1. The Creation

Sabbath afternoon

Prayer Thought

Their thoughts will be carried up to nature's God-- back to the creation of our world, when the foundation of the Sabbath was laid, and all the sons of God shouted for joy. Such are the lessons to be impressed on the minds of our children. We are not to teach our children that they must not be happy on the Sabbath, that it is wrong to walk out-of-doors. Oh, no. Christ led His disciples out by the lakeside on the Sabbath day and taught them. His sermons on the Sabbath were not always preached within enclosed walls. {CG 533.4}

Memory Text

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” {Gen. 1:1}

This week's SS Lesson introduces the God of creation who originated everything that existed. This fact is very pertinent because it marks the beginning of human history and biblical eschatology which we in these last days will act a part and proclaim the warnings God’s people had been called for as to fulfill the prophetic mandate.

Outline of the Study

Sunday: The God of Creation – In the beginning .. God.

Ps. 100:1-3; 2:11; Gen. 1:1-2:4-25; 95:1-6; 139:13, 14; Rev. 14:7

Monday: The Perfect Creation

Lk. Gen. 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31; 2:1-3; 5, 24:16; 2:9, 17

Tuesday: The Sabbath

1Pet. 5:1-4; Gen. 2:2, 3; Exo. 20:8-11; 40:33; 1Kings 7:40, 51; Isa. 65:17; Rev. 21:1; Lk. 13:13-16

Wednesday: The Creation of Humanity

Gen. 1:26-29; 2:7, 21, 22

Thursday: The Duty of Humanity

Gen. 2:8, 15-17, 22, 24; Matt. 19:7-9; 25:14-30

Friday: Further study and Meditation

Sunday: The God of Creation – In the beginning .. God.

Ps. 100:1-3; 2:11; Gen. 1:1-2:4-25; 95:1-6; 139:13, 14; Rev. 14:7

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1)

Authentic Record of Creation

The divine mind and hand have preserved through the ages the record of creation in its purity. It is the word of God alone that gives to us an authentic account of the creation of our world. This word is to be the chief study in our schools. In it we may learn what our redemption has cost Him who from the beginning was equal with the Father, and who sacrificed His life that a people might stand before Him redeemed from everything earthly, renewed in the image of God. {CT 13.2}

Creation and the Message of the Father's LOVE

In the beginning, God was revealed in all the works of creation. It was Christ that spread the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth. It was His hand that hung the worlds in space, and fashioned the flowers of the field. "His strength setteth fast the mountains." "The sea is His, and He made it." Psalm 65:6; 95:5. It was He that filled the earth with beauty, and the air with song. And upon all things in earth, and air, and sky, He wrote the message of the Father's love. {DA 20.1}

Consider the following

The two accounts of Creation introduce God in two different ways:

Genesis 1:1-2:3 introduces a powerful God: He can create just with His voice. His great power motivates us to praise Him and worship Him (Psalm 95:3-6).

Genesis 2:4-25 introduces a close God: He prepared a home for us and molded us with His own hands. He cares for our happiness and teaches us how to live.

Today we are separated from God’s presence because of sin. However, we can still appreciate His power and closeness. We can enjoy the wonderful and lovely presence of God in our lives.

Monday: The Perfect Creation

Lk. Gen. 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31; 2:1-3; 5, 24:16; 2:9, 17

“Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good.” (Genesis 1:31)

The Earth: Holy, Beautiful and Every Sound in Perfect Harmony

When this earth was created by Christ, it was holy and beautiful. God pronounced it "very good." Every flower, every shrub, every tree, answered the purpose of its Creator. Everything upon which the eye rested was lovely, and filled the mind with thoughts of love for the Creator. Every sound was music, in perfect harmony with the voice of God.

But a change has come. Sin has brought decay, deformity, death. Today, the whole world is tainted, corrupted, stricken with a mortal disease. The earth groans under the continual transgression of the inhabitants thereof. {ST, June 27, 1900 par. 1, 2}

Modern Improvements Insult to the Creator

The Creator knew how to form the human body. He did not need to consult mantuamakers in regard to their ideas of beauty. God, who created everything that is rich, lovely, and glorious, in nature, understood how to make the human form beautiful and healthful. The modern improvements upon God's plan are insulting to the Creator. They deform that which God made perfect. Woman, as God made her, was a perfect and lovely image of the divine ideal of womanhood. Compare the modern taste with infinite wisdom, and what a contrast! How few preserve the original ideal! {HR, March 1, 1874 par. 16}

Creation Not Evolution

By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. Psalm 33:6. {FLB 27.1}

Since the book of nature and the book of revelation bear the impress of the same master mind, they cannot but speak in harmony. . . . Inferences erroneously drawn from facts observed in nature have, however, led to supposed conflict between science and revelation. . . . Millions of years, it is claimed, were required for the evolution of the earth from chaos; and in order to accommodate the Bible to this supposed revelation of science, the days of creation are assumed to have been vast, indefinite periods. . . . Such a conclusion is wholly uncalled for. {FLB 27.3}

Consider the following

The expression “good” [tov in Hebrew] is used to explain that Creation worked well; that it was perfect and beautiful and there was nothing evil in it. Of course there was no death. Death was not part of the creation process.

