VALUE ALL HUMAN LIFE

 

JANUARY 20, 2013 

1.     AFFIRM LIFE’S VALUE (GENESIS 1:26-27)

26 Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."  

·        The question of the Psalmist is one of the most modern questions men are asking - "What is man?" (Ps 8:4, 144:3).

·        The Psalmist knew the answer before he asked, for "man is God visited"!

·        It was that very fact which surprised him.

·        He knew of man's littleness and of God's greatness, yet he knew the God of the universe visited him and was mindful of him.

·        Before this, creation has been a matter of God speaking and creation coming into being.

·        But in the creation of man, there is a council with HIMSELF - the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 

...these words declare a plurality, and are expressive of others, being co-workers with God in creation

John Gill's Commentary

Only a plurality of persons can justify the phrase. Hence, we are forced to conclude that the plural pronoun indicates a plurality of persons or hypostases in the Divine Being.

Albert Barnes Notes

·        Adam was created to resemble God, for Adam was made in God's "image."

·        Man was to be different and above all that had heretofore been created. 

27 And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

NASB 

·        Three are three essential areas into which evolution cannot move and which evolution cannot solve.

o       It cannot bridge the gap from nothing to something.

o       It cannot bridge the gap between something to life.

o       It cannot bridge the gap between life and humanity - that is, self-conscious human life.

·        This is the third time we fine the word bara, which means to create out of nothing. 

·        Bara is the same word that occurred in the first verse of Genesis.

·        God will go into more detail about only one act of His creation, and that is the creation of man, because this record was written for man; God wants us to know about our origin. 

2.     RESPECT AND PROTECT LIFE (EXODUS 1:15-17)

15 Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah, and the other was named Puah;  

·        Shiphrah means "beauty."

·        Puah means "splendor." 

16 and he said, "When you are helping the Hebrew women to give birth and see them upon the birthstool, if it is a son, then you shall put him to death; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live." 17 But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt had commanded them, but let the boys live.

NASB 

3.     CELEBRATE LIFE’S PURPOSE (PSALM 139:13-16)

13 For Thou didst form my inward parts; Thou didst weave me in my mother's womb.  

·        God gave David amazing insight into the miracle of birth, for David understood that he was created by God in his mother's womb

·        David was a living being created in the image of God, not just a tissue or fetus.   

14 I will give thanks to Thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Thy works, And my soul knows it very well.  

·        We are distinguished by fearful things; that is, by things in our creation that are worthy of awe.

·        We are made different from inanimate objects, and different from the brute animals. 

·        We are so made that any mind would be filled with wonder and amazement. 

·        The wonderfulness of the human body is so great that, if realized, it produces a sensation of fear. 

·        It has been said that if we could see one-half of what is going on inside of us, we wouldn't dare move.

·        Life is so precious that Jesus gave His life that we might have eternal life. 

15 My frame was not hidden from Thee, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth. 16 Thine eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Thy book they were all written, The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them.

NASB

·        While the body was being formed, David said he was a person, a human being. 

4.     FOLLOW JESUS’ EXAMPLE (MARK 10:13-16)

13 And they were bringing children to Him so that He might touch them; and the disciples rebuked them.  

·        The disciples did not rebuke the Lord or the children, but the parents of the children.

·        Perhaps they considered the children as "unimportant" as infants/children. 

14 But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and said to them, "Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.  

·        This shows that He considered the infants/children as important. 

15 "Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it at all."  

·        The children came to Jesus trustingly without any fear or knowledge that they were doing anything wrong in doing so.

·        We have been granted this same freedom in Christ to approach the throne of God.

·        Only adverse experiences with people with similar attitudes of the disciples that would teach us to hold back in fear, not

·        knowing if it was ok to approach or not.

·        Children who do not know this would approach without waiting for a nod to come.

·        God desires that we should do likewise. 

            THIS PUTS A WHOLE NEW LOOK TO VERSE 16. 

 16 And He took them in His arms and began blessing them, laying His hands upon them.

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