What Does The Bible Say About Adults? Although the word “adult” is not explicitly found in the Bible, there is much that the Bible says about adulthood. Studying the Bible has helped us to deduce many interesting things about adulthood as well as what the Lord God is saying about adulthood. Biblically, a person becomes an adult when they reach the age of 20 (twenty). “Adults” are referred to as “men” or “women.” In simple terms, an “adult” is “a person who is not a child.” And as such, a person who is under the age of 20 (twenty) is a child. Notice that the Bible refers to people from conception through the age of 19 (nineteen) as “children.” The Lord God Almighty refers to children in the womb as “children” – not “embryos” (children from conception to eight weeks) or “fetuses” (children from eight weeks to birth) or “tissue.”
Biblically, babies in the womb cannot on their own do good or evil. Romans 9:11 says, “For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, …” Notice that the Bible also makes use of various words to describe children, some of which are very similar: babes, babies, infants, boys, girls, little ones, young children, children, youths, etc. We can deduce from Biblical stories, examples, happenings, and instructions that a male under the age of 20 is a boy and a male aged 20 or over is a man. Similarly, a female under the age of 20 is a girl, and a female aged 20 or over is a woman.
What Does The Bible Say About Adults?
What The Scriptures Say About Adulthood
The Israelites In The Wilderness (Numbers 14)
In the Biblical book of Numbers, chapter 14, the Lord God Almighty pronounced judgment on all the Israelites who were 20 years old or older (except for Joshua and Caleb and their families) because they had willingly refused to believe Him even after all the great signs and wonders that He had done in Egypt and in the wilderness on their way to the promised land. Behold, they were sentenced to wander in the wilderness for 40 years until they dropped dead. Numbers 14:29–30 says, “Your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward which have murmured against me. Doubtless ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.”
Numbers 14:31–33 says, “But your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, them will I bring in, and they shall know the land which ye have despised. But as for you, your carcasses, they shall fall in this wilderness. And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years, and bear your whoredoms, until your carcasses be wasted in the wilderness.” In this Scripture, notice how “little ones” is used interchangeably with and means the same thing as “children.” As punishment to the Israelites, the Lord God sentenced them to 40 years of wandering in the wilderness until all the people who were 20 years old or older – at the time of sentencing by God – died.
Notice how all the people who were not yet 20 years old, the “little ones,” the “children,” were allowed to live. Nevertheless, they still had to wander for 40 years in the wilderness before entering the promised land.
Significance of Age 20 in the Bible
The age of 20 signifies adulthood. It’s important for Christians to understand and to be able to clearly make the difference between childhood and adulthood. Understanding that a person becomes an adult at age 20 is important in accomplishing one’s purpose. The Word of the Lord God commands parents to discipline their children and commands children to obey their parents in the Lord (Proverbs 22:6, 15; Ephesians 6:1). Obedience to your parents in the Lord is a quality that will guide you into successfully entering adulthood with favor in the side of the Lord God.
In Numbers 14:29–30, we see the difference that the Lord God makes between people who are age 20 and over, and people who are age under 20. It’s without a doubt that there were numerous teenagers and other children who were just as sinful and murmured and complained just as much as their parents. But the Lord God did not sentence them to die, as He did the adults. The simple reason is that the Lord God does not hold children to the same accountability as He does adults.
1 Corinthians 13:11 says, “When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.” As a matter of fact, children ( age19 and below) think and understand like children. Although there are few exceptions, they do not always act like adults in every way.
From Teenagehood to Adulthood
Occasionally, we meet teenagers that seem more mature than their age. By the age of 17, 18, or 19, they may seem to act like adults. This is very rare and they probably do not act like an adult in every way. But because they are children who think, understand, and act like children, the Lord God does not hold them fully accountable for their actions as He does adults. The Lord God holds adults (age 20 and above) fully accountable for their own actions. But with children, the Lord God holds them accountable on a sliding scale.
