The Glorious Beginning of Man

Genesis 2:4-25

November 17, 2013

 

Well we’ve began a study of the book of Genesis.

And we spent the last two weeks looking at “The God of Creation”

 

After seeing that “God created the heavens and the earth”

There is no reason to ever worship or fear any other god.

Israel’s God is God.

 

And that is a fitting opening to Scripture.

 

But as I told you this is more than just a historical lesson.

Moses has a theological point to make.

 

We called this – THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MOSES

 

And it is actually the gospel message that begins here.

 

The key to this section of Scripture can be found stated in verse 4

“This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created,”

 

Again, some of have read this and taken issue saying,

“Well God just created everything in chapter 1, why are we talking about creation again?”

This isn’t a second creation.

This is a whole new point Moses is making.

 

Chapters 2-11 actually begin a new section in the book of Genesis.

It would be titled “What Became of God’s Creation?”

 

Obviously we ended last week seeing that everything was good.

 

Genesis 1:31 “God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.”

 

In fact, everything was so good

That God saw that nothing else needed to be done and He rested.

It was finished.

No tweaking was needed.

 

But Moses is preaching to a congregation

Who just survived 400 years of slavery in Egypt.

And now they were wondering in the wilderness.

 

The story Moses told in chapter 1 must have seemed a little far-fetched

The children of Israel could open their eyes and look around

And see that creation was anything but good.

• How many times did they grumble due to lack of water?

• How many times did they grumble due to lack of food?

• Now they deal with the sun and its burning heat…

• Now they deal with snakes biting them from the sand…

 

The obvious question after reading chapter 1 is, “What happened?”

 

Hebrews 2:8 “YOU HAVE PUT ALL THINGS IN SUBJECTION UNDER HIS FEET.” For in subjecting all things to him, He left nothing that is not subject to him. But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him.”

 

Obviously something happened between Genesis 1 and Exodus 12

 

Moses sets to reveal that truth exactly.

Here we begin the account of what became of God’s perfect creation.

 

Now I certainly don’t want to kill the suspense,

But you and I already know what happened.

We call it “The Fall”

 

Romans 5:12 “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned”

 

Romans 8:20a “For the creation was subjected to futility…”

 

We know the story that is recorded in chapter 3

We’ll look at it closer next week

 

• But we know about the serpent and how he deceived Eve, and how Adam

chose to transgress the command of God.

 

• We know how when sin entered, their eyes were opened, and spiritual death

was a reality.

 

• We know how the consequences of that sin was the curse upon the earth.

 

But before we get to that story

It is very important that Moses make a point.

 

The point that Moses makes in chapter 2 is this:

WHEN MAN FELL INTO SIN,

IT WAS NOT GOD’S FAULT, IT WAS MAN’S.

 

By the time we end chapter 3 Adam and Eve will be covered in skins, sunken in shame, walking out of the garden of Eden.

When we get to chapter 4 we have murder, adultery, and despair.

When we get to chapter 5 we get death

When we get to chapter 6 we get sin so out of control that God makes a decision to flood the entire earth

 

Things are going south in a hurry.

But it is important for you to know who bears the blame for this.

The fall of man and the entrance of sin was no one’s fault but man.

 

James 1:14 “But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust.”

 

Matthew 15:19 “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders.”

 

Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?”

 

It is the wicked heart of man that lusts and is enticed and that fell into sin.

 

The fall of man was NOT:

• Due to difficult circumstances

• Due to extreme expectations

• Due to genetic deficiency

• Due to ignorance of danger

• Due to lack of help

 

Now when man did fall he tried several excuses

And attempted to pass the blame, but it was totally unwarranted.

 

I’ve always like what Paul said in Romans 7

As he explained the issue of bad decisions in his own life.

 

Romans 7:20 “But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.”

 

When Paul looked at the failures in his life

He could only blame one person, himself.

 

Today people love to blame their sin on everyone else.

• Poor circumstances led to irrational behavior…

• Unreasonable expectations just couldn’t be met…

• My parents raised me wrong, or contributed genetically to may flaws…

• No one told me otherwise

 

And Moses knew the same was true in his day.

The children of Israel would be all too eager

To blame their sin on someone else.

