1
00:00:00,730 --> 00:00:03,230
In the first chapter of Genesis, the very

2
00:00:03,230 --> 00:00:06,890
first page of the Bible, God gives us

3
00:00:06,890 --> 00:00:10,290
the reason why He created man.

4
00:00:12,160 --> 00:00:15,340
And it's because man has completely forgotten about

5
00:00:15,340 --> 00:00:20,780
that, that throughout the world, men and women

6
00:00:20,780 --> 00:00:23,660
face problems for which they don't know what

7
00:00:23,660 --> 00:00:24,420
the solution is.

8
00:00:25,200 --> 00:00:27,000
They don't seem to find meaning and purpose

9
00:00:27,000 --> 00:00:27,540
in life.

10
00:00:27,540 --> 00:00:30,580
Well, you'll never find it till you come

11
00:00:30,580 --> 00:00:33,920
back to what God says in His Word.

12
00:00:34,980 --> 00:00:38,900
You know, the Bible is really like a

13
00:00:38,900 --> 00:00:40,920
book of instructions.

14
00:00:42,020 --> 00:00:43,900
If you buy a tape recorder or a

15
00:00:43,900 --> 00:00:49,000
washing machine or some expensive electronic gadget, along

16
00:00:49,000 --> 00:00:50,360
with that you will get a little booklet

17
00:00:50,360 --> 00:00:55,600
which are the manufacturer's instructions on how to

18
00:00:55,600 --> 00:00:59,180
use this particular gadget that you have bought.

19
00:01:00,840 --> 00:01:04,180
And if you are wise, you will just

20
00:01:04,180 --> 00:01:07,640
follow the instructions in that booklet exactly.

21
00:01:08,520 --> 00:01:11,280
You won't change a single thing, because you

22
00:01:11,280 --> 00:01:11,900
realize what?

23
00:01:12,660 --> 00:01:16,120
You realize that the manufacturer knows better than

24
00:01:16,120 --> 00:01:20,940
you how that product was made, how it's

25
00:01:20,940 --> 00:01:21,620
supposed to run.

26
00:01:22,860 --> 00:01:26,380
If there are certain special warnings given saying,

27
00:01:26,600 --> 00:01:28,400
don't do this and don't plug this in

28
00:01:28,400 --> 00:01:31,360
here and don't put a jack into this,

29
00:01:32,040 --> 00:01:33,660
I'm sure you would not experiment.

30
00:01:34,600 --> 00:01:37,980
You would just obey because you may blow

31
00:01:37,980 --> 00:01:40,040
up a 10,000 rupee or 20,000

32
00:01:40,040 --> 00:01:41,640
rupee bit of equipment.

33
00:01:42,680 --> 00:01:44,520
And you don't want to lose that much

34
00:01:44,520 --> 00:01:44,800
money.

35
00:01:46,240 --> 00:01:48,980
You would experiment with things which are cheap

36
00:01:48,980 --> 00:01:52,160
perhaps, but not with something expensive.

37
00:01:54,460 --> 00:01:57,700
Now, what is the value of your life,

38
00:01:58,160 --> 00:01:58,960
a human life?

39
00:02:00,420 --> 00:02:02,260
It's far more than 20,000 rupees, far

40
00:02:02,260 --> 00:02:03,200
more than many lakhs.

41
00:02:03,240 --> 00:02:06,580
In fact, once Jesus said, What shall it

42
00:02:06,580 --> 00:02:08,060
profit a man if he gains the whole

43
00:02:08,060 --> 00:02:10,620
world and loses his own soul?

44
00:02:11,580 --> 00:02:14,380
So there he took a balance and placed

45
00:02:14,380 --> 00:02:15,960
the whole world and all its wealth and

46
00:02:15,960 --> 00:02:17,520
all its glory and honor on one side.

47
00:02:18,220 --> 00:02:22,140
And one human soul on the other side.

48
00:02:23,420 --> 00:02:25,660
And he said that one human soul was

49
00:02:25,660 --> 00:02:26,040
heavier.

50
00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:30,080
It weighed more than all the world.

51
00:02:32,180 --> 00:02:33,320
So you're very valuable.

52
00:02:34,760 --> 00:02:37,980
Then how is it that man who's so

53
00:02:37,980 --> 00:02:42,920
valuable is so careless with following his maker's

54
00:02:42,920 --> 00:02:45,100
instructions when it comes to how to run

55
00:02:45,100 --> 00:02:45,600
his life?