A process during thousands or millions of years is not compatible with Creation. Trees bear fruit (Genesis 1:12; 2:9). Birds fly, animals walk (Genesis 1:20, 25). Adam was created as an adult person who could speak and think (Genesis 2:19).

When Creation ended, Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. (Genesis 2:1). It was just six literal days

Tuesday: The Sabbath

1Pet. 5:1-4; Gen. 2:2, 3; Exo. 20:8-11; 40:33; 1Kings 7:40, 51; Isa. 65:17; Rev. 21:1; Lk. 13:13-16

“And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.” (Genesis 2:2)

Sabbath a Perpetual Covenant and Sign (Exo. 31:13)

Do not these words point us out as God's denominated people? and do they not declare to us that so long as time shall last, we are to cherish the sacred, denominational distinction placed on us? The children of Israel were to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations "for a perpetual covenant." The Sabbath has lost none of its meaning. It is still the sign between God and his people, and it will be so forever. {RH, August 4, 1904 par. 15}

The Sabbath has lost none of its meaning. It is still a sign between God and His people, and it will be so forever. {AG 156.6}

Sabbath Sign of Sanctification

The Sabbath given to the world as the sign of God as the Creator is also the sign of Him as the Sanctifier. The power that created all things is the power that recreates the soul in His own likeness. To those who keep holy the Sabbath day it is the sign of sanctification. True sanctification is harmony with God, oneness with Him in character. It is received through obedience to those principles that are the transcript of His character. And the Sabbath is the sign of obedience. He who from the heart obeys the fourth commandment will obey the whole law. He is sanctified through obedience. {AG 156.3}

Not a Legal Matter but has Spiritual Bearing in all Transactions of Life

God declares: "Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant." "It is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you." We are not merely to observe the Sabbath as a legal matter; we are to be intelligent in regard to its spiritual bearing upon all the transactions of life. {ST, November 22, 1899 par. 8}

Consider the following

Light¹, the sea², the earth³, vegetation⁴, the stars⁵, the fish⁶, the birds⁷, the animals⁸, human beings⁹. Everything was done in six days. But something important was missing, the tenth element that would put the cap on the process: the seventh day¹⁰.

A time for rest, meditation, human company, and communion with the Creator. Those perfect humans needed this special time, so we need it even more after thousands of years of sin (Exodus 20:8-11).

Sabbath reminds us of our origin, and of our glorious future through Redemption (Deuteronomy 5:15; Isaiah 66:23).

Wednesday: The Creation of Humanity

Gen. 1:26-29; 2:7, 21, 22

“So God created man in his [own] image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. (Gen. 1:27)

Moral Image of God Restored Through Faith in Christ

We were made in the image of God, after his likeness; but because of sin we have lost our resemblance to the Creator and Redeemer. We are out of harmony with the will of God; but the Son of God has brought us, at infinite cost to himself, that we might serve him, and do the will of Heaven. The moral image of God may be restored in our fallen natures, through faith in Christ, and obedience to the commandments of Jehovah. {RH, February 14, 1888 par. 3}

An Appointed Agencies of God for the Spiritual Recovery

"Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God" (2 Corinthians 7:1). 1 John 3:1-5. {16MR 190.2}

The formation of the Christian church, and the union of all that it embraces, and preserving the consecration of all its powers as the appointed agencies of God for the spiritual recovery of the moral image of God in man, was the object of Christ [in] assuming human nature. Christ was the foundation of the whole Jewish economy, which was the symbol prescribed in type for the religious faith and obedience of all people. {16MR 190.3}

Humanity: Reflection of the Creator's Glory

When Adam came from the Creator's hand, he bore, in his physical, mental, and spiritual nature, a likeness to his Maker. "God created man in his own image" (Genesis 1:27), and it was His purpose that the longer man lived the more fully he should reveal this image--the more fully reflect the glory of the Creator. All his faculties were capable of development; their capacity and vigor were continually to increase. Vast was the scope offered for their exercise, glorious the field opened to their research. The mysteries of the visible universe--the "wondrous works of him which is perfect in knowledge" (Job 37:16)--invited man's study. Face-to-face, heart-to-heart communion with his Maker was his high privilege. Had he remained loyal to God, all this would have been his forever. Throughout eternal ages he would have continued to gain new treasures of knowledge, to discover fresh springs of happiness, and to obtain clearer and yet clearer conceptions of the wisdom, the power, and the love of God. More and more fully would he have . . . reflected the Creator's glory. {FLB 166.2}

Consider the following

The image of God involves:

(1) A spiritual nature that enables us to communicate to God.