 

SO MOSES’ OPENING POINT IS THAT A MAN’S SIN

IS NO ONE’S FAULT BUT HIS OWN.

 

And in order to prove that point

Moses sets out to show you the tremendously advantageous position that Adam found himself in here.

 

It all starts here in chapter 2 looking at man’s glorious beginning.

 

There are three things I want you to see in this chapter

As we see all God did to give man every advantage he could have asked for.

 

#1 THE EARTH GETS A KEEPER

Genesis 2:4-15

 

As I told you at the outset, “This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made earth and heaven.”

 

Moses is here telling you what became of God’s creation.

And you will notice that Moses takes us back to day 3 of creation.

 

Genesis 1:9-13 “Then God said, “Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so. God called the dry land earth, and the gathering of the waters He called seas; and God saw that it was good. Then God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit after their kind with seed in them”; and it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit with seed in them, after their kind; and God saw that it was good. There was evening and there was morning, a third day.”

 

So obviously here in verses 5 & 6 we are somewhere in the middle of day 3.

 

“Now no shrub of the field was yet in the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the Lord God had not sent rain upon the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground. But a mist used to rise from the earth and water the whole surface of the ground.”

 

God had created the plants and the trees,

But even in this God could see a lack of completion.

All He had done was good, but even He knew that it was not yet finished.

 

• We have ground with no plants

• We have land with no rain

• And worst of all we have the potential for crops, but no one to cultivate them.

 

And this reality is what pushes us toward the creation of man.

 

And just in that very truth a reality begins to sit in.

Man wasn’t made for creation, creation was made for man.

 

Creation without man was pointless and useless.

It was here for man.

What good are plants and fruit trees with no one to eat them?

 

So we fast forward to day 6

(7) “Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.”

So God made man.

• We already learned that he was made in God’s image.

• Here we find that he became “a living being (soul)”

 

Of all of God’s creatures,

Only man had the capacity to fellowship with God.

Only man could commune with Him.

 

It is worth pointing out that man lost that right at the fall.

Man died spiritually, and now that fellowship is only restored through Christ

And the spiritual life supplied by the Holy Spirit

 

But God created man to rule His creation.

 

And what we notice next is that God gave man a glorious place to dwell.

 

(8-9) “The LORD God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed. Out of the ground the LORD God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”

 

Man wasn’t put in some dump

Where he would be forced to scratch out a living

And tempted at every turn to go after something better.

 

Man was placed in paradise.

He had every imaginable comfort.

 

Yes Adam was the keeper of garden, but one could hardly call it labor.

That garden was wonderful.

It grew fruit like my yard grows weeds.

 

It was natural, it was prosperous, it was wonderful.

 

You’ll even notice that God not only provided for day to day sustenance, but also never ending life.

 

For God placed there “the tree of life also in the midst of the garden,”

 

If you want a picture of the blessing of this land look at verses 10-14

(10-14) “Now a river flowed out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it divided and became four rivers. The name of the first is Pishon; it flows around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. The gold of that land is good; the bdellium and the onyx stone are there. The name of the second river is Gihon; it flows around the whole land of Cush. The name of the third river is Tigris; it flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.”

Each of these rivers were rivers that the children of Israel

Would have known full well about.

 

• They were major rivers

• They were vitally important to the ecosystem of their world

• Life flowed from these rivers

 

And yet you will notice that every one of these rivers

Had its headwaters in the garden of Eden.

 

THIS WAS AN EASY PLACE TO LIVE

 

The Earth gets a Keeper

#2 THE GARDEN GETS SOME ORDER

Genesis 2:16-17

 

Here we find two very interesting verses.

Adam was in a truly wonderful place.

 

Everything Adam saw was his for the taking, save one thing.

 

(16-17) “The LORD God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”

 

From the very outset of creation God has given man a choice to make.

 

Look, I enjoy studying the sovereignty of God as much as the next guy.

I love the truths of foreknowledge and election and predestination.

 

But anyone who takes those truths so far as to deny that man has a choice to make is simply not reading their Bible.

 

God gave man a choice before the 6th day of creation was over.

 

Woman hasn’t even been created yet, and already man has a choice.

 

Now, let’s be fair about this.

