Genesis small group discussion

This is just a general Genesis discussion post. Respond to this post when you want to make comments about what we're studying in Genesis in general. If a topic is popular enough, we'll create a separate post for it.

God takes a "walk"

One of the speculative questions from Genesis 3 asked what Scripture means when it says that Adam and Eve heard God walking in the garden. There are two likely theories as to what this means.

The first is that this may be a literary device commonly used in Scripture called an anthropomorphism, meaning that a divine action is described in human terms. It could well be that God in whatever form may have been moving through the garden and that the author had no way to describe such movement in a comprehendable way other than to say that He "walked". We've certainly seen other anthropomorphisms in Scripture such as when God is described as "breathing" or writing with His "finger" or even when He "grieves" or "repents".

The second theory is that God actually was walking because He chose at that specific moment to appear in human form. From what we know of the interaction of the trinity, it is likely that the Son would have been the one to appear before Adam and Eve and encounter them about such an incident. Although some find it difficult to believe that the Son, or Jesus, would appear prior to His incarnation in the same way that He often appeared after His resurrection, the idea of Christophanies, or appearances of Christ in human form (specifically in this case prior to His incarnation) actually has mountains of Scriptural evidence that are far too numerous to be discussed here.

For more information or to respond in general, don't forget to submit your own questions, ideas, or research in blog form.

Testing the Waters

This blog's main purpose will be to keep the Young Adult Ministry of MST informed on small group information. We will be able to have conversation and keep up with the latest that is happening in our small group ministry.