God’s Glory in Creation

The Glory of God is shown throughout the world whether in the Mountains, Oceans, or in the marvels of mankind. Everywhere we look we can see God’s Glory. Today we will look at 3 key aspects of Creation and how they display the Glory of God. The first will be in the creation of our Earth. Second we will explore the Glory of God in the creation of man, and lastly we will explore the Glory of God as displayed in his reconciliation of man. Today we will specifically look at these areas of creation through the lens of Christ. All things should be studied, spoken, and lived with Christ in the center. Colossians 1:15-20

English Standard Version Chapter 1

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

See, the entire creation through today and through the time that God will call us home is all meant to Glorify God and to do so through His son Jesus Christ. There is no other lens that is necessary to look through to find the meaning of why we are here, why things happen, and what our response should be. Let’s begin today's journey with God’s Glory in the creating of Earth.

God’s Glory in Earth’s Creation

Colossians 1:15–16a ESV

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.

Have you ever heard of Hermenutics? Art you are not allowed to answer this. Hermenutics is the set of rules that we follow when interpreting scripture. Now there are a lot of rules when interpreting scripture but those rules all lead to the same outcome. The goal is to find the singular authorial meaning of a passage of Scripture. It is to be understood that the Scriptures and more specifically the letters in the New Testament are written by the author with a purpose and a meaning. Colossians was written by Paul and while Paul neither established the church at Colosse nor visited the church, he wrote this letter because he was troubled by the information he was getting from the believers. The church at Colosse was a young church and false teaching was being spread through the church. A teaching that we now know a Gnosticism or the idea that an understanding of God was only possible through higher wisdom. The people were being told that if they wanted to have a relationship with God that they had to be higher educated and if they were not that they did not have a true relationship with God. Sounds eerily familiar to what we hear today that you can gain enough knowledge to be closer to God. Just as Paul is going to tell the believers in Colosse I am going to tell you today. Knowledge as gained by man will do nothing to save your soul. There is one thing that you must know and that must be the central aspect of your Salvation and that is, Jesus Christ is the Son of God, walked this earth as a pure and spotless man, died on the cross as an atonement for my sin and yours, and three days later was raised from the dead and is living and interceding for us as we speak. You believe in this and you believe that you are a sinner and apart from Christ you have no ability to enter the kingdom of heaven , then as we are told in Romans my friend you are saved. While it may help you to have a better understanding of the history of our faith, or be able to answer questions when challenged if your answers do not circle back to the fact that Christ died for us then it is the wrong answer. In this passage of Scripture Paul is placing Christ right back where He must be in all of our lives, in the center. Paul makes it clear to the believers that Christ is the Son of God and that through Him and for Him all things were made. Pretty amazing right? This means lets take a look back at Genesis 1

English Standard Version Chapter 1

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

In the beginning God created the Heavens and the Earth. Not the big bang, not some cosmic anomaly that they will never be able to explain, but plain and simple, God spoke it and it happened and I believe it. But the greater part of this scripture is that Jesus was there. In the beginning all things were created by Jesus and for Jesus. The earth was created with a purpose to bring Glory and Honor to God and to magnify the name of Jesus. Everything we see is there to bring Honor to his Name.

Men, have you ever tried to surprise your wife with something amazing? Let me tell you about how my Christmas works every year. My wife spends 6 months preparing for the kids Christmas and mine, making sure we have everything we need. She does however ensure that she does not get herself anything. I’m pretty sure it is something that she does because she knows how this stirs up a flurry of anxiety for me. You see when she does not tell me what she wants I am left to wonder, is what i’m getting her what she wants or should I just give her money and let her pick something? But, then I am thinking, no this is a challenge she wants to know if I really care and money is not going to say that. So then I get these “wonderful” ideas of what she would want. Thankfully there have been decades of stupid men who gladly share their horror stories, so I avoid all cleaning products. But then I find the perfect gift. I purchase the gift, make sure it is delivered to my office so she wont get it early, sneak it home and wrap it. Finally Christmas is here and I give her the gift. She opens it and she loves it but I can tell something isn’t right. So after the 30 minute you don’t like it conversation she admits to me that she knew what she was getting and had to fake being surprised. Why? all because I used the debit card. All this planning and she already knew. There is no surprising my wife.

