Coachlight Bible Study - Genesis Chapters 1-3

Coachlight Bible Study - Genesis Chapters 1-3

God Preaches The Gospel

Purpose Of This Lesson:

1. Demonstrate the importance of the Bible and its Author.

2. God demonstrated His love and preached the Gospel from the very first page.

3. Show we can not understand the rest of the Bible without Genesis.

4. To better know the Creator.

5. We can not fully understand the Gospel without Genesis.

6. We can not effectively evangelize without knowledge of Genesis.

I. Overview of Genesis

A. Genesis In Two Parts

1. Part One - Genesis 1:1 - 10:9 - focuses on the origin of the world, man, sin, and salvation, culminating in the great flood in the days of Noah

2. Part Two - Genesis 10:9 - 50:26 - focuses on God's dealings with one man, Abraham.

a. It is through Abraham, God promises to bring salvation and blessing to the world

b. The Abrahamic Covenant is central to all Scripture

B. Literary Structure

1. "The Book Of Generations" - 1. Introduction to Generations (1;1 - 2:3) - 2. Heaven and Earth (2:4 - 4:26) - 3. Adam (5:1 - 6:8) - 4. Noah (6:9 - 9:29) - 5. Sons of Noah (10:1 - 11:9) - 6. Shem (11:10 - 26) - 7. Terah (11:27 - 25:11) - 8. Ishmael (25:12-18) - 9. Isaac (25:19 - 35:29) - 10. Esau - (36:1 - 37:1 - 11. Jacob (37:2 - 50:26).

2. Geographical Stucture - 1. The Fertile Crescent (1-11) 2. Isreal - (12-36) 3. Egypt (37-50)

C. Time of Genesis - Spans more time than any other book - covers more than all other 65 books combined

1. Genesis 1-11 Covers from 10,000 to 2000 years

a. Creation (somewhere between 10,000 BC and 4,000 BC) Genesis 1:1

b. Death of Terah (2090 BC) - Genesis 11:32

2. Genesis 12-36 - covers 193 years - 2090 BC - 1897 BC

a. Death of Terah (2090 BC) - Genesis 11:32

b. Joseph to Egypt (around 1897 BC) - Genesis 37:2

3. Genesis 37 - 50 - covers 93 years - 1897 BC - 1804 BC

a. Joseph to Egypt - (around 1897 BC) - Genesis 37:2

b. Death of Joseph - (around 1804 BC) - Genesis 50:26)

D. Meaning of the Title

1. Bereshith - Hebrew word meaning - "In the Beginning"

2. Genesis - Greek word meaning - "origin", "source", "generation", or "beginning".

E. The Christ of Genesis

1. Messianic Predictions Christ is seen as: a. The Seed of the Woman (3:15) b. From the line of Seth (4:25) c. The son of Shem (9:27) d. The descendant of Abraham (12:3) e. Of Isaac (21:12) f. Of Jacob 25:23 g. Of the Tribe of Judah (49:10)

2. Christ is seen in people and events as a “tupos” – Greek for “type”, “figure” – 1. Adam is “a tupos of Him that was to come” - (Romans 5:14) – 1. Both entered the world through a special act of God as sinless men – Adam is the head of the old creation; and Christ is the head of the new creation. 2. Abel’s acceptable offering of a blood sacrifice points to Christ, and there is a parallel in his murder by Cain 3. Melchizediek – “righteous king” – is made like unto the Son of God (Hebrews 7:3). He is the king of Salem (peace) who brings forth bread and wine, and is the priest of the most high God. 4. Isaac, Jacob and Joseph all all types of Christ – we will talk about them in future lessons.

