Work, Work, Work
Genesis 1-3 • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Please turn to the book of Genesis 2:4.
Whenever you tell someone, “I have to go to work...” How do you usually say it?
“I have to go to woooooooooooork.”
or is it:
“I get to go to work!”
How do you say it?
and why?
It’s estimated that we spend almost 1/3 of our life working...90,000 hours.
and sometimes as Christians we don’t think enough how our faith in Jesus affects our work? or as churches, we don’t do a great job at equipping us all to work?
and I am not just talking about a paid job—it could be unpaid—you could be a student, stay at home parent, volunteer.
How do we approach, think about, do our jobs—both paid and unpaid—as a follower of Jesus?
Whether on the assembly line, the office, the job site, the non-profit or church, the school, the factory, the stay at home parent...how does God call us to think about, approach, and do work?
To answer that, let’s ready Genesis 2:4.
Please stand as I read.
4 This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.
so thus far, we have had a zoomed out view, big picture view of creation. God making the universe, earth, plants, animals, us, in 6 days, and resting on the 7th day.
Now, we are going to zoom in, and get a closer up view of how God made mankind.
and it’s interesting—if you look closely at verse 4—God’s name is called the LORD God.
this is the first time that word LORD (all capitalized is used). It’s a reference to God’s name Yahweh—his personal, intimate, covenant name.
In chapter 1, we just saw the word God - Elohim. showing his majesty and bigness. what we call his transcendence
but now we see God’s closeness and intimacy - what we call his immanence.
let’s keep reading
5 Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth and no plant had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work the ground, (interestingly, we already learned plants were created in chapter 1 and yet we see none here—how it all squares together—not sure. maybe there were wild plants and not just cultivated plants—don’t know)
6 but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground.
7 Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
BTW - the Hebrew word for man is Adam and ground is adama - Adam comes from the ground.
8 Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed.
9 The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
10 A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters.
11 The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. (not sure where that one is today)
12 (The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there.)
13 The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush.
14 The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Ashur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.
so all these rivers are showing that the Garden is an abundant place. well-watered. life can flourish! It’s paradise.
even the way it references gold, and onyx, remind us of the way the tabernacle and temple are described—and the new heaven and new earth.
this is a paradise—God dwelling with man and all of creation
15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.
16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden;
17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”
I don’t have time to comment on everything...
and we can speculate on a lot...
but I want to focus in on this topic of work.
So what do we learn about work from this passage (and a couple others)
and we will focus on this passage, but also keep in mind...a few weeks ago when Logan and the Bolivia team shared, Logan told us of a great Gospel framework to think about the Bible’s storyline. what is it?
Let me show you on screen:
Creation
Fall
Redemption
Restoration
(say it with me)
Creation is Genesis 1-2
The Fall is when Adam and Eve sin in Genesis 3, they put themselves in the place of God and introduce all sorts of consequences like God warned, including death.
and redemption is when Jesus, the Son of God, came and lived, died on the cross in our place for our sin, rose from the grave, redeeming or buying our freedom from slavery to sin, death, and the devil. and so now we can be new creations now—God’s kingdom has come, not fully yet
and restoration is Revelation 21-22 when Jesus returns, everything is made new; we dwell with God forever in the new heaven and new earth.
Let’s keep that outline in mind, as to what the Bible teaches us about work.
some truths about work:
Truth #1. God both modeled and created work so...work is good! (Gen. 2:1-9)
look at vs. 2
2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.
created the universe in 6 days; rested on the 7th day. God had the most productive work week ever.
vs. 7 - we see God working to form us.
7 Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
the language here of forming is likening God to a potter. he gets his hands dirty and forms and fashions us—intimately, like a potter and an artist
and he makes us from dirt—showing us that we are creatures—God is the Creator. there’s a difference...
and also showing we have great value, dignity—the image of God because He breathes into us the breath of life and makes us a living being.
So if God modeled it, and created it—work is a good thing! work is created good
“I get to go to work”
2. Truth #2 God made us to work.
yes there is more than that....but it’s part of it.
vs. 5 mentions a problem in God’s good creation...
5 Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth and no plant had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work the ground,
so God makes us to work the ground.
not because God couldn’t do it himself...but in His plan, and as part of our mission He wants us to go and subdue the earth, fill (Gen. 1:28). His plan is to empower us to work.
and in vs. 15—look at that
15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.
