Contradicting Creation Accounts?

Biblegems #255

Question: Genesis states that all vegetation was created on day three and Adam on day six (Gen. 1:11-12; 1:26-27). Yet Gen. 2:5-7 seems to contradict this by teaching that vegetation was created after man. Why the apparent discrepancy?

The confusion stems largely from difficulties in translating some generalizations from Hebrew to English. Below, my translation aims at reducing the confusion.

Gen. 2:5 [So there was a time] before any shrubs appeared on the earth and before any grass of the fields began to grow (because the Lord God had not sent rain upon the earth and there was no man to work the ground, (6) but a mist came up from the earth that irrigated the entire surface). (7) So the Lord God formed the man from the earth and breathed life into his nostrils and the man became a living soul.                                                                

Genesis 2:1-4 provides a conclusion for the order of creation events in chapter one.

Verses 5-7 introduce a shift in focus away from the order of creation in general to the creation of Adam and Eve in particular. They set the scene for Adam and Eve’s role as caretakers of earth, beginning in the Valley of Eden (2:8-17).  The scene is also set for how destructive Adam and Eve’s disobedience will prove to be to God’s creation. The “shrubs” and grain fields (“grass of the fields,” v. 5) God freely provided for their pleasure and their food, irrigated by a perpetual mist, would shrivel up, grow weeds and thorns and require constant effort against hostile elements as a result of their sin:

Gen. 3:17-19  …“Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”

Even the lack of rain in those early days is noted, because rain was not yet a necessity. Later, rain would become a much-needed blessing:

         Ps. 147:8  He covers the sky with clouds; he supplies the earth with rain and makes grass grow on the hills.

It would also become a source of devastation:

         Gen. 7:17, 24  For forty days the flood kept coming on the earth, and as the waters increased they lifted the ark high above the earth.   The waters flooded the earth for a hundred and fifty days.

Genesis 2:5-7provides a segue from the “why” and “how” of creation (chapter 1) to the tragic impact of Adam and Eve’s sin (chapter 2). Together, they reveal God’s total sovereignty over His created universe as He provides both judgment for sin and salvation from what would otherwise be eternal consequences of that judgment.

         Rom. 6:22-23  But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Baptism And The Holy Spirit

Biblegems #237

Question: What is the relationship between baptism and the Holy Spirit? Why did the Holy Spirit descend after Jesus was baptized?

All four Gospels record the visible descent of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus in the form of a dove immediately following His baptism. Each Gospel also shows how this was connected to a prophetic statement from John the Baptist:

         Matt. 3:11   “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”

The Gospel of John clearly tells us why the Holy Spirit visibly descended. Notice especially the words highlighted and underlined in the quote below:

         John 1:32-33   Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’

The visible descent of the Spirit like a dove upon Jesus was especially for the benefit of John the Baptist! God had told John ahead of time that this is how he would recognize the promised Messiah.

Notice also how this visible descent of the Spirit was God’s confirmation that Jesus Himself would baptize His followers with the Holy Spirit.

The fact is, the Holy Spirit indwelt Jesus at conception in Mary’s womb:

Luke 1:35   The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.”

Jesus was born fully human, yet He was (and is) also God incarnate—God in a human body from conception, fully human, fully divine. The visible “descent” thirty years later at His baptism was a sign to others that Jesus was the Spirit-filled Messiah of Old Testament prophecy (Is. 61:1-2).

So how does this relate to our baptism in water and receiving the Holy Spirit?

Jesus’ Great Commission to the church is to make disciples and then baptize them (Matt. 28:19). Water baptism is a public declaration that we have become followers of Jesus Christ. This was the challenge of Peter’s evangelistic message on the day of Pentecost:                

Acts 2:38-39   Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

As Peter explained, receiving the Holy Spirit is promised for all who repent and receive forgiveness in Jesus’ name, declaring that faith in Jesus publicly through baptism in water. It is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that regenerates us (Rom. 8:11); it is baptism in water that identifies us as belonging to Jesus after receiving Christ and new life in the Spirit (Acts 10:47).

Salvation For The Severely Disabled?

Biblegems #218

Question: Can children (or adults) with severe disabilities be saved?

