The First Garden

The words in Genesis chapter 1, verse 26, then reading into Genesis 2, beginning at verse 7. Genesis 1, 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 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 fill 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. Verse 31, And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.

And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. Chapter 2, verse 7, And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul. And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there he put the man whom he had formed.

And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Verse 15, And the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to till it and to keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat of it.

For in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. Human history begins in a garden and ends in a city. Now, this bothers some people who don't love the city, but that's where it's going to end up.

Human history begins in a garden and it ends in a city, however that city is going to be a garden. In fact, if you'll compare Revelation 21 and 22 with Genesis 1 and 2, you'll find a great many parallels. God is building a city, and that city is going to be a paradise garden.

But history began in a garden which the Lord planted eastward in Eden. The word Eden means delight or pleasure, and he turned this over to Adam and Eve. Now man came from the earth and man is going to return to the earth.

That'll be the next study we have when we find out that God has a way of judging sin. But meanwhile, you and I are living between paradise in the past and paradise in the future. Anybody reading the Bible, some Martian who comes down and picks up a Bible and begins to read it, would read these first two chapters and say, isn't that marvelous? It begins with this beautiful garden, this paradise, and then he'd look around and say, where is it? It doesn't seem to be in Chicago, it doesn't seem to be in New York, it doesn't seem to be in San Francisco.

Where is it? That's a good question. Whatever happened to God's garden? Of course, the answer to that question is that God did not fail, man failed, and I want you to understand why man failed and what this failure was. You see, man has to have a relationship to this earth.

He came from the earth, he's going back into the earth. And during the time that we're alive on this earth, we, if we are going to be all God wants us to be, we must have the right relationship to this earth. Now, let that simmer and sink in.

The reason the world today is not the garden God wants it to be is because man did not fulfill his relationships, his responsibilities that God gave to him. Now man is a creature, man was made by God, and God gave to man a number of responsibilities with reference to the earth, and man did not fulfill these responsibilities. And consequently, trouble came.

Now let's look at these verses that we read and discover the responsibilities that God gave to man. I don't want to frighten you late on an evening, but there are five of them, there are five responsibilities that God gave to man. And these responsibilities still hold.

And because man is not fulfilling these responsibilities in God's way, we're no longer living in a garden. And by the way, it's getting worse and worse and worse. The tragedy is man is trying to build this city himself and he just can't do it.

Responsibility number one, verse 28 of Genesis chapter one, and God blessed them. Responsibility number one, he wants us to enjoy the earth. Now this shocks some Christians because the word enjoy is not in their vocabulary.

Endure, yes, but not enjoy. And I feel sorry for them because when God made the earth, he did not make the earth sinful. There's nothing sinful about creation.

Man is a sinner, but creation is not sinful. Creation is suffering the bondage of man's sin. Creation says, Romans eight, is like a woman in travail.

She's in pain, but she's going to give birth. One of these days, God is going to give birth to a whole new creation. But meanwhile, creation is in the bondage to sin.

Now, creation is not sinful. Paul writes several times in his letters and says, no food is unclean. Nothing of itself is unclean.

Plants are not sinful. Animals are not sinful. They are suffering the consequences of man's sin.

But originally when God made this earth, he made it in such a beautiful, wonderful way, and he said to man, enjoy it. The statement here that God looked upon everything that he had made, verse 31, everything that he had made, things like mountains and trees and flowers and birds and kangaroos and all the things that God made, God looked upon these things and said, they're very good. Things are good.

Things are very good. That's the first thing you have to learn. God made things and they're good.

Jesus says, your Father in heaven knows you have need of these things. We need things like food and clothing and shelter and fuel. We need things.

And Paul writes to Timothy and says, God who giveth us richly all things to enjoy. Now, some of you dear saints didn't know the word enjoy was in the Bible, but it is. First Timothy 6, 17, charge them that are rich in this world, that they trust not in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy.

So you don't feel guilty when you enjoy the beauties and the riches of God's creation. Well, what happened? Man decided he wanted to enjoy creation without God. That's what happened.