Adultery	Exodus 20:14
Altar	Genesis 8:20
Angel	Genesis 6:7
Archer	Genesis 21:20
Bird	Genesis 1:21
Camp	Genesis 32:2
Cave Dweller	Genesis 19:30
Chariot	Genesis 41:43
Child	Genesis 11:30
Child Named Before Birth	Genesis16:11
City Builder	Genesis 4:17
Coffin	Genesis 50:26
Command	Genesis 1:3
Congregation	Exodus 12:3
Dancing	Exodus 15:20
Darkness	Genesis 1:2
Death	Genesis 24:67
Dew	Genesis 27:28
Disaster	Genesis 19:19
Dream	Genesis 20:3
Drunk	Genesis 9:21
Dungeon	Genesis 40:15
Earth	Genesis 1:1
Emancipator	Exodus 3:7-22
Embalming	Genesis 50:2
Execution	Genesis 40:20-22
Family	Genesis 8:19
Farmer	Genesis 4:2
Father	Genesis 2:24
Fear	Genesis 9:2
Food	Genesis 1:29
Food Control	Genesis 41:25-27
Forgiveness	Genesis 50:17
Friend	Genesis 38:12
Game	Genesis 25:28
Gardener	Genesis 2:15
Gift	Genesis 9:3
God	Genesis 1:1
Gold	Genesis 2:11
Grace Of God	Ezra 9:8
Grave	Genesis 23:6
Guilt	Genesis 26:10
Harlot	Genesis 34:31
Hate	Genesis 24:60
Healing	Deuteronomy 32:39
Heart	Genesis 6:5
Heavens	Genesis 1:1
Heir	Genesis 15:2
Home	Genesis 27:5
Hunter	Genesis 10:8,9
Husband	Genesis 3:6
Idol	Genesis 31:19
Jail	Genesis 39:20
Joy	Genesis 31:27
Kill	Genesis 4:8
King	Genesis 14:1
Kiss	Genesis 27:26
Man To Interpret	Genesis 41:15
Man To Wear A Ring	Genesis 41:42
Oath	Genesis 21:23,24
Pilgrim	Genesis 12:1-8
Prayer	Genesis 4:26
Preacher To Become Drunk	Genesis 9:20,21
Prophecy	Genesis 3:15
Purchase Of Land	Genesis 23:3-20
Question	Genesis 3:1
Rain	Genesis 7:1-12
Rainbow	Genesis 9:13
Saddle	Genesis 22:3
Scribe	Exodus 24:4
Shipbuilder	Genesis 6:14,22
Sin	Genesis 3:1-24
Snake	Genesis 49:17
Sword	Genesis 3:24
Temptation	Genesis 3:1-6
Tower	Genesis 11:4,5
Veil	Genesis 24:65
Violence	Genesis 6:11
Wage Contract	Genesis 29:15-20
War	Genesis 14:2
Wealth	Genesis 31:1
Well	Genesis 16:14
Wife	Genesis 2:24
Wind	Genesis 8:1
Wine	Genesis 9:21
Wish	Genesis 23:8
Witness	Genesis 21:30
Woman Thief	Genesis 31:19
Words Spoken To Man	Genesis1:28
Worship	Genesis 4:3-5

II. Knowledge Of Genesis - Needed To Understand The Gospel and For Evangelism

A. What is the Gospel - gospel’ means ‘good news.’ When Christians talk about the gospel, they are presenting the good news of Christ’s death and resurrection. As Paul states in I Corinthians 15:1-4:

1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;

2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. {keep…: or, hold fast} {what: Gr. by what speech}

3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

B. Why did Jesus die? - Paul doesn’t end his explanation of the gospel here. Note very carefully how Paul explains the gospel message later in I Corinthians 15:

12 Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?

13 But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen:

14 And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.

15 Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not.

16 For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised:

17 And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.

18 Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.

19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.

20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.

21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.

22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.

24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.

25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.

26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

27 For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.

28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.

To explain, “Why Jesus died”, Paul went to the Book of Genesis and its account of Adam and the Fall. In other words, one cannot really understand the good-news in the New Testament of Jesus’ death and resurrection, and thus payment for sin, until one understands the bad news in Genesis of the Fall of man, and thus the origin of sin and its penalty of death.

D. Is the account in Genesis a myth or interpreted literally?

1. As Christians, we need to answer this question: Is it essential to believe in a literal Fall?

2. Absolutely! If there was no literal Fall, then what is sin? Who defines it? What then is Paul talking about in I Corinthians 15, or even Romans 5:12 where he states: ‘Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned’?

So, in explaining the gospel, Paul discusses the foundations of the Gospel in Genesis and the bad news: the origin of sin and its penalty of death. He then tells us the good news of salvation in Christ.

E. Jesus is The Creator - In Colossians, in explaining the gospel, Paul also points out

13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: {his…: Gr. the Son of his love}

14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:

15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:

16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. {in…: or, among all}

19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;

20 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. {having…: or, making}

And so, in Revelation we are told concerning Jesus Christ:

Revelation 4:11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

Revelation 5:9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;

F. Our Creator became our Redeemer! The reason this was necessary is because all humans are sinners. Therefore a sinful person could not die for sin. We needed a perfect man to die for sin. The only solution was for the perfect, sinless Creator to become a man so He could be our Savior! Thus, the doctrine of creation is vital to an understanding of the gospel.

