INTRODUCTION:

David marveled how that man was “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.
See All...).  In another Psalm, he glories that man was made just “a little lower than the angels” (Psalm 8:5For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.
See All...).   Study carefully the creation of Adam and Eve.  Notice God’s original plan for man.  See what you can learn about man’s original design.

1. THE CREATION OF MAN (Genesis 1:26-27 [26] And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. [27] So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
   See All...; Genesis 2:7And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
   See All...)
1. God’s Plan for Man’s Creation (Genesis 1:26-27 [26] And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. [27] So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
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1. In our image
1. God refers to Himself in the plural (“us”, “our”). 
2. Creation was the work of the trinity
2. The makeup of man
1. In our image
1. Image as a word emphasizes the idea of form. 
2. An image is a representation of the appearance or shape of something.
3. Since God is a spirit (John 4:24God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
   See All...), He does not have a physical shape.
4. However, He does have a form or structure which is revealed in the word of God.  He is a trinity.
5. In like manner, man is also a three-in-one being.  He has a spirit, soul and body (Genesis 2:7And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
   See All...; 1Thessalonians 5:23And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
   See All...).
6. He lost this image when Adam sinned because Adam’s spirit died but can regain it again through Jesus Christ (Romans 8:29For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
   See All...; 2Corinthians 3:18But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the LORD.
   See All...).
2. After our likeness
1. Likeness as a word emphasizes the idea of nature.
2. Likeness means to have the same general qualities or characteristics.
3. Though there is a great gulf between God and man, there are also likenesses that lift him above the nature of animals and make him capable of fellowshipping with God.
1. Man has a dignity (Psalm 8:5For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.
   See All...) and has been given dominion (Psalm 8:6-8 [6] Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: [7] All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; [8] The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.
   See All...).
2. He has an eternal soul (Genesis 2:7And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
   See All...; Mark 8:36For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
   See All...) and is capable of communion with God (Genesis 3:8And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.
   See All...).
3. Man unlike the animals
1. First, in his self-consciousness.
1. This refers to his ability to mentally step aside from himself and consider himself as the subject of his own thoughts. 
2. He can consider whether or not he is good and think about what kind of person he is.
3. He can even recognize that he is considering himself.
4. This picture of self looking at self looking at self is thought by some to be a type of the trinity.
2. Second, in reasoning.  Only man can understand, judge, imagine and work with ideas in his mind.
3. Third, in language.  The few signals that animals give to one another are in no way similar to the simplest language of man.
4. Fourth, in morality.  Man’s ability to understand and act on the concept of right and wrong sets him apart.
2. God’s Creation of Adam (Genesis 2:7And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
   See All...)
1. Body – “of the dust of the ground”
2. Soul – “man became a living soul”
3. Spirit – “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life”
4. Man’s soul seems to be the direct result of the body of man coming into contact with the breath or spirit of God.  Man’s soul is his immortal nature which acts as a communicator to both body and spirit.
2. THE HABITATION OF MAN (Genesis 2:4-6 [4] These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens, [5] And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. [6] But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.
   See All..., 8-14)
1. The Watering of the Earth (Genesis 2:4-6 [4] These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens, [5] And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. [6] But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.
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1. Rain did not fall on the earth until the time of the flood.
2. This covers a time period of over 1600 years.
3. This difference in pre-flood climate would have required a totally different atmospheric model for this period of time.
4. There may have been a water canopy above the atmosphere that created a green-house effect on earth before the flood.
2. The Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:8-9 [8] And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. [9] And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
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1. Planted eastward in Eden (Genesis 2:8And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.
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1. The garden of Eden is not identical to Eden.
2. The garden is planted eastward in Eden.
2. Planted with every good tree (Genesis 2:9And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
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3. Planted with the tree of life (Genesis 2:9And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
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4. Planted with the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:9And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
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3. The Rivers Out of Eden (Genesis 2:10-14 [10] And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads. [11] The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; [12] And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone. [13] And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. [14] And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.
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1. The Pison (Genesis 2:11-12 [11] The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; [12] And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone.
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2. The Gihon (Genesis 2:13And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia.
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3. The Hiddekel (Genesis 2:14And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.
