Genesis 2:4-15: The Creature from the Dust

Prayer of Adoration

O Lord our God,

We praise you for your immanence, for the fact that you are near to us!

You are not far off or hidden from us. You are the God who draws near. You stooped low to form man from the dust, And with Your own breath, You gave him life. You planted a garden, not just for beauty, But as a place to walk with us, to dwell with us, To share Your presence and Your goodness.

We praise You, Father, That You are not a cold force or a distant deity, But a loving Creator who desires communion with His people. You speak, You walk, You breathe life. You have given us Your Word so we can know You! You are intimately involved in our lives— Knowing our frame, understanding our hearts, Guiding our steps, and sustaining us by Your Spirit.

We adore You, Lord Jesus, Who walked among us in flesh, Who touched the sick, welcomed the sinner, And made Your dwelling with us. You are Immanuel—God with us—and through You, We now have access to the Father.

We bless You, Holy Spirit, Who lives within us even now, A constant Companion and Comforter, Working in us both to will and to work for Your good pleasure.

You are not only the God of the heavens— You are the God who is here. And we worship You.

In the name of Jesus Christ we pray, Amen.

Pastoral Prayer

Father in heaven,

We come before You with grateful hearts, knowing that You are the Author and Sustainer of all things—our lives, our church, our hope, and our future. We lift our eyes to You now in prayer, asking that You would be glorified in the praises and petitions of Your people.

Lord, we thank You for the faithful witness of Grace Pointe Church and their pastor, Cody Gaston. Thank You for the gospel work You are doing in and through them. We ask that they would remain faithful to Christ alone—grounded in Your Word, unwavering in truth, and rich in love. Grant them both maturity in discipleship and growth in number. Sustain Cody and his family as he serves bi-vocationally. Strengthen him physically, spiritually, and emotionally. May his labor, both in the workplace and in the pulpit, bear much fruit in the life of the church, and may Your Spirit uphold and strengthen his family.

Father, we also lift up before You the people of Kerrville, Texas, and the surrounding areas who are reeling from the devastation of flooding and loss. Have mercy, Lord. We pray especially for the local churches in Kerrville—that they would be a light in the darkness and a refuge for the weary. Strengthen their pastors and leaders. Equip them for the long, hard work of recovery. Let their love be evident, their service supernaturally enduring, and their hope firmly anchored in You. May their witness in word and deed proclaim the unshakable hope of Christ to a community in need.

We pray for our friends in Lebanon—Serge, Anna, and their baby Hosea. Lord, in a land filled with need and complexity, we ask that their church would grow deep in maturity and steadfast in truth. Use their faithfulness to build up Your people and to shine the light of Christ in dark places. Strengthen them as both spouses and parents that their marriage may be a shining light to their son and their community. Provide what they need for life and ministry, and may Your Word take root and bear fruit in their community.

Father, we also are overjoyed to thank You for Your faithfulness to our church. Through every season and every generation, You have sustained us—not by our strength, but by Your hand alone. We stand today not as a monument to our work, but as a testimony to Your mercy and grace. We especially thank You for the decades of faithful service from Tommy Mills, and we rejoice that we can worship with him again today. Let his life remind us of the joy and privilege of serving You.

Now, Lord, as we come to Your Word, we ask that You would speak. Empower the preaching. Open our ears. Soften our hearts. Give us grace to believe, courage to repent, and the resolve to obey. May this time in Your Word stir in us deeper faith, fuller joy, and a greater longing to live for Your glory.

We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and King.

Amen.

Sermon

Scripture Reading

Genesis 2:4–15 ESV

4 These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens. 5 When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground, 6 and a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground— 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. 8 And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9 And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 10 A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers. 11 The name of the first is the Pishon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 And the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there. 13 The name of the second river is the Gihon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Cush. 14 And the name of the third river is the Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates. 15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.

Intro

In 1969, the world watched in awe as Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin stepped onto the surface of the moon. The Apollo 11 mission captured humanity’s imagination — not just because of where they went, but because of what they brought back.

Among the treasures retrieved from that lifeless, gray terrain was something small, even forgettable: moon dust. Just particles of crushed rock. No shimmer. No glow. No secret power. It looked like something you might brush off your boots after a hike.