56
00:02:46,740 --> 00:02:47,920
That's the tragedy.

57
00:02:48,680 --> 00:02:50,880
If you want to know why there's so

58
00:02:50,880 --> 00:02:54,200
much chaos in the world and why things

59
00:02:54,200 --> 00:02:57,160
have gotten a real mess, here's the answer.

60
00:02:58,660 --> 00:03:01,380
God gave man certain instructions and he never

61
00:03:01,380 --> 00:03:01,960
followed it.

62
00:03:03,480 --> 00:03:05,400
And that's the reason for confusion in the

63
00:03:05,400 --> 00:03:10,060
world, in individual lives, in families and between

64
00:03:10,060 --> 00:03:10,560
nations.

65
00:03:11,820 --> 00:03:13,880
So let's look at Genesis chapter 1.

66
00:03:14,920 --> 00:03:16,940
We read here about the time when God

67
00:03:16,940 --> 00:03:18,860
made different things on this earth.

68
00:03:19,640 --> 00:03:21,200
Each day he made something new.

69
00:03:22,540 --> 00:03:24,300
But whenever he made any of these things,

70
00:03:24,400 --> 00:03:27,260
he never told us the purpose with which

71
00:03:27,260 --> 00:03:28,380
he made them.

72
00:03:28,460 --> 00:03:30,980
For example, the first day he created light.

73
00:03:32,500 --> 00:03:33,460
What was the purpose?

74
00:03:33,840 --> 00:03:34,540
Well, we don't know.

75
00:03:34,600 --> 00:03:35,120
We can guess.

76
00:03:35,780 --> 00:03:38,640
But God never said what the reason was.

77
00:03:39,820 --> 00:03:41,620
The next day he created the heavens.

78
00:03:42,620 --> 00:03:43,860
No purpose mentioned.

79
00:03:45,200 --> 00:03:47,860
The next day he created the dry land

80
00:03:48,800 --> 00:03:51,200
and the plants and the trees, no purpose

81
00:03:51,200 --> 00:03:53,140
mentioned, and so on.

82
00:03:56,540 --> 00:03:59,140
And so on with the animals too, and

83
00:03:59,140 --> 00:04:00,060
the fish and the birds.

84
00:04:01,260 --> 00:04:04,280
But when it came to making man, finally,

85
00:04:05,920 --> 00:04:08,440
before he even started making man, he said,

86
00:04:09,220 --> 00:04:14,520
Let us make man in our image, according

87
00:04:14,520 --> 00:04:18,220
to our likeness, and let them rule over

88
00:04:18,220 --> 00:04:19,820
the fish of the sea or the birds

89
00:04:19,820 --> 00:04:20,339
of the sky.

90
00:04:21,560 --> 00:04:23,780
So we see the first purpose with which

91
00:04:23,780 --> 00:04:28,820
God created man was that man should show

92
00:04:28,820 --> 00:04:30,480
forth the likeness of God.

93
00:04:31,960 --> 00:04:35,420
That means if man moved around, you could

94
00:04:35,420 --> 00:04:36,760
see what God was like.

95
00:04:37,320 --> 00:04:39,200
Because God is a spirit and invisible.

96
00:04:39,200 --> 00:04:43,300
God wanted his character to be manifested through

97
00:04:43,300 --> 00:04:44,940
a created being.

98
00:04:46,560 --> 00:04:48,720
Now, in an earlier study we had considered

99
00:04:48,720 --> 00:04:51,640
how God had made the angels before he

100
00:04:51,640 --> 00:04:52,160
made man.

101
00:04:54,300 --> 00:04:57,540
But there is no evidence in the Bible

102
00:04:57,540 --> 00:05:00,040
that God made the angels in his image.

103
00:05:02,000 --> 00:05:05,540
No angel could manifest the likeness of God.

104
00:05:06,800 --> 00:05:09,380
That is a unique privilege that God gave

105
00:05:09,380 --> 00:05:09,900
to man.

106
00:05:09,900 --> 00:05:12,840
Man was made in the likeness of God

107
00:05:12,840 --> 00:05:16,460
to show forth God's own image and character.