   See All...; Daniel 10:4And in the four and twentieth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, which is Hiddekel;
   See All...); same as the Tigris
4. The Euphrates (Genesis 2:14And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.
   See All...)
5.  The four rivers did not flow into Eden, but were four parts of the river that flowed out of Eden.
6. Two rivers can still be identified:  the Euphrates and the Hiddekel (which is the Tigris).  The Gihon flowed into Ethiopia.  This does not fit present geography at all since the Nile flows north from Ethiopia, not south towards it.  The Pison and even the land of Havilah are impossible to identify.  Some put it in India; others in Arabia.
7. It is interesting, however, that the sources of the Euphrates and the Tigris are close to one another.  Perhaps that area was the original location of the garden of Eden.
3. THE RESPONSIBILITY OF MAN (Genesis 1:28And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
   See All...; Genesis 2:15-17 [15] And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. [16] And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: [17] But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
   See All...)
1. His Commission (Genesis 1:28And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
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1. Be fruitful
2. Multiply
3. Replenish the earth
4. Subdue the earth
5.  Have dominion over the living things
2. His Vocation (Genesis 2:15And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
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1. To dress the garden
2. To keep the garden
3. Man, in his innocent state, was put to work dressing and keeping the garden of Eden.  Man, in his eternal redeemed state, will again work in his service to God (Revelation 22:3And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:
   See All...).
4. Work is not one of the results of judgment after the fall of man.  The judgment came in the frustrated results of our labor, not in the idea of labor itself.  “In all labour there is profit…” (Proverbs 14:23In all labour there is profit: but the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury.
   See All...). 
5. Work is one of the noble things man can do.
3. His Restriction (Genesis 2:16-17 [16] And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: [17] But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
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1. To freely eat of the trees (Genesis 2:16And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
   See All...)
2. To not eat of the tree of knowledge (Genesis 2:17But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
   See All...)
1. Man was given one and only one restriction on his activities.
2. Some have wondered why God placed in paradise the potential for man’s fall.  But consider.
1. If man could not have sinned, then he could not obey God of his own will.
2.  He would have been no better than a robot. 
3. If he could not have chosen something other than God than he could never really choose God.
3. God wants us to love and serve Him of our own will and not because we can do nothing else.
4. THE CREATION OF WOMAN (Genesis 2:18-25 [18] And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. [19] And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. [20] And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him. [21] And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; [22] And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. [23] And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. [24] Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. [25] And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
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1. The Problem (Genesis 2:18-20 [18] And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. [19] And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. [20] And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.
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1. On the occasion of naming the animals (Genesis 2:19And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.
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2. Adam recognized that he was alone (Genesis 2:18And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.
   See All...,20)
3. God determined to make an help meet for Adam (Genesis 2:18And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.
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1. Adam had a threefold need.
2. He needed a companion to keep him from being “alone.”
3. He needed a comforter to “help” him in his day to day life.
4. He needed a complement to round out his character that was “meet for him.”  Meet means ready, prepared, just right (see 2Timothy 2:21If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work.
   See All... where we are to be “meet for the master’s use”).
2. The Creation (Genesis 2:21-22 [21] And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; [22] And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
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1. Causing a  deep sleep on Adam (Genesis 2:21And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
   See All...)
2. Created from the rib of the man (Genesis 2:22And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
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3. The Woman (Genesis 2:23-25 [23] And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. [24] Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. [25] And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
   See All...)
1. Taken out of man (Genesis 2:23And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
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1. Adam called Eve woman because she was taken out of man.
2. The wo would then signify taken out of.
3. This would closely resemble our abbreviation for without (w/o)
2. The institution of marriage (Genesis 2:24Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
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1. From the beginning, marriage consisted of a man leaving his family, cleaving unto his wife and becoming one with her.
2. Read especially Matthew 19:4-6 [4] And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, [5] And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? [6] Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
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3. As such, marriage is the first earthly institution established by God.
4. The other two are human government and the church
3. The innocence of the man and woman (Genesis 2:25And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
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Conclusion:

We know that man has fallen from God’s original purpose for him.  However, some of God’s original design remains.  What should God’s lofty design and goals for man mean to us today?  How can we get back to this original plan?