Let's turn again to, not the second chapter, but the first chapter of Genesis.
! Of course, it's the second chapter, or much of the content of the second chapter that I'd like us to think about.
But in the first chapter, you get the first account of the creation of man.
And it's in verse 26. Genesis 1, verse 26.
Then God said,
And subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.
Amen.
This is where we find the source of our being.
It answers one of the most fundamental questions that we could ever ask, which is, who am I?
No other creature asks that question.
It is a question that is entirely found within human beings.
Animals don't know and don't care who they are.
They act in instinct, and no matter how intelligent we think they are or they appear to be, it is only humankind that asks the question, who am I?
Because it is of fundamental importance to our being.
And if ever there was a day when the world needs to hear that we find our origin in God, that is how the question of identity can be decisively answered.
If you take away God, then it's open season for anyone you can identify as anything you want to, because God is not in the picture.
We are only atoms and molecules having been thrown together by chance.
But here is God's decisive, loving, clear, authoritative message to all of mankind, which is, you are who you are because of me.
Because I have made you who you are.
You find your identity in me.
And so it is vitally important that this message comes across clearly and loudly to a confused world.
A world that is in darkness and despair.
And a world that needs to find God to lift them out of that despair.
He alone is the answer.
So that's why I want us to look at the content of what I've read in chapter 1 and chapter 2 and to explore it in some greater detail.
And I want us to think of, I was going to think of four things, but I don't think we're going to have time.
I want to keep things as short as possible.
This is the end of a working week.
I'm sure many of us are tired.
And so we probably won't get on to the fourth one.
But here they are anyway.
Number one is I want us to explore the uniqueness of man.
Now when I use the word man, I'm not being sexist.
I'm not trying to offend anybody.
I'm old school.
I use old school terminology.
And so man means generic humankind.
If you prefer me to use humankind, that's fine.
I'm okay with that.
But I just am conditioned to say, well, man is just human beings.
So you'll forgive me if I trade on anybody's toes.
Humankind, it's the same thing.
The world, then secondly, I want us to look in chapter 2 at the work that is given to humankind, Adam and Eve.
I want us to look at the work as the reason why humankind was created, why Adam was created.
He was, God put him to work right away.
The first thing he does is that he assigns him this task in the Garden of Eden.
I want us to explore that and humankind's ability and the gifts that God gave him in order to fulfill this mandate of being able to subdue the world and to have dominion over it.
But then thirdly, I want us to look at the companion that God created for him.
Not just as the marriage bond, but as the foundational bond from which every other type of relationship arose.
So you get ripples.
You get the first two human beings, Adam and Eve, and God brought them together in their marriage.
But then from then on, you have every other human relationship because you have the beginnings of community and family and friendships and every other kind of human relationships.
And once again, I think we're going to see that we were created in order to have that kind of relationship.
But the fourth thing I was going to talk about is that the choice that God gave to Adam and Eve.
But we're definitely going to leave that until tomorrow night.
And the choice, of course, is that either Adam was to fulfill the command that God gave him, which was the permission to eat of any tree in the garden or to eat of the forbidden fruit.
And sadly, as we know, because you'll know the end of the story, that he decided to do the latter.
We're going to explore that tomorrow and what the consequences of those were.
I want us to look, first of all, then, at how unique human beings are.
And, of course, when we go back to the very beginning, we're talking about our first parents.
We're talking about that uniqueness that has extended.
Despite the fact that we've become separated from God, nonetheless, that humanness has extended throughout all the generations and it belongs to us.
And so when I talk about Adam and Eve, I'm talking about ourselves as well as belonging to that same species of creation.
And I want us to look at it in terms of the way it's presented to us here in such dramatic form.
First of all, let's look at in the process of creation in chapter one.
You'll notice that there's a kind of repetitiveness about it.
Up until the sixth day, God says, let there be, let there be, let there be fish, let the fish, let the seas team with, let there be animals, let there be, and so on and so forth.
But when it comes to the sixth day, there's a kind of dramatic pause, isn't it?
If you read it, just as often, we just don't read the Bible often enough as within the flow that God intends it to be.
Because as you read that, when you get on to the sixth day, it's almost like God is saving the best to last.
There's a crescendo happening.
There's an upward movement in creation.
And then at last, he changes the language that he's using.