And yet… it was treated like treasure.

The U.S. government actually wrote laws about how to handle moon dust. NASA stored it in secure facilities. Scientists in white coats and gloves measured it out in grams and studied it for years. For a while, it was illegal for private citizens to even own it.

Why? Because of what one scientist put so plainly. He said, “It’s finely ground rock — utterly unremarkable, except for where it came from.”

It’s just dust. But it came from the moon.

Friends, Genesis 2 tells us something even more astonishing. We are dust. Formed from the ground. Dirt people. Earthy. Humble. Unremarkable, if you only look at the material.

But here’s the difference: we are dust that has been in the hands of God. Formed by Him. Shaped by Him. Breathed into by Him. Dust, yes — but dust with dignity, because of where we came from… and whose image we bear.

I. Humanity’s State: Humility and Honor

Text: Genesis 2:4–7

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.”

Let’s not rush past this moment. These verses are not a second creation account—

they are a zoomed-in lens on Day 6.

Genesis 1 tells us that God created mankind in His image; Genesis 2 shows us how He did it. And it’s shocking.

Because He didn’t use gold. He didn’t gather heavenly stardust. He didn’t form us from some divine material.

He used dust. Earth. Dirt.

God reached down and formed the man from the dust of the ground.

It’s a deliberate act—He formed him. It’s personal.

And the material He used is humbling.

You and I are not made of anything impressive. We’re not made of something eternal. We are fragile. Finite. Dependent.

We are Dust.

In recognizing that we come from the dirt, the Reformers and Puritans often called themselves “worms.”

Not because they had low self-esteem, but because they saw themselves clearly in the light of God’s holiness. They understood what Genesis 2 makes plain: our origin is humble.

And our humility, our lowliness, is not a flaw—it’s the setting for grace to shine.

But we’re not just dust. We are dust that has been breathed into by God.

And that is where our dignity comes from.

Not from self-esteem or achievement or intelligence or talent or race or education. From the beginning, our worth has never been in what we’ve done—but in who made us and how personally He did it.

“God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.”

He didn’t do that for animals. He didn’t do that for the stars. This is an act of intimacy.

It shows us that God doesn’t stand far off when He makes humanity. He bends down. He breathes life into the lungs of a lifeless form, and that breath makes the man a living creature.

When Genesis 2:7 says God breathed into man, it emphasizes that life itself is a gift from God’s own breath.

It's not merely biological life—but spiritual vitality, a personal imparting of life that distinguishes humans from animals.

This breath echoes the work of the Spirit (ruach) in Genesis 1:2 and foreshadows the new creation breath of Christ in John 20:22 (“He breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’”)

So brothers and sisters, this isn’t just poetry. It’s theology. It’s our very identity as humans.

Imago Dei

Now, I want to introduce you to just two words in Latin.

“Imago Dei”

Now, this simply means “image of God” and though this phrase doesn’t appear in chapter 2, it is in the account of Man’s creation in chapter 1 and it’s the foundation beneath these verses.

The man is not merely alive; he is a creature uniquely bearing the image of the Creator.

And what is the image of God? It’s not simply our capacity for reason or language or morality. It’s a whole-person identity.

We were created to

reflect God’s character,

to relate to others with dignity,

and to represent Him in the world.

That’s why human life matters—not because of what we produce, but because of whose image we bear.

Twin Ditches

But here's where we need a little clarity because there are twin ditches we must avoid when thinking about the image of God.

One ditch is honor without humility—the idea that because we're made in God's image, we must be inherently awesome, unstoppable, flawless. That's pride.

The other ditch is humility without honor—the idea that because we're dust, we're worthless, unloved, or easily disposable. That's despair.

The Bible gives us both: we are dust… and we are dust with dignity. We are humble… and we are honored.

Application

So let’s press this deeper into our world. What happens when we forget that every human being bears the image of God?

You get abortion. You get racism. You get genocide. You get exploitation. You get dehumanizing language online. You get rejoicing over others’ suffering because we view them as less than us. You get apathy toward the poor, the refugee, the unborn, the disabled, the dying. You get a world where people are only valuable if they're productive, beautiful, or beneficial to you.