108
00:05:18,830 --> 00:05:22,670
Once we understand this, we will see that

109
00:05:23,470 --> 00:05:26,170
the whole purpose of Jesus dying for us

110
00:05:26,170 --> 00:05:30,110
and redeeming us was in order that we

111
00:05:30,110 --> 00:05:35,470
might be brought back to God's original purpose

112
00:05:35,470 --> 00:05:36,070
for us.

113
00:05:37,430 --> 00:05:40,750
Now supposing we were to draw this in

114
00:05:40,750 --> 00:05:41,690
graphical form.

115
00:05:43,010 --> 00:05:46,230
Think of God's purpose for man being like

116
00:05:46,230 --> 00:05:51,670
a straight line going slightly upwards because God's

117
00:05:51,670 --> 00:05:53,150
purpose for man was progressive.

118
00:05:55,640 --> 00:05:59,040
And that was God's purpose, that man should

119
00:05:59,040 --> 00:05:59,580
progress.

120
00:06:00,260 --> 00:06:01,640
And here is a straight line going upwards.

121
00:06:02,640 --> 00:06:05,080
But somewhere at the beginning of that straight

122
00:06:05,080 --> 00:06:07,640
line Adam fell.

123
00:06:08,840 --> 00:06:10,960
So he never progressed, he just dipped straight

124
00:06:10,960 --> 00:06:11,340
down.

125
00:06:11,820 --> 00:06:15,870
Let that line go down, the fall.

126
00:06:16,790 --> 00:06:17,610
What did Jesus do?

127
00:06:18,790 --> 00:06:20,790
He came down to the pit where man

128
00:06:20,790 --> 00:06:24,630
was and lifted him back up to that

129
00:06:24,630 --> 00:06:25,130
straight line.

130
00:06:27,260 --> 00:06:30,600
Now man has been brought back to that

131
00:06:30,600 --> 00:06:34,140
straight line of God's purpose for man.

132
00:06:35,100 --> 00:06:38,640
So the whole purpose of God for man

133
00:06:38,640 --> 00:06:40,640
is not fulfilled in Jesus lifting us up

134
00:06:40,640 --> 00:06:43,400
from our sin and our failure.

135
00:06:43,880 --> 00:06:44,160
No.

136
00:06:45,060 --> 00:06:49,780
That's only bringing us back to the place

137
00:06:49,780 --> 00:06:53,060
where Adam was when he fell.

138
00:06:55,200 --> 00:06:59,740
It's restoring the failure of Adam.

139
00:07:00,840 --> 00:07:04,740
Bringing man back to the place where he

140
00:07:04,740 --> 00:07:05,680
was before he fell.

141
00:07:06,580 --> 00:07:08,480
But then now we need to understand what

142
00:07:08,480 --> 00:07:09,020
is God's purpose.

143
00:07:09,140 --> 00:07:09,900
What's this straight line?

144
00:07:10,920 --> 00:07:12,580
That is to reflect his likeness.

145
00:07:14,900 --> 00:07:16,900
So it's not enough to say that your

146
00:07:16,900 --> 00:07:17,560
sins are forgiven.

147
00:07:19,240 --> 00:07:21,200
Many Christians are just happy saying, well my

148
00:07:21,200 --> 00:07:21,800
sins are forgiven.

149
00:07:22,580 --> 00:07:24,620
That's like saying, well God lifted me up

150
00:07:24,620 --> 00:07:25,740
from the pit and brought me up to

151
00:07:25,740 --> 00:07:26,320
the straight line.

152
00:07:27,060 --> 00:07:29,080
But what about progressing along that straight line?

153
00:07:30,500 --> 00:07:32,340
We need to understand what that means.

154
00:07:33,000 --> 00:07:38,120
It means growing in likeness to Jesus Christ.

155
00:07:39,300 --> 00:07:42,440
You know when Jesus came to earth, he

156
00:07:42,440 --> 00:07:43,860
didn't come only to die for the sins

157
00:07:43,860 --> 00:07:44,360
of the world.

158
00:07:45,160 --> 00:07:48,660
That was only part of his purpose in

159
00:07:48,660 --> 00:07:49,220
coming to earth.

160
00:07:51,740 --> 00:07:53,820
His death on the cross was just an

161
00:07:53,820 --> 00:07:56,600
act of one day, six hours, and that

162
00:07:56,600 --> 00:07:56,960
was it.

163
00:07:58,080 --> 00:08:00,020
And he died and he was buried and

164
00:08:00,020 --> 00:08:01,180
he rose again on the third day.