A baby, of course, has no accountability for his/her actions. He/she does not even know what he/she is doing. But as that baby grows, the Lord God begins to hold that child more and more accountable for his/her actions until the time when he/she reaches the age of 20 and is fully accountable for his/her actions. This explains why the Lord God allowed the children to live and enter the promised land, but He sentenced the adults to death in the wilderness. The adults were allowed by God to raise their children to maturity and prepare them to enter the promised land but did not themselves enter the promised land.
What to know about the age of accountability as a Christian
The Bible does not explicitly give any age as being the age of accountability. And as a result, many people think differently on this subject matter. Some people consider the age of 12 as being the age of accountability. Others consider the age of 13 as the age of accountability. And others completely consider different ages with each and everyone trying to support his/her point of view Biblically.
In Judaism, when a boy is around twelve (12) years of age, he memorizes sections of the Torah (the Law of God) and with his prayer shawl around his shoulders will recite in committal before his family and rabbi to become a man. This is similar to the long period of silence between the birth of the Lord Jesus and the time He was twelve (12) years of age. Just like Jesus Christ, children of age 12 and above should be concerned about doing God’s Will and keeping His commands as they flee from sin (Luke 2:41-52). And as such, thirteen (13) is the most common age suggested for the age of accountability, based on the Jewish custom that a child becomes an adult at the age of thirteen (13). Nevertheless, the Bible does not explicitly support the age of 13 as always being the age of accountability.
It likely varies from child to child. And as such, it is thought that a child has passed the age of accountability once he/she is capable of making a faith decision for or against Christ. With this in mind, we should teach the children how to keep and honor the ways of the Lord God. Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.”
Census and Military Service
In studying the Bible, we notice that whenever the Lord God numbered the people, whether it was for census or military purposes, or whatever, He counted the people who were age 20 and above (Exodus 38:26; Numbers, chapter 1; 2 Chronicles 31:17; Ezra 3:8). This is important because the age of 20 and above signifies adulthood.
The Blind Man (John 9)
John 9:1-3 says, “And as Jesus passed by, He saw a man which was blind from his birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying, ‘Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?’ Jesus answered, ‘Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents….’”
One of the things which we can deduce from this Scripture is that the person had been blind for at least 20 (twenty) years, given that he had been blind from his birth and was now an adult. We are further told in the story how Jesus Christ healed the man so that he could see. When the Pharisees questioned the man’s parents how their son recovered his sight, they answered in verse 21 saying, “He is of age; ask him: he shall speak for himself.” Once again, we can deduce from this Scripture that a “man” is a person who is of age and can speak for himself. This would equally be true for a “woman.” Therefore, a “woman” is a person who is of age and can speak for herself.
In other words, a person must be 20 years of age or above to speak for himself or herself. And as such, if a person is not yet 20 years of age or above, they are under the authority of their parents who are to speak for them.
What Does The Bible Say About Manhood?
Like Jesus of Nazareth, a true man is obedient to the Father’s Will and is about His Father’s business (Hebrews 10:19). In Jesus Christ is righteousness for He lived a sinless life. And because we have all sinned and fallen short of God’s glory, it is our duty to seek the light that comes from no other but Jesus Christ (Romans 3:23 and John 14:6). It is in this light that the godly man will flee away from sin and strive for a righteous life through Christ. Through the Power of the Holy Spirit, the godly man seeks to keep God’s Law as well as dwell in God’s will. With grit and determination, he steps forward to accomplish God’s will regardless of what it might cost him (Isaiah 50:7). Such a man endures persecution, opposition, hardship, and suffering for Christ’s sake without losing his heart (Hebrews 12:3).
A godly man is a man whose heart goes after God’s Word. He makes use of the Scripture to overcome temptation (Matthew 4:1-10). Joyfully praying without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17), he is considered a man of prayer (Mark 1:35). Such is the man of love and sacrifice as we can read from John 13:1.
1 Corinthians 16:13-14 says, “Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. Do everything in love.” With this verse in mind, we can say without a doubt that a true man is vigilant against sin, and danger, and is faithful to the Truth. Also, he is brave in the face of opposition, persistent in carrying his cross to follow Jesus Christ on a daily basis, and, above all, loving in all things.
