God's Story: Creation Implications (Bible Study)

For thus says the Lord, Who created the heavens, Who is God, Who formed the earth and made it, Who has established it, Who did not create it in vain, Who formed it to be inhabited: “I am the Lord, and there is no other.

God is Sovereign

Jeremiah 33:2 NKJV

“Thus says the Lord who made it, the Lord who formed it to establish it (the Lord is His name):

God is Powerful

Jeremiah 32:17 NKJV

‘Ah, Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You.

Isaiah 40:25–28 NKJV

“To whom then will you liken Me, Or to whom shall I be equal?” says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high, And see who has created these things, Who brings out their host by number; He calls them all by name, By the greatness of His might And the strength of His power; Not one is missing. Why do you say, O Jacob, And speak, O Israel: “My way is hidden from the Lord, And my just claim is passed over by my God”? Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable.

God is Sustainer

Psalm 36:6 NKJV

Your righteousness is like the great mountains; Your judgments are a great deep; O Lord, You preserve man and beast.

God is Provider

1 Chronicles 29:12 NKJV

Both riches and honor come from You, And You reign over all. In Your hand is power and might; In Your hand it is to make great And to give strength to all.

God is All-Knowing

Psalm 136:5 NKJV

To Him who by wisdom made the heavens, For His mercy endures forever;

In Creation before the Fall, Humanity did not question God in how He made them, what job He gave them, what spouse He choose for them, what location He placed them, what authority He gave them, what accommodations He provided for them.

Humanity Reflects the Image of God

Biblical Worldview: Creation, Fall, Redemption Self-Portraits of God

In order to fill the earth, subdue it, and have dominion over it, people need to have some of the capacities that God has: self-consciousness, rationality, language, emotions, and the ability to form relationships with others.

Fill the Earth

Genesis 1:28 NKJV

Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

Leviticus 26:9 NKJV

‘For I will look on you favorably and make you fruitful, multiply you and confirm My covenant with you.

Subdue the Earth

Genesis 2:15 NKJV

Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.

Tend means to work it

Keep means to guard, to keep watch over, to protect

Have Dominion over the Earth

Genesis 1:28 NKJV

But subduing and having dominion go far beyond the negative work of taking out the trash; they mean developing the world positively. Genesis 2 tells us that God put Adam in the Garden of Eden “to work it and keep it.” That’s the model. Develop the world—“work it.” And preserve the world—“keep it.” It may start with you stepping outside today and mowing your lawn. It may culminate some day with you working as a civil engineer on a city planning commission to create a beautiful, functional urban space for your family and your neighbors. Ward, Mark. Biblical Worldview: Creation, Fall, Redemption. Edited by Mark L. Ward Jr. and Dennis Cone, BJU Press, 2016, p. 69.

God’s Works were Good

Look at Genesis 1 the

Jeremiah 32:36–40 NKJV

“Now therefore, thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning this city of which you say, ‘It shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: Behold, I will gather them out of all countries where I have driven them in My anger, in My fury, and in great wrath; I will bring them back to this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely. They shall be My people, and I will be their God; then I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me forever, for the good of them and their children after them. And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from doing them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me.

also Ps 119:17,65; 125:1-4; Jer 32:41; Mic 2:7; Zec 8:14-15; Ac 10:37-38

Ability to Bless the Sabbath day

Points back to Creation

Exodus 20:11 NKJV

For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.

Psalm 24:1–3 NKJV

The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein. For He has founded it upon the seas, And established it upon the waters. Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place?

Based on God being Creator a specific response is demanded

Fear the LORD or Stand in Awe of Him

Psalm 33:5–9 NKJV

He loves righteousness and justice; The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord. By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth. He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap; He lays up the deep in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.

Worship the LORD

Psalm 95:3–6 NKJV

For the Lord is the great God, And the great King above all gods. In His hand are the deep places of the earth; The heights of the hills are His also. The sea is His, for He made it; And His hands formed the dry land. Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.

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