The God of Creation

Introduction

The world today worships creation.

We worship the earth…we worship the trees…we worship animals…and we worship people.

To worship means to gaze upon…it means to adore…it means to desire.

And we desire status, fame, fortune and a list of other things that go along with that…

but we ought not spend our time thinking about creation.

We ought to spend all of our time and energy focused on the Creator.

Now, Who is the Creator?

1. God is Infinite

He is infinite in His existence, which means that He was never created but has always existed.

He is infinite in His character, which means that He is unchanging in every way.

And He is infinite in His power. He is the only person that can create something from nothing…He is God.

2. God is Intimate

He is triune in nature. He exists as Father, Son, and Spirit…and He desires a personal relationship with you.

3. God is Intentional

He has been intentional to show us Who He is so that we can know Him.

and yet…

We trade the worship of Infinite, intimate, intentional God for the worship of a finite, cold, and chaotic world.

Here we are in the opening chapter of the Bible…and we read the creation account. This is not poetry, this is not hyperbole…this is the narrative of how the earth began and how God formed it all.

Open to Genesis 1 as we observe the days of creation, discover what they reveal, and learn how they apply to us.

I. The Days of Creation

Genesis 1:2 NKJV

The earth was without form, and void

That is to say that the earth was formless and it was empty. So, when Moses penned these words, He was explaining how God was going to begin forming the earth and then begin filling the earth.

In this first chapter of Genesis, there are six days.

The first three days are the days that God formed the earth from nothing.

The latter three days are the days that God filled the earth with the rest of His creation.

A. Formation

Day One

Genesis 1:3–5 NKJV

Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.

We’re not sure what this light is other than God produced this light out of His own power. God didn’t create the sun and moon until the fourth day, but just like in Heaven, God will be our source of light. On day one, God spoke, and light was there.

Day Two

Genesis 1:6–8 NKJV

Then God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” Thus God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day.

We see another separation.

We see that God separated what we know as the sky and what we will eventually know as the oceans and the seas.

The word firmament simply means expanse. That there was a separation between the waters. The separation is for the waters of the sky above the firmament, and the waters below the firmament.

Day Three

Genesis 1:9–13 NKJV

Then God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth”; and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. So the evening and the morning were the third day.

God has now formed the solid ground and He has given direction and formation to the seas and the oceans.

And so now God has formed the earth, and He will begin filling the earth.

B. Filling

Day Four

Genesis 1:14–19 NKJV

Then God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so. Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. So the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

Obviously, on day four, God created the sun and the moon, and He appointed days and seasons. The Bible says that God hung them in the skies to give light on the earth.

Day Five

Genesis 1:20–23 NKJV

Then God said, “Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens.” So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” So the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

In day three, God formed the skies, the oceans, and the seas. Here in day five He fills them and He commands His creation to fill the whole earth.

Day Six

Genesis 1:24–31 NKJV

Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind”; and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 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.” And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food”; and it was so. Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

In all these things, God had one unique creation, and that was the creation of man. God speaks within Himself…He converses within Himself between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit and then creates man in His image.

We are God’s special creation, the creation that He gave the world to. All of this was created for us to bless us and to give glory to God.

If you know the rest of the story, you’ll know that man sinned and cursed the world, and all of the goodness that God made turned into wicked sin. Tainted by evil and by darkness.

That’s why, when Jesus comes to reign again, He will create a new heaven and a new earth, because this world has been tainted by sin.

We’ve seen the days of creation…now let’s see

II. What They Reveal

A. God’s Word is Powerful

Ten times in this opening chapter you will see the words “God Speaks”.

Each time God speaks it marks a time when His power is revealed…it shows us that we serve a God that can bring something from nothing with just His word.

B. God’s Will is Authoritative

It was God’s will that the earth would be formed, and it was.

It was God’s will that the earth should be filled, and it was.

It was God’s will that the earth ought to be good, and it was.

It was God’s will that the earth ought to bring forth grass and herbs, and trees…and so it did.

Just the same, it was God’s will that the creatures of the earth ought to be fruitful and multiply, and so they did.

His will is authoritative. When God wills something to happen, all of Hell cannot stop it.

C. God’s Goodness was Contaminated

Each time God created, the Bible says that “God saw that it was good.”

And yet, there in the garden He came for His children and He saw darkness in them. He saw their minds darkened, the life stolen from their bodies…and He knew that His creation has plummeted into darkness…and His heart was broken.

All the good things that God made, broken, contaminated by sin…and set for destruction.

We’ve read the days of creation, we have seen what they reveal to us….

III. How They Apply to Us

A. We Must Be Separate From Darkness

One thing is very clear in the Bible, and that is that God cannot properly form us until He addresses the darkness that surrounds us and that is within us.

The same was true in creation, that if there was going to be any hope of life and if there was going to be any hope of progress, light and darkness have to be separated.

What Fellowship Does Light Have With Darkness?

2 Corinthians 6:14 NKJV

Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?

There is no possible way for you to experience any type of spiritual growth if you are in fellowship with darkness.

What do I mean by darkness?

The things that the Bible refers to as darkness are sin, satan, death, and spiritual ignorance and apathy.

That is, if you are actively living in sin, or you are willfully ignorant about the things of God, God can never perform a work in you.