165
00:08:01,900 --> 00:08:06,620
But the life that he lived for 33

166
00:08:06,620 --> 00:08:09,640
years, what was that supposed to demonstrate?

167
00:08:10,740 --> 00:08:15,040
That was supposed to demonstrate how God wanted

168
00:08:15,040 --> 00:08:17,180
man to live on this earth.

169
00:08:17,980 --> 00:08:25,640
Jesus' life was a demonstration of how God

170
00:08:25,640 --> 00:08:29,080
wanted man to live.

171
00:08:31,100 --> 00:08:32,820
So if you want to know how you're

172
00:08:32,820 --> 00:08:35,620
supposed to live, it's very easy.

173
00:08:35,980 --> 00:08:37,059
You just got to look at the life

174
00:08:37,059 --> 00:08:39,240
of Jesus Christ as described in the Bible.

175
00:08:40,080 --> 00:08:42,480
And there you have, not just in words,

176
00:08:42,840 --> 00:08:43,900
but a living demonstration.

177
00:08:44,880 --> 00:08:47,740
See, in the Old Testament, there was no

178
00:08:47,740 --> 00:08:50,100
example that God gave man.

179
00:08:50,680 --> 00:08:51,900
God gave commandments.

180
00:08:52,160 --> 00:08:56,040
Everybody knows the Ten Commandments, which is also

181
00:08:56,040 --> 00:08:57,580
a picture of how God wanted man to

182
00:08:57,580 --> 00:08:57,900
live.

183
00:08:58,700 --> 00:09:02,300
But it was a very faint picture, very,

184
00:09:02,420 --> 00:09:03,040
very incomplete.

185
00:09:03,600 --> 00:09:06,280
All the laws that God gave man about

186
00:09:06,280 --> 00:09:09,640
mutual relationships and everything else were all a

187
00:09:09,640 --> 00:09:12,580
faint picture when Jesus summed up the Old

188
00:09:12,580 --> 00:09:14,320
Testament law with these two words.

189
00:09:16,000 --> 00:09:17,420
He said the whole law can be summed

190
00:09:17,420 --> 00:09:19,200
up in, You shall love the Lord your

191
00:09:19,200 --> 00:09:21,500
God with all your heart, soul, strength, and

192
00:09:21,500 --> 00:09:24,180
mind, and you shall love your neighbor as

193
00:09:24,180 --> 00:09:24,620
yourself.

194
00:09:25,560 --> 00:09:29,580
In those two words, those two sentences, the

195
00:09:29,580 --> 00:09:31,880
entire duty of man is summed up.

196
00:09:34,040 --> 00:09:36,240
But it's far better to have an example

197
00:09:36,240 --> 00:09:41,040
who shows us how this is to be

198
00:09:41,040 --> 00:09:41,300
done.

199
00:09:42,740 --> 00:09:44,800
See, if I were to try and teach

200
00:09:44,800 --> 00:09:47,420
you swimming, there are two ways in which

201
00:09:47,420 --> 00:09:48,000
I could do it.

202
00:09:49,160 --> 00:09:51,160
One is, I could explain to you on

203
00:09:51,160 --> 00:09:53,900
a blackboard how you must move your hands

204
00:09:53,900 --> 00:09:55,940
and how you must move your legs and

205
00:09:55,940 --> 00:09:58,720
draw certain diagrams on the blackboard and tell

206
00:09:58,720 --> 00:09:59,660
you to do all that.

207
00:10:00,720 --> 00:10:02,840
And then say, OK, now go and jump

208
00:10:02,840 --> 00:10:05,200
in the river and follow the instructions that

209
00:10:05,200 --> 00:10:07,180
you saw on the blackboard and swim.

210
00:10:08,100 --> 00:10:09,200
But you're not going to learn to swim

211
00:10:09,200 --> 00:10:09,620
that way.

212
00:10:10,760 --> 00:10:13,260
Even if you study very carefully all the

213
00:10:13,260 --> 00:10:16,000
diagrams I drew on the blackboard, you'll still

214
00:10:16,000 --> 00:10:16,660
probably drown.

215
00:10:18,620 --> 00:10:20,040
That's a very poor way.

216
00:10:21,280 --> 00:10:22,900
But if I were to take you to

217
00:10:22,900 --> 00:10:25,400
the river and say, Well, now just watch

218
00:10:25,400 --> 00:10:26,220
me as I swim.