Mankind is created, last of all, after a pause, a dramatic pause, in which God rephrases his terminology.
And he says this, let us make man.
Now, scholars have argued and wondered about what does the us mean?
Let us make man.
And I believe, quite simply, I don't, certainly I'm not going to start going into the different opinions that some people have offered.
I'm going to say very plainly that this is the first glimpse in the Bible of God as Trinity.
God as one and God as more than one.
And, of course, in the course of the Bible, he identifies and he clarifies who he is as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
We have the great privilege of being able to read Genesis 2 through the lens of the New Testament.
And so we can see, I believe, quite clearly that God is speaking to himself.
The Father is speaking to the Son.
And, of course, there's a council in the Trinity coming together.
And they are intentionally and deliberately making a point of this moment in time, this climax in creation,
in which they're saying, now it's time to do something completely unique.
I'm not saying that the animals weren't unique.
Of course, there's a uniqueness about them.
But now, this is different.
This is God reaching the peak of his process of creation.
He's not going to do anything more.
He's reaching the very pinnacle of the process of creation.
And he says, let us make man.
But he says more than that, doesn't he?
He says, let us make man in our image, after our likeness.
In other words, what God is doing is, for the first time in history, if I can call it that,
for the very first time in creation history, God, who is himself relational,
Father, Son, and Spirit, three persons of the Godhead,
He is creating a being who is relational and who can relate not only to his own species, but to God.
He is creating a being in his likeness.
There is something God-like about Adam and God-like about Eve.
First time ever that's happened.
Never happened before.
He's creating someone outside of himself who he can speak to and relate to and indeed have communion with.
This is a momentous moment.
This is a historic moment.
And it is the moment when our species, who we are, came into being.
It's really important, I think, to read slowly these verses
and to notice the deliberate drama that is in order to impress upon us
that this is a unique moment.
You notice also that it's not simply a fiat.
Remember in Genesis chapter 1, the way he creates other forms of life is
let there be lights and let there be extended.
I'm not trying to trivialize this, by the way.
I'm just saying there's a certain repetitiveness in it.
And God said let the water swarm with living creatures
and let them fly above the earth, across the expanse of the heavens.
But now there is not just a let there be,
but there is an intentional creation process.
He makes man not out of nothing, but out of the dust of the ground.
He takes what already is and somehow he forms the man.
He fashions and molds him and creates him from what already exists.
It's interesting, isn't it, that there is an affinity
between humankind and the rest of the world, the rest of the natural world.
I'm not surprised that people love the natural world.
It's part of our human nature to love what God has created,
whether it's mountains or rivers or trees or flowers or whatever.
We feel an affinity toward us because God's created us from this world.
He's used the world as the raw material to create humankind.
It's also why it's not surprising that there is a DNA similarity,
that there is some relationship.
I'm not a scientist.
I'm not a biologist.
I don't know much about it, but again,
there is an affinity between humankind and the rest of creation.
But then God gives him a command,
and he is to subdue.
He's told in common with every other life form that he is to propagate.
He is to go out and to fill the earth.
But then he is to subdue.
He's to exercise dominion over the world.
He is to do so with authority and with ability.
It's almost like God comes to the point of creation where he stops,
but there's still more work to be done,
not this time in creating something brand new,
but in developing what God has already done.
He's to explore it and to discover it,
and he's to manage it,
and he's to have dominion over it.
Now, right away,
I know what some of you are thinking.
You're thinking,
well, I don't like dominion.
I don't like the idea of humankind having dominion
because that's where all the trouble of the world comes from,
is humankind rising above everything else
and exercising his own selfish will on the earth.
Yes, you're right.
You're absolutely right.
But that's not because man doesn't have dominion.
It's because of sin.
He's become a tyrant.
He's become selfish.
He does things for his own good or for his own benefit
rather than for the glory of God.
But this is before sin comes into the world.
This is what our original purpose was,
to live, to enjoy.
We'll see tomorrow that God gave him every tree in the garden.
It doesn't get better than that in a perfect world.
But he gave him,
he set before him the whole world to explore and to manage
and to subdue.
So Francis Schaeffer is not wrong when he says,
there is something great about man.
I think we can all identify with that.
We're all aware, of course, of our deficiencies in ourselves and in others.
But nonetheless, there is something grand about human beings,
men and women, boys and girls.
There is something truly remarkable
in comparison with every other creature.
