Tag: image of god

Biblical Womanhood Bible Study

Imperishable Beauty: Lesson 4- Beautiful Beginnings

Michelle Lesley

Previous Lessons: 1, 2, 3

Read These Selected Scriptures

In lessons 2-3, we looked at the “icon” of biblical womanhood, the Proverbs 31 woman. But even if she is the ideal to attain to, how do we get there from here? Let’s start at the very beginning…a very good place to start!

Questions to Consider

1. What is the overall theme of this selection of Scriptures?

2. Who created women? (Genesis 1:26, Psalm 139:13) What does it mean for a woman to be made in the imago dei or “image of God”? What are some of the attributes and characteristics of God that we reflect? What are some attitudes of our hearts and things we do that do not reflect the image of God well?

3. What is the significance of the words “us” and “our” in Genesis 1:26 with relationship to a) God’s nature and b) to the creation of mankind? Consider the nature and attributes of each member of the Trinity. How would people be different if we were created only in God the Father’s image? Only in the Son’s or Spirit’s image?

4. How does God characterize His creation of humans? (Genesis 1:31) How did the Holy Spirit inspire David to characterize the creation of humans? (Psalm 139:14-15) How do the Genesis 1 and Psalm 139 passages describe God’s intentionality and precision in creating people? Has God ever made a mistake in the way He created a person? How would you counsel a friend struggling with a congenital disability, anorexia or body dysmorphia, homosexuality (“I was born this way.”) or transgenderism (“I was born with the wrong genitalia.”) with the Genesis 1 and Psalm 139 passages?

5. Examine Psalm 100:3 and Romans 9:20-21, and explain God’s sovereign right to ownership of and rule over His Creation (people). How is our sin a rebellion against God’s right to rule over us?

6. Put Psalm 103:14 and 78:39 into your own words. What is the main idea of these verses? Does God’s understanding of, and compassion for, our human frailty excuse our sin? Why or why not? Explain how God’s awareness of our feebleness is woven into both the law and the gospel. (ex: Did God create laws that were too lofty or difficult for frail humans to obey? Can people save themselves by their own strength?)

7. Compare and contrast the “new creation” of being born again in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17, Ephesians 4:24, 2:10) to the bodily creation of humans (Genesis 1:26-31, Psalm 139:13-16). How does the bodily creation point ahead to the spiritual creation? What purpose does God give us in each creation? What are some similarities and differences between the two creations?

8. Why is it an important component of the spiritual life of Christian women to understand that:

• God made us.

• Because God made us, He has a right to own and rule us.

• God made us with intentionality and for specific purposes.

• God made us to reflect His image.

• Our imperfections and issues with the way we were created are not God’s fault, but the result of sin.

How do these concepts help us understand that we were created at God’s good pleasure for His glory?

We were made by God, for God’s glory and His purposes. Therefore, He has the right to rule over us. Because God created us, He understands our weaknesses, but He still purposes that we should put off the flesh, flee temptation, and pursue holiness. In lesson 5, we’ll take a look at our identity in Christ.

Homework

God is a Trinity: one God in three persons – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Since God is triune, and we are made in His image, does that mean we are also trichotomous beings (body, soul, and spirit)? Or are we dichotomous beings (body and soul/spirit)? Which Scriptures support your position? Is this a question we can definitively and unequivocally know the answer to while we’re on earth? Does it matter? If not, why would Christians study this question?

Suggested Memory Verse

Know that the Lord, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Psalm 100:3

Women of Genesis Bible Study

The Women of Genesis: Lesson 4- Eve

Michelle Lesley

Previous Lessons: 1, 2, 3

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Genesis 3:1-6

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.

He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 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.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.

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Questions to Consider

1. Review what we learned about Eve – the kind of person she was, her responsibilities, the world in which she lived – from lesson 3 (link above).

2. Read Genesis 3:1-6 in light of 1:26-28 and 2:19-20. There are three constructs in these earlier passages to note: a) Eve was made in God’s image, b) Eve was to exercise dominion over Creation, and c) no animal was found suitable as (“corresponding to”) a helper to Adam so that God had to specially create Eve. How did these three constructs impact (or how should they have impacted) Eve’s interaction with the serpent? Was she acting and speaking as an image bearer and representative of God? Was she exercising dominion over this creature? Was she being the helper to Adam that God created her to be?

3. What is the serpent’s question to Eve? (1) How did Eve answer? (2-3) Compare 3:1-3 to 2:16-17. What are the discrepancies between what God said and what the serpent quotes Him as saying? Between what God said and Eve’s answer to the serpent? Did God give the instructions in 2:16-17 to Adam and Eve? (hint: see 2:15-18) How might this account for the difference in God’s actual instruction in 2:16-17 and Eve’s understanding of His instruction in 3:2-3?

4. Examine the serpent’s remarks to Eve (1,4-5). How would you characterize this deception – was it an obvious, 100% lie, or a twisting of the truth? In what specific ways did each of the serpent’s statements twist God’s words? Eve had both the spoken words of God and personal knowledge of His nature and character. How could Eve have been a good Berean in her interaction with the serpent? How were the serpent’s remarks a form of “extra-Biblical revelation” (when someone purports to speak for God outside of God’s written Word)?

5. Remember that, at this time (3:1-6), Eve was in a face to face, personal relationship with God, unmarred by sin, much like a Christian’s relationship with God in Heaven will be. Think about how she would have wanted to relate to God in this perfect situation. Would it have been tempting to Eve to do something that she knew was blatantly wrong (ex: murder, lying)? Considering how she would have wanted to please God, honor God, and know Him better, in what ways was the serpent’s temptation a “perfect fit” for Eve? Was he tempting her to do something she thought was evil or something she thought was godly?