What The Scriptures Say About Manhood
There is much that the Scriptures say about manhood. We can find a good description of a godly man by reading the Bible’s qualifications for elders and deacons in 1 Timothy 3:2-4; 7 which says, “Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well. . . . He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap.”
In addition 1 Timothy 3:8-9 says, “Deacons, likewise, are to be men worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain. They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience.”
According to 1 Corinthians 13:11, a true man is a person who has “put away childish things.” He knows what is right and with confidence, he stands for it without fear of persecution. Also, a true man is one who loves God with all his heart, spirit, and soul (Matthew 22:37). Likewise, he also loves his neighbor as he loves himself (Matthew 22:39).
What The Bible Says About The Purpose Of Man (Humanity)
The Bible clearly tells us that we were created by God in order to bring Him glory (Genesis 1:25-31). Thus, the ultimate purpose of man (humanity) is to glorify God (Isaiah 43:7). As His creatures, it is our duty to know Him and make Him known by glorifying Him with our lives. The question now is: how do we glorify God?
Ways To Glorify God
1. Worship Him with gladness and thanksgiving (Psalms 100:2-4)
One of the ways to glorify God, the Father of Creation, is to worship Him with gladness and thanksgiving. That is, we are to acknowledge Him as our creator and worship Him as such.
In support of this point, Psalms 100:2-4 says, “Serve the LORD with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!
Know that the LORD, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!“
2. Honoring and serving Him with our lives and decisions (1 Samuel 12:24)
Honoring and serving God with our lives and decisions is one of the greatest ways to glorify Him for Who He Is. The ability to do this comes from the love in our heart for Who He Is as we can read from 1 Samuel 12:24, “Only fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things he has done for you.” Always remember that we were created in God’s image and as such, we fulfill our life purpose through a life devoted to Him (Genesis 1:26–27). After a significant period of living a life of self-indulgence, King Solomon came to the conclusion that living for oneself was useless. With this conclusion, he pointed to the fact that the ultimate purpose of man is to live a life of obedience to God (Ecclesiastes 12:13–14).
Humans are naturally sinful. It takes the sin-cleansing ability of Jesus Christ for us to be found righteous in the presence of God. Thanks to Jesus Christ’s sacrifice of His own Life on the Cross at Calvary, we have a reconciled relationship with God. That is, there is no longer a sin barrier between those who are in Christ and God. When we submit our lives to Christ, we are able to glorify God in truth and in spirit. This submission comes through Sincere Repentance and obedience to the Key Teachings Of Jesus Christ. In living our lives by following the example of Jesus Christ, we are glorifying Him as well as glorying the One who sent Him (2 Corinthians 3:1–6).
Understanding Your Blessings As A Child Of God
In the New Testament, Apostle Paul affirms that God “had set me apart before I was born” (see Galatians 1:15–16). Whatever you do, always remember that God’s plans and purposes for our lives will always result in His glory. In support of this, 1 Corinthians 10:31 says, “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” Today, we have the ability to glorify God because He first crowned us with glory and honor (Psalms 8:4-6 and Hebrews 2:6-8). In addition to this glory and honor, God gave us dominion over the Earth (Genesis 1:28–29). By so doing, God conferred to us the task of stewarding the earth to the best of our ability and above all for the sake of His Glory.
Five Themes Of Biblical Manhood
1. A man knows the importance of self-control (Titus 2:11-12)
Titus 2:11-12 says, For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age…”
A true man values self-control. That is, he controls his emotions and passions. Whether single or married, a real man tames his passions. As a mature man, he doesn’t abuse women or children but rather protects and provides for them. Knowing where he is coming from and where he is going, he keeps his hands off a woman who is not his wife. He treats his wife with love, respect, and dignity. He teaches his household the importance of loving God and obeying His commands. Also, he protects a single woman’s virginity and innocence. He keeps his eyes off pornographic images and is not defined by his exploits below the waist. Such a man is a God-fearing man. He is a man with a heart and a conscience.
For more info, read our Bible Verses About Self Control.