G. The Final Victory over sin -

1. Paul also goes on - Consummation of All Things:

I Corinthians 15:46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.

47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.

48 As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.

49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.

50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,

52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? {grave: or, hell}

56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.

57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

2. In II Peter 3 and Revelation chapters 21-22, we are told more - there will be a new heaven and earth. There will be no more crying, no more death, no more curse

4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.

7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. {all things: or, these things}

Revelation 22:3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:

II Peter 3:13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

H. All this as background explains that an understanding of the following three elements of the Gospel is a prerequisite to an understanding of how to present the gospel to different people within a culture, or to different cultures:

1. If we preach the Gospel without the message of the Creator, and the origin of sin and death, then one preaches it without the foundational knowledge that is necessary to understand the rest of the gospel. Without this information, who then is Jesus Christ? Why did He need to die? Why could He, and not someone else, die for sin? What is special about Christ? Where did sin come from? Why can we say that all have sinned? Why do we die?

2. If we preach a Gospel without the message of Christ crucified and raised from the dead, then the Gospel is preached without power of the Holy Ghost. After all, as Paul said: And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins .{I Corinthians 15:17} The only reason our personal sins can be forgiven and our relationship with our Creator be restored is because of what Christ did on the Cross. The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is central to the gospel.

3. If we preach the gospel without the message of the new heaven and earth is a message preached without hope. What point is there to a gospel with no future sinless state? Because of sin and the judgment of the curse, the creation is ‘groaning’. {Romans 8:22} There is death, sickness, and suffering all around us. However, we need to understand that death is an intrusion in our world. In I Corinthians 15:26, Paul states it this way: ‘The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.’

III. The Story Of Creation – Word Pictures – God Preaching

A. The Bible - Picture book with descriptive portraits on almost every page.

1. Two Types of pictures.

a. Visual - Those drawn by pen, pencil, or brush, or by photography.

b. Mental - Images drawn on the canvas of the mind - word pictures either seen or heard.

B. Contains the outline of the central person of the book.

1. It has been said: "Son, you have never found the true interpretation of any passage until you have found in it somewhere a reference to the Lord Jesus Christ."

2. Jesus made this claim when people questioned His authority"

John 5:39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.

Continuing on in John 5:

5:45 Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is [one] that accuseth you, [even] Moses, in whom ye trust.

5:46 For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me.

3. Jesus once more asserted this after the resurrection. On the road to Emmaus He said:

Luke 24:25 Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken:....

Luke 24:27 And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.

C. The word pictures of Christ are etched upon every page of Scripture - Only need spiritual perception to recognize the outline.

1. The first mention of Jesus - very first verse:

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.

2. We would never recognize the outline if we read no further. But:

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 1:2 The same was in the beginning with God.

John 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

3. That great Creator was Jesus Christ - reading on we find this concept without a shadow of doubt:

John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

4. Jesus is the Creator and the Word of God. No less than 10 times in Genesis do we read "and God said" - It was by the Word of God that all was created.

5. Paul says of Jesus in Colossians:

Colossians1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether [they be] thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

6. David says in Psalms

Psalms 33:6 By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.

Without the rest of the Bible we would not be able to identify Jesus in Genesis - they illuminate the faint outline so there is no doubt.

D. Second word picture

Genesis 1:3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. {the light from…: Heb. between the light and between the darkness}

1. John says:

John 1:4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

2. And Jesus Himself declares, at the healing of the blind man:

John 9:5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.

3. Again Jesus declares:

John 8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

4. And again Jesus declares:

John 12:46 I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.

5. The second day of creation, God separated the waters of the earth from those of the heavens

Jesus, the Light of the World, is the great Separator between things of the earth and heaven. The presence of of light attracts and awakes some, but repels others. (Ex. Birds wake in the morning with a song, but bats and other blood thirsty animals seek cover under darkness.)

6. In the separation of the waters, we see a picture of the work of Christ.

John 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

3:20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.

3:21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

E. The Trinity – Back to the First Verse

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters

0430 Myhla ‘elohiym el-o-heem’

plural of 0433; TWOT-93c; n m p

AV-God 2346, god 244, judge 5, GOD 1, goddess 2, great 2, mighty 2,

angels 1, exceeding 1, God-ward + 04136 1, godly 1; 2606

1. The Tri-unity of God

a. The doctrine of the Trinity- that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost are equally and eternally one true God, is difficult for the human finite mind to comprehend, and yet it is foundational to understanding the God's plan

Mathematically 1 + 1 + 1 = 3 not 1

2. In the Old and New Testament both teach the Unity and the Trinity of the Godhead.

Isaiah45:18 For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God

himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established

it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I

[am] the LORD; and [there is] none else.