Let's just explore that in just a little bit more detail.
that what is it about us?
What is it about Adam,
which is different to every other creature?
Well, he's first of all self-aware.
If there was a mirror in the Garden of Eden,
there wasn't one until I guess he must have
probably looked at the river at some point
and saw himself in the reflection.
I wonder when that happened,
when he actually saw himself.
It's interesting, isn't it?
All these firsts that there must have been.
When did he first see himself?
When did he first look at himself
in whatever reflective material that there was?
I don't know.
But if he did have a mirror,
he would reflect.
But it would be more than just,
well, let me look for the next branch that I can eat.
No, it's a fundamental question.
Who is this?
Who is this person?
It's an important question.
He possesses that reflective core.
He can relate to himself.
He's not only conscious.
He is self-conscious.
He is Adam.
He can rationalize.
He can analyze.
The very fact that he's asking,
who am I, is unique in itself.
No other creature asks that question.
He perceives that there has to be a reason
why the world is as he sees it and why he is.
Now, when I was preparing this,
I looked up AI.
It wasn't ChatGPT.
It was Google.
You can do this yourself when you get home.
And I asked the question,
what's the difference between human beings and animals?
All right?
So this is the answer.
And the answer was truly astonishing.
Where did you hear this?
And remember, this is not the Bible.
This is AI.
Right?
Listen to this.
If I can find it.
Humans possess the capacity for abstract reasoning,
complex problem solving and logical thinking,
allowing them to analyze situations,
form hypotheses,
and develop innovative solutions.
Humans are self-aware,
meaning they can understand their own existence
and mental states.
They also have the ability to understand
the mental states of others,
a concept known as the theory of the mind.
Humans have developed complex symbolic language,
enabling them to communicate abstract ideas,
share knowledge,
and build intricate social structures.
That's exactly what the Bible tells us.
And how did all that come about?
How do you explain why all of these features
and characters exist in humanity?
It can only be explained
by their having been created
in the image of God
and the likeness of God.
And so the reason we look in the mirror
and ask the question,
who am I,
is because we're human.
And sometimes, of course,
the process of asking who am I
can lead to all kinds
of distorted answers.
But that doesn't necessarily mean
it's wrong.
It is entirely natural
to ask the question.
But then humans are built
with this horizontal capacity
of being able to relate
to one another.
Chapter 2,
we read that God saw
that it wasn't good
for the man to be alone.
And this means, of course,
that because man is relational,
he needs relationship,
which involves communication
and mutual interaction
with all,
with mutual interaction
of all kinds,
with someone of his own kind.
And so God created
another of the same kind
to be a helper
that was suitable for him.
We'll look at that
a little bit later on.
Man was built
with the capacity
to relate horizontally.
But then,
he is also able
to relate vertically.
Because God didn't create him
just to interact
with his own kind
or to name the animals.
He created him
so that he could talk to him.
He speaks to Adam.
Adam listens
and understands
and obeys.
He's made him capable
of conscious understanding
his mind and his will.
They're on the same page.
When God says something,
Adam knows what he's saying.
Animals can only respond
to distinct happenings
and according to their
inbuilt programmed instincts.
instinct,
but we can respond
and sometimes instinctively,
but we can also see
the world
from God's side.
And so can Adam.
He sees
the big,
big picture.
But he's also able
to obey.
When he hears God,
he understands
the command of God
and he has the ability
to obey.
We'll see tomorrow
he also has the ability
not to obey.
That's part of the free will
that God gave to Adam uniquely,
but we'll wait
until tomorrow to see that.
But nonetheless,
it was entirely possible
for him to obey.
That's because obedience
wasn't alien to Adam.
It was natural.
It was second nature,
if you like.
He was made for God
and he knew
that happiness
was found.
The security
that he had
was found
in God
and he's of one mind
with God
and yet it was
possible for him
to take the other road
as well.
So then,
that was the uniqueness.
What about
the work
that was given
to man?
And I'm not going to spend
as much time
on this,
but you'll notice
that both from chapter 1
and chapter 2
that both accounts,
they tell us
that right away,
immediately,
he was sent to work.
God built
the garden
for him
and he
was sent
into it
and he gave him
the ability
to fulfill
the mandate
that God
gave to him.
He has the
managerial skill
to rule over
the earth.
He has the creative
ability
to rationally
reorder the environment.