Let’s be clear: The image of God is not a reward for how well we perform. It is a gift given to all humans at conception.

That’s why Christians care about the unborn—because they are not potential people, they are people with potential. Psalm 139 tells us that God knit them together in the womb. Genesis 1 tells us that the value of their life doesn’t come from their size, their development, or their independence—it comes from God who made them in His image.

That’s also why Christians should care about the elderly and disabled. We live in a world that often sees them as burdens. But they are not burdens—they are image-bearers. They do not lose value as they lose capacity. Their worth is not tied to their productivity.

It’s why we must also speak clearly against racism. Because the image of God is not bound by ethnicity. Acts 17 says that God made all nations from one man. Revelation 7 tells us that every tribe and tongue and people and language will be around the throne. So any ideology that treats one ethnic group as superior to another is not only unloving—it is blasphemous. It denies the image of God in our fellow man.

So church, don’t let the world tell you who has value. Let God tell you in Genesis 2.

"Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life."

That means your neighbor—however different they may be—is not a random accident. That unborn child, that refugee, that person with severe disabilities—they are not less than human. That struggling teen, that enemy, that aging parent who has nothing left to give you and only can take from you—they are dust touched by the breath of God.

And that changes everything.

So how do we know that we have a right view of the image of God?

Here’s the test: How do you treat other people?

Because how you view others says more about your beliefs on of the image of God than any theological statement you sign.

When someone’s sin has distorted the image of God in them, where their rebellion is so full it literally changes things about them—when it makes you wince or recoil or avoid them altogether—what rises up in your heart?

When you look at all the people in the world or in our community that have openly embraced their captor, sin, what is your response?

Repulsion… or compassion?

People can tell how much we actually believe in the image of God. They can see it—not in our theology books or in our church bulletins—but in the way we look at them.

They can tell when we’re repulsed by them rather than moved with compassion. They can feel it when we flinch at their appearance, their brokenness, or their sin. But the image of God doesn’t disappear because it’s distorted. And sin doesn't erase the soul's worth.

Every one of us has something—or someone—we find repulsive. A lifestyle. A condition. A behavior. But we have to ask ourselves honestly: Is the value of that person's soul great enough to push through my revulsion and show compassion?

I believe it is. And I thank Jesus that He believed it was worth it—for me. He saw the wreckage of my sin and didn’t flinch. He came for the distorted, the broken, and the lost—not with disgust, but with mercy.

He was not repulsed. He was moved with compassion.

Romans 5:8 says, “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” That means while we were deformed, dead in sin, disfigured in our rebellion, Jesus didn’t pull away—He came near. He came to restore the image that sin had corrupted.

If He could cross the chasm of glory to reach me, surely I can cross the street to reach someone else even if I find them or their lifestyle repulsive.

Transition

So, what are we? Dust, yes. But dust formed by God, breathed into by God, and honored by God. That is our identity. But identity alone isn’t enough—we have purpose. Let’s see what God has called us to in His world in verse 8-15.

II. Humanity’s Purpose: Work and Worship Genesis 2:8–15

“And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed…” (v. 8)

God didn’t just make man and let him drift. He planted a garden—and placed the man in it. That word “placed” matters. It’s intentional. God didn’t create you without purpose. He didn't drop you into the world and hope you’d figure it out. He put Adam somewhere, and He puts us somewhere too. Every Christian has a calling, not just a conversion story.

God places us to work and to worship. And that’s exactly what we see in Adam’s story.

1. We were placed to work.

“The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.” (v. 15)

Work is not a result of the Fall. Sin will later corrupt work, but it did not create it. Work is part of God's good design. That means your Monday matters as much as your Sunday.

Too many Christians view work as a necessary evil—something to endure until retirement or heaven. But Genesis 2 tells us that God designed us to be gardeners, to be cultivators, to take the raw stuff of creation and make something out of it. Whether you’re building houses or raising children or managing spreadsheets, you are reflecting the God who works.

And notice—Adam is placed in a garden, not a palace. His job isn’t to sit and be served but to steward. This is a far cry from the modern idolization of ease, comfort, and passive entertainment. God designed humans to be productive, not passive. Rest is good and biblical (we’ll get there next week), but laziness isn’t rest—it’s retreat from purpose.

