Today, we are talking about beginnings.
I felt it was important for us to examine the idea of creation as it relates to the gospel. Literally, how we understand creation will ultimately bring clarity or confusion, wisdom and order from chaos to our understanding of the gospel.
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
There are only two options when it comes to creation.
The two options are: there is a God who personally created everything, including you, or there is not.
Those are the only two options. If there is not, then everything is an impossible, implausible, irrational result of incessant random chance and risk assessment.
The equation I give you now is: “nothing + nothing cannot equal something.”
If scripture is false, if the gospel is not, If God is not the creator, then He is not the sovereign. If creation did not take place according to how Genesis records it, then we are each without hope because evolution deposes God from His throne.
Why do we as Christian still to take our interpretation of Genesis from secular scientists who wants nothing more than to get rid of the God of the Bible?
These same people want to alleviate themselves from accountability, morality, and God’s final judgment.
As I feel more and more encouraged to quiet by disbelief, As I become more and more motivated to believe, I fight against the thought that if God is not our creator, then He is not our Redeemer, will not have the authority to create new heavens, new earth, life and hope as the New Testament tells us.
Psalm 19:1-6New King James Version
The Perfect Revelation of the Lord
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
19 The heavens declare the glory of God;
And the firmament[a] shows [b]His handiwork.
2 Day unto day utters speech,
And night unto night reveals knowledge.
3 There is no speech nor language
Where their voice is not heard.
4 Their [c]line has gone out through all the earth,
And their words to the end of the world.
In them He has set a [d]tabernacle for the sun,
5 Which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
And rejoices like a strong man to run its race.
6 Its rising is from one end of heaven,
And its circuit to the other end;
And there is nothing hidden from its heat.
The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.
Psalm 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
As we consider and study the creation account, we see how theistic evolution is impossible if we genuinely hold this creative account as the final authority.
If we genuinely believe this universe is the sole product of a Creator God with an infinite amount of intelligence and power, is it possible for us to know Him?
Well, there’s only one answer, if He created us and if He chose to tell us He created us; that’s the only way we can ever know. Not only did he create us. Not only did he choose to reveal Himself and provide for us His revelation.
But He Himself crossed through all time to enter His creation as the person of Jesus so that we can know the way
I cannot overemphasize the point that creation is the basis of everything else.
It is not merely an issue of biology or genetics, but it affects our morality, our ethics, our “world vs. God” view of redemption, salvation, sin, the family, our marriage, our community relationships, the sanctity of life, the dignity of men.
Psalm 19:4–6 Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun, 5 which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy. 6 Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them, and there is nothing hidden from its heat.
One of the things that science has discovered in modern times is that the sun is in orbit. We talk about the sun as the center of our solar system and everything orbiting around it.
However, did you know the sun itself has an orbit, and this orbit goes from one end of the infinite space to the other.
The sun is moving and dragging our entire solar system with it. It is not fixed any more than the things that revolve around it are fixed.
So, the psalmist says here in verses 4 – 6 that you can look up and you can look at the whole of the universe and look at the breadth of creation and it gives you the loudest possible testimony to the glory of God, to the utter majesty of His intelligence, to the indescribable character of His power to create all of this.
Hebrews 1 also tells us God made the world and it is a testimony to His infinite power, the wisdom of knowledge. Everything about this requires of you and me only one thing: faith.
Hebrews 1:10 And, “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands;
If you reject God as creator, then you reject God as all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-encompassing.
The only way you are going to know Him is through faith.
We are natural; God is supernatural. The natural cannot comprehend the supernatural; so, on our own, we can’t find God.
We’re locked in a time-space world unable to crawl out of it and into eternity to comprehend what is incomprehensible.
No scientist, no matter how smart they claim they may be cannot even begin to comprehend the majesty of God or His creative power.
The only things we know about God are those things that He has revealed to us, told us, and that’s why He gave us the Bible.
Do WE believe that?
The word Genesis means “origins” or “beginnings.” And I want you to note 16 different origins or beginnings found in genesis.
1. You find the origin of the universe. Genesis 1:1 is unique in all literature, all science, and all philosophy. Every other explanation of the universe starts with eternal matter or energy in some form. Only the book of Genesis starts with eternal God.
2. Origin of order and complexity. Man’s universal observation of his world is an orderly world. It functions on fixed rules, and it is profoundly complex. Order and complexity will not come from chaos.
3. The origin of the solar system. In the midst of this vast, limitless universe, God created the earth, the sun, and moon, the planets, all the stars of heaven
4. The origin of the atmosphere and the hydrosphere. The earth is uniquely equipped with a great body of liquid water and an extensive blanket of oxygen-nitrogen gaseous mixture, both of which are necessary for life, and are accounted for only by special creation by God
5. The origin of life, the marvels of the reproductive process.
6. The origin of man. Man is the most highly organized and complex entity in the universe.
Beyond his biology, there is a nature that can contemplate abstract emotions of beauty and love, and worship. Man is capable of understanding and thinking about his own meaning. We find that we are made in the image of our creator.
