From neurons to nebulae, from DNA to distant galaxies, we are surrounded by wonders. However, this beauty is tainted.

Genesis tells us of a loving God who separated light from darkness and land from water, setting life in motion and sculpting the first human being from clay. Genesis describes God’s joy and satisfaction in His work, repeatedly declaring each new element “good.” The Earth flourished in perfect harmony, under humanity’s care.

God celebrated His work by declaring a weekly feast day, the Sabbath, a day of rest to renew the bond with our Creator. God designed humanity to reflect His glory, each echoing a unique facet of His personality and character. We think, live, and contemplate through our thoughts, bodies, and spirits. The extraordinary element? Freedom.

We owe every breath to God, yet He has given us the freedom of choice – a feature that could lead to catastrophe. A clever lie led our first parents to question God’s love and loyalty. Soon, fear, envy, and indifference engulfed the world. Sin distorted all that was good, separating us from God. Hearts rebelled. Bodies decayed. Relationships soured. We could no longer reach God on our own; God had to come to us.

And so He did, by sending His Son to rebuild the broken relationship between heaven and earth. God sent His Spirit to repair the distorted image of God within us. The Spirit gives us the strength to reach out to others, demonstrating love and representing our Creator and Savior in a broken world that we are called to mend.

6. Creation

God created all things and left us in the Scriptures the authentic account of His creative activity. In six days, the Lord made the heavens and the earth and all that lives on the earth, and He rested on the seventh day of that first week. He thereby established the Sabbath as a perpetual memorial of a completed creative work. The first couple, man and woman, were created in the image of God as the crown of creation; they were given the power to rule the world and were charged with caring for it. At its completion, the world was very good and proclaimed the glory of God.

Genesis 1:2 / Exodus 20:8-11 / Psalms 19:1-12, 33:6,9 and 104 / Hebrews 11:3

7. The Nature of Man

Man and woman were created in the image of God and endowed with individuality, power, and freedom to think and act. Although created free, each of them, made up of an indivisible unity, body, soul, and spirit, was dependent on God for life, in all aspects of existence. When our first parents disobeyed God, they refused to depend on God and were cast down from the high position they held with God. The divine image was altered in them, and they became mortal. Their descendants share in this fallen nature and bear its consequences. They are born with weaknesses and tendencies to evil. But God – in Christ – reconciled the world to Himself, and through His Spirit, He restores in repentant mortals the image of the One who made them. Created for the glory of God, they are called to love Him, to love one another, and to care for their environment.

Genesis 1:26-28; 2:7,15 and 3 / Psalms 8:4-9 and 51:5,7,12 / Acts 17:24-28 / Romans 5:12-17 / 2 Corinthians 5:19,20 1 / 1 John 4:7,8,11,20