Presumably, the question has to do with people whose rational thought processes are profoundly impaired. Prime examples would be a person in the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s disease, an accident victim suffering severe brain trauma, or a person born with an IQ below 30.

Can individuals with acute brain disorders understand the Gospel and respond in faith? The answer lies in the nature of faith and in the power of God.

Jesus made this statement regarding salvation:

         John 3:16  For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Notice that salvation applies to every human being who believes in Jesus. No person is exempt. The ability to save rests with God, not us, and flows from His immeasurable love for the world He created. According to Jesus, then, God is pouring out His love through Jesus upon all humanity, providing salvation and eternal life for everyone, and all we need to do to receive it is to believe it.

What constitutes “belief?”

The word “belief” in John 3:16 translates the Greek word “pistis.” In many Christian circles today the concept of belief or faith in Jesus is presented as the ability of a person to verbally agree with a doctrinal statement:

 Rom. 10:9 That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Romans 10:9 is directed toward people who are mentally and physically capable of comprehending and communicating their faith in Jesus. The word pistis, however, does not require the intellectual ability to comprehend ideas like “lordship,” nor does it require the physical ability of a person to put the concepts of lordship and resurrection into words. If that were the case then people unable to speak would be excluded from John 3:16. God’s love and salvation would not apply to them.

Thankfully, that is not the case! To “believe” (pistis) fundamentally means to trust. Trust is much more a function of the human heart than the brain. That’s why Jesus said to his disciples:

         Mk. 10:15 I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.

Infants learn to trust the voice and the hands of a loving parent long before they can intellectually understand it or explain it. In fact, it is only after children begin to develop reasoning ability and communication skills that they also begin to question their parents’ love and begin to question how much they are willing to trust their parents. The greater a person’s intellectual ability, the greater is the challenge to trust without reservation.

People with severely diminished mental function are still quite able to love and trust completely those who give them love—perhaps better than the rest of us! When that loving trust is placed in Jesus, even if they can’t communicate it, another soul has entered eternal life!

Longinus—Fact Or Fiction?

Biblegems #214

Question: I ‘ve heard that the soldier who pierced Jesus’ side with the spear became a believer and his name is known? Is this true?

The apostle John, an eyewitness of Jesus’ crucifixion, relates that one of the soldiers assigned to Jesus’ cross pierced Jesus’ side with a spear to test if Jesus had in fact died:

         John 19:34 But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water.

The only reliable source of information we have about this soldier comes from the Bible itself, and his name is not given. It is curious, however, that the Greek word for spear is λόγχη (pronounced, logchay). The name “Longinus” appears to be a Latin derivation of the Greek word for “spear.”

There is a tradition that became popular roughly three hundred years after Jesus’ crucifixion that the soldier’s name was Loginus, and that he became a believer in Jesus at the crucifixion. The evidence behind this account is scant and often contradictory. While there are legends dating back to at least the late 3^rd century AD, no compelling evidence is currently available to verify this tradition.

Muddying the waters even further are several highly fanciful stories of Longinus. One legend is reminiscent of the Greek myth of Prometheus. According to a third century legend, Longinus is eternally punished in a cave where a lion comes each day to claw him to shreds, but each night the soldier is healed so that the torture can resume again.

Other ancient legends portray Longinus as a nearly blind Roman centurion who was healed when Jesus’ blood fell on him from the cross, and that his recovery of sight caused him to exclaim “surely this is the Son of God!” (Mk. 15:39). Other legends claim that Loginus’ spear became a highly revered relic of the early church, and that it has been preserved down through history. There are several spears or spearheads existing today that are believed by many to be the spear of Longinus. The one with the best claim to authenticity resides now in the Hofburg museum in Germany.

Myths and legends often have a way of preserving the memory of actual people and events, even though the accuracy of the events may get muddied beyond any recognition. And often such legends have a way of turning their subjects into heroes or objects to be idolized, as is the case with the spear of Longinus. This is where the biblical record stands apart.  

The Gospel accounts record the historical facts of the crucifixion, resurrection and ascension of Jesus. Even if the Roman soldier who thrust the spear in Jesus’ side did become a follower of Jesus, God’s Word neither idolizes nor demonizes the man or the spear. The Bible records historical events that direct lost men and women to salvation in Jesus Christ. As the apostle John wrote:

         John 20:30 Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.