We haven't studied chapter 3 yet, but you know the story how that Satan came to Eve and said, yea, hath God said, ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden. Oh, the Lord knows in the day you eat thereof, your eyes shall be open and you shall be as God. And that's the basic sin of mankind.

Man does not want to be a creature. He wants to be the creator. Man doesn't want to be man.

He wants to be God. Every dictator is playing God. Not only dictators, everyday people are too.

And so Eve said, well, that's interesting. I think we can try to enjoy these things without God. And the answer is, no, you can't.

You see, the reason the people out in the world don't get any excitement and real enrichment and real enjoyment out of what God has made is because they're trying to enjoy it without God. I once heard A.W. Tozer make the statement, and I think he's right, that every painter and every sculptor and every writer of symphonies and great music is giving expression for that desire to enjoy God, whether he knows it or not. Now, granted, there are some that are painting and writing to deny God.

But for the most part, there's that desire in man's heart to enjoy creation. But apart from God, he can't enjoy creation. You see, when we accept creation and say, I'm going to enjoy this, I'm going to enjoy this for Jesus' sake, I'm going to enjoy this for the glory of God, then you're honoring the Lord.

But when we try to enjoy God's creation without God, you know what they call that in the Bible? Idolatry. Idolatry is worshiping, serving, and enjoying the creature rather than the creator. Creation is either going to be a window or a mirror.

For the Christian, when he looks at creation, it's a window. The heavens declare the glory of God. The firmament showeth his handiwork.

I tell you, I can stand by the seashore and watch those waves, and I can see God. I can see a storm coming. I recall one time my wife and I were in the mountains down in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and a storm came in.

We were safely ensconced in our little cabin, but a storm came along. It was marvelous. Those clouds over those mountains and that wind and the rain, and I thought of God, God who rides upon the storm, God who makes the clouds his chariot.

So the Christian looks at creation, and creation is a window, and he sees God. But the unsaved man looks at creation, and creation is a mirror. He sees himself.

What can I get? What can I do? What is this for me? That's the difference. Because man refused to fulfill his responsibility of enjoying creation for God's glory, the world ceased to be a garden and became a wilderness. This, by the way, is why we Christians give thanks for our food.

I hope it isn't a routine with us. You know the way some people give thanks, especially when they're out in public. They don't want to be too embarrassed.

You can drop a napkin on your way down, or you can rub your eyebrows. This is another way to do it. But, you know, when we bow to thank God for our food, whether it be at home or out in some public place, we don't do it to show off.

Why do we do it? We're acknowledging that creation came from God. We're acknowledging that he's the source of every good and perfect gift, and we're acknowledging the fact that we really can't enjoy it without him. Whether, therefore, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Responsibility number one, enjoy the earth. Now, we don't enjoy the earth to the point that we don't want to go to heaven. But while we are here, we want to enjoy what God has given to us.

May I drop this into your mind for your further reflection? I'll not go into it in detail. There are those evangelical Christians who think it's sinful to enjoy the earth. They don't know the difference between God's creation and the world.

The Bible says, love not the world. This worldly system that is run by Satan, that's a different thing from the beauty of God's earth. We sing, this is my Father's world, and it is.

And even though it may appear that Satan is running everything, he's not. God knows what he's doing. Enjoy the earth.

Now, we had a second responsibility. God said unto them, be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. Now, that's his second responsibility.

Fill the earth, not replenish. That gives the idea there was a race of people before Adam, and the scripture doesn't teach that. Adam was the first man, Paul says that.

Fill the earth. Now, here we are dealing with this matter of sex. Of course, if you announce this, you'll fill the auditorium.

So I didn't announce it. We're living in a world that seems to all of a sudden have discovered there are two sexes. And they're trying to work them down into one.

God created sex. Now, we'll deal with this further when we get to the subject of the first wedding. God created sex.

Dear people, did you ever ask yourself the question, why is it that when sex is practiced outside of the will of God, it's destructive? The will of God meaning marriage. I was giving a little bit of a lecture at one of the high schools here in Chicago. They phoned me and said, would you come and present the Protestant point of view on religion? I said, I sure will.

And so I grabbed my Bible and went down there, and I presented the biblical point of view on salvation and so forth. And I said, let's have some questions. The girl raised her hand.