So whether you're in an office, a classroom, a kitchen, or a field, work is one of the ways you reflect your Creator.

2. We were placed to worship.

This may not seem obvious at first glance, but the language in Genesis 2 is deeply priestly. In verse 15, “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.” That phrase—“to work and to keep”—isn’t just agricultural. It’s sacred.

The same Hebrew words—ʿābad (“serve”) and šāmar (“keep/guard”)—are used in Numbers 3:7–8 and 8:26 to describe the Levitical priests. Adam’s job was not just to tend the garden like a farmer but to guard it like a priest. Eden was a holy place—the first sanctuary—where humanity walked with God. Adam was the first priest, and Eden was the first temple.

This means that from the beginning, we were made to live in God’s presence, to delight in Him, to walk with Him, and to worship Him with our whole lives. That is your purpose. Before God gave Adam a task, He gave him Himself. Before there was labor, there was love. Before Adam served, he worshiped.

But tragically, sin ruptured that relationship. Adam and Eve were exiled from Eden, driven out from the presence of God (Genesis 3:24). Humanity was cast away from the temple, cut off from communion. Worship was broken. The priesthood was shattered.

But that’s not the end of the story.

The Bible isn’t just a story of creation and fall—it’s a story of redemption and restoration. From the garden of Eden to the garden tomb, and from the garden tomb to the garden city in Revelation 21–22, God is restoring what was lost.

Jesus came not just to forgive sinners—but to bring us back to God (1 Peter 3:18).

He is the true and better Adam, the perfect priest who

didn’t fail in the garden. In fact, He sweat blood in another garden—Gethsemane—and said, “Not my will but Yours be done.”

He bore the curse of our exile

so we could be brought home to God!

And when you follow Jesus, you're not just saved from judgment—you’re saved for worship.

You become a living stone in God’s temple (1 Peter 2:5), a holy priesthood. Your entire life becomes an offering (Romans 12:1). You are now what Adam was always meant to be: a worshiper in God’s presence.

But even that is not the end of the story.

One day, Jesus will return—and when He does, the garden becomes a city. Revelation 21–22 paints the picture:

A holy city, filled with light, where there is no more curse.

A river of life flowing from the throne.

A tree of life on both sides—its fruit healing the nations.

And best of all: “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man” (Revelation 21:3).

That’s where the whole story is going. That’s your future if you're in Christ. Worship was your beginning, and worship is your eternity. One day, you won’t worship by faith—you’ll worship by sight. You’ll see His face (Revelation 22:4), and you’ll never be cast out again.

So don't settle for lesser purposes. You were made for God. You were redeemed to walk with Him again. And one day, you will worship in the new Eden forever.

This is the story we were made for. From the dust of Eden to the glory of the New Creation, God's design has never changed: we were made to live in His presence, to reflect His image, and to carry out His purposes in the world.

We were placed in the garden not merely to work for God, but to walk with Him. To know Him. To enjoy Him.

And now, through Christ, the image once marred by sin is being restored. The great High Priest has opened the way back into the presence of God—and one day, we will again dwell with Him in a garden-city where we will serve Him and see His face.

So if this is our story—our purpose, our identity, our future—how should we live today?

Application:

So let me ask: How do you think about your purpose?

In a culture of burnout and ambition, some of us need to remember: you were not created in order to prove your worth through your work. You were made to worship—and your work flows out of that.

Others need to hear this: you were not made to drift through life, numbing yourself with entertainment or excuses. You were made to cultivate—to shape your corner of the world with faithfulness.

Your identity is not your job title—but your job still matters.

And your purpose is not to be fulfilled by your work—but to be faithful in it.

So don’t believe the lie that says worship happens only when you’re singing.

Worship happens when you love your neighbor because Christ first loved you.

When you teach children the wonders of God so that they may know Him and love Him.

When you exercise your mind by reading and studying books that go into the deep things of God so that you may know Him more deeply.

When you share the reason for your hope with a co-worker or client or family member and proclaim the good news of Christ.

Worship is a whole-life response to the worth of God. It’s not confined to Sunday—it spills into Monday. It’s not limited to sacred spaces—it saturates ordinary places. Wherever you reflect God’s character, walk in obedience, and delight in His presence, you are worshiping.

