The Genesis Account and Theology

Psalm 33:6 KJV 1900

By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; And all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.

Proverbs 16:4 KJV 1900

The Lord hath made all things for himself: Yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.

The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil. -

“By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. -

The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil. -

,

Created on Purpose

ii. Created with Purpose

a. ,

1. Not like other animals, unique, a living soul

Not like other animals, unique, a living soul

2. Not to abuse authority, but to be good stewards of God’s creation

Not to abuse authority, but to be good stewards of God’s creation

b. To glorify God –

1. Not like other animals, unique, a living soul

i.

2. Not to abuse authority, but to be good stewards of God’s creation

Psalm 86:9–10 KJV 1900

All nations whom thou hast made shall come And worship before thee, O Lord; And shall glorify thy name. For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: Thou art God alone.

ii.

iii.

c. To receive blessings from God

To receive blessings from God

i.

Psalm 86:9–10 KJV 1900

All nations whom thou hast made shall come And worship before thee, O Lord; And shall glorify thy name. For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: Thou art God alone.

i. To be recipients of God’s Grace – getting what we do not deserve

To be recipients of God’s Grace – getting what we do not deserve

ii.

Colossians 1:16 KJV 1900

For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

ii. To be recipients of God’s mercy – not getting what we do deserve

To be recipients of God’s mercy – not getting what we do deserve

iii.

Revelation 15:4 KJV 1900

Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.

iii. To be recipients of God’s forgiveness

To be recipients of God’s forgiveness

iv. To be recipients of God’s patience

To be recipients of God’s patience

v. To be recipients of God’s joy ()

To be recipients of God’s joy ()

d. The Purpose of God or the Random Chance of Evolution

The Purpose of God or the Random Chance of Evolution

iComments from evolutionists

Comments from evolutionists

“For evolutionary biologists, the flower of the magnolia has a function but not a purpose. It was not designed in order to propagate the species, much less to delight us with its beauty, but instead came into existence because magnolias with brightly colored flowers reproduced more prolifically than magnolias with less brightly colored flowers. The unsettling implication of this purely material explanation is that, except in the case of human behavior, we need not invoke, nor can we find any evidence for, any design, goal, or purpose anywhere in the natural world.”

“Humans have always wondered about the meaning of life...life has no higher purpose than to perpetuate the survival of DNA...life has no design, no purpose, no evil and no good, nothing but blind pitiless indifference.” --Richard Dawkins

The real difficulty in accepting Darwin's theory has always been that it seems to diminish our significance…. |Evolution| asked us to accept the proposition that, like all other organisms, we too are the products of a random process that, as far as science can show, we are not created for any special purpose or as part of any universal design. (Curtis, Helena and N. Sue Barnes. 1981. Invitation to Biology. Third Edition, New York, NY: Worth, 475)

John 16:33 KJV 1900

These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

God’s Word on Purpose

The world…steeped in moral meaning which helped mankind seek out higher goals in life, was not Darwin's. Darwin's view of nature was dark--black…. Where most men and women generally believed in some kind of design in nature--some kind of plan and order--and felt a deep-seated, mostly inexpressible belief that their existence had meaning, Darwin wanted them to see all life as empty of any divine purpose. (Browne, Janet. 1995. Charles Darwin: Voyaging, A Biography. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 542.)

How widely is this view held by scientists? One study of 149 leading biologists found that 89.9 percent believed that evolution has no ultimate purpose or goal except survival, and we are just a cosmic accident existing at the whim of time and chance. A mere six percent believed that evolution has a purpose. (http://www.icr.org/article/darwinism-survival-without-purpose/)

i. Comments from evolutionists

God knows you ()

ii. God’s Word on Purpose

God’s Word on Purpose

“For evolutionary biologists, the flower of the magnolia has a function but not a purpose. It was not designed in order to propagate the species, much less to delight us with its beauty, but instead came into existence because magnolias with brightly colored flowers reproduced more prolifically than magnolias with less brightly colored flowers. The unsettling implication of this purely material explanation is that, except in the case of human behavior, we need not invoke, nor can we find any evidence for, any design, goal, or purpose anywhere in the natural world.”