He's got the
scientific ability
to explore
and to describe
and to catalogue
and to discover
features of other
creatures in the world.
There's a world
of discovery
to be had
if he had
obeyed God.
You can see,
of course,
as you make
your way
through Genesis,
the way
that culture
develops,
that industry
develops,
a very interesting
family
in chapter 4,
which one of them
is called Jabal,
another one is called Jubal,
and another one is called
Jubal Cain.
You can read it
in chapter 4.
And Jabal,
chapter 4,
verse 20,
became the father
of those who dwell
in tents
and have livestock.
He was the first
agricultural man.
Then you have Jubal,
chapter 4,
verse 21,
and he's the father
of all those
who play the lyre
and the harp.
He's the culture man.
And then you have
Jubal Cain
in chapter 4,
verse 22,
and he's the forger
of all instruments
of bronze and iron.
We have the first
glimpses
of industry.
mechanics.
You have the first
industrial man.
So it's no surprise
that in the opening
chapters,
the opening words
of these chapters,
that God didn't leave
man a day
to himself.
He is made
to work,
he's given the ability
to work,
and he is given
the mandate
to work
and to explore
and to systematize
the world.
And in that world,
God built
or created
a garden,
the Garden
of Eden,
the perfect,
the place
of perfect
bliss
and happiness.
Apparently,
they tell me
that the word
Eden is a Hebrew
word meaning
delight.
It's a place
of idyllic
delight
and rest.
The idea
of the garden
is an enclosure,
a place
of security,
a place
of a royal
parkland,
apparently the word
paradise.
It means
the royal
parkland.
And that
picks up
echoes of the
biblical narrative
and here the
subordinate king
is placed by his
overlord
in a protected
shelter spot.
He was invited
to fill the
earth
and every
moment
was joy
to him.
It's hard
for some of us
to think of
work as joy.
I know that
some of you
probably enjoy
your work
and it's a
great thing.
Be very thankful
if you enjoy
your work.
Be very thankful
if you wake up
on a Monday
morning and
say,
yes,
I'm going
to go to
work.
I love it.
I can't
wait to get
in because
it could
equally be the
opposite.
I saw
an interview
with somebody
and there was
this big
train exhibition
down in
Derby last
week and
they asked
this train
driver about
his work
and this is
what he said.
He says,
if you love
your job,
you come to
work for
the fun of
it.
Well,
that could
be said
for Adam.
Adam,
every day
was bliss.
Every day
was just,
he couldn't
wait to
do what
God had.
It's hard
for us to
understand that
because in
a sinful
world,
very often
work becomes
tedious.
It's a chore
and there are
all kinds of
frustrations.
Many of you
tonight,
you'll probably
say,
I don't want to
hear about
this.
I've had a
week,
I'm up to
my eyes
with,
you have no
idea the
kind of
frustrations
I've been
having at
work and
you want to
talk about
work in a
sermon.
That's just
completely not
what I came
here to
do.
Well,
you need to
maybe rethink
work.
And you
need to
reorient
your
theology of
work because
there is a
theology of
work.
Remember that
work existed
before the
fall.
It's not a
consequence of
the fall.
It is a
privilege.
Okay,
in a sinful
world,
things go
wrong,
as they do
everywhere.
Nonetheless,
work is
our
calling.
It's where
God has
sent us
to.
And if
anything,
even this
weekend,
I hope it
will be a
strength to
us,
having
gazed
again on
what Jesus
did to
secure our
salvation,
that we
go out in
renewed
strength,
back into
Monday morning,
ready to
do our
work to
the glory
of God.
that's
what we've
been programmed
to do.
Despite
all of
the
problems,
I know
what it
was.
I was
in
secular
employment
before I
went into
ministry,
and even
in ministry
there is
frustrations.
There are
frustrations
everywhere.
I know
what it's
like to
fall out
with people
at work.
I know
what it's
like when
there's
jealousy,
and when
there's
griping in
the workplace,
and when
things go
wrong,
and when
there's
injustice,
and when
work
becomes
a
joke.
I
know all
about
that.
And yet,
when we
come back
to it,
God has
said we've
been created
to work,
and it is
possible to
work to
his glory.
So,
then,
very briefly,
and time
is fast
running out,
the companion
that God
made for
man.