2. A man provides for his household (1 Timothy 5:8)
1 Timothy 5:8 reads, “But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” It is without a doubt that any man who does not work and provide for his household ends up with a sense of shameful feeling. That is his self-worth sinks. As a man, you must embrace work. You should learn what it takes to obtain a job, work hard, maintain high performance, and be able to meet the needs of your household. Behold, a man who is unable to keep a job, who is always moving from one job to another, or who refuses to willingly assume his family responsibilities is actually putting his household in a state of insecurity. A responsible man is one who provides for his family -emotionally, spiritually, physically, financially, and educationally.
3. A man protects his family (Proverbs 4:10-15)
Here, we’ll borrow an expression from Wayne Grudem and John Piper on the essence of masculinity: When you are lying in bed with your wife and suddenly hear the sound of a kitchen window being opened at 3 a.m., do you shake her awake and say, “The last time this occurred, I was the one who took our baseball bat and investigated to see if someone was breaking into our house. Now it’s your turn, Sweetheart. Here’s the bat!”? Obviously No! However, being a protector of your household calls for far more than just ensuring physical safety. Proverbs 4:10-15 portrays a father who protects his son by passing on wisdom, teaching him the ways of God Almighty, teaching him to reject the lies and temptations of the world, and helping him build godly character. This father is protecting even the generation to come as this wisdom will be passed on.
For more info read What The Bible Says About Fathers.
4. A man serves and leads his family (Ephesians 5:23)
While the world quickly sees serving and leading as contradictions, the Bible clearly tells us that they are inseparable. In Ephesians 5:23 where Apostle Paul says, “the husband is the head of the wife,” he quickly dismisses any notions that this leadership allows for selfish male dominance. Apostle Paul does this by completing the sentence with “as Christ also is the head of the church.” The passage goes on to say in verse 25 that husbands should love their wives “just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her” This definition of leadership is quite contrary to that offered by the world. We are trying to say here that a man is called to be a servant-leader in taking responsibility for his wife and children as he puts their needs ahead of his. Also, a man is invited to demonstrate selfless, and sacrificial love.
5. A man follows God’s design for true masculinity (Micah 6:8)
In support of this point, let’s read from Micah 6:8 – “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” The core or essence of every man’s life should be his relationship with God the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven, and Earth. A man who goes after God’s heart knows the importance of embracing his responsibilities.
What Does The Bible Say About Adults?
Proverbs 22:6 – “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.“
Ephesians 6:2-3 – “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.”
1 Corinthians 13:11-12 – “When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.“
2 Timothy 2:22 – “So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.”
1 Corinthians 16:13-14 – “Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.“
Luke 2:40 – “And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him.“
1 Timothy 5:8 – “But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.“
1 Timothy 4:12 – “Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.”
Ephesians 4:15 – “Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,“
Group 1 – What Does The Bible Say About Adults
2 Peter 3:18 – “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.“
Ephesians 4:14-15 – “So that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,“
Proverbs 3:5-6 – “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”
Luke 2:52 – “And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.”
Ephesians 4:13-15 – “Until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,“
Group 2 – What Does The Bible Say About Adults
Proverbs 20:20 – “If one curses his father or his mother, his lamp will be put out in utter darkness.“
Psalm 127:3-5 – “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.”
Hebrews 6:1 – “Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,”
1 Timothy 3:3 – “Not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.“
James 4:7 – “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.“
Psalm 23:1-6 – “A Psalm of David. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. …“
Group 3 – What Does The Bible Say About Adults
Proverbs 19:26 – “He who does violence to his father and chases away his mother is a son who brings shame and reproach.“
1 Peter 2:2 – “Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—“
1 Samuel 2:26 – “Now the young man Samuel continued to grow both in stature and in favor with the Lord and also with man.”
Judges 2:10 – “And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel.“
2 Peter 3:18 – “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.“
Titus 2:1-6 – “But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine. Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. …“
Group 4 – What Does The Bible Say About Adults
1 Corinthians 6:9-11 – “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”
Romans 2:1-3:31 – “Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. …“
Group 5 – What Does The Bible Say About Adults
Luke 2:52 – “And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.“
Luke 1:80 – “And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.”