219
00:10:26,600 --> 00:10:28,020
Just do exactly what I do.

220
00:10:28,760 --> 00:10:30,380
That's the way you will learn.

221
00:10:31,600 --> 00:10:34,640
You see, instruction is never as good as

222
00:10:34,640 --> 00:10:35,220
example.

223
00:10:36,560 --> 00:10:40,140
Any amount of instruction on any subject is

224
00:10:40,140 --> 00:10:42,100
never as good as example.

225
00:10:42,680 --> 00:10:44,900
We can say the Old Testament was instruction.

226
00:10:46,000 --> 00:10:47,860
The New Testament, we have an example.

227
00:10:48,720 --> 00:10:54,380
Jesus Christ demonstrated through his life what it

228
00:10:54,380 --> 00:10:58,940
means to be a human being, to how

229
00:10:58,940 --> 00:11:00,360
we're supposed to live.

230
00:11:02,240 --> 00:11:04,560
So when the Bible says we are not

231
00:11:04,560 --> 00:11:07,660
under the law now, what does it mean?

232
00:11:07,920 --> 00:11:09,980
It means we don't need the blackboard now

233
00:11:09,980 --> 00:11:13,460
because we've got an example in Jesus Christ.

234
00:11:13,460 --> 00:11:15,960
But if you don't have Jesus Christ as

235
00:11:15,960 --> 00:11:19,000
your example, then you certainly need to go

236
00:11:19,000 --> 00:11:19,640
back to the law.

237
00:11:20,340 --> 00:11:22,040
The mistake that a lot of Christians have

238
00:11:22,040 --> 00:11:24,940
made is they say we are free from

239
00:11:24,940 --> 00:11:25,220
the law.

240
00:11:25,820 --> 00:11:27,060
We don't need the Ten Commandments.

241
00:11:27,620 --> 00:11:29,040
We don't need the instructions of God.

242
00:11:29,200 --> 00:11:29,400
Fine.

243
00:11:30,540 --> 00:11:32,520
Provided Jesus Christ has become your example.

244
00:11:33,700 --> 00:11:36,080
But if Jesus has not become your example,

245
00:11:36,380 --> 00:11:38,240
then you need the law, very much so.

246
00:11:40,480 --> 00:11:41,640
And so what does it mean to come

247
00:11:41,640 --> 00:11:43,580
under grace, to be free from the law?

248
00:11:43,580 --> 00:11:45,760
It means that I have now seen Jesus

249
00:11:45,760 --> 00:11:52,340
as my example, who lived on earth, manifesting

250
00:11:52,340 --> 00:11:56,600
the nature of God so perfectly that he

251
00:11:56,600 --> 00:11:58,600
turned around to his disciples just before he

252
00:11:58,600 --> 00:12:00,040
went to the cross and said, if you've

253
00:12:00,040 --> 00:12:01,940
seen me, you've seen the Father.

254
00:12:02,600 --> 00:12:05,160
If you've seen the way I've lived, what

255
00:12:05,160 --> 00:12:07,140
I lived for, you've seen what God is

256
00:12:07,140 --> 00:12:07,380
like.

257
00:12:07,480 --> 00:12:08,580
You've seen that God is kind.

258
00:12:08,700 --> 00:12:09,900
You've seen that God is pure.

259
00:12:10,740 --> 00:12:12,120
He's holy, loving, humble.

260
00:12:12,880 --> 00:12:13,400
Everything.

261
00:12:14,880 --> 00:12:18,520
And our calling now is to show forth

262
00:12:18,520 --> 00:12:20,260
that same nature of God.

263
00:12:21,120 --> 00:12:22,680
You know, what we read in Genesis 1

264
00:12:22,680 --> 00:12:27,460
.26, God's original plan for man to reflect

265
00:12:27,460 --> 00:12:29,500
his likeness, to manifest his nature.

266
00:12:30,620 --> 00:12:32,880
Now that calling comes to you and me.

267
00:12:33,420 --> 00:12:34,620
And this is why God has given us

268
00:12:34,620 --> 00:12:35,240
the Holy Spirit.

269
00:12:36,220 --> 00:12:38,260
So that through the power of the Holy

270
00:12:38,260 --> 00:12:41,140
Spirit, we can show forth God's nature in

271
00:12:41,140 --> 00:12:42,180
our daily life.