Now,
let me just
say,
I know
that some
of you
are not
married,
and I'm
not going
to make
this,
I don't
want to
focus only
on the
marriage
bond,
because I
don't
believe that
this does
focus only
on it,
primarily,
because this
was the
first human
to human
bond that
God created,
from which
every other
relationship
would arise.
But,
again,
there is
something
deeply
dramatic
about what
God does.
He doesn't
just create
a woman
out of
nothing.
He takes
the man,
he puts
him to
sleep,
he opens
him up,
he takes
a rib
out of
him,
and from
the rib
he creates
this
perfect
soulmate
for Adam.
And when
he brings
him to
Adam,
Adam's
words
are,
this
at last
is bone
of my
bones,
this is
what was
lacking,
this is
bone of
my bones
and flesh
of my
flesh,
she shall
be called
woman,
because she
was taken
out of
man,
therefore
shall a
man leave
his father
and mother
and hold
fast to
his wife.
This was
the first
marriage
bond,
but it
was the
first primary
human
relationship,
and from
then there
came
children,
and from
them came
more children,
and cousins,
and family,
and wider
family,
and ripples,
and community,
and towns,
and villages,
and friendships,
and all kinds
of working
relationships in
which we could
relate to one
another and find
meaning and
belonging,
and fellowship.
so we are
here for
this evening.
God has
called us
into fellowship
with one
another,
a unique
relationship
in the
family of
God.
I don't
want to say
anything else
about that.
There isn't
time.
What I want
to do is
in two
minutes,
I want to
talk about
takeaways.
how does
this relate
to where
we are
this evening?
Well,
let me ask
this question.
When we
think of
Eden,
and what
God did
there at
the very
beginning of
the world,
and what
God is
doing now
in the
gospel,
and what
God will
one day
do in
bringing
about the
new heaven
and the
new earth,
as he
will one
day,
what about
now?
What about
this life
now?
For you
and me
as Christians,
as God's
people.
Here's my
question.
Is there
any sense
in which
we have
been restored
to Eden?
Or,
let me put it
another way,
is there any
sense in which
Eden has
been restored
already?
We know
it's going
to be restored
one day.
We know
it's going
to be a
new heaven
and a
new earth.
The Bible
tells us
that.
But what
about now?
Is the
life that
we live
now only
to be
tolerated
until we
get to
heaven?
Is it
something to
be suffered
only until
we get
to heaven?
I want to
suggest to
you very
strongly the
answer to
that is
no.
The life
we have
now,
it is
not perfect,
it's not
complete,
but God
has already
started the
process of
recreation
within us.
let me
prove that
from the
Bible.
First of
all,
let me
give you
some
quotes.
All of
them are
from the
New
Testament.
First of
all,
when Paul
tells us
that for
God who
said let
light shine
out of
darkness,
he has
shone in
our hearts
to give
the light
of the
knowledge
of the
glory of
God
in the
face of
Jesus
Christ.
In
other
words,
in the
gospel,
God
has gone
all the
way back
to
Genesis
chapter 1
and verse
!
1,
and the
same God
who said let
light shine
out of
darkness,
he's done
the same
again in
the gospel,
except this
time he's
done it in
our hearts
through Jesus
Christ.
New
creation,
new process.
Here's the
next one,
Colossians 3
verse 10,
listen to
this,
we have
put on
the new
self
which is
being
renewed
in
knowledge
after the
image of
its
creator.
That's
not in
the future,
that's
now.
Right
now,
God is
renewing
his
image
in
us.
What did
we say
before?
When God
created Adam
and Eve,
he created
them in
his
image.
What does
he say
in Colossians?
He's created
us in
his
image.
We
bear the
image of
God in
a new
and a
living
way in
the
Lord
Jesus
Christ.
And
then,
he tells
us in
Romans
chapter 8,
for those
whom he
foreknew,
he
predates
to be
conformed
to the
image of
his
Son.
In
other words,
remember all
these things
I said?
The horizontal
relationship,
the vertical
relationship,
it's all
there.
It's all
there now
in us.
God has
done it.
He's made
us into
new creation,
a new
creation in
the Lord
Jesus
Christ.
And so,
as we
come to
remember
Christ's
death,
let's
do so
as
God's
new
creation
in
Christ
Jesus.
That's
who we
are.
God's
And when
!