6. Think back over your answers to questions 4 and 5. Do you see any similarities between Satan’s twisting of God’s words and the way false teachers twist God’s Word today? How can you be a good Berean when you examine the words of a pastor or Bible teacher? Why is it so important to compare everything you’re taught to God’s written Word for yourself, even if the teacher says she’s telling you what the Bible says? As a Christian woman, desiring to please God, honor God, and know Him better, as Eve did, do you see how you might be deceived by false doctrine or “new and improved” ways to please Him that He has not commanded in His Word?

7. Charles Spurgeon once said, “Discernment is not knowing the difference between right and wrong. It is knowing the difference between right and almost right.” How does this statement relate to Eve in 3:1-6?

8. Why did the serpent approach Eve (1) instead of Adam? Consider the many strengths God has hardwired into women and how the serpent manipulated Eve, using her qualities of trust, giving the benefit of the doubt, kindness, etc., against her. How do these Scriptures relate to this aspect of Eve’s temptation?

9. Examine verse 6. What three things did Eve see about the tree? How did the tree tempt her sense of practicality, her flesh, and her emotional desires? In what ways can today’s false teachers tempt women in these three areas? Should we give in to these feelings, desires, and temptations as Eve did, or should we obey God’s Word in spite of temptation and our feelings and desires as Eve should have?

10. How did Eve’s sin influence Adam to sin? (6) How did Eve sin against God by failing at her job as Adam’s helper? In what ways do we influence our husbands, children, fellow church members, and others to sin when we give into temptation? How would this passage have ended differently if Eve had acted as a good Berean and properly fulfilled her role as Adam’s helper?

Homework

Examine a teaching video from a “Christian” celebrity such as Paula White, Benny Hinn, Joel Osteen, or T.D. Jakes. Listen for phrases such as “God says…”, “God wants you to…”, “Christians are supposed to…” and other definitive statements the teacher wants you to believe are from God or from the Bible. Each time you hear such a statement, pause the video and ask yourself, “Where does the Bible say that (in context and rightly handled)?” Use your Bible, Bible Gateway, or a concordance to “examine the Scriptures to see if these things are so.” Are there any ways in which this teacher is twisting God’s Word or tempting your flesh, emotional desires, or sense of practicality, to believe something about God or His Word that isn’t true, or to disobey God?

Suggested Memory Verse

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”
Genesis 3:1

Women of Genesis Bible Study

The Women of Genesis: Lesson 3- Eve

Michelle Lesley

Previous Lessons: 1, 2

(By way of reminder, this study will be slightly different from our regular studies. We will be taking a more in depth look at the passages of Genesis that focus on the women we’ll be studying and a more generalized overview of the passages in between. Those “in between” passages may be somewhat lengthy, so instead of reprinting them here, I will be linking to those longer passages on Bible Gateway. Simply click on “Read Genesis X:Y-Z” to start reading.)

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Read Genesis 1:26-2:25

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Questions to Consider

1. You may wish to review Lesson 2 (link above) in preparation for today’s lesson.

2. Examine 1:26-30. What sets human beings apart from the rest of creation? What does it mean to be made in the “image” and “likeness” of God? What responsibilities and instructions did God give Adam and Eve when He created them?

3. What did God mean when He said that man was to “have dominion” (26,28) over the animals and “subdue” the earth (28)? Does God consider animals to be equal to people? How does man’s dominion over the earth reflect and point to God’s dominion over the universe? What are some ways Christians can glorify God as we exercise dominion over creation?

4. What did God instruct Adam and Eve to eat? (29) What were animals to eat? (30) Why do you think God needed to tell Adam and Eve what they and the animals were to eat? Why, at that time in history, did people and animals not eat meat? (Hint: 2:17c- In order to get meat, what do you have to do to another living creature?) Does this instruction still apply today?

5. Study 1:31-2:3. Did God create anything else after He created Adam and Eve? Why did God rest after creating humans?

6. Describe the ecology and horticulture of the earth (2:5-6) and of Eden (2:8-14).

7. Compare the method God used for creating Adam (2:7) to the method He used for creating Eve (2:21-22). What are the differences and similarities? God made man to tend (2:15) the ______ from which he had come (2:7). God made woman to tend (2:18) the ______ from which she had come (2:22).

8. In Genesis 1 (4,10,12,18,21,25,31) God brings each of His creative acts to completion with the statement, “And God saw that it was good.” What is the first thing in Creation that God said was not good? (2:18)

9. Examine 2:18-20. Describe the void in both Adam’s life and in Creation prior to God’s creation of Eve. How did the creation of woman make Adam’s life, and Creation, whole and complete?

10. What was Adam’s job? (2:15,19) What was Eve’s job? (2:18,20)

11. What can we learn about God’s design for gender, sexuality, and marriage from Genesis 1:27-28 and 2:18,20-25?

12. Describe Eve and her world, using today’s passage as your guide. What kinds of things did she see, smell, hear, taste, and feel? What are some of the things she and Adam might have spent their days doing? What did she eat? What did she wear? How would the fact that sin and death had not yet entered the world have affected her daily life, her relationship with Adam, and her relationship with God? How would your daily life, relationships with others, and your relationship with God be different if sin and death had never entered the world?

Homework

As we learned in Lesson 2, Genesis 1:26-30 and 2:5-25 are not two different accounts of the creation of man. Rather, chapter 1 is the condensed version and chapter 2 is the expanded version. Sometimes when we’re studying historical events like this, it can be confusing to our linear way of thinking when the story is not laid out in chronological order.

On a piece of paper or in your word processor, rearrange the verses of Genesis 1:26-2:25 into chronological order.

Suggested Memory Verse

Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
Genesis 2:24