God gave him a choice

But also was very clear on what he should choose.

 

Adam can’t claim ignorance

Here in a few days when he eats from that tree.

 

God told him as clearly and specifically as it could be done.

“from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”

 

God didn’t take the tree away,

But he did specifically tell him what to do with it.

 

Adam was in a very advantageous spot,

But Adam still had a moral responsibility.

 

Adam still had to choose to love God

And to display that love through obedience.

 

Now this is a tremendous lesson for Israel right from the start.

 

Their entire life would be about making the right choice.

 

In fact in the last book Moses wrote to them he said:

Deuteronomy 30:19-20 “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving the LORD your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days, that you may live in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.”

 

This truth in Genesis is a very real and valid reminder for us all.

 

God has given us all clear commands that we are to obey.

He doesn’t do that to harm us, He does it to protect us.

And if we choose to disobey the consequences are always severe.

 

Can’t you see Israel walking away from the Promised Land, having refused to obey the Lord, remembering again this sermon about Adam making the wrong choice?

 

We are reminded of that often revealed truth that

Obedience brings blessing and disobedience brings a curse.

 

Adam had the blessed life, all he had to do was choose to obey God and his life would always be that way.

 

God is giving Adam the choice.

He gives you that choice as well.

 

You have to choose whether or not you are going to obey God or not.

You have to choose whether or not you are going to trust God’s commands.

 

That decision has been here since the beginning.

 

The Earth gets a Keeper, The Garden gets some Order

#3 MAN GETS A HELPER

Genesis 2:18-25

 

 

We could make the case that man was in paradise

And had absolutely everything he ever needed.

But that just wasn’t true.

 

Man had a wonderful garden, but man was alone.

 

(18) “Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.”

 

See man has everything he needs, but he has no helper.

He still might claim that the battle against sin

Was too difficult to fight by yourself.

 

God is removing every possible excuse.

And God creates a helper.

 

(19) “Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name.”

 

We call this “helper tryouts”

 

And again we see man as the pinnacle in God’s creation.

• Man has dominion

• Man is at the top

• He is even given naming rights to all the animals

 

And Adam spoke with authority.

“whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name”

 

It was a done deal.

Adam is in charge.

 

(20) “The man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the sky, and to every beast of the field, but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him.”

 

So man names them all

They are all in subjection to him

Adam is ruling creation

But none of them are a suitable helper

 

And incidentally, don’t take the word “helper” here as a derogatory term.

 

I know the women’s liberation movement of our day would take extreme offense to calling the woman a “helper” to man.

 

But Scripture does not use that term in a derogative sense.

Scripture actually uses that term to describe God.

 

Psalms 33:20 “Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield.”

 

Psalms 46:1 “God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.”

 

Psalms 70:5 “But I am afflicted and needy; Hasten to me, O God! You are my help and my deliverer; O LORD, do not delay.”

 

Psalms 115:9 “O Israel, trust in the LORD; He is their help and their shield.”

 

If you will remember, Jesus was our helper, and when He had to leave, what did He say?

 

John 14:16 “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever;”

 

So don’t look at the search for a helper as minor or minimal thing.

This was a big deal.

This was a necessary thing.

 

And since no animal was a suitable helper to Adam…

(21-23) “So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. The LORD God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. The man 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.”

 

So out of a rib from Adam’s side came his help mate.

The woman Eve was created.

 

• She was not his servant

• She was not his hired hand

• She was “bone of [his] bones, and flesh of [his] flesh”

 

And with this woman,

Adam would form the deepest possible human relationship there was.

 

For her he would forsake every other earthly relationship.

She would be one flesh with him.

 

And this is precisely the point Moses makes.

 

You may notice that Moses takes the opportunity

To use verse 24 as a little mini sermon.

 

(24) “For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.”

 

Obviously as it pertains to the story of creation

That verse is a little out of place since Adam had no father or mother to leave, and they had no children yet that this would have referred to.

 

This was Moses directly applying this reality to the lives of Israel.

 

Moses was pointing out that from the beginning

God made them male and female and that God intended

For that relationship to be the pinnacle human relationship.

 

• A man would “leave his father and his mother”, but he was never to leave his wife.

• He was to “become one flesh” with her.