And when
we think
about our
deficiencies,
as we
naturally do
at a time
like this,
we should be
doing it
every day,
but we do
so in the
context of
we are
new
creatures
in
Jesus
Christ.
That's
the first
thing.
Because that's
what God
has promised
us.
confidence
and that's
what gives
us confidence
to come
to God
and to
know
that He
is our
Savior
and has
done a
marvelous
work in
our hearts.
Because the
truth is that
when we talk
about Adam's
fellowship with
God,
that vertical
relationship that
we talked about
earlier on in
which God
spoke,
Adam understood
and he spoke
back to God
and there was
this
wonderful,
wonderful
interaction.
We have
it.
Let me
prove it to
you.
1 John
chapter 1
and verse 3.
The purpose
of the
gospel,
John says,
is that we
have fellowship
and indeed
our fellowship
is with
the Father
and His
Son,
Jesus
Christ.
That's
now,
tonight,
we have
fellowship
with the
Father,
and His
Son,
Jesus
Christ.
Now,
the first
thing that
comes into
our minds,
I guess,
is,
well,
I wish
it was
better.
I wish
I was
more
conscious
of it.
I wish
I was
more
obedient.
Well,
we're
coming
tonight
to God
with whom
we have
fellowship
and who
hears
and answers
all our
prayer.
And when
we're asking
God,
Lord,
I want
to be
more like
you.
I am
so,
so
conscious
of my
who do
you think
has put
that
consciousness
into your
heart?
The
Holy
Spirit.
He's
troubled
you,
rightly
so.
What's
the purpose
of that
trouble?
To bring
you afresh
to Jesus
where there
is a
reminder
of His
forgiveness
and His
cleansing
and the
newness
of life
that He
promises
to give
us.
God
did not
love
Adam
any more
than He
loves you.
You say,
I have a
problem with
that.
Adam was
perfect.
God didn't
love him
because he
was perfect.
God loved
him because
He loved
him because
He was a
man after
His own
image.
And as
God has
recreated
us in
Christ Jesus,
He loves
us with
that same
love.
He did
not love
Adam any
more than
He loves
us.
And so
therefore,
in that
love and
in the
confidence
that that
love ought
to bring
to us,
we
worship
worship and
adore
the God
who has
created us
and has
redeemed
us in
the Lord
Jesus Christ.
Let's pray
together.
Our
Father in
heaven,
we ask
that you
will bless
your word
to us.
We thank
you for
who we
are.
We thank
you for
giving us
not only a
self-awareness
but an
awareness of
God.
Thank you
for speaking
to us and
for giving us
ears that
listen and
that want to
listen to
more.
We thank
you for
giving us
willing hearts,
repentant
hearts,
for drawing
us afresh to
Jesus.
And we
pray that you
will continue
to do that,
not only through
the course of
this weekend,
but on and
on and on
through the
course of
our lives
as we
live in
the light
of your
Spirit.
So,
Father,
take us,
we pray,
accept us,
we confess
all of our
failures to
you.
And we
ask that
you will
remind us
of the
blood of
Jesus
Christ that
cleanses us
from all
sin.
In his
name,
amen.
Well,
we're going
to close by
singing in
Psalm 8.
We've already
started singing
it.
It's the
Sing Psalms
version.
It's on
page 8.
And we're
singing from
verse 5 to
verse 8.
The last
three stanzas,
verse 5 to
verse 9.
You made
him little
less than
those who
dwell in
heaven above,
and you
have crowned
and honoured
him with
glory and
with love.
You gave
him charge
of all the
works created
by your
hand, and
everything that
you had
made, you
gave him
to command.
We'll sing
these last
three stanzas
from 5 to
verse 9,
and we'll
stand if
you're able
to.
you made
him little
less than
those who
dwell in
heaven above,
and you
have crowned
and honoured
him with
glory and
with love.
You gave
him charge
of all
the
works
created
higher
on,
and everything
that you
had made,
you gave
him to
command.
All
flocks and
birds and
fish, all
he's
clothed,
wild and
tame,
in all
the
earth, O
Lord our
Lord,
our
glorious
sister
name.
And now
may the
grace of
our Lord
and
Saviour
Jesus
Christ,
the love
of God
the Father,
and the
communion
and
fellowship
of the
Holy Spirit
rest on
and abide
with each
one of
you both
now and
always.
Amen.
put it
put it in.
Thank you.