I thought she was going to ask me about the virgin birth of Christ or justification by faith. She said, how do you think about sex before marriage? That's a 16-year-old high school girl. I said, I think it's very destructive and wrong.

Why? Well, how can you in 10 minutes, you know, without all the theological background, explain to a 16-year-old girl who may not have been looking for explanations, she may have been looking for excuses, how do you explain this to her? But here's the answer. You see, the one faculty that we have that is sharing in God's creation is sex. When a husband and a wife bring a new life into the world, they are extending God's creation.

That's interesting. You see, you and I aren't making stars. You and I are not creating trees.

But God said to man, I'm going to give to you the privilege of sharing in my creation. You're going to be a creator. And if you use this gift the way I tell you to, it'll be beautiful and creative.

If you use it other than the way I tell you to, it will be ugly and destructive. That's why sex, apart from God's blessing in marriage, is destructive. He was to fill the earth.

Well, what happened? As you read further into Genesis, you find that sex was not used the way it was supposed to be used. In fact, it got to the point where God had to destroy some cities because of the abominable sexual practices they had. I'm surprised he doesn't do that today.

It's his grace and patience. Man is to fill the earth, and yet today man is doing everything he can not to fill the earth. You see, the idea is that Christian people get married, and they have children, and they leave their children to the Lord, and their children go out and marry Christians who, in turn, they have children.

You see, if Christians don't have children and train their children to love the Lord, who's going to do it? The unsaved people aren't going to do it. They aren't going to train their children to worship God. But you don't get very far in the book of Genesis before the godly line and the worldly line begin to merge.

Married the wrong people, and then all sorts of horrible things begin to happen. Today we're killing them before they have a chance to be born. We aren't filling the earth.

We're killing the earth. It would shock you if you knew how many babies were murdered in the United States of America in the course of one year. Some people don't even dare to estimate.

And so the reason we're in a mess, the reason civilization is where it is, is because not only will we not enjoy the earth by enjoying God, but we won't fill the earth in the will of God. Sex is no longer a tool to build with. It's become a toy to play with or a weapon to fight with.

No man has the right to use his masculinity as a weapon any more than any woman has the right to use her femininity as a weapon. Each of these has sexual capacities which are tools to build deep and beautiful relationships to the glory of God. Well, we go to the third responsibility, verse 28, be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it.

There's the third responsibility, subdue the earth. You know what that means? That little word subdue hands to the scientist his mandate for science. Now, please, young people, don't ever think, don't ever believe that there is a conflict between science and the Bible.

There is none. There's a conflict between some of the theories of science and the Bible. There's no conflict between science and the Bible.

The God who built the universe wrote the Bible. I cannot conceive of God being inconsistent with himself. He has revealed himself in the skies.

He has revealed himself in the sands. He has revealed himself in the Scriptures. And there's no contradiction.

That word subdue gave to man the privilege of digging up, weighing, measuring, examining. Do you realize that science is born out of the Christian faith? Science is not born out of agnosticism or atheism. Science originally meant we are going to think God's thoughts after him.

God has built into this world principles and laws, and we're going to understand them. I was chatting with an agnostic scientist one day. I don't know how much of a scientist he was.

He was a laboratory man. And he said, I don't believe there's anything out there. I said, what does it take to understand this universe? He said, well, it takes a mind.

I said, if it takes a mind to understand this universe, isn't it logical it took a mind to make it? Well, he'd never thought about that. You see, all of science is wrapped up in this one word, subdue. Get out there and find out what is in creation and discover the atom and split the atom.

But what's happened? Well, it used to be like this. If this hymn book represents science, and of course the Bible represents God's will, they used to be like this right together. The scientist was as much a priest of God as was the priest in the tabernacle.

The laboratory was as much a temple of God as was Solomon's. But then what happened? Man got away from God, and man became the great I am, and man became the creator. Until now, science is at the place where God is left out completely.

And you see what happened? Because man separated God from science, science has become a Frankenstein monster. Everything man creates solves problems and creates problems. I can recall when they invented DDT.

DDT was the best thing that ever came along. The greatest. We're going to wipe out malaria.