(2) A physical resemblance to our Creator.

(3) The ability to think and to make moral decisions.

According to Genesis 2:7, when the breath (spirit) went into the clay figure God had molded (body), a living being was created (soul).

Then God performed a second creative step (Genesis 2:21-22), thus completing the perfect “human being”: male and female, man and woman

Thursday: The Duty of Humanity – The Gifts from God

Gen. 2:8, 15-17, 22, 24; Matt. 19:7-9; 25:14-30

“The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed.” (Genesis 2:8)

Duty Bound to Glorify His Name on Earth

We have a duty to humanity. We are bound before God, if we possess eternal life, to show that we appreciate the value of the sacrifice which Christ has made, and that is to purchase heaven, that we may glorify His name upon the earth, and that we may win souls to the cross of Calvary, that we may win souls to teach them how to give their hearts to Jesus Christ, that we may represent Jesus Christ as Jesus Christ represented the love of the Father. This is our business in the world. {1SAT 265.3}

Christ' Human Nature Touches and Draw Humanity to Divinity

Men are in peril. Multitudes are perishing. But how few of the professed followers of Christ are burdened for these souls. The destiny of a world hangs in the balance; but this hardly moves even those who claim to believe the most far-reaching truth ever given to mortals. There is a lack of that love which led Christ to leave His heavenly home and take man's nature that humanity might touch humanity and draw humanity to divinity. There is a stupor, a paralysis, upon the people of God, which prevents them from understanding the duty of the hour. {COL 303.1}

Knowledge a Duty for Oneself and Others

It is the duty of every human being, for his own sake and for the sake of humanity, to inform himself or herself in regard to the laws of organic life, and conscientiously to obey them. . . . It is the duty of every person to become intelligent in regard to disease and its causes. You must study your Bible, in order to understand the value that the Lord places on the men whom Christ has purchased at such an infinite price. Then we should become acquainted with the laws of life, that every action of the human agent may be in perfect harmony with the laws of God. When there is so great peril in ignorance, is it not best to be wise in regard to the human habitation fitted up by our Creator, and over which he desires that we shall be faithful stewards? -- U. T., Dec. 4, 1896. {HL 19.5}

Consider the following

When God created the first man, He gave him three gifts that implied three responsibilities:

The Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:8): It was the perfect home. He had to look after it and to cultivate it. We must preserve what God has given us.

Food (Genesis 2:16): God gave him the suitable food for his perfect body. He added a restriction so he could prove his loyalty to the One who had given him everything (Genesis 2:17).

The woman (Genesis 2:22): The perfect gift. Someone to love. Someone with whom he could share everything. Someone to “become one flesh” with (Genesis 2:24).

Friday: Further Study and Meditation

Natural Law Divine

Every law governing the human machinery is to be considered just as truly divine in origin, in character, and in importance as the word of God. Every careless action, any abuse put upon the wonderful mechanism, by disregarding his specified laws of the human habitation, is a violation of God's law. This law embraces the treatment of the entire being. U. T., Jan. 11, 1897. {HL 20.3}

God's law is written by his own finger upon every nerve, every muscle, every faculty which has been entrusted to man.-- U. T., Aug. 30, 1896. {HL 20.4}

Questions to Ponder

1. As part of the Law, Sabbath is a memorial of creation. What is our response to God who created all things, and Why?

2. God has created everything "good" - what does it denotes and why everything goes wrong?

3. How could we describe creation and compare it with the theory of evolution? Will your description nullify this theory?

4. As Seventh-day Adventist, how our name (SDA) impact our lives and the world as we witness for Christ?

5. What's the difference between God's creation of man and others created things?

6. What's our duty to God and His creation? And how it relates to our spiritual life and salvation?

7. We observe the seventh-day sabbath - are we truly observing it, legally or spiritually? What are the principles in truly observe the sanctity of the Sabbath? (please click or copy-paste to your browser.

Meat In Due Season - History of the Sabbath True Observance (google.com)

From the Pen of Inspiration

“How beautiful the earth was when it came from the Creator's hand! God presented before the universe a world in which even His all-seeing eye could find no spot or stain, no defect or crookedness. Each part of His creation occupied the place assigned it and answered the purpose for which it was created […] God looked upon the work of His hands wrought out by Christ and pronounced it ‘very good.’ He looked upon a perfect world, in which there was no trace of sin, no imperfection.” E. G. W. (Christ Triumphant, January 2)

SSL-Q2-01-The-Creation (fliphtml5.com)