed the woman. It does not say that a woman was taken from an ape's side or even from a female ape, but that God made woman on the sixth day.
A. Adam - Man Or Mankind
Now we want to talk about the human creation or the creation of man. God created Adam, but was that creation man or mankind? If you will study this word Adam in the context of this passage of scripture, and find it and interpret it in light of the way Christ and the rest of the Scriptures interprets it, then you will readily see that Adam does not mean a race of men.
However, it has become popular for some to say that God created a race of men. In other words, He put some men over here and those over there, a few around the corner, and a couple down the street. God just created a whole crowd of folks at one time. That may be the way you and I would have done it. Had we done so we would have botched things up. According to population statistics even with the flood included our present population is about what it is today, because of the way God created man. Furthermore God did not want to do it that way. The word Adam means one man. Eve could not have been the mother of all living if an entire race had been created. The New Testament speaks of Adam as one man. Through one man, Adam, sin entered the world and death by sin.
Through one man, the second Adam, Jesus Christ, the gift of grace, justification, and righteousness came. (Romans 5) If Adam is called one man, then so is Christ. And if you interpret man as being more than one in Adam's case, so must you say there were many Christs who died on the cross.
There is only one Savior and there was only one Adam in the beginning.
Logic would dictate that if Adam and Eve had Cain, Abel, and Seth plus sons and daughters that it is most assuredly talking about one couple. All men are direct descendants of Adam.
B. Male And Female
The second thing that I want you to notice is that God created them male and female. God created Eve also. Now Eve means of man. She was brought out of man. God created her from Adam's rib. God knew that man was lonely and would need a helpmate and so God created Eve to walk alongside of Adam.
Is it really important that God created them male and female? Yes it is! Let me tell you why. God created Adam-man, and Eve-woman. When He created them they were in a perfect state without sin. God created them separately. God put them together separately. He created man and all of his biological features. He created woman and all of her biological features. He put them together to match and to be together as one. "And the two shall become one."
When God created man and woman He did it for a purpose. This is of a deep understanding that you must accept. If you have any concept or understanding of the Word of God, you will realize that this scripture begins to deal with homosexuality. No where does the Bible condone homosexuality. Not only is homosexuality wrong in the eyes of God, but it is wrong in every way. In the way that God created man and woman, all the way down the line from emotional, mental, psychological, physiological, and biological make-up, God created man and woman, male and female. Today we have the gay movement and gay churches. I know that we are supposed to be open minded, however the Bible is very clear. God created man and woman, and that is the way it is to be, and that is it. Today in America we have been so lax that the judgment of God on homosexuality by AIDS has become a necessity.
If you know a person who is involved in homosexuality or perhaps you yourself are, it is a sin. You need to understand your place in God's design. If you are a man, God has designed you to be a man. If you are a woman, God has designed you to be a woman. For you to be anything less than what God made you means that you are not in God's perfect plan. So Human creation makes a statement, very emphatically, that God has a design for each of our lives.
II. Hoax of Evolution
If you will read many of the biology books and many of the books of reference on book shelves today, you will see that the theory of evolution is not referred to as a theory. It is just called evolution. It is nothing more than a poor guess or a weak theory. That is all it has ever been. It has never been scientifically documented. The famous Scope's Monkey Trial revolved around the key evidence of Nebraska Man. In fact William Jennings Bryan was made fun of for not accepting the great find of the true missing link. That trial and all that fuss was over one tooth, that three years after the trial, was found to be the tooth of a dead pig. Yes, it was proved to be the tooth of a dead pig!
There are two areas in the hoax of evolution. The first area is that man just came on the scene; he just happened to evolve to his present state. Secular Humanism says that man is inherently good. Secular humanism says man can inherently make his own way and has no need of anything else. I want you to know that this is diametrically opposed to what God says. The Bible says that man is spiritually bankrupt and must know God to get his life together. Now we will look at some of the hoaxes of evolution.