 

• She is his helper

• She is his suitable mate

• She is the one whom God intended for Adam to walk side by side through this life with.

 

She would be the one who should help him in his toil

She would be the one who should help him in his decisions

 

With Eve, Adam now had everything he could possible need or want.

 

And if you want to see the perfection of the relationship

We look at verse 25.

 

(25) “And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.”

They had total intimacy

They had total trust

They had total comfort with one another

 

There was no fear of abuse

There was no fear of exploitation

 

• It was not until sin entered the world that Adam would become a

chauvinist and have to be commanded to love his wife.

 

• It was not until sin entered the world that Even would become a

feminist and have to be commanded to submit to her husband.

 

Sin messed up the relationship, but in the beginning it was perfect.

And that is the point to chapter 2.

 

• Adam has been given everything he could possibly need or want.

• There was nothing more that God needed to do.

• All that was left was for Adam to trust and obey.

 

 

And when the fall happens in chapter 3,

There is no possible way to blame it on God

For not giving Adam every possible chance to succeed.

 

What more could he have wanted?

• Every need met…

• Every desire satisfied…

• Perfect comfort…

 

God had set Adam up to succeed.

 

It reminds me of that tragic story of the vineyard in Isaiah 5.

TURN TO: ISAIAH 5:1-7

 

And verse 4 there is the same question

We would ask of God here in Genesis chapter 2.

 

“What more was there to do for My vineyard that I have not done in it?”

 

Could God have done any more for the garden

To have made it a place where Adam could succeed?

Absolutely not, God did it all.

 

SO WHEN YOU SEE THE FALL IN CHAPTER 3,

KNOW THAT SIN IS NOT AN ISSUE OF GOD’S FAILURE,

OR OF POOR CIRCUMSTANCES.

 

Man sins because he is sinful.

Man chooses evil because his heart is corrupt.

 

Every single sin you’ve ever committed was your fault.

Not your circumstances…

Not your parents…

 

It was simply your fault.

 

However it was God who even though you were a wilful sinner, chose to redeem you.

 

Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

 

2 Corinthians 5:21 “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

 

That is the work of God.

Remember, He redeems what is broken and waste and futile.

 

God is in the business of saving sinners, not pushing them into it.

 

He gave Adam every chance to succeed.

And let me say He has done the same for you.

 

• No, you are not in the garden of Eden

• No, you may not live in paradise

 

However, God specifically created you and placed you where He did so that you would see Him, and come to know Him.

 

Remember a couple of weeks ago when we heard what Paul said about the Creator God in Athens?

 

Acts 17:26-27 “and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;”

 

That is God at work.

He created you and purposely placed you when and where He did.

 

Just as He put Adam in the garden,

So He put you in this day and in this place.

It is not accidental.

 

God is also giving you every opportunity to choose Him.

But He won’t force the decision.

 

You have to choose.

• That was the message to Adam

• That was Moses’ message to the children of Israel

• And that is the message to each of us today

 

 

 

We have to choose whether or not

We will trust and obey this God who has given us life.

 

The God of Creation – part 2

Genesis 1:1 – 2:3

November 10, 2013

 

Last week we began our study of this wonderful book of Genesis.

As we said then, Genesis 1 is the absolute fitting chapter

To begin the whole of the Bible.

 

It begins with God as the Creator or all things.

And this reality sets God apart as the sole authority over all things.

 

We said last week that the fact that He created all things:

 

Reveals His TRANSCENDENCE.

Who is like Him?

He is higher and loftier than any other thing.

He sits enthroned above creation.

 

• He commands the morning

• He guides the lightning bolt

• He holds the rain

• He restrains the sea

 

There is no God like our God

 

His role as Creator reveals His GRACE

 

In Psalm 8 David looked at the vastness of creation and asked,

“What is man that you are mindful of him?”

 

Why would a God so big and so awesome care about me?

 

He put man as head over all things

Thus revealing His love and grace toward man.

 

His role as Creator reveals His GLORY

 

Again in Psalm 19 David marveled at the faithful testimony of creation.

Every morning the sun declares God’s glory.

 

• And we asked, who has ever trembled at the thunder?

• Who has ever marveled at the ocean?