Theologians note that those verbs to “work it and take care of it” are the same verbs used to describe the role of the priests and Levites in the tabernacle and temple (e.g., Num 3:7-8; 8:26).
work matters! our work is sacred whether in the tabernacle or in the garden. it matters
so remember—God made us to work even before sin is in the world. work is not a result of sin. It’s part of God’s good created order. We are made to work.
and work is a form of worship!
#3 Work is also cursed. (Genesis 3:17-19)
so even though God modeled work and created work; even though we are made to work, because of sin, work is cursed.
Genesis 3:17-19—after Adam and Eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (which God told them “not to”)
17 To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life.
18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.
19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”
Work will always have a frustrating element to it.
If you literally garden or plant, you know this—I am so good at growing weeds (notice weeds, not weed). I don’t have to try. I can spray, and fight them, but still have to uproot some.
and it’s true in all our work
no matter how amazing our job is it will always have frustration...
so remember the outline...
Creation
Fall
Redemption
Restoration
because of Creation—work matters. We are called to work to God’s glory. There is still some fulfilling aspects of it—b/c despite the thorns and thistles they would still get food. “I get to go to work”
but work is also frustrating and sometimes feel futile. “I have to go to work.”
You have both fulfillment and frustration. both!
Can you relate?
I know I feel like that in my role as a pastor. There are days it feels incredibly fulfilling, but then there are days I am tempted to find something else to with my life because it was challenging, or tedious.
work is both created by God
and now affected and cursed by sin.
if you are a famer—you can do all the right things, but you still rely on God to bring the weather at the right time and right away...droughts and floodwaters can mess everything up b/c we live in a fallen worl.
and yet we are still called to work.
because in Genesis 3:23 after they sinned
23 So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken.
and even though Jesus has come bringing our redemption...and initiating the kingdom of God, it is not fully here yet....
and we are still awaiting the full restoration of all things. when there will be no more thorns and thistles.
So how can we apply this:
Application:
All work and all types of jobs matter (paid and unpaid)
why?
a couple reasons:
one is God Himself—In Genesis 2—God is a potter and a gardener, not afraid to get his hands dirty. In the New Testament, when Jesus came to redeem or buy our freedom...Jesus’ day job before He starts traveling and ministering is what? carpenter! a construction worker!
even think of Paul in the NT—He’s a tentmaker
it’s amazing because if you compare The Bible’s account of God making man to other ancient accounts from other religions, the gods would make man to do manual labor or the work the gods didn’t want to do. but if God is willing to get dirty, to do construction as the Son of God...then...
All types of jobs matter—whether blue collar or white collar, whether on the job site or at home.
whether paid or unpaid.
all matters.
if you go back to the time of the Protestant Reformation—we learn of Catholic Monk Martin Luther in 1517—he was famous for starting the reformation that led to many Christians breaking away from the Catholic Church at the time.
and one of his complaints against the Catholic church at the time, was this idea that God’s work could only be done as a priest or monk or nun. manual labor was thought to be lesser. but Luther challenged that. he wanted the church to recapture the idea that all of our work matters—all of our work can be holy; he called it “the priesthood of believers” — -all of us are priets in our lives mediating the presence of God—whether at church or on the assembly line. we represent God to man.
if you think of the Lord’s prayer—which part of it is “Give us this day our daily bread...”
How does God answer that prayer? it’s not as if manna from heaven just falls and plops in our yard...but God answers it through farmers, bakers, drivers, grocers, and countless others along the way. even in the smallest and most menial jobs we feel - the Lord Almighty is working through our work.
this means that all work matters—your job, even if you feel it is pointless or not making a difference—it matters in God’s plan.
If all work matters, then we are to work to God’s glory. (Col. 3:22-24)
22 Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord.
23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,
24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
now, I know this in a passage about slavery. However, slavery then was often due to economic reasons. to get out of debt, you would sell yourself into slavery to work and pay off your debt.
and look at the challenging words Paul gives—work hard—not only when your boss or master is watching.
do it all with all your heart—working for the Lord.
know that you are ultimately serving God.
how would it make a difference in your job, whether paid or unpaid if you were doing it for God?
for starters—we would put in a full day of honest work. we wouldn’t cut corners.
we would get excellent at our work—because it reflects God.
I have a conviction that all Christians should be the best workers at their jobs, an eagerness to do a good job, to be excellent and skillful because they are reflecting God. one writer calls it the ministry of competence.
this is one way you can glorify God.
and of course, as you do that, hopefully, you have open doors to talk openly and honestly about why you do this....because you love Jesus.
You don’t want to be that obnoxious Christian who is preach at work (nobody wants to work with);
nor do you want to hide the fact that you follow Jesus.
but as you do everything, including your job to God’s glory, it will make a difference.