A. Hoaxes of Evolution in the Missing Links
Notice the missing links. We have all been looking for the missing link between man and the great apes, the "dude" that is between man and monkey. One father said, "I have found the missing link, he has been trying to date my daughter, all week long."
A lot of people have claimed to have found the missing link. Go to your local library or look in some of your children's school books and you will see them listed.
There are three kinds of fossils which are connected with man's presumed evolution. One group is definitely identified as human fossils. The second group is definitely identified as fossils of apes. A third group, sometimes is mistakenly identified as ape men. According to Jay Gould, the scientist from Harvard University, there are no missing links. (Newsweek March 29, l982)
However, in order to show you how the hoax has persisted I will mention a few of the most embarrassing cases on record.
l. Neanderthal man
In l856, Johann C. Fuhlrott found a skull and several bones in the Neander Valley near Dusseldorf, Germany, hence, the name Neanderthal. He first said the bones were of a semi-erect subhuman. It has become evident in recent years that these bones were the malformed bones of real people suffering from severe cases of rickets, (a disease caused from the lack of vitamin D in the diet and resulting in the softening of bones, along with the bowing of the legs etc... O. J. Simpson the great running back would be the perfect example).
2. Piltdown Man
The Piltdown man is the most deliberate, clever, and colossal hoax of the bunch. Charles Dawson found part of a skull and a few teeth in Piltdown, England. The experts from the British Museum and the American Museum of Natural History claimed the bones were between 500,000 and 750,000 years old. The scientific world took the story and swallowed it for nearly 40 years. In l950, the Piltdown bones were re-examined by fluoride tests and found to be recent bones treated with iron salts and filed down teeth. A confession was made around l953, and an article telling of a couple of the men's part in the hoax was told about in the October issue of Readers Digest l956. In the July 28, 1980, issue of Time magazine, a Catholic priest became a suspect in pulling off the hoax. Yet, the Piltdown man persists in text books and many encyclopedias to this very day.
3. Java Man
(Pithecanthropus erectus) A Dutch Doctor, Dubois found a solitary skull cap in Java in l89l. A year later he found a thigh and two molar teeth some 50 feet away and claimed they were also a part of Java man. The scientific world again swallowed the story, giving the bones an age of 500,000 years.
Some 3l years later Dubois told the truth. These were the bones of a large Gibbon he found along with two human skulls at the same level which he did not mention.
4. Peking Man
The great missing, missing links consisted of some 30 skulls and l47 teeth near Peking, China, during World War II. The US Marines moved the bones to save them from the Japanese. The bones were lost in the shuffle. However, the missing bones are believed to be the bones of large monkeys or baboons eaten by the workers of an old lime-burning quarry.
5. East Africa Man
(Zinjanthropus later changed to Australopithecus) In l959, S. B. Leakey found a skull and some bone fragments in Tanzania that were supposed to have been 2 to 4 million years old. Since Leakey had been sponsored by the National Geographic Society Magazine the find was sensationalized as an ape-man, the missing link. Leakey later told the truth; the bones were that of an ape. Therefore the technical name was changed to Australopithecus which means Southern ape. The latest cartoon drawings of these creatures have drastically changed. However, the hoax persists on Public Broadcasting System television programming, and in many text books, and even in some encyclopedias.
You need to understand what is being taught today. It is only a theory. In reality it is only a wild guess. I learned a long time ago that just because it is written down does not mean it is true. I heard a story about a fellow in an airport who took a nickel to a weight machine. The weight machine would give him his weight and tell him something that was going to happen to him in the future. So he reached in his pocket took out his nickel and stood on the scale. A little card came out that said, "You weigh l90 pounds and you are going to catch the 2:20 Flight." "You are exactly right," he said. "I am going to catch the 2:20 Flight to Boston and I do weigh l90 pounds." He could not believe it. He scratched his head in astonishment. A little while later he got up and went over to that machine again and put another nickel into the machine. He stood there, received the card and the card said, "You still weigh l90 pounds and you are still going to catch the 2:20 flight to Boston." He went and got a Coca-Cola and thought a minute and told some people, "You will have to come around and look at this machine." He did not watch what time it was. . . He stood on the machine and put in another nickel. Another card came back out and it said, "You still weigh l90 pounds, but you have just missed the 2:20 Flight to Boston." Now he believed what he read.