We're going to wipe out all these things. Now they tell us DDT has wrecked us. Man splits the atom, and with that atom we can do so many things.

But the way man handles it, there is waste material, and there are dangers and problems. And so the scientist has left God out. Consequently, his science, while going one step forward in being creative, goes two steps backward in being destructive.

Subdue the earth. Man's not doing that today. Man is not the conqueror.

Man is the conquered. He just doesn't know what to do with what he's created. Which leads us to the fourth responsibility that man has.

Verse 28 tells us, God bless them. Enjoy the earth. Be fruitful and multiply.

Fill the earth. Subdue it. Have dominion over.

And he names the fish of the sea and so forth. He was to rule over the earth. Man was made to be a king.

I discussed this in a previous message, but I want to repeat some of the things that I said because we need to know this. Man was originally created not to be a servant, but to be a ruler. He says, let him have dominion.

Let him have dominion. Dominion means a crown on your head, a scepter in your hand. Adam and Eve were the king and queen of God's creation.

Now this means that man had a tremendous responsibility. What was it? To find out what God wanted to do and do it. Satan came along and said, look, why do you want to get your orders from somebody else? You can do it yourself.

In fact, if you'll do what I tell you, you'll become as God. Let's cut out the middle man. You become everything.

Of course, that's what happened. A student asked me one day, why did God have to test Adam? Well, the answer is really, I think, rather obvious. There may be many other reasons, but I think one is this.

God made Adam a king. You can't rule over others if you can't rule yourself. I don't want anybody giving me orders who can't take orders.

He becomes a despot, a tyrant, a dictator. And God never intended for us to be slaves. And so he said to Adam, here's a test.

Had Adam passed that test, he would have reigned in glory. He didn't pass the test. And therefore, a strange thing happened to Adam.

He still has the marks of a king, but he's a slave. There's a strange contradiction in man. There's a strange paradox in man.

At times, he shows tremendous power. At other times, he shows tremendous weakness. At times, he's the great conqueror.

At times, he's the conquered. And God said to man, I want you to rule over the earth. That's why man was made in God's image.

And man said, well, I'm not going to rule in God's will. I'm going to rule my own way. Now, that's what's happened to our world.

We don't want God. Civilization today has said, no, God. The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God.

That's what our authorized translation reads. Those words, there is, are in italics. The fool hath said in his heart, no, God.

And consequently, man can't rule anymore. Finally, in chapter 2 and verse 5, and in chapter 2 and verse 15, he gave him a fifth responsibility. He was to care for the earth.

Man was given a job to do. A lot of people have the idea that man's work is the result of sin. It's not.

I mentioned some weeks ago that work is a blessing. If God has given you faculties and gifts and abilities, and you have places to use them creatively, you give thanks to God. Work is a blessing.

Work is not a curse. Slavery is a curse. After sin came into the world, and man had to live by the sweat of his brow, he had to work twice as hard to get his food.

That's a different thing. But work itself is a blessing. And God gave to man a work.

He said, I want you to be a worker. I want you to be a gardener. I want you to take care of the garden.

I want you to guard the garden. I want you to till it, and I want you to keep it. I want you to be a gardener and a guard.

And, of course, you know what happened. He did not do his job correctly. Satan did get in.

Satan not only tempted, but Satan was victorious. And as a consequence, man is having more and more problems with the earth. You see, this problem of pollution and ecology and all of these related things, these are not new.

You can read your Bible and find them. It started way back in Genesis. After man had sinned, God said, Well, I cannot have an imperfect man living in a perfect world.

It won't work. Because of man's sin, creation is now under judgment. And as a consequence, you start having weeds and floods and earthquakes and famines and pestilences until it comes to the point where we are today, where man is destroying the earth.

You see, the problem with ecology is not industry alone or government alone. The problem with ecology is the human heart. A sinful human heart is making a mess out of God's world.

Man did not care for the earth under God's authority. Therefore, trouble came. Man did not rule over the earth under God's authority.

Therefore, trouble came. Man did not fill the earth or enjoy the earth. In other words, God was taken out of the scene.