1 John 2:13-14 – “I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, children, because you know the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.”
Numbers 1:1-54 – “The Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tent of meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying, “Take a census of all the congregation of the people of Israel, by clans, by fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, every male, head by head. From twenty years old and upward, all in Israel who are able to go to war, you and Aaron shall list them, company by company. And there shall be with you a man from each tribe, each man being the head of the house of his fathers. And these are the names of the men who shall assist you. From Reuben, Elizur the son of Shedeur; …“
Group 6 – What Does The Bible Say About Adults
Deuteronomy 22:5 – “A woman shall not wear a man’s garment, nor shall a man put on a woman’s cloak, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord your God.“
1 John 2:13-14 – “I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, children, because you know the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.”
Deuteronomy 21:18-21 – “If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and, though they discipline him, will not listen to them, then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city at the gate of the place where he lives, and they shall say to the elders of his city, ‘This our son is stubborn and rebellious; he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard.’ Then all the men of the city shall stone him to death with stones. So you shall purge the evil from your midst, and all Israel shall hear, and fear.”
Group 7 – What Does The Bible Say About Adults
Jeremiah 29:11 – “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.“
Isaiah 40:30-31 – “Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”
Psalm 25:2-3 – “O my God, in you I trust; let me not be put to shame; let not my enemies exult over me. Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame; they shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.”
Ephesians 2:8 – “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,“
Romans 8:28 – “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.“
Galatians 2:20 – “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
Romans 8:15 – For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
Group 8 – What Does The Bible Say About Adults
1 Chronicles 16:11 – “Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!“
Judges 13:24 – “And the woman bore a son and called his name Samson. And the young man grew, and the Lord blessed him.”
1 Timothy 5:1-2 – “Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity.”
Genesis 3:10 – And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.”
Micah 6:8 – “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?“
Numbers 14:29-33 – “Your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness, and of all your number, listed in the census from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against me, not one shall come into the land where I swore that I would make you dwell, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun. But your little ones, who you said would become a prey, I will bring in, and they shall know the land that you have rejected. But as for you, your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness. And your children shall be shepherds in the wilderness forty years and shall suffer for your faithlessness, until the last of your dead bodies lies in the wilderness.“
Group 9 – What Does The Bible Say About Adults
Ephesians 6:1-3 – Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.”
Ephesians 6:4 – “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.“
Ephesians 2:10 – “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
1 Corinthians 13:11 – “When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.“
Psalm 90:12 – “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.“
Hebrews 13:5-6 – Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”
2 Samuel 6:16 – “As the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, and she despised him in her heart.“
Group 10 – What Does The Bible Say About Adults
Psalm 119:105 – “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
Exodus 20:12 – “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.”
Ephesians 2:8-9 – “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.“
Proverbs 20:29 – “The glory of young men is their strength, but the splendor of old men is their gray hair.”
Proverbs 23:22 – “Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.“
Ecclesiastes 8:1-17 – “Who is like the wise? And who knows the interpretation of a thing? A man’s wisdom makes his face shine, and the hardness of his face is changed. I say: Keep the king’s command, because of God’s oath to him. Be not hasty to go from his presence. Do not take your stand in an evil cause, for he does whatever he pleases. For the word of the king is supreme, and who may say to him, “What are you doing?” Whoever keeps a command will know no evil thing, and the wise heart will know the proper time and the just way. ...”
Group 11 – What Does The Bible Say About Adults
Job 4:17 – “‘Can mortal man be in the right before God? Can a man be pure before his Maker?“
Hebrews 2:7 – “You made him for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned him with glory and honor,“
Genesis 1:26 – Then 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 birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
Genesis 1:27 – “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”
Proverbs 20:27 – “The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord, searching all his innermost parts.“
Isaiah 43:7 – “Everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”
Psalm 8:6-8 – “You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas.”
Group 12 – What Does The Bible Say About Adults
Psalm 144:4 – “Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow.”
James 2:26 – “For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.”