• Who has ever been captivated by the snow?

 

Our God is glorious.

 

And we said that His role as Creator is also a testimony to His JUDGMENT

 

For just as God created this world with a word, Peter reminded us that

“by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire”

Creation reminds us of His role and power,

Both to create, to rule, and to judge.

Creation is significant.

 

And thus far we have began studying Genesis

To see this great God of creation.

 

We covered the first two points of this opening section last week.

#1 THE POINT OF CREATION

Genesis 1:1

 

And we aren’t talking about the point in a chronological sense as in the “point it began”, but the point in an explanatory sense.

 

What is the point of creation?

 

And the point is simply seen, that

Our God created the heavens and the earth.

 

There is a God.

He is our God.

And there is no reason to rebel against Him or give His glory to another.

 

Jeremiah reminded us:

Jeremiah 10:11 “Thus you shall say to them, “The gods that did not make the heavens and the earth will perish from the earth and from under the heavens.”

 

David said:

Psalms 96:5 “For all the gods of the peoples are idols, But the LORD made the heavens.”

 

• Why would you ever bow the knee to a god who did not create the world?

• Why would you ever worship a god with no such power?

 

The point of the creation story is that Israel and you and me

Would determine that only one God is worthy of our worship,

And that we would give it to Him.

 

#2 THE POWER OF CREATION

Genesis 1:3

 

I told you then that before you see the specifics of creation

It is important that you see the power behind it.

 

And that power is none other than the spoken word of God.

 

We saw the same phrase repeated 10 times in this first chapter.

“Then God said…”

 

 

• When God wanted light He didn’t start a fire – He told it to come

• When God wanted seas, He didn’t dig a tank – He told them to form

• When God wanted life, He didn’t attempt cloning – He told it to happen

 

Nothing reveals the authoritative power of God’s word like creation.

 

Isaiah 55:11 “So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.”

 

This is the tremendous power of God’s creation.

He spoke and the world began.

 

That is the Point of Creation and the Power of Creation

 

This morning we move forward in our study.

#3 THE PLAN OF CREATION

Genesis 1:2-31

 

Here we find the basic account of all of God’s creation

And the order by which it occurred.

And it is really a remarkable thing to behold.

 

(2) “The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.”

 

We have to look at that verse for a moment

Because it has been the cause of much uncertainty over the years.

 

I had a lady in my office a few months ago asking about this very verse.

“Verse 1 says God created it, verse 2 says it was “formless and void”, what happened?”

 

This verse has been quite a topic of speculation.

 

• Some say that if God created the heavens and the earth in verse 1 something terrible must have happened to make it like it is in verse 2.

 

• Some even translate verse 2 “the earth became formless and void”

 

And then they go to work with their hypothesis

Trying to figure out what could have happened

That took the creation of verse 1 and ruined it by verse 2.

 

And we get theories like:

• The fall of Satan actually occurred in between verse 1 and 2 and Satan wrecked God’s creation. And God recreated it in verse 2.

 

That is problematic since Moses’ point is not that Satan wrecked creation,

But that sin did, and Moses gets to that by chapter 3.

 

But the real problem with all of those theories is that

They are speculation at best.

Scripture never says that is what occurred

And it is a mistake to speak where Scripture is silent.

 

There is a very good reason why verse 2 reveals that “The earth was formless and void”

 

That is where God started.

That is also why Moses reveals that

“the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.”

 

God started it as a blank slate, but He was moving.

He wasn’t leaving it like that.

He was creating something perfect.

 

God certainly had the power

To create a completely finished product instantly.

 

It is certainly within God’s ability

To simply skip from Genesis 1:1 to Genesis 2:4

 

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth…This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created…”

 

However God CHOSE to create the world over the course of 6 days.

WHY?

 

Because in this progression of creation

We find the necessity of God’s continual hand.

 

At no point in the process could God pull out and we take it from there.

He is revealing creations need for His continual presence.

 

And that is why verse 2 starts so dark.

 

“The earth was formless and void”

 

“formless” translates TOHU

It means “meaningless” or “confusion”

 

Isaiah 40:17 “All the nations are as nothing before Him, They are regarded by Him as less than nothing and meaningless.”