Conclusion

So what are we?

We are dust. But not just dust.

We are dust formed by God’s hands, filled with God’s breath, placed in God’s world, and commissioned for God’s glory.

But we are also dust that has rebelled. We have rejected the Word of God and grasped at what is not ours. And because of that, this dust is now marked by death.

But the story doesn’t end in Genesis 3. And it doesn’t end with us returning to the dust.

The Second Adam has come—Jesus Christ—who, though not formed from dust, took on dust like us, became fully human, and walked in perfect obedience to the Father’s Word. He lived the life we should have lived and died the death we deserve to die. And then He rose—not just to rescue souls, but to redeem all of creation, including dusty image-bearers like you and me.

Because of Jesus, we are not just dust under judgment—we are dust redeemed by grace. We are not just formed—we are re-formed in Christ. We are not just image-bearers—we are being conformed into His image (Romans 8:29). And one day, this dust will be raised in glory (1 Corinthians 15:49).

So tomorrow, when you wake up, remember this: You are not what you feel. You are not what the world says. You are dust—but dust that’s been redeemed by the blood of Jesus and filled with the breath of His Spirit.

Live like it. Worship like it. Work like it. Love like it. Because the One who made you is also the One who died and rose to make you new.

And if you’re here today and you don’t yet know this Redeemer—if you’ve never turned from your sin and trusted in Jesus—then friend, hear this clearly: you are dust too. You were made by God, in His image, for His glory. But like all of us, your dust is marked by sin. And no amount of good works or self-improvement can breathe life back into it.

But Jesus can. He came for you. He took on flesh to die for your sin, and He rose again so that your dust might live. Come to Him. Trust Him. Receive the life only He can give—and you will find what you were made for: forgiveness, restoration, purpose, and the hope of glory.

One day, this dust will shine like the sun in the kingdom of our Father, reflecting the marvelous light of His glory, completely undiluted.

But today is not that day.

So until then—work faithfully, worship fully, and walk closely with the God who has redeemed your dust for His glory and your good.

Let’s pray

Prayer of Confession and Scriptural Assurance

Closing Prayer of Response and Confession

Father in heaven, We come before You today as creatures of the dust—formed by Your hands, sustained by Your breath, and made in Your image.

We confess how easily we forget our place. We either exalt ourselves, chasing autonomy and self-rule, or we degrade ourselves, believing lies that we are worthless and unwanted. Forgive us for both.

Forgive us for the ways we’ve treated others—how we’ve looked down on those You made, ignored those in need, and reacted with revulsion instead of compassion. Forgive us for not seeing Your image in every face.

Forgive us for how we’ve doubted Your design—questioned Your wisdom, distorted Your good gifts, and sought identity outside of You.

But You, O Lord, are full of mercy. You know our frame. You remember that we are dust. And still You draw near. Still You love. Still You breathe life.

Thank You for Jesus, who entered our dust, bore our shame, and died to restore what we have broken. Thank You that in Him, we are not just dust—we are redeemed, remade, and filled with the Spirit of life.

So teach us to live as those who bear Your image: — with humility that bows before Your glory, — with honor that reflects Your goodness, — and with gratitude that overflows in worship and obedience.

In the name of Jesus Christ, our Creator and Redeemer, Amen.

Assurance Option 1: Ezekiel 36:25–27 (ESV)

“I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you... And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.”

Assurance: Through Jesus Christ, God has cleansed us, restored us, and given us His Spirit to walk with Him once again. If you are in Christ, you are forgiven and made new. And now, having confessed our sin and heard the assurance of God's cleansing and renewing work, we respond in worship. We recognize that we are “utterly unremarkable… except for where we come from.”

And so let us declare that our worth is not found in our status, our success, or our strength—but in Christ alone, who gave Himself for us.

Let’s stand together and sing: “My Worth Is Not in What I Own.”

Benediction

Go now in the name of the God who formed you from the dust and filled you with His breath. Walk in the footsteps of the second Adam, who restores what was lost and leads us back into the presence of God. Work faithfully, worship joyfully, and live purposefully— For you were made not just to labor, but to love and to live with God. And may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit go with you and keep you, now and always. Amen.