Psalm 8:4 – “What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?“
Psalm 100:3 – “Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.”
Genesis 2:7 – “Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.“
Psalm 33:13-15 – “The Lord looks down from heaven; he sees all the children of man; from where he sits enthroned he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth, he who fashions the hearts of them all and observes all their deeds.“
Group 13 – What Does The Bible Say About Adults
Psalm 8:3 – “When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,”
Hebrews 9:27 – “And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,”
Psalm 8:5 – “Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.“
Psalm 139:14 – “I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.”
Psalm 144:3 – “O Lord, what is man that you regard him, or the son of man that you think of him?“
Psalm 119:73 – “Your hands have made and fashioned me; give me understanding that I may learn your commandments.”
Job 4:19 – “How much more those who dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, who are crushed like the moth.”
Psalm 138:8 – “The Lord will fulfil his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.“
Group 14 – What Does The Bible Say About Adults
John 4:24 – “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
Job 15:14 – “What is man, that he can be pure? Or he who is born of a woman, that he can be righteous?“
Job 31:15 – “Did not he who made me in the womb make him? And did not one fashion us in the womb?“
Job 14:1-5 – “Man who is born of a woman is few of days and full of trouble. He comes out like a flower and withers; he flees like a shadow and continues not. And do you open your eyes on such a one and bring me into judgment with you? Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? There is not one. Since his days are determined, and the number of his months is with you, and you have appointed his limits that he cannot pass,“
Ecclesiastes 1:8 – “All things are full of weariness; a man cannot utter it; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.”
Ecclesiastes 12:7 – “And the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.“
Group 15 – What Does The Bible Say About Adults
1 Corinthians 2:11 – “For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.
1 Corinthians 15:49 – “Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.”
James 3:9 – “With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God.”
Job 10:9 – “Remember that you have made me like clay; and will you return me to the dust?“
Group 16 – What Does The Bible Say About Adults
Romans 7:14-25 – “For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. ...”
Hebrews 4:12 – “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
John 3:3-8 – Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ …
Group 17 – What Does The Bible Say About Adults
Job 31:13-15 – “If I have rejected the cause of my manservant or my maidservant, when they brought a complaint against me, what then shall I do when God rises up? When he makes inquiry, what shall I answer him? Did not he who made me in the womb make him? And did not one fashion us in the womb?“
Job 32:8 – “But it is the spirit in man, the breath of the Almighty, that makes him understand.“
Ecclesiastes 2:14 – “The wise person has his eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. And yet I perceived that the same event happens to all of them.”
Job 33:4 – “The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.”
Ecclesiastes 3:21 – “Who knows whether the spirit of man goes upward and the spirit of the beast goes down into the earth?“
Isaiah 64:8 – “But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.“
Group 18 – What Does The Bible Say About Adults
1 Corinthians 11:7 – “For a man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God, but woman is the glory of man.”
Job 10:2 – “I will say to God, Do not condemn me; let me know why you contend against me.”
Job 25:4-6 – “How then can man be in the right before God? How can he who is born of woman be pure? Behold, even the moon is not bright, and the stars are not pure in his eyes; how much less man, who is a maggot, and the son of man, who is a worm!”
Malachi 2:10 – “Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us? Why then are we faithless to one another, profaning the covenant of our fathers?“
Genesis 1:28 – And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth 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.”
1 Corinthians 6:20 – “For you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”
Group 19 – What Does The Bible Say About Adults
Genesis 9:6 – “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.“
Job 35:10 – “But none says, ‘Where is God my Maker, who gives songs in the night,”
Job 38:4 – “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding.”
Job 10:8 – “Your hands fashioned and made me, and now you have destroyed me altogether.“
Ecclesiastes 7:29 – “See, this alone I found, that God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes.”
Proverbs 16:4 – “The Lord has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble.”
Acts 7:59 – And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”
Isaiah 42:5 – “Thus says God, the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it:“
Group 20 – What Does The Bible Say About Adults
1 Thessalonians 5:23 – “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Hebrews 2:8 – “Putting everything in subjection under his feet.” Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him.”