Today, instead of man enjoying the earth, he's exploiting it. Instead of man using sex creatively, it's being used destructively. Instead of man being the conqueror and the scientist, he's become the victim of his own manufactured products, and his monster is turning on him.

Instead of man turning this world into a garden, he's turned it into a wilderness. This last summer, while it was our privilege to visit over in Scotland, we drove around Loch Ness. We did not see the monster.

Nessie was not available that day. But as we were driving around Loch Ness, gorgeous, one of the most beautiful pieces of real estate I've ever seen, I said to my friend Howard Sugden, you know, if this piece of property were over in America, it would be surrounded by hamburger stands, chicken stands, and motels. And it would be.

It would be. But not over there. You protect that over there.

I thank God for our Scottish friends who are taking good care of that. Maybe they're afraid of the monster. I don't know.

But is this not so? Have you ever visited some beautiful place here in America only to find Joe Loves Judy scratched on the side? Have you ever seen that? I have. It nauseates you. It really does.

Oh, my friends, civilization began in a garden. Sin came in. Civilization is going to end in a city when God purifies, God calls his children home, God deals with all that's unclean and filthy and godless.

But, you know, in between that first garden where civilization began and that last city garden or garden city where civilization ends is another garden. Our Lord Jesus went into that garden one night. He asked his disciples to pray with him and they went to sleep.

And my Lord did not stand the way most Jews stood to pray. He fell on his face before God. And he prayed, Oh, my father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me.

Nevertheless, not my will but thine be done. You see, the first Adam was in a beautiful garden and he failed. The last Adam came into a garden and he succeeded.

The first Adam, because of his selfishness, brought sin and death. The last Adam in his garden, because of his love, brought righteousness and life. The first Adam was a thief and was cast out of paradise.

But in that garden, the Lord Jesus surrendered himself and went to a cross and he turned to a thief and said, Today you'll be with me in paradise. If it were not for this second garden, you'd never have the third garden. All of history is wrapped up in three gardens.

The garden where God was rejected. The garden where God came as the Redeemer. The garden where God is going to reign in glory forever and ever.

I'm looking forward to that garden. I'm looking forward to that city. Abraham did.

Abraham looked for a city whose builder and maker was God. Moses looked for that city. Jesus, who for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross.

I'm glad that the last Adam came to a garden. He didn't rebel. He surrendered.

He didn't argue. He obeyed. He didn't say, What am I going to get? But he said, This is what I'm going to give.

And they buried him in a garden. God the Father established the Sabbath back in creation. He finished his work.

He rested. Jesus finished his work on the cross. And they buried him in a garden.

And early on that first Easter morning, he arose from the dead in a garden. And Mary, thinking him to be the gardener, said, Sir, where have you laid him? And he said unto her, Mary, My friend, because Jesus Christ went to that garden and died, you and I can go to that garden city and live. Meanwhile, we have responsibilities.

God has given them to us. Let's be sure that everything we do is related to God, because then he'll bless. Gracious Father, we're glad that we are more than your creatures.

We are your children. We do have responsibilities as your creatures, but we have greater responsibilities and privileges as your children. And Father, we would receive and accept our responsibilities.

We're thankful for the world that you have made. In spite of the scars of sin, you have given to us beauty. You have given to us all that we need.

What we have is pleasant to the eyes and good for food. It is practical and it is pleasant. We rejoice at the wonderful way you have balanced creation.

So often, Lord, the things we make may be beautiful, but not very practical. They may be useful, but not very beautiful. How marvelous you have blended the two for our good and your glory.

Now, Father, we don't want to take any of your gifts and use them selfishly, whether it be our own bodies or the money you've given to us or the world around us. We want that whatever we shall do shall be to the glory of God. I pray for those here tonight who don't know the Savior, that they might come to trust him.

I pray, Father, for any Christian who is not using your gifts in the right way. Give victory. Oh, Lord, we would not want to take what you have given to be constructive and use it to be destructive.

And finally, Father, thank you that Jesus went to the garden. Thank you that he died for us, arose again. Thank you one day we shall be in the city and reign with Christ forever and ever.

Help us to reign in life today and to bring glory to your name. For Jesus' sake, amen. Amen.