1. God knows you ()

God provided salvation for you before the foundation of the world ()

2. God provided salvation for you before the foundation of the world ()

“Humans have always wondered about the meaning of life...life has no higher purpose than to perpetuate the survival of DNA...life has no design, no purpose, no evil and no good, nothing but blind pitiless indifference.” --Richard Dawkins

God can give you fulfilment in life ()

3. God can give you fulfilment in life ()

God can use you for eternal purposes

4. God can use you for eternal purposes

The real difficulty in accepting Darwin's theory has always been that it seems to diminish our significance…. |Evolution| asked us to accept the proposition that, like all other organisms, we too are the products of a random process that, as far as science can show, we are not created for any special purpose or as part of any universal design. (Curtis, Helena and N. Sue Barnes. 1981. Invitation to Biology. Third Edition, New York, NY: Worth, 475)

– eternal life

a. – eternal life

– eternal glory

b. – eternal glory

The world…steeped in moral meaning which helped mankind seek out higher goals in life, was not Darwin's. Darwin's view of nature was dark--black…. Where most men and women generally believed in some kind of design in nature--some kind of plan and order--and felt a deep-seated, mostly inexpressible belief that their existence had meaning, Darwin wanted them to see all life as empty of any divine purpose. (Browne, Janet. 1995. Charles Darwin: Voyaging, A Biography. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 542.)

– eternal purpose

c. – eternal purpose

– eternal inheritance

d. – eternal inheritance

How widely is this view held by scientists? One study of 149 leading biologists found that 89.9 percent believed that evolution has no ultimate purpose or goal except survival, and we are just a cosmic accident existing at the whim of time and chance. A mere six percent believed that evolution has a purpose. (http://www.icr.org/article/darwinism-survival-without-purpose/)

Creation Explains the Person of God ()

II. Creation Explains the Person of God ()

ii. God’s Word on Purpose

Don’t just judge on what creation is, we see it in its fallen state.

1. God knows you ()

Luke 12:7 KJV 1900

But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.

a. His power – The vastness and smallness of Creation

2. God provided salvation for you before the foundation of the world ()

Revelation 13:8 KJV 1900

And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

Consider the scale of Creation

3. God can give you fulfilment in life ()

Ephesians 2:10 KJV 1900

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Stars in the Milky Way – 100 billion (at least, could be as many as 200 billion)MW is 100,000 light years across125 million galaxies with at least 100 billion starsThe universe, they estimate, is 156 billion light years widePsalm 147

4. God can use you for eternal purposes

The Observable UniverseTelescopes can see 13.7 billion light-years awayLight year is an astronomical distance equivalent to the distance light can travel in a single yearIt is nearly 6 million millon miles

a. – eternal life

Romans 6:23 KJV 1900

For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

StarsR136alThought to be the heaviest starIt is 265 times more massive than our sunUY ScutiOnly 30 times the sun’s massBut it has a radius 1700 greater than the sunThe number of galaxiesAt least 10 trillion galaxiesAt least 100 octillion stars (1 with 29 zeros after it)

b. – eternal glory

2 Corinthians 4:17 KJV 1900

For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;

b. His knowledge – Design

c. – eternal purpose

Ephesians 3:10–11 KJV 1900

To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:

i. Design demands a designer

d. – eternal inheritance

ii. Mutations do not introduce information for improvements, they corrupt existing information

iii. DNA

1. The detailed information in DNA cannot be read without complex, specialized proteins, designed for the task of decoding it. Yet the complex, specialized proteins cannot be created without the detailed instructions stored within DNA - See more at: http://www.tomorrowsworld.org/magazines/2013/may-june/the-miracle-of-dna#sthash.UbQLpkk9.dpuf

2. With every cell reading the programs encoded in our DNA—like a hundred trillion computers reading a hundred trillion hard drives, every second of every day of our lives—our very bodies demand that we believe in a Creator! As science reveals more and more wonders of the human body and of life on earth, we can lift our voices to God alongside King David of Israel, saying, “I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made” ()! - See more at: http://www.tomorrowsworld.org/magazines/2013/may-june/the-miracle-of-dna#sthash.UbQLpkk9.dpuf

3. In fact, they claim that the amount of DNA that would fit in a standard coffee cup would be enough to store 100 million hours of high-definition video. That is enough high-definition video to play continuously—24 hours a day, every single day—for more than 10,000 years. All in a single coffee cup. - See more at: http://www.tomorrowsworld.org/magazines/2013/may-june/the-miracle-of-dna#sthash.UbQLpkk9.dpuf

iv. Tears!