I used to think that just because it was in print you could believe it. But you cannot believe it, especially about evolution concerning the missing link. This is also true about the second area in the hoax of evolution, the fossil record.
B. Hoax of Evolution in the Fossil Record
You can find fossils in the earth more times than not in distinct layers. Usually the smaller and more minute animals are in the lower layers. Although there are notable exceptions to this all around the world, the theory says that over eons of time and thousands of years other layers built up, a layer at a time. The guess is that the smarter and larger animals, along with the wiser and more human - like animals are found in the upper layers meaning that they did not exist until later in time.
However, there is a far better explanation. When the flood came and covered the entire world, the first animals to die would naturally be the smaller and less intelligent animals, thus causing the fossils to be layered in that particular order. Furthermore, the tidal waves, volcanic activity, and the tremendous turmoil involved in the breaking up of the fountains of the deep would explain why we find sea fossils on the tops of mountains all around the world. The flood would also explain why there are so many notable cases where there are many layers of fossils that run diametrically opposed to the theory of evolution.
It is also understandable that the smarter animals would climb trees and seek higher ground. Since fossils are not being formed at the present time like they are found in the earth today, the only satisfactory explanation of fossils on such a grand scale would be a world wide flood. So we begin to see that the fossil record is not a substantiation of the evolutionary theory, but a real evidence of a cataclysmic flood on a world wide scale.
III. The Hand of Creation
I want you to see the Hand of creation. Why did God make man? You can believe in evolution and still go to Heaven, that is as long as you are trusting Jesus as your savior. But when you get to heaven, you are going to be in for a big surprise. You need to understand the reason why God made man.
That is the most important thing.
Please look with me at verse 26. "And 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 fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth." In this verse we find the threefold purpose of God in the Creation of man.
A. To Extend the Life of God to Men
"in our image." First of all God says let us make man in our image. Do you know why God wanted to create man in his own image? The reason is to extend the life of God to man. He made man to walk, talk, and communicate with God making man an extension of the life of God in His own image.
Do you realize that when you trust Christ that your life is an extension of God's life on this earth? Do you remember that at Antioch they called the believers Christians for the first time? You are a Christian and called by that name. There was a reason for that name then and there is a reason for that name now. Christians meant little Christs. Like a wind up doll you walk and talk and look like the real thing. That is exactly the kind of image that God wants this lost world to see. God has created every one of us and placed us on this earth. He has created us in His image with a soul and spirit.
He has given us the ability to communicate with Him, so that we can be an extension of God into this world. That is our purpose.
B. To Express God's Character
There is more. Then He says "after our likeness." We are to express the character of God to the world. What is the first thing that you learn about God when you are a little child? God is what? God is LOVE! We are to express the character of God! How many times do we express God's character? As Christians, how often do we express the love of God to men? How often do we exercise godly patience? Why did God create us? So He could flow His life through us and express His character. God is love. God is patience. God cares and we are to live that kind of life. There is one more purpose in God's creation of man; He wants us to exhibit the power of God.
C. To Exhibit the Power of God
"Have dominion" Does your life exhibit the power of God? Will you go to work with a droopy mouthed attitude? You can walk out of the door saying that the world is going to the dogs. To exhibit the power of God is to walk out of that door, even when things are going bad, and say that your life is different because God is Lord of it. We must walk forth not with pessimism, but we must walk forth with optimism. I don't know about tomorrow, but I know who holds tomorrow and I know who holds my hand. An exhibit of God's power in our lives causes people to look at our lives and say that there is something different about that man, woman, or young person. What is it? Who is it? Please tell me about Him?
What are we? We are exhibit A, and that is exactly what God wants. God's Hand of creation is a hand of purpose. We will exhibit the power of God! We will express God's character! We will extend God's life into the lives of other people!
