How Great is Our God
Sunday, January 6th, 2008
“How Great is Our God”
Theme: The greatness of our Creator
Text: Gen 1:1 – 2:3
Key Verse: God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good (Gen 1:31a)
Interrogative: Who
Homiletical Word: Created
Introduction: 7448 Child’s Recount Of Eve
The Sunday School teacher asked one little girl if she knew the story of Adam and Eve. “First God created Adam,” she said, “and then He looked at him and said, “I think I can do better,” So He created girls.”
[1]
1232 If The Earth Were
If the earth were as small as the moon, the power of gravity would be too weak to retain sufficient atmosphere for man’s needs; but if it were as large as Jupiter, Saturn, or Uranus, extreme gravitation would make human movement almost impossible.
If we were as near to the sun as Venus, the heat would be unbearable; if we were as far away as Mars, we would experience snow and ice every night even in the warmest regions. If the oceans were half their present dimensions, we would receive only one-fourth the rainfall we do now. If they were one-eighth larger, our annual precipitation would increase fourfold, and this earth would become a vast, uninhabitable swamp!
Water solidifies at 32 degrees above zero. It would be disastrous if the oceans were subject to that law, however, for then the amount of thawing in the polar regions would not balance out, and ice would accumulate throughout the centuries! To prevent such a catastrophe, the Lord put salt in the sea to alter its freezing point! (Psalm 104:24)
—Our Daily Bread
[2]
READ: Gen 1:1 – 2:3
PRAY
- Our God is the origin of all things (1:1)
- Before 1:1 there was only God...(Elohim)
- This God “created” (bara)
i. Word “bara” ‘out of nothing’
ii. Every use (44x) in OT God is subject... man never “bara”s anything. – man can “ya-sar” (form/fashion) something out of some existing material (term used in Gen 2:7 God forms Adam out of the dust)
iii. Scientists take on God – illustration
- “the Heavens and the Earth”
i. All that is “up there” and all that is “down here” – the Hebrew mind would use opposites to emphasis the totality or their subject.
1. all people = young and old or rich & poor
2. (note: tree of knowledge of “good & evil” = all knowledge??)
3. heaven & earth? = everything up there & down here.
- Refutation of 6 major belief systems... Genesis 1:1 and other worldviews.
What Does 1:1 Say to Those Who Interpret Reality Apart from a Personal, Infinite God?
• To the atheist it says that Creation was the work of God.
• To the polytheist it says there is only one God.
• To the pantheist it says that God is apart from and independent of his creation.
• To the evolutionist it says that the universe was created and did not evolve.
• To the materialist it says that matter is not eternal but was itself created.
• To the existentialist it says creation has a purpose
Willmington, H. L.: Willmington's Bible Handbook. Wheaton, Ill. : Tyndale House Publishers, 1997, S. 4
- Our God brings order to all things (1:2-31)
- He brings order out of chaos i. The Process has order
Details of each day...
1. an introductory “And God said”
2. a command “let there be...”
3. a note of fulfillment “and it was so”
4. and evaluation “God saw it was good”
5. statement of time “there was evening and morning, one day.”
ii. The Product has order
1. Light – first and most important ingredient (1 John 1:5) ... God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all.
a. Darkness = disorder therefore the first command “let here be light”
2. Structure – the 2nd necessary ingredient
a. He separates water from water, and water from land
b. Chronological structure with the creation and placement of Sun and moon. (not masters of light, but it’s servants)
3. Contents – the final ingredient
a. The land is empty – filling the earth with living things beginning on day 3 and ending on day 6 with the creation of man – the image of God – a reflection of God in several ways
i. Creativity
ii. 3 in One/body soul spirit – physical, spiritual, emotional
iii. Placed in dominant position over all other creation
iv. Like the sun and moon reflect the light – we reflect the nature of God.
v. God names the main components of His creation – then charges man to name the animals.
4. Can you catch the meticulous order of all this? Can one seriously entertain thoughts that this all came about by chance with no cause or designer?
1467 “Nobody Made It”
Sir Isaac Newton had a replica of our solar system made in miniature. In the center was the sun with its retinue of planets revolving around it. A scientist entered Newton’s study one day, and exclaimed, “My! what an exquisite thing this is! Who made it?” “Nobody!” replied Newton to the questioner who was an unbeliever. “You must think I am a fool. Of course somebody made it, and he is a genius.”
Laying his book aside, Newton arose and laid a hand on his friend’s shoulder and said: “This thing is but a puny imitation of a much grander system whose laws you and I know, and I am not able to convince you that this mere toy is without a designer and maker; yet you profess to believe that the great original from which the design is taken has come into being without either designer or maker. Now tell me, by what sort of reasoning do you reach such incongruous conclusions?”
[3]
- Our God completes all things (2:1-3)
- The work is complete
i. 2:1 is as triumphant a proclamation as 1:1 is majestic
ii. God stopped working – “rested” gives a false impression that He was tired and need time to recuperate – ludicrous
iii. He just stopped working (sabat) – not because He was tired, but because He it was finished. No connotations of “rest” as we understand it.
iv. Rather it is the climax of the week, it symbolizes the celebration of the completion of the creative effort.
APPLICATION
What can we take home from Gen 1?
- There is a keen distinction between the Creator and the creation. (God is not simply the sum of all creation... He is so far beyond that we cannot imagine it)
- The power of the Divine Word (Ps 33:6) “By His Word the Heavens were made” (John 1:1,14) in the beginning was the Word...
- Order was fundamental to creation – so it continues to be a fundamental part of the universe
- The universe was created “good” – with sin came chaos & disorder and “all creation longs for the day when it will be set free from corruption” (Rom 8:21)
- about Sabbath rest....The keeping of the Sabbath (Ex 20:10) has no more hint of utilitarian function than Gen 2:2. It is not primarily about rest – nor is it about worship... it is about cessation of work. God says to us “for this day forget about your cares and your sweat... with the command comes the implication that God will somehow compensate for the loss of work (Sabbatical year Lev. 25:20) If our Sabbath begins to resemble every other day of our week, we are not “keeping it holy, nor wholly to the Lord”
This week I will... ___________________ you fill in the blank – take a step forward as you consider how God would have you respond.
How Great is Our God
The splendor of a King
Clothed in majesty
Let all the earth rejoice
All the earth rejoice
He wraps Himself in light
And darkness tries to hide
And trembles at His voice
Trembles at His voice
How great is our God, sing with me
How great is our God, and all will see
How great, how great is our God
Age to age He stands
And time is in His hands
Beginning and the end
Beginning and the end
The Godhead Three in One
Father Spirit Son
The Lion and the Lamb
The Lion and the Lamb
How great is our God, sing with me
How great is our God, and all will see
How great, how great is our God
Name above all names
Worthy of all praise
My heart will sing
How great is our God
How great is our God, sing with me
How great is our God, and all will see
How great , how great is our God
PRAY
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[1]Tan, Paul Lee: Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations : A Treasury of Illustrations, Anecdotes, Facts and Quotations for Pastors, Teachers and Christian Workers. Garland TX : Bible Communications, 1996, c1979
[2]Tan, Paul Lee: Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations : A Treasury of Illustrations, Anecdotes, Facts and Quotations for Pastors, Teachers and Christian Workers. Garland TX : Bible Communications, 1996, c1979
[3]Tan, Paul Lee: Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations : A Treasury of Illustrations, Anecdotes, Facts and Quotations for Pastors, Teachers and Christian Workers. Garland TX : Bible Communications, 1996, c1979