Watch out for 2 errors: underwork vs. overwork.
do you know what I mean by that? all of us are probably tempted towards one or the other.
Think of underwork— in this view, work is a necessary evil. “I have to go to work” (Moaning and groaning!) I am working just to get to the weekend. “my work doesn’t matter.” People in this category often do the bare minimum. might struggle with laziness. maybe won’t apply for a job, because they are waiting for the perfect job. just have just a sour attitude towards all work.
the Apostle Paul challenges this: because he worked as a tentmaker in many places where he ministered:
10 For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.”
11 We hear that some among you are idle and disruptive. They are not busy; they are busybodies.
12 Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the food they eat.
I read one article that described how the % of men ages 25-54 who are not working but can has sadly increased, and that’s sad.
if you are an under-worker—remember, God worked; God created us to work. All work matters. Your work, even the most menial job, can be a calling—if you dedicate it to the Lord. that’s part of being made in God’s image. in fact, I think if you are not working in some way in your life, whether paid or unpaid, whether retired or not, you feel like you are missing out— and I think it’s cause God made us to work in some way.
think of the other error—over-work. in this view, work is not just work. It’s become our identity. it’s a way to make a name for ourselves as Genesis 11. It’s not work—but I am living to rise up the ladder, to get a promotion and advance and get more power, influence, money. I am my career. This can happen to us easily—most of us don’t set out for it to happen, but if we are not careful, work becomes an idol, a substitute for God.
Tim Keller in his book on Work “Every Good Endeavor” says this:
Here’s the tragic irony: when you invest everything—even your identity—in your job, you will eventually do worse work. You won’t be able to live with inconveniences. Ordinary mistakes from others will infuriate you. Healthy competition will become an unhealthy obsession to win at all costs. And as you become increasingly absorbed in your work, you will likely become increasingly obnoxious to those who slow you down.
Sometimes this underwork vs. overwork—can come out in 2 ways...
many authors note that back at the time of the Great Depression and following—maybe even your grandparents or greatparents—for them—work is work. You get a job, maybe in the same town, doing what your parents did—or maybe you were just grateful to have a job. the danger in that sometimes is it can make work under-valued. It’s just a paycheck.
but then the danger today and for the past several years is that we expect work to completely fulfill us. We need to do work that changes the world and our company needs to take a stand and on all sorts of issues that I agree with.
but remember—Work is good—created—don’t undervalue it. but it’s cursed—fallen. our identity is not to be in it.
4 The solution to this (underwork and overwork)—is to look to Jesus, the one who worked for us—-constantly.
I want to invite the ushers forward as we get ready to take communion here.
raise your hand if you need elements? If you are at home, I encourage you to prepare and grab some elements.
I love how one author puts it—if we are going to overcome under or over-work, He says this:
Tim Keller on the Christian Life: The Transforming Power of the Gospel Where (and How) Should I Then Work?
Jesus is the only boss who will not drive you into the ground, the only audience that does not need your best performance in order to be satisfied with you. Why is this? Because his work for you is finished. In fact, the very definition of a Christian is someone who not only admires Jesus, emulates Jesus, and obeys Jesus, but who “rests in the finished work of Christ” instead of his or her own. Remember, God was able to rest [
30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
what is his finished? Jesus’ full and final work for you on the cross. He paid for your sin.
remember—creation, fall, redemption, restoration.
Redemption here—He bought your freedom from your sin in your place
by living the life we failed to live, dying the death we deserve, and rising from the grave.
and so when I receive and believe this—My sin is paid for! I am a new creation in Christ. I have a new identity that my job or lack thereof cannot change.
I don’t have to define my work by “success...” I can be faithful as long as I am doing it for God’s glory and allow Him to take care of the results.
and I can truly rest. I can take breaks from work, and even when I am working, I am resting in Christ. because He is my identity.
If I truly have this—if my identity is now grace, not work, then I can experience freedom from my work and even in my work.
my job, paid or unpaid, is simply to be an act of worship to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
Would you take a moment and ask God how He is calling you to apply this sermon on work? whether you under-work or over-work?
Luke 22:19-20 say this:
19 And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”
20 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.
would you take a moment and thank Jesus that He paid it all for our sins?
would you take a moment in a small group and have someone pray a prayer of thanksgiving?
and after everyone is done, I will lead us all together in communion.
All work is to be done to God’s glory.
closing 1 Cor. 10:31
New International Version (2011) Chapter 10
31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