Did man just happen? I do not think so! I believe God looked down on this planet, desired fellowship and created man in His own image, uniquely different from the animals with an eternal spirit. God spoke and out of nothingness the heaven and the earth came to be. Just as God made Adam and Eve, God made you and me to live under the express will of His purpose.
Do you know what the tragedy is? The tragedy is someone who does not understand the purpose of their life. Things are created with a purpose. It would be like a man trying to cut his grass with a lawnmower. He gets out his gas can and drinks the gas instead of placing it in the lawnmower. The purpose of the gas would be death instead of energy to power the lawnmower. It is like the parachutist falling from the sky unable to open his chute and on his way down meeting a man going up. He asks the man on the way up," Do you know anything about parachutes?" The reply comes, "No, do you know anything about kerosene heaters?"
It is tragic to miss your purpose for living. Not long ago my wife and I went to Emile Baran - a violin shop in Decatur, Georgia. Just ahead of us was a family with a violin in great disrepair. It had been made before World War I and was used by a violinist in an orchestra before the war. This family wanted to restore it and keep it. The store manager kept asking, "But who is going to play it?"
"A friend," was their reply.
"But who is going to play it regularly?"
"No one," was their answer.
His response was that it would be a waste of time and money to repair it, because it would be in the same condition again if it was left in its case and not played. It must fulfill its purpose, because everything about the wood responds to its being played. If it does not fulfill its purpose it has no reason to exist.
It is silly not to use something that has real worth. It is silly when God says, "I created you and have given you a purpose. I have given you worth." The Father says, "I have let my Son die for you, in order that you could come in relation with me." God is saying that you count as much to Him as His Son. For us to say, "Well, I don't think I am going to try it that way," is ridiculous.
You see God has a purpose for you, a worth for you. He has put a value on your life, like nobody has ever put on your life.
Oh! what would it have been like to have been Adam and Eve and to have talked with God in the coolness of the day! You know something? There is another Adam. That is the second Adam, Jesus. You can know that in Him, you can walk with God in the coolness of the day. You can realize why God's hand of Creation touched us, and realize why your life is not an accident, but that you are here for a reason.
Conclusion
Did man just happen? Oh! No, man was created because God loved us and wanted us to be in relation with Him.
It is the greatest deal in all of the world. I hope you don't pass it up. Give your heart to Him. Let the Master's hand of creation touch your life.
The story of an old violin tells about the wonderful touch of God's Hand.
The Touch That Changes Lives
T'was battered and scarred, and the auctioneer
Thought it scarcely worth his while
To waste much time on the old violin,
But he held it up with a smile.
"What am I bidden good folk?" he cried.
"Who'll start the bidding for me?"
"A dollar - a dollar - then two, only two
Two dollars, and who'll make it three?"
"Going for three" - but no -
From the rook far back a gray haired man
Came forward and picked up the bow.
Then wiping the dust from the old violin,
And tightening the loosened strings,
He played a melody pure and sweet
As a caroling Angel sings.
The music ceased and the auctioneer,
With a voice that was quiet and low, said,
"Now what am I bid for the old violin?"
And he held it up with the bow.
A thousand dollars - and who'll make it two?
Two thousand and who'll make it three?
Three thousand once - three thousand twice
And going and gone" cried he.
"What changed its worth?" Quick came the reply,
"The touch of the Master's Hand?"
The people cheered but some of them cried,
"We do not understand."
And many a man with life out of tune,
And battered and scarred with sin,
Is auctioned cheap to a thoughtless crowd
Much like the old violin.
A mess of pottage - a glass of wine,
A game and he travels on:
He is going once - and going twice
He is going and almost gone:
But the Master comes and the foolish
Never can quite understand.
The worth of a soul and the change that is wrought
By the touch of the Master's Hand.”
Come right now and receive Christ and you will experience the touch of the Master's Hand. The worth of your soul and that change that is wrought when you find your very purpose for being alive is to meet the Master, to talk with Him, to walk with Him and fellowship with Him. Who will be first?
