Genesis means "beginning." The book of Genesis is a book of beginnings (our world; humans; sin; salvation; etc.), and is foundational to the biblical world-view. In our study of Gen. 1 last week, we saw how it emphasized that humans are somehow higher than the rest of the created order. Whereas other creatures multiplied "after their kind," God created humans "in God's image" (re-read 1:26-28). What does this phrase mean? Chapter 2 focuses on the first humans and unpacks this distinction.
What does it meant to be human? How are humans similar to/different from the rest of nature? How are humans similar to/different from God? This is one of the most pressing questions of our day, as we will soon see. In a post-Christian culture, powerful voices give very different answers to this question, and their voices are creating a philosophical and ethical and cultural tsunami. The average American has no clearly thought-out answer to this profoundly important question, and so is subject to the conforming force of these other voices. Genesis 2 gives several answers to this question. Let's look at some of them . . .
But notice how the Garden is described (2:9a) – as containing trees that not only bore fruit that was good to eat, but also that those trees were "pleasing to the sight." The trees were beautiful, and God obviously gave Adam the capacity to appreciate their beauty. That is, God designed humans to have an aesthetic sense. If humans are only material, trees' utility (food) is all that matters. God expressed His aesthetic sense when He said about His creative work "It was good/very good," and He instilled this into humans.
This is one of the profound differences between humans and other (even higher-order) animals. Dogs don't respond to a Rembrandt painting or a Beethoven symphony the way we do – they evidently just see smears of color and hear sounds.
So our aesthetic sense is not just some evolutionary accident that is without ultimate significance. This is something to glory in! God's creation has incredible beauty, and He has given us the faculty to appreciate this beauty, and to infer from it that God must be supremely beautiful (Ps. 145:1; 147:7,8,16).
But we are not only aesthetic beings. Hedonism (sexual, artistic, culinary, etc.) is another form of dehumanizing reductionism. We are more than this . . .
Humans are designed to work
Read 2:15. Adam wasn't put in the garden to just lay around admiring the trees while fruit dropped into his mouth! Neither did he have to get a job as a punishment for disobeying God. He was created to work (in the image of the God who worked and is still working) – to be productive, to accomplish something so that the garden was better because of his presence in it. 1:26 (read) is not a license from God to exploit and rape nature, as many have charged. Humans are stewards of God's creation, to care for the environment and bring it to its fullest potential as well as to provide for our needs (refer to Schaeffer, Pollution and the Death of Man).
So this is part of what it means to be human – to work, to be productive, to accomplish, and to enjoy what we have accomplished (Eccles. 5:18,19). Yes, there is now a negative aspect to our work since the Fall – we'll discuss that in a couple of weeks. But this image of God remains with us. Yes, we need to rest and recreate – but if your picture of the ideal life omits cultivating an enjoyment of active and productive labor, you'll be disappointed because you're confused about who you are.
This is why we should pursue excellence in our jobs – not just to make money, not just "work to live," but even more so because God designed me to work and do it before Him, affirming His design (Col. 3:23). This is why working hobbies are good and therapeutic (GARDENING; WOOD-SPLITTING). This is why our culture's view of retirement is unbiblical and unhealthy.
And of course, those of us who know Christ can also get involved in His work of sharing God's love and truth with others in what we call "ministry" (see Jn. 4:34), in which we can all be involved in regardless of our age, health, etc.
But we are more than workers. This is why reductionistic ideologies (e.g., Marxism) and workaholic lifestyles are ultimately unfulfilling and dehumanizing.
Humans have free will & moral responsibility
Read 2:16,17. We'll discuss the significance of the names of these two trees next week. Right now, we need to notice that the opportunity to revolt against God's will (along with the consequences for doing so) was a feature of the good world. If God didn't want humans to revolt against Him, why did He put the second tree in the Garden? Because a key part of being human is having freedom to choose. There is no morality in a robot universe, nor is there any love – because love requires the capacity to choose between moral alternatives. Therefore, in addition to God providing abundant food and satisfying work, God gave a moral boundary, giving humans the opportunity to freely choose to love and trust Him.
Our range of freedom has been restricted by the Fall, especially in the moral area (Jn. 8:34). But the Bible teaches that in one crucial area, God has preserved our freedom – the ability to choose to return to Him. And if you choose to return to Him and follow Him, He will increase the range of your moral freedom (Jn. 8:31,32; GOSPEL).
Humans are designed for scientific inquiry
Read 2:18-20. God is doing at least two things at once here. God didn't name the animals for Adam – He had Adam name them. His naming of the animals was not simply random labels. It probably involved careful observation and then selecting a name that described this animal and differentiated it from others. Through this exercise, God introduced Adam to the discovery of the complexity of His universe, understanding how it works and is inter-related, and forming categories in his mind that corresponded to external reality. In other words, He introduced Adam to scientific inquiry.