1. Their function – moisten, protect, clean

2. Extra tears

3. Antibacterial function

4. Emotional function

5. Communicative/social function

c. His majesty –

d. His love –

III. Creation Explains the Power of God

a. To create

b. To make rules – Ten Commandments (elaborate)

c. To enforce rules

i. –

ii. –

Conclusion:

II. Creation Explains the Person of God ()

· Nature points to God

Don’t just judge on what creation is, we see it in its fallen state.

· Nature gives basic information about God

a. His power – The vastness and smallness of Creation

· The Scriptures give us direct revelation about God

• Consider the scale of Creation

· Nature can prompt us to consider the Person of God, the Purpose of creation and the Power of God

• Stars in the Milky Way – 100 billion (at least, could be as many as 200 billion)

o MW is 100,000 light years across

o 125 million galaxies with at least 100 billion stars

o The universe, they estimate, is 156 billion light years wide

o

• The Observable Universe

o Telescopes can see 13.7 billion light-years away

 Light year is an astronomical distance equivalent to the distance light can travel in a single year

 It is nearly 6 million millon miles

o Stars

 R136al

• Thought to be the heaviest star

• It is 265 times more massive than our sun

 UY Scuti

• Only 30 times the sun’s mass

• But it has a radius 1700 greater than the sun

o The number of galaxies

 At least 10 trillion galaxies

 At least 100 octillion stars (1 with 29 zeros after it)

b. His knowledge – Design

i. Design demands a designer

ii. Mutations do not introduce information for improvements, they corrupt existing information

iii. DNA

1. The detailed information in DNA cannot be read without complex, specialized proteins, designed for the task of decoding it. Yet the complex, specialized proteins cannot be created without the detailed instructions stored within DNA - See more at: http://www.tomorrowsworld.org/magazines/2013/may-june/the-miracle-of-dna#sthash.UbQLpkk9.dpuf

2. With every cell reading the programs encoded in our DNA—like a hundred trillion computers reading a hundred trillion hard drives, every second of every day of our lives—our very bodies demand that we believe in a Creator! As science reveals more and more wonders of the human body and of life on earth, we can lift our voices to God alongside King David of Israel, saying, “I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made” ()! - See more at: http://www.tomorrowsworld.org/magazines/2013/may-june/the-miracle-of-dna#sthash.UbQLpkk9.dpuf

3. In fact, they claim that the amount of DNA that would fit in a standard coffee cup would be enough to store 100 million hours of high-definition video. That is enough high-definition video to play continuously—24 hours a day, every single day—for more than 10,000 years. All in a single coffee cup. - See more at: http://www.tomorrowsworld.org/magazines/2013/may-june/the-miracle-of-dna#sthash.UbQLpkk9.dpuf

iv. Tears!

1. Their function – moisten, protect, clean

2. Extra tears

3. Antibacterial function

4. Emotional function

5. Communicative/social function

c. His majesty –

d. His love –

III. Creation Explains the Power of God

a. To create

b. To make rules – Ten Commandments (elaborate)

c. To enforce rules

i. –

ii. –

Conclusion:

• Nature points to God

• Nature gives basic information about God

• The Scriptures give us direct revelation about God

• Nature can prompt us to consider the Person of God, the Purpose of creation and the Power of God

The Genesis Account and Theology

Creation Explains Our Purpose

Creation Explains Our Purpose (, ,)

Creation Explains Our Purpose

Created on Purpose

Created with Purpose

Created on Purpose

Created with Purpose

To glorify God –

To glorify God –

c. To receive blessings from God

i. To be recipients of God’s Grace – getting what we do not deserve

ii. To be recipients of God’s mercy – not getting what we do deserve

iii. To be recipients of God’s forgiveness

iv. To be recipients of God’s patience

v. To be recipients of God’s joy ()

God’s Word on Purpose