7. In Genesis you also find the origin of marriage, the remarkable universal and stable institution of marriage, and the home. Monogamous marriage is here now established and given to man by the Creator.
The home and the family unit are established by God, not man’s choice, and polygamy, infanticide, promiscuity, divorce, abortion, and homosexuality, and all the corruptions developed after the fall are the corruption of God’s order.
8. The origin of evil and sin. The origin of physical and moral evil in the universe is explained in Genesis as a kind of temporary intrusion into God’s perfect world and allowed for the continuation of human freedom and for God to reveal Himself to man as Man’s Redeemer
9. The origin of judgment on evil. All the forms of God’s wrath are set in motion and illustrated in Genesis.
10. The origin of salvation by grace through God’s mercy. God was merciful to Adam and Eve and doesn’t destroy them. The plan of redemption leading to Christ is even referred to in Genesis 3:15.
11. The origin of language. You know, one of the things evolutionists struggle with is how we go from apes grunting and making unintelligible noises to the miracle of human speech of all diverse kinds of languages and dialects.
The chasm between the instinctive chattering of animals to abstract, symbolic communication of man is impossible by any evolutionary process. But Genesis also tells us the origin of all the different languages
12. The origin of government; organized systems of human government for the maintenance of orderly social, economic, cultural structures through systems of accountability, responsibility, law, justice and diverse forms of punishment.
13. The origin of culture. We find in Genesis urbanization, the development of technology, music, agriculture, farming, writing, education, navigation,
14. The origin of nations; and that is related, of course, again to the Tower of Babel, the table of nations as the only source you’ll ever find of how we have so many different peoples scattered all over the earth with different languages and cultures.
15. The origin of religion; both the true religion and false religions appear.
16. The origin of the people of Israel who were the conduit for God’s revelation to all of the world. It was Israel through whom God’s continual revelation came and whom the saving covenant came in Genesis 12 to Abraham, and it would be the Jewish people whom God the Messiah enters the world.
1 Timothy 3:16 we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.
2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
So, either we are going to believe Genesis as Scripture, or we don’t.
How can anyone who claims Christ as their Savior uphold Genesis as Scripture, but reject Genesis 1 and 2 or dismiss it as allegory or lore?
Or may you dismiss Adam and Eve, the Tower of Babel, or the Flood?
Where are you going to draw the line and who gave the right to stand in that kind of judgment on Scripture. Even more, why would any believer in Jesus Christ bow a knee to secular scientists as the authority over Scripture?
What kind of precedent does that establish over the rest of Scripture?
When we capitulate over this, then we abdicate the authority of Scripture over other sacred issues like life, liberty, government, and marriage and family.
‘Responding to God’s Revelation.’ The word “revelation” implies the fact that God wants to be known, must make Himself known to us. In other words, we cannot know God on our own. So, revelation must come from God’s initiative.
Theologian Wayne Grudem says this about revelation: “If we are to know God at all, it is necessary that he reveal himself to us.”
Looking at the skies, whether by day or by a star filled clear night we can learn so much about God’s greatness, His power and His control. The sun, moon, stars and the whole universe are a permanent reminder of God’s glory.
So, general revelation is without words, and it is universal in its scope. It transcends human communication without the use of speech, words, and sounds. Yet, the message is constantly communicated to the whole world.
General revelation continues to point all people unto God, and it is available to everyone. So, no one in the world is ignorant of God.
Simply by opening our eyes and ears, we can witness the divinely created and sustained media which brings the message that God is powerful and glorious.
Indeed, all of God’s creation reaches all of God’s people, at all times.
So, general revelation should lead people to seek God.
Brothers and sisters, God has revealed Himself generally to all people through His creation.
In other words, we can know so many things about God as we witness His amazing creation.
We know that He is Creator because we see His handiwork. Creation declares His existence and glory, the truth of His Gospel.
So, let us train ourselves to appropriately respond to God’s creation. When we see some aspect of His creation that impresses us, let us learn to worship God.
One day, perhaps today and then every day, may we with highest motivations and the most profound measures of inspiration and encouragement shout out;
“GOD, you are great. Thank you for allowing me to catch even the briefest of glimpses of Your glory, to gain the tiniest measures of thy Gospels wisdom!”
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Your glory, O God
is declared in the holy silence of the heavens,
and told in the silent succession of day and night.
No speech, or word or voice is heard;
yet they speak to all the world,
and their words reach to the ends of the earth.
The sun joyfully leaps across the sky,
from one end of the heavens to the farthest reaches,
and nothing is hidden from its heat or light.
So nothing that we do or say or whisper in our hearts
is hidden from you, Lord God.
Release us from darkness we hide deep within our lives.
Let our lives be radiant with holy fear;
delighting in your teaching,
receiving insight from your commandments
and wisdom from your encouraging.
Enliven our desire for your everlasting judgements
over wealth or fame:
to enjoy the sweet drippings of the honeycomb,
that are to be found
in right relationship with those around us,
and with you. Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 