3. A New Testament example is found in James:

James 2:19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the

devils also believe, and tremble.

4. The three persons of the Godhead are at the same time noted in such Scriptures as Isaiah 48 again:

Isaiah 48:16 Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; I have not spoken in

secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there [am]

I: and now the Lord GOD, and his Spirit, hath sent me.

5. The speaker in this verse is obviously God, and yet here is God saying that He has been sent by both the Lord GOD,(the Father) and His Spirit (the Holy Spirit). In the New Testament, the Doctrine of the Trinity is given in such verses as the Gospel of John:

John15:26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you

from the Father, [even] the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth

from the Father, he shall testify of me:

6. Then we have the Great Commission:

Matthew 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in

the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

7. We have one name (God)-yet three names! That Jesus as the only begotten Son of God, actually claimed to be God, equal with the Father, is very clear in Scripture - for example in the book of Revelation:

Revelation 1:8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith

the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

The Doctrine of the Trinity could be stated, "God is a tri-unity, with each Person of the Godhead equally and fully and eternally God. Each Person is necessary and each is distinct, and yet all three are One. The Father can be viewed as the unseen, omnipresent source of all being, manifested by the Son, and the believer experiences Him by the Holy Spirit. The Son proceeds from the Father, and the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Son.

1 x 1 x 1 = 1 * One God-Three Names

8. Then we have the Power to Witness for Christ:

Acts 2:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. {power…: or, the power of the Holy Ghost coming upon you}

9. A Sign of the Godhead – Natural Theology

a. To the unsaved this would seem nonsense, but in Romans 1, we learn that even the unsaved have no excuse:

1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

1:19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed [it] unto them.

1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, [even] his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

1:21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified [him] not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

1:22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,

Even the ungodly, can see God's eternal power, and even His Godhead in His creation! In other words, there is a scientific model, by which the saved or the unsaved can understand the difficult parts of the Doctrine of the Trinity.

b. Space, Mass, and Time

1. The universe is a space-matter-time universe- and no other - physical identities.

2. The universe is actually a "continuum" of space, matter, and time, no one can have a meaningful existence without the other two

3. What we observe being humans would be meaningless without all three

a. space and time is unintelligible to us without matter. Space appears like "nothing" unless there is some event of matter that we can see. (like a planet or comet, etc.)

b. In order for matter to exist,it must take up space, and the event must happen through time. - Time is "invisible", but its job is to interpret its other two entities, in the name of matter, so that they can be understood or experienced by the human senses.

c. We could say that the universe exists in space, is manifested by matter, and understood or experienced through time.

c. The Son is the physical embodiment of the invisible Father. This is why Jesus said, "If you have seen me, you have also seen the Father."

d. The Holy Spirit takes on the responsibility of interpreting the Father in the name of the Son, thereby "comforting" us.

e. This is why the Baptism of the Holy Spirit enables a child of God to experience God, or actually "feel" His Spirit.

f. This is also why the Holy Spirit does "lead us into all truth". We cannot have space without matter and time, they are three but yet only one universe – not a polyverse.

1 x 1 x 1 = 1 * One God-Three Names

F. Adam A Type of Christ

1. Creation of woman - Adam is a picture of Christ. This will be expounded on later. Christ is called the "Second Man" (I Corinthians 15:47), and "Last Adam" (I Corinthians 15:45)

2. A superlatively beautiful picture

Genesis 2:21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;

3. Adam slept - God created from his wounded side a wife - part of himself - He paid for her by the shedding of blood. When Adam woke up he said:

Genesis 2:23 And Adam said, This [is] now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.

2:24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

4. A dim picture - Let Paul shed some light. Speaking of the union of believers in Christ he says in the book of Ephesians:

Ephesians 5:31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.

5:32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

5. Now all is clear - Adam is a picture of Christ, who left His Father's house to gain His bride, at the price of His own life. Jesus, the Last Adam, like the first, must be put to sleep to purchase His bride, the church, and Jesus died on the cross and slept for three days in the tomb. His side too, was opened after He had fallen asleep, and from that wounded side redemption flowed.

6. The church - His body also purchased. The church, like Eve, was a new creation, not by a natural birth, but by a supernatural operation by God.