Genesis 5:2 – “Male and female he created them, and he blessed them and named them Man when they were created.”
Job 4:18-21 – “Even in his servants he puts no trust, and his angels he charges with error; how much more those who dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, who are crushed like the moth. Between morning and evening they are beaten to pieces; they perish forever without anyone regarding it. Is not their tent-cord plucked up within them, do they not die, and that without wisdom?’”
Genesis 9:3 – “Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything.”
Group 21 – What Does The Bible Say About Adults
2 Corinthians 4:6 – “For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”
Galatians 3:28 – “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
2 Corinthians 4:16 – “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.”
2 Corinthians 5:1-9 – “For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. …“
Group 22 – What Does The Bible Say About Adults
1 Corinthians 15:21 – “For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.”
Luke 23:46 – “Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last.“
1 Corinthians 15:22 – “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.“
1 Corinthians 15:48 – “As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven.“
Acts 17:26 – “And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place,“
Matthew 10:28 – “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”
Mark 10:6 – “But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’“
Group 23 – What Does The Bible Say About Adults
Jeremiah 28:14 – “For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: I have put upon the neck of all these nations an iron yoke to serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and they shall serve him, for I have given to him even the beasts of the field.’”
Jeremiah 27:5 – “It is I who by my great power and my outstretched arm have made the earth, with the men and animals that are on the earth, and I give it to whomever it seems right to me.”
Zechariah 12:1 – “The burden of the word of the Lord concerning Israel: Thus declares the Lord, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the spirit of man within him:“
Matthew 23:8 – “But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers.”
Daniel 2:38 – “And into whose hand he has given, wherever they dwell, the children of man, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens, making you rule over them all—you are the head of gold.”
Group 24 – What Does The Bible Say About Adults
Psalm 31:5 – “Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God.”
Job 38:13 – “That it might take hold of the skirts of the earth, and the wicked be shaken out of it?“
Isaiah 17:7 – “In that day man will look to his Maker, and his eyes will look on the Holy One of Israel.”
Proverbs 22:2 – “The rich and the poor meet together; the Lord is the maker of them all.“
Ecclesiastes 3:20 – “All go to one place. All are from the dust, and to dust all return.“
Jeremiah 27:6 – “Now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, my servant, and I have given him also the beasts of the field to serve him.”
Isaiah 45:12 – “I made the earth and created man on it; it was my hands that stretched out the heavens, and I commanded all their host.”
Group 25 – What Does The Bible Say About Adults
Romans 2:29 – “But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.”
Job 4:18 – “Even in his servants he puts no trust, and his angels he charges with error;“
Ephesians 4:4 – “There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—“
Job 10:3 – “Does it seem good to you to oppress, to despise the work of your hands and favor the designs of the wicked?“
Job 38:12 – “Have you commanded the morning since your days began, and caused the dawn to know its place,“
1 Corinthians 14:14 – “For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unfruitful.”
Job 35:2-8 – “Do you think this to be just? Do you say, ‘It is my right before God,’ that you ask, ‘What advantage have I? How am I better off than if I had sinned?’ I will answer you and your friends with you. Look at the heavens, and see; and behold the clouds, which are higher than you. If you have sinned, what do you accomplish against him? And if your transgressions are multiplied, what do you do to him? ...”
Group 26 – What Does The Bible Say About Adults
1 Corinthians 7:34 – “And his interests are divided. And the unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit. But the married woman is anxious about worldly things, how to please her husband.”
Mark 10:42-44 – And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.”
Matthew 4:4 – But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Isaiah 26:9 – “My soul yearns for you in the night; my spirit within me earnestly seeks you. For when your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.”
Romans 1:9 – “For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I mention you.”
Matthew 23:11 – “The greatest among you shall be your servant.”
Group 27 – What Does The Bible Say About Adults
Matthew 20:25-28 – But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Ecclesiastes 2:15 – “Then I said in my heart, “What happens to the fool will happen to me also. Why then have I been so very wise?” And I said in my heart that this also is vanity.“
Ephesians 6:1-4 – “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”