 

Isaiah 59:4 “No one sues righteously and no one pleads honestly. They trust in confusion and speak lies; They conceive mischief and bring forth iniquity.”

“void” translates BOHU

It means “emptiness”

 

Isaiah 34:11 “But pelican and hedgehog will possess it, And owl and raven will dwell in it; And He will stretch over it the line of desolation And the plumb line of emptiness.”

 

And hopefully you pick up on the literary work of Moses.

The earth was TOHU and BOHU

 

It started in a completely unusable, formless, confused, orderless reality.

 

GOD CHOSE TO BEGIN IT THERE.

• He didn’t start with perfection and maintain it.

• He started with chaos and renovated it.

 

And there is a reason God did it this way.

It reveals God’s role as One who redeems.

 

He always takes what is flawed and makes it new.

• He brings light from darkness

• He brings order from chaos

• He brings blessing from struggle

• He brings what is good from what is not

 

That is the point here.

His plan for creation was to take what had no value

And work it until it was perfect.

 

Is that not what He is doing in your life?

Taking you from depravity to glory?

 

2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”

 

We actually better understand God’s ability

To make all things new in our life

Because that is precisely what He does as the creator God.

 

He makes us a new creation.

 

That is actually what Jesus told Nicodemus one night in Israel.

 

John 3:3 “Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

 

• Man doesn’t need to be renovated

• Man doesn’t need to be reconditioned

• Man doesn’t need to be reformed

 

Man must be RECREATED

Only God can do this.

He is the Creator.

 

So it is here.

The PLAN is for God to display His ability to transform.

 

So in God’s plan of creation

He started with an unformed, wasted, empty, confused world.

And then He went to work.

 

And what you see is that over the course of the next 6 days

God renovated and redeemed this empty barren nothingness.

 

And I don’t find it necessary to try to spend great detail on each day.

Even Moses seems to fly through them, rather choosing to make sure that

You and I see the progression of what God was doing.

 

VERSES 3-5 – Day 1

 

There God creates light.

Interesting by the way that God created light on day 1,

But the sun doesn’t get created until day 4.

 

Don’t ever be confused as to who the real light of the world is.

 

And incidentally God always starts here.

He shines light in the darkness.

 

Light reveals

Light exposes

Light enlightens

 

God does this first and thus undeniably reveals

That there is work to be done.

 

Even when Jesus came, He first revealed the problem, then He fixed it.

That is what God was doing even back as far as creation.

 

VERSES 6-8 – Day 2

 

Here we have God actually taking the formless void

And beginning to shape it into form.

 

I honestly have to tell you that this a marvelous day of creation

And really a mind blowing one.

 

God separates two formless waters and puts the sky in between

 

We instantly have earth, then we have sky,

And we have the entire outer space.

The hymn writer had it correct:

“O Lord my God! When I in awesome wonder consider all the worlds Thy hands have made, I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder, Thy power throughout the universe displayed. Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee; How great Thou art!”

 

That is what you are supposed to see.

 

VERSES 9-13 – Day 3

 

Again consider the awesome power of God.

In one instant He restrained the power of the sea.

He told it to stop and go no further.

 

Job 38:8-11 “Or who enclosed the sea with doors When, bursting forth, it went out from the womb; When I made a cloud its garment And thick darkness its swaddling band, And I placed boundaries on it And set a bolt and doors, And I said, ‘Thus far you shall come, but no farther; And here shall your proud waves stop’?”

 

Amazing what God can do, and the awesome power He has.

 

Isaiah 40:12 “Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, And marked off the heavens by the span, And calculated the dust of the earth by the measure, And weighed the mountains in a balance And the hills in a pair of scales?”

 

God then told trees and plants to arise and bear fruit, and it did.

 

If you don’t find the miracle in this, go give your hand to farming.

There is nothing easy about bringing forth a crop and yet God did it with such ease.

 

VERSES 14-19 – Day 4

 

Here God hung the sun and the moon and placed the stars in place.

 

Consider the order of the universe.

• The precise faithfulness by which the solar system operates.

• Consider that stars since that very day have been a steady guide for navigation, completely unwavering.

 

It is the order of God’s creation that blows the mind here.

• We never get too close to the sun and cook.

• We never got too far away and freeze.