To be willfully ignorant of God’s word means a few things, but most importantly it means that you have the inability to be corrected. You’ve got it figured out…church is nothing more to you than an obligation, and Christian fellowship is nothing more than a time to get together with people who have a common interest.

There’s no part of you that wants to change, no part of you that wants to start living closely with the Lord. You want an easy button, but there are no easy buttons in life, and there are no easy button’s in God’s Kingdom.

Those of you that are walking in darkness today may not be the drunkards or the prostitutes, those of you walking in darkness may simply be the man or the woman that has not completely separated themselves from the darkness of sin and of satan. The darkness of spiritual ignorance or spiritual apathy.

On day one, God said, “Let there be light; and God divided the light from the darkness.” Therefore, we must be separate from darkness…

B. We Must Submit to His Word

That is, if we want to have a solid foundation in our life, we have to allow God to form us in the very same way that He formed the earth.

On day three, God said, “Let the dry land appear”…and on this dry land is where He would choose to create His most valuable creation, the creation of man.

This is a literal story, it was something that was given to us so that we could understand that God is the Creator of the Heavens and the earth, but it also tells us that whatever God speaks, and whatever God says is so, is so.

There is no wiggle room. There is no changing the formula to fit our lifestyle or our preferences.

Instead, our life, and how we view the world, should be transformed by God’s truth.

Romans 12:2 NKJV

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Well, how is our mind transformed? It is transformed when we read His word, and accept His word and the authority of our life.

John 17:17 NKJV

Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.

There is only one way to discover the truth about life and to find total satisfaction, and that is to grab hold of God’s word and to believe it. To understand it, to apply it, and to live by it.

Because, as God begins to work in your life, and as He begins to teach you what His word is communicating to you, then, and only then, will you get the peace of God that the Bible talks about.

Even now, as I am preaching God’s truth, and as I am talking about God’s authority, I can’t teach you anything about Him.

I can pass along the information, I can generate some application, but for you to have real understanding of God’s word, He has to put that in you.

And in order for God to teach you His truth, you must have a humble and a teachable heart.

And humility doesn’t mean to degrade yourself. Humility means to come before God as a little child with your heart wide open. It means to come to God as though you have never learned anything at all and allowing His grace to show you His word and His truth.

That is how we are fed, that is how we are formed, that is how we are filled. It’s not from the words of the preacher, but it is by the inner witness of God’s Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 2:13–14 NKJV

These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

To be a natural man means to be a man or a woman with a mind for the things of this earth and not mindful of the things of heaven.

You can be a Christian and still be someone who thinks naturally. Yet, the person who is spiritual is the person that has a sincere desire to see things God’s way. They are a person who has a sincere conviction that Jesus Christ is coming again, and that the troubles of this world are God’s way of making us holy just as He is holy.

We must be separate from darkness, we must submit to His Word…

C. We Must Worship God and God Alone

Every person that teaches a false doctrine and every worldly power wants you to take your eyes off of God and place it on His creation. If satan can get you to worship creation instead of the creator, there is no sin that you won’t run to and no darkness that you won’t live in.

In these days of creation, it is revealed to us that God is has the power and the authority. It shows us the He alone deserves the praise for all things that exist…and yet, so many times we give it to anything other than God.

In the book of Romans, Paul explains how rejecting God as the only Person worthy of praise brings us to having a deranged society.

1. We Worship Self

Romans 1:21 NKJV

because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

We, as a society, have become the object of our own praise.

We praise animals, we praise cultures, we praise skin color, we praise nationalities, we praise our emotions and mental states, we praise entertainment and entertainers, we praise churches, we praise religions and politicians, we praise anything but praising God.

Romans 1:22–23 NKJV

Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.

That is, when we know God, and we have access to God, and yet we ignore God, we turn to the worship of His creation instead of worshipping the creator.

This worship of creation devolves even further into the worship of sexuality.

2. We Worship Sexuality

Romans 1:24–25 NKJV

Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

Our nation is riding the slippery slope of sexuality.

At first, immodesty and premarital sex was normalized…then living together without marriage was normalized…homosexuality was normalized…transgenderism is being normalized…and now we have degraded ourselves so far that people are dressing as animals to fulfil their sick and perverted lusts…and it won’t be long until the pedophiles are set loose to do what they please.

Where does all of this filth come from? It comes from the worship of self through the avenue of the pornographic industry.

There is nothing that has degraded humanity more than the porn industry. It darkens the mind, it causes irreparable damage to the brain, it is the tool that satan has used to advance the worship of sexuality. Whether it be adultery, incest, homosexuality, or pehophelia, you can rest assured it all began with the darkness that comes from the worship of sex.

3. We Must Worship God and God Alone

It is vitally important that you worship God and God alone.

God is the maker of the Heavens and the earth…and when God created it, it was good. There’s no need to worship creation, and there’s no need to worship the things that are of the earth, our worship must be reserved for God and God alone.

What exactly does it mean to worship?

To worship means to gaze upon…it means to adore…it means to desire.

Genesis 3:6 NKJV

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.

In that moment, Eve worshipped the creation rather than the creator and all of creation died with her.

There is only one path to life, and that is to make Jesus the center of our adoration and our desire.