Adam is Tested In the next section (2:15-17) we read of God giving the man a straightforward command: Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you may not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil was an actual tree. It is not called a symbol and need not be seen …
Category: Theology
Part Eight Adam, Guard or Keeper? Genesis 2:15 has recently stirred the imaginations of a whole group of OT scholars. The reason for this is that they think they observe intimations that all was not well with the good world which Yahweh Elohim had made. For one thing, as we have already said, the garden of Eden was an enclosed garden (gan). Why was it enclosed? Well, maybe because it was the initial safe point of departure for the man …
I have just returned from a nice rest with my family in Tennessee and will post a new item soon. Meanwhile, here are the responses I gave to a group of Evangelical scholars who really have trouble with Dispensationalism. I thought their objections and concerns were often unfair or wrong-headed, although sometimes they were just opposed to their own views. For those of you who have wished that yours truly would come into the 21st Century and list …
Part Six God’s Transcendence versus Continuity It is very important to notice the links between the creation accounts and ethical accounts. In one way or another all non-biblical systems of belief paint a metaphysical picture of reality that is at once unified and diverse. The unity is found in the indissoluble connection between heaven and earth, between man and the “higher powers”, or between the human animal and the Cosmos. The diversity is seen in the various ways this connection …
Part Five Image and Function in Genesis 1:26-28 Another significant fact related by these verses is our creation in the image and likeness of God. We cannot here enter into all the debates about the imago Dei, but some few things should be said. Firstly, God does not say ‘according to My likeness.’ He says ‘Our likeness’. The “Let us” statement is no plural of majesty, since it appears to be ideational, and is to be understood (I believe) as …
This is an old article, but the subject is always relevant. A prospective student at Telos Institute asked me a good question about my view on Law versus the Gospel. As part of my reply I sent him the text of a letter I’d written to someone who had criticized a lecture of mine on the Decalogue. This individual had claimed that Christians were sanctified solely by faith plus nothing else, and that the law did not even provide a …
The Spirit and Plurality in the Godhead What is clear from the second verse of the Bible is that the Spirit of God was superintending the process of creation. The word for “was hovering” or “brooded” (merakhepet, 1:2) implies a determination to act. It strains credulity to think that the Spirit brooded over a glob of matter for billions of years before deciding to do something with it. There is no logic to starting the work of creation by bringing …
Part One The Bible’s Opening Verse As has often been observed, the opening verse of the Bible does not give an argument for the existence of God. In line with its claim to be the Word of God it assumes a position of Divine authority immediately. Scripture has the right to tell us! It does not pander to our fallen desire for proof. The proof is in the address. God will eventually reveal Himself as the “I Am” – the …
Creation and Communication Without the creation of Adam and Eve the whole sequence of days which preceded them would be a rather futile exercise. If the sequence found in the Bible’s very first chapter is to signify anything as a sequence, it had to be an actual seven day sequence. Otherwise it is hard to see why ordinal numbers would be used to describe the process. Also, without observers capable of recognizing and wondering after God’s wonders around them, God’s …
Here are the other short videos on major interpretative topics: …