This is the same with God, there is no surprising God. This life is not some random steps that just happen and the creation and redemption of man was not God’s plan B. He knew from the beginning how his creation would act and enacted a plan from before the earth was created. Since this is true and we know it to be biblically sound. How do we know this? Ephesians 1:4

English Standard Version Chapter 1

4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love

The Creation of the earth was the beginning of the Glory of God being shown. His glorious plan set in motion to rescue a creation that while searching for self satisfaction would ensure self destruction. The Creation of God cries out His glory. Creation is eagerly waiting for the return of God as it understands its place in His glorious plan. Romans 8:19

English Standard Version Chapter 8

19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies

You see the creation of the Earth had a purpose and the earth is waiting for the return of God. The earth was subjected to our corruption in God’s plan to reconcile us to Himself. Creation celebrates the Glory of God and is the first step in God’s glorious plan. Creation worships the name of Jesus and in the absence of our praise His earthly creations cry out His name. Luke 19:40

English Standard Version Chapter 19

He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”

Creation even now worships the name of Jesus because it was created by Him and for Him and is held together by Him. But not only does the Earth await His return the Universe declares His Glory

God’s Glory in the Universe

Colossians 1:16b–18 ESV

For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.

God created the Heavens and the Earth and after creating every aspect of our Universe and our Earth God saw that all He had created was good. On the 6th day God created man. Genesis 1:26-27

English Standard Version Chapter 1

26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

27  So God created man in his own image,

in the image of God he created him;

male and female he created them.

I want to be very straightforward today, on the sixth day God created man and woman and He created us in His own image. There was no mistake when God created man and woman and created them differently with aspects of His personality and physicality embedded in their DNA. I don’t use the phrase we are in a time where things are getting worse because in all honesty from the time Adam and Eve sinned mankind has spent the entirety of their time trying to do life apart from God and His will. We are in a culture where it is more visible and more acceptable for people to act as though God made a mistake with them. This is a lie and is a tool from the devil to separate His creation further from Him. God does not make any mistakes. When God created us He did so with intentionality and purpose. We were no mishap, we were no experiment. When God created us He knew how we would act, He knew what our thoughts were going to be and He understood what it would take to reconcile that creation to Himself. In a society that praises abortion and the fact that they can lower the number of children born with birth defects, we lose sight of the fact that no child conceived is a mistake and no condition is a mistake. If you are like me and you are born with no birth defects, or no mental defects then you have no excuse and I have no excuse, every bit of me and you should be used for the Glory of God. Can I tell you there will be thousands if not millions with down syndrome cured at the trumpet call? The children who have been fighting with everything they have mentally and physically will finally be able to worship God with no challenges! Isn’t it so great to know that Our God had a plan, that’s right it is not has a plan it is had a plan. Reconciliation of mankind did not happen after the garden it happened before the foundation of the earth. You are no mistake and any condition you may have is no mistake. You are the pure and perfect creation of God designed just as you are to Glorify Him in all you do.

Patrick Henry Hughes was born March 10, 1988 to Patrick John and Patricia Hughes. Upon his delivery, the medical staff noticed physical anomalies. These were diagnosed as bilateral anophthalmia with pterygium syndrome and congenital bilateral hip dysplasia.[1]

His father, Patrick John Hughes, introduced him to the piano at the age of nine months. Patrick has studied piano in the years since and later began the study of trumpet. He has two younger brothers, Jesse and Cameron.

Patrick Henry's national fame began in 2006 while a student at the University of Louisville. At the suggestion of Louisville's marching band director, Dr. Greg Byrne, Patrick Henry joined the Louisville Marching Band, playing trumpet while his father pushed him in his wheelchair through the marching routines. This visible commitment attracted increasing crowd and media attention throughout the fall football season, and the pair of Patricks were featured in a variety of television and newspaper coverage. Patrick Henry was subsