- [00:00:00] We’re just great to be back after the break, and some people are still traveling. A couple of years ago during the Christmas season, my family and I went to Union Square in San Francisco. They have a beautiful ice skating rink there. We were skating along with several people. The lighting was fantastic, and they had huge Christmas trees. Suddenly, the music faded, and an announcement came asking everyone to move to the sidelines. - [00:00:35] They said we were going to witness something very special. As we moved aside, a special song played. A man skated in and invited his girlfriend to join him. Everyone witnessed as he went down on one knee and proposed to her. It was so magical—my first time witnessing such a moment up close. Right afterward, they invited all of us to skate with them, which was a very cool experience. - [00:01:11] To me, that moment was a beautiful covenant moment. Today, we’re looking at the book of Genesis, the very first book of the Bible, where we witness something far more splendid. God is not just standing on the sidelines witnessing a covenant; He is establishing a covenant with you and me. He’s forming a relationship with humanity and instituting work, blessing, and marriage as sacred gifts meant for us to flourish. God’s design in creating humanity was for flourishing, and that’s what we’ll explore in detail today. - [00:01:54] This series is titled \"Covenant,\" a word not commonly used these days but found throughout Scripture. The entire Bible is divided into the Old Covenant and the New Covenant, often called the Old Testament and New Testament. We want to explore the depth, breadth, and beauty of what this covenant truly means. We started by looking at the covenant of redemption that happened before time began—between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—and how they thought of us as special, not accidents of cosmic chance. Jesus had us in His heart and prayed for us, as we saw in His high priestly prayer. - [00:02:35] Last week, we discussed how Jesus came in time to seal that covenant through the new covenant, sealed by His blood—the everlasting covenant. Now, you and I are drawn into a relationship with God that is not dependent on our daily lives, although that is important; it is sealed by the blood of Jesus Christ. Today, we will look at how God makes the first covenant with humanity through Adam. We will explore the creation story to understand how God intended life to be after creating the world and Adam and Eve—and why we need grace to experience that life now. - [00:03:58] Genesis 2 reveals three dimensions of life as God intended it: living with purpose, experiencing covenantal blessing, and living a life of love. To live under God’s grace means to live a purposeful life, a life filled with covenantal blessings, and a life rooted in love. - [00:04:45] First, we see how God instituted purpose at the very beginning. Genesis 2:15 says, “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden to work it and keep it.” After the creation account, God creates a beautiful garden with specific rivers, believed to be located in the Mesopotamian fertile region. This is where we get our first glimpse of God in action in human history. Even before sin, marriage, or the fall, God is shown as a worker. The Bible begins with God as a worker, and He cares deeply about what we do in our daily lives. - [00:05:25] There are three characteristics of God’s work revealed in Genesis 2. In verse 8, it says, “The Lord God planted a garden in the east and there He put the man whom He had formed.” Verse 9 describes how the Lord God caused to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, including the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The three characteristics of God’s work are beauty, goodness, and usefulness. - [00:06:10] First, God’s work is beautiful. He created a beautiful land with a rich variety of trees, all pleasant to the sight, adorned with precious stones like gold, bdellium, and onyx. John Calvin commented on how the trees were not only beautiful but also good for food—the fruit was wholesome and nourishing. God made the garden “very good,” and His presence made it even more wonderful. - [00:06:51] Second, God’s creation was good. Everything was wholesome and nourishing, designed for human flourishing. - [00:07:34] Third, God’s work was useful. The garden was perfectly suited for Adam, equipped with wood, water, and valuable ores useful to make things of value. - [00:08:18] As Christians, when we read that God made Eden beautiful, good, and useful, we see a pattern that should reflect in our work—whether in arts, business, service, or ministry. Our work should reflect God’s beauty by creating products or services that have inherent goodness and usefulness. - [00:08:58] I want to ask you: Can you find your work in the Bible? Does your work have beauty? Is it good? Is it useful? Many people, especially in Silicon Valley, say they want to work to make the world a better place, but often their primary goal is increasing shareholder value. The Silicon Valley hustle culture celebrates power, pleasure, and wealth—values focused on advancing self rather than beauty, goodness, and usefulness. - [00:10:13] This environment often promises meaning but delivers exhaustion. Many people are tired and say, “Thank God it’s Friday,” while the Bible starts with God wanting us to say, “Thank God it’s Monday,” excited to go to work to create something beautiful, good, and useful. - [00:11:37] Genesis tells us that work is a gift, not a god. When we reverse that, we end up exhausted. God put Adam in the garden to work it and keep it—two purposes. Work matters, but it cannot carry your soul if it becomes your god. - [00:12:20] I recall taking my mom to a beauty parlor where the care and attention she received—like a lady polishing her nails and engaging her—was godly work. It was far more valuable than many startup products that we don’t really need. Four years ago, students wanted to pursue computer science or data science, but now AI threatens to replace many jobs. Yet, when we find our identity in work that brings beauty and usefulness, it’s freeing and godlike. - [00:13:41] The second aspect of Genesis 2 is the covenantal blessing. This is the first covenant God makes with humanity—the covenant of work. Genesis 2:16-17 says, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat. For in the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die.” - [00:14:50] There are four aspects of a covenant, the \"four Ps\": parties, prohibition, penalty, and promise. The two parties here are God—referred to as Yahweh Elohim, a covenantal name—and Adam, who represents all humanity. This means that all people born are in a covenantal relationship with God through Adam. This concept of representative headship explains how Adam’s failure affects all of us, and similarly, Jesus, the second Adam, represents us in salvation. - [00:20:21] The prohibition was not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. This tree symbolized moral and epistemological autonomy—choosing to define good and evil apart from God. Our culture promotes “follow your truth,” but Genesis teaches true freedom exists only under God’s loving authority. - [00:21:54] Adam’s failure to obey this one command revealed a fundamental truth: no one can save themselves by obedience. Later laws and commandments only reinforced this impossibility. - [00:23:17] Interestingly, all honest people acknowledge they make mistakes and hurt others. Religions recognize sins as external acts, but what is harder to accept is that we are sinful beings by nature, not just because of what we do. Christianity teaches we have a sinful personality inherited from Adam, which causes rebellion. - [00:26:01] Jesus, the second Adam, came to fulfill what Adam could not. In the Garden of Gethsemane, unlike Adam, Jesus fully obeyed God’s will, taking the sin of the world upon Himself. Through His obedience, we become righteous. - [00:27:21] The promise implicit in the covenant of works was that Adam could eat from every tree, including the tree of life. God gave Adam and Eve the blessing of life as long as they lived in relationship with Him. When Adam failed, Jesus obeyed in the garden of Gethsemane. This is the covenant of grace, which we will explore later. - [00:28:46] Lastly, God created life as a life of love. Marriage is one of the most sacred institutions God established. In the first pages of Scripture, God defines marriage as between one man and one woman. This design provides a framework for relationships. - [00:29:26] Three aspects of marriage emerge: companionship, complementary relationship, and committed covenant. - [00:30:02] Companionship is vital. Adam names the animals, but none provide true companionship. Pets like dogs and cats offer different kinds of affection but cannot replace human companionship. God created Eve from Adam’s rib—a piece of him—to be his companion. - [00:33:02] Marriage is a complementary relationship, where husband and wife fill each other’s gaps. The husband is called to lovingly serve and lead as a servant leader, modeled on Christ’s sacrificial love. The wife is called to be a helper—a word that carries deep meaning, indicating an indispensable partner, similar to God’s help for us. - [00:34:44] Marriage is a committed relationship through a covenant. Before the fall, there was no shame between Adam and Eve. Marriage exposes our deepest areas, and when we fail, we look to Christ who bore wounds to cover our guilt and shame. Jesus’s death brought the church into being, born of His flesh and bone, united forever with Him. - [00:36:59] To love freely in marriage, we must first accept Christ’s love through faith, becoming His bride. Marriage reflects Christ’s sacrificial, patient, and enduring love for the church. - [00:37:44] In closing, here are some applications: - Your work matters, but it cannot carry your soul. Evaluate your work by God’s criteria: is it beautiful, good, and useful? Is your work forming you into Christlikeness or deforming you? - Know when to stop working without guilt. Your value is not your output or title; Christ secures your worth. - If you are single, loneliness is human, not sinful. Don’t numb it with busyness or screens. Pursue real community and hospitality. - If married, recommit to your covenant. Marriage is not a contract but a covenant of faithful love. Love your spouse sacrificially and protect them emotionally, spiritually, and relationally. Distinguish faithfulness from romance. - For parents, model authority as a gift, not a threat. Teach children that boundaries are loving, discipline with clarity and compassion, and model repentance. - Reflect on whether you have moved beyond concern for external behavior to a genuine poverty of spirit—the first step to entering God’s kingdom (Matthew 5:3). - [00:40:25] If you feel lost, that this is not your life or marriage, the gospel matters. Come to the second Adam, Jesus. Where you failed, He obeyed. Where you hid your shame, He was exposed. Where you broke the covenant, He kept it. All that is required is to respond in faith, saying, “Jesus, I stop trusting myself and I rest in you.” In Him, the life God intended begins.