The World We Live In

Family History

I remember growing up, I was never particularly interested in history. It seemed a little dull. The real problem was that I never saw how it connected to me. Later in life, as I started to see how history has shaped the world around me, I started to gain a much bigger interest.

And family history is a big part of that. When I was still young, some descendant of my great, great great grandparents, decided to put a book together of all of the descendants of this great, great, great grandparents of mine. They must have done a lot of research, and this was before the internet was a thing, because for most people, they managed to find a photo and a short description of that person.

I remember finding this book fascinating, at least, the parts that related to the line that I was a part of.

More recently, I discovered a website where, if you can find an ancestor from about a hundred years ago or so, you can then trace back many many generations. On some lines, I was able to trace ancestors back to the 15th century.

Now, most of those ancestors are really just names on a page, I know very little about them, except, say, where they were born, and sometimes where they were married. But there is still something special about it.

Particularly when I look at ancestors within the last three or four generations, there are some interesting observations. Curiously, from the descendants of my great great grand parents, who were strong committed Christians, there has been a surprisingly significant number of church ministers and missionaries.

Take from that what you will, but knowing where we come from makes a big difference. Knowing where we come from makes changes how you view who you are.

Today, we’re starting a new series, and we’re not just going back a little in history, we’re going back right to the start.

But as we go back, I don’t want us just to think about this as a theoretical understanding of the beginning. Rather, I want us to be thinking how this story changes the way we think about the world and everything around us now.

Because this is history that effects everyone. No matter where you are in the world. This effects you.

The author

Well, lets briefly touch on who wrote this account and when it was written for us.

The author has traditionally been attributed to Moses, and that’s largely in part because on a few occasions Jesus attributes a few quotes from the first five books of the Bible to Moses, however we’re actually never told who wrote it. While we can’t know for certain, this account of creation was probably written down in the form that we have it today, somewhere near the vicinity of the time that Moses was around, so maybe it was Moses who wrote it.

Not getting side tracked

Now, it’s very easy when we open up Genesis 1 to immediately think about the question of how this relates to the modern scientific understanding of the origins of this world.

The question that will very likely be on the top of our minds are whether the six days of creation were six twenty-four hour periods? Or whether it is legitimate to accept the scientific consensus that the earth is many millions of years old?

I am actually going to touch on some of these issues throughout this series, but I want to suggest up front that this passage is not primarily trying to answer this question.

At the time this was written, they were not thinking about the creation of the world in the way that our modern mind thinks about it.

In fact, we can know the ways in which they conceptualised creation because we actually have many different accounts of creation from ancient cultures around that region that we call the middle east today.

I’m not going to go into detail about these others myths, other than to say that they all tend to describe creation essentially being formed out of the chaotic activity of the multiple gods who are each vying for power.

Now the thing about these other creation stories from the other cultures, is that they helped explain to these people why the world is as it is, and how they should respond as a result.

The creation story that we have today is trying to set the record straight. The world is not a result of chaos, it’s a the result of an ordered God. It’s not about a competition between gods, there is just one God, and he is fully in control.

So it’s primarily answering these questions, rather than the scientific questions that we ask today.

The scientific question

Having said that, given that this is most likely on your mind, let me give a few comments about it.

Firstly, I want to maintain that I strongly believe that Genesis 1 is a true account and that it is reliable.

However, being true, does not mean something is necessarily true in the most literal understanding of the words used. Sometimes concepts are presented in a way that makes sense to the hearer.

For example, we talk about the sun rising in the east. Is that true? Well, yes, of course it’s true. But have you ever realised, scientifically, it’s actually not accurate. The sun isn’t rising, it’s actually a result of the earth’s rotation. So even though the sun rising from the east is not actually a scientific reality, it is still a true statement because from our perspective, that is what is happening.

So we ask the question, do we take Genesis 1 literally?

Actually, do you know what a better question is… to what degree do we take it literally?

At it’s most literal understanding, it doesn’t really make sense. Without the sun and moon to govern the day and the night, which is what we are told is created on day 4, having evening and then morning, doesn’t make sense. Yes, we can say that God provided the light before day 4, but evening and morning do not have the same meaning without the sun.

Now, that’s not to suggest that the six 24-hour period of creation is not true. It certainly is a legitimate interpretation of the words. However, given that I’ll hold that it’s not trying to answer the question of how God created the world, and that some images are meant to be taken figuratively, I will also hold that it’s possible to reconcile a older earth while maintaining that Genesis 1 is a true account.

There’s a lot more that could be said, and I’m certainly happy to discuss this with anyone afterwards, but as I think this is trying to tell us a different message, I want to shift back to thinking about what we can learn about why the earth is as it is, and how we’re going to interact with it.

Creator God

So, let’s start at the first verse:

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth”.

Before the world came into existence, God was there. That in itself is hard to comprehend. It begs the question - where did God come from?

You know, each year when I teach Scripture, the topic of creation usually comes up in the curriculum, and almost every year without fail at least one student will ask that question - where did God come from? Or, who created God? I have some standard responses, but the reality is, the concept of something before the beginning is beyond our comprehension. It shouldn’t be something to put you off believing in Him, because no matter what theory you accept about the beginning of the world, even in the big bang theory, there was something at the start, so there’s always going to be the problem with where the first thing came from. In one sense, believing there was a God before time is almost easier to believe.

But we learn from this account, all things have come into existence because of God.

God didn’t just fashion things already there. He made something come out of nothing.