• We never spin too fast or too slow.

• We never fall off of this globe.

 

It is really staggering to think about

What God did on the fourth day of creation.

 

VERSES 20-23 – Day 5

 

Ever try to stock a tank?

Ever try to keep a fish alive in an aquarium?

And yet notice what God did in a single day.

He stocked the ocean and

Commanded fish to fill the oceans, lakes, and rivers.

 

God then filled the sky with birds, all because He could.

 

VERSES 24-31 – Day 6

 

A pretty important day to you and me.

God made animals and humanity.

 

God didn’t make monkeys and mysteriously

Half of them turned into humans and the other half stayed monkeys.

God created things then exactly as we know them today.

 

And then an amazing feat:

(26-27) “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”

 

First we see the trinity, way back at Creation.

“Let Us make man in Our image”

 

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were all present at the Creation.

 

But we also see God’s undeniable affection towards humanity,

As God does something for humanity

That He did for no other aspect of creation.

 

“God created man in His own image”

 

Now don’t misunderstand this.

That does not mean God looks like a human.

 

Yes Scripture does speak of God’s hands or His feet or His eyes.

But Scripture also speaks of His pinions and wings.

 

Psalms 91:4 “He will cover you with His pinions, And under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.”

 

The image of God here refers to the reality that caused David to marvel, that God would share His authority

 

Psalms 8:6 “You make him to rule over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet,”

 

Of all that God created, He chose to give man His image of authority.

He chose to put man as head of the earth.

If you want to know why all things aren’t presently subjected to man, and why he doesn’t presently rule, keep reading the book of Genesis and we’ll see why.

 

Sin is coming and Satan would usurp man’s position from him.

Now Satan is the god of this world.

But it doesn’t change the fact that God gave it to him.

 

And incidentally, that God will one day give it back.

Hebrews 2:8-9 “YOU HAVE PUT ALL THINGS IN SUBJECTION UNDER HIS FEET.” For in subjecting all things to him, He left nothing that is not subject to him. But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him. But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.”

 

Jesus came in the form of man to take man’s penalty

And redeem man from the fall of sin.

 

But the beauty of all of this is that God stands as

The specific author of all creation and through creation

Reveals a tremendous fondness for humanity.

 

And might I say that one of the reasons Israel struggled so much in her history is that SHE FORGOT JUST WHO HER GOD WAS.

 

Isaiah 40:27-31 “Why do you say, O Jacob, and assert, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the LORD, And the justice due me escapes the notice of my God”? Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth Does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable. He gives strength to the weary, And to him who lacks might He increases power. Though youths grow weary and tired, And vigorous young men stumble badly, Yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.”

 

Israel reached points of despair, because they routinely likened their God

To that of the false gods of the earth.

 

In fact that same chapter reveals why Israel was so distraught about God.

Isaiah 40:18-26 “To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare with Him? As for the idol, a craftsman casts it, A goldsmith plates it with gold, And a silversmith fashions chains of silver. He who is too impoverished for such an offering Selects a tree that does not rot; He seeks out for himself a skillful craftsman To prepare an idol that will not totter. Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been declared to you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. He it is who reduces rulers to nothing, Who makes the judges of the earth meaningless. Scarcely have they been planted, Scarcely have they been sown, Scarcely has their stock taken root in the earth, But He merely blows on them, and they wither, And the storm carries them away like stubble. “To whom then will you liken Me That I would be his equal?” says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high And see who has created these stars, The One who leads forth their host by number, He calls them all by name; Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power, Not one of them is missing.”

 

Israel had forgotten the glorious splendor of her God.

She had reduced Him to be equal with His creation by likening Him to idols.

 

Well when you make your god small, you lose faith in him.

That is what Israel did.

 

God had to remind them as to who He was as Creator

So that they would understand not only His care for them,

But also His ability to help them.

 

• God said, why are you in despair?

• Don’t you remember who I am?

I am “The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth”

 

That is true for you as well.

Set back and marvel at exactly who your God is.

 

• When you cry out to Him, you are not calling out to some weak

god formed by the thought of man.

 

• You are crying out to the all powerful God whose very power and

thought formed you.

 

He is God and He favors you!

 

At no time should Israel be intimidated by the false gods of the world.