But from nothing, God provides a formless, empty and dark earth.

The water cover this formless planet.

Water was often seen as a chaotic force, but there’s something different here. Because, hovering over these waters, was the Spirit of God.

From the moment it all began, God was intimately connected with his creation - and this needs to be remembered.

But right now, we’re about to see the creativity of God.

Day 1

And it starts with a word. He simply speaks things into existence.

“Let there be light”.

When God speaks, it’s as simple as that. Light appears.

Where does the light come from? After all, you might be aware that the sun doesn’t appear until day 4.

It’s actually our modern mindset that wants to ask this question. We really just need to accept - light comes from God. The passage doesn’t try to answer the question of where the light came from, because that wasn’t important to the deeper theological truth that God is the source of light.

So we now have light and dark. And that’s the end of the first day of creation.

Day 2

The second day - at the word of God, we get a vault put in the sky.

This is another one of those tricky ones. Actually it makes sense if we understand how the ancient Hebrew conception of the universe. Essentially it is a flat earth and this firmament that enclosed the earth.

Now, while I know there are some people who still argue for a flat earth, I suspect most of you would be happy for me to assume that the earth is actually round.

Now, we could try to argue that the vault or firmament stands for something as we understand the universe, or we could accept that this is not trying to give a scientific explanation, rather a theological understanding that God created the waters and the sky.

Day 3

On the third day, we get the dry land. With the dry land, we get vegetation and trees. But what I want you to start to notice is that variety that we are getting. We’re seeing the greatest artist of all time at work.

Now as we get to days four, five and six, I want you to notice something.

Days 4, 5, 6

God is filling in with content that which fits in with what was created on days one, two and three.

Let’s quickly look at it.

Day 1, God created light and dark. On day 4, this realm of light and darkness get the sun, the moon and the stars.

On Day 2, we had the sky and the waters. And on day 5, this is filled in with the fish and the birds - and again, notice thee variety.

On Day 3, we got the dry land, and on day 6 this is filled in with the animals.

Now, I deliberately stopped the reading before I got to the creation of humans - that’s because that deserve a message all on it’s own, and we’ll get to that next week.

For now, I want you to just marvel at the structure of the way this has worked.

What is so important to notice is that this is not just a random chaotic mess. This is an intricate design that has been purposefully created by an all-powerful God.

The reality is, you actually don’t need the Bible to tell you this. Just look for yourself. Watch one of those wildlife shows and see how amazing and intricate all of the creatures are. How an insect can have an intricate design on it’s wing and operate in such a surprising manner. Or how trees manage to transport water through it’s trunk up to the leaves. Or learn how your body works, or the intricate parts and how they operate so perfectly together.

Some people may try to tell you that it came all as a matter of random chance. Somehow, I seem to think that it takes less faith to believe in a creator God, then it does to believe all of this comes as a result of chance.

Our response

So how should we respond? Well, let me suggest that there should be a simple answer - and it is in worship.

We don’t worship creation itself - but creation should bring us to our knees in worship of the one who created it all.

When you go for a walk in nature, take the time to appreciate all you see - and thank God for it. Go to a lookout, and appreciate the wide expanse. Then look at the ground and see the tiny flowers, and appreciate the small but intricate designs.

At night, assuming it’s a clear night, look up and admire the stars. All of it is the work of the one creator God.

It is good

But there is another major feature of this work that I have not yet highlighted but I’m sure you would have noticed.

On almost every day, God looks at what he creates, and it tells us that he saw that it was good.

Now this should become very significant for us.

I do also recognise, however, that on one level, this might sound really obvious, particularly when I’ve just been encouraging you to look at the beautiful things of this world.

We also know, however, that the world can be a cruel hard place. In a world full of droughts, floods, earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, cyclones, bush fires, and plagues.

Now, we’re going to talk about this more when we get to chapter 3, but I want to suggest that we should always see the inherent goodness of creation. It’s good, because God made it good. It’s good, because it declares a God who cares and provides for all that he makes.

Because the earth is good, we should care for it. We’ll discuss this more in upcoming messages, particularly as God gives a mandate for humans to rule over creation, but in one sense, because it’s good.

Now, one of the things I note about environmental care, is that it so easily becomes associated with a particular political ideology… an ideology that can sometimes clash with certain Christian values. For this reason it can be very easy to become skeptical of many of the environmental claims.

Now, it’s not my intention this morning to get into any specific environmental issue, but, we do have to be careful not to reject certain environmental initiatives, just because we don’t like the messenger.

Look, it’s not easy trying to figure out what the best way is to look after the environment, but, God has given us a good world to live in, and to honour him for that, we really need to give great care for this world we have.

So take the time to think how we can care for our environment.

Conclusion

This world is truly amazing. We know that inherently.

This world declares a God who is worthy of all of our praise. A God who was not just one of many gods who happened to win a battle, but a God who from the very beginning had all things in control.

And for this reason we can trust him. We don’t have to be worried if another god may rise up - because there is only one true God.

Creation is the guarantee of that trust. It reminds us that he is powerful.

God continues to yield power over this earth, because God is not just subject to this earth, he is entirely above it, but at the same time present within it.

And so we praise God - the Lord of all creation.

But we also look after creation - because this is God’s handiwork, and he has declared it good.

As we continue through this series, we’re going to explore many other different aspects of the created order, but as we start the series, let’s just rejoice in a God who created a good earth that we can enjoy, and who is powerful to keep all things in control.

Let me pray...