Sea gods Sun gods Land gods

 

You may remember from the Kings

1 Kings 20:23 “Now the servants of the king of Aram said to him, “Their gods are gods of the mountains, therefore they were stronger than we; but rather let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we will be stronger than they.”

 

That was the view of much of the world.

Various gods were territorial at best.

And Israel had no reason to fear any of those gods.

 

Jehovah was not a sea god or a land god or a sun god

He created the Sea, He created the Sun, He created the Land

 

Nor could He be formed into an image of fish or bird or animal.

He created all of those things.

 

Moses wanted Israel to know that despite what they had been told in Egypt, only One God created it all.

 

Exodus 20:3 “You shall have no other gods before Me.”

We also see that all God created was “good”

 

That is a far cry from the work of the pagan gods

They had become associated with.

 

Those demonic deities never did anything good.

(How much good do false gods do today?)

 

But THE God was good and He does good.

There is no reason to run to other gods.

 

When you look at Creation and all God did,

You must see that Your God is God that He is a good God,

And He has a divine plan for you.

 

The Plan of Creation was to show you that reality.

 

The Point, The Power, The Plan

#4 THE PERFECTION OF CREATION

Genesis 2:1-3

 

I hope you also see the tremendous wonder of these verses.

“God completed His work”

“He rested from all His work”

 

We know God never sleeps nor slumbers, but He did rest here.

 

But rest doesn’t indicate that God was tired,

But rather that God was finished.

 

From the very start of the creation process there always something that still needed to occur.

 

• It was a mess

• It was too dark

• There was no form

• We need land

• The land needs plants

• We need animals

• God wants humans

 

Each day revealed God perfecting His creation

Until He finally made it perfect.

 

And when it was perfect, He was done.

It was finished.

He rested.

 

No more building, no more renovating, no more tweaking.

It was done.

And that is the God of creation.

• He didn’t stop half-way

• He didn’t leave it in the balance

• What He started He finished

• What was formless and empty He perfected fully

 

And might I remind you this morning that this is always what God does.

Even in your life. (you are also His creation)

 

• We were in pieces and shambles, our life was a mess.

• And then light entered the equation.

• And piece by piece, day by day, God began to work His redemptive work on

you and me.

 

He is making us a new creation.

Working, molding, shaping

 

And He does not stop until He is completely finished.

Romans 8:30 “and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.”

 

Philippians 1:6 “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.”

 

And incidentally this is also true of His work in redemption.

 

• Christ came

• He faced a world filled with sin and set out to be the atoning sacrifice.

• He set out to be the One who redeemed this world from sin.

• He toiled and labored and preached and worked

• He took our sin upon Himself and hung upon a cross

 

And then the work was done…

John 19:30 “Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.”

 

And following that…He rested

 

Hebrews 10:11-14 “Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD, waiting from that time onward UNTIL HIS ENEMIES BE MADE A FOOTSTOOL FOR HIS FEET. For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.”

 

There was nothing more to do…

• There is nothing more that needs to be done…

• No more tweaking…

• No more modifying…

• It is finished and it is good

 

AND WE KNOW THAT BECAUSE THAT IS WHO GOD IS.

From Creation to the Cross, to the Consummation of the ages,

God has always been the God who bring perfection out of ruin

And does it so perfectly that nothing else needs to be done.

 

When you look at the creation story of Genesis 1,

It is not a story about creation.

It is a story about the God of creation.

 

• His Transcendence

• His Power

• His Grace

• His Redemption

• His Perfection

 

This is the God of Creation

This is the God of Israel

This is the God of the Bible

 

And from the opening pages we settle in the fact of who He is

And realize that if God is for us, who can be against us.

 

This morning I simply invite you to settle the issue as to who is your god.

The false gods of this world or the true God, maker of heaven and heart.

 

Joshua said it like this:

Joshua 24:15 “If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

 

Elijah said it like this:

1 Kings 18:21 “Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people did not answer him a word.”

 

Jesus said it like this:

Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”

 

And it really doesn’t get any clearer than that.

The Lord is God

 

Choose Him

Serve Him

Worship Him

Obey Him

 

He was the only God at the beginning

And He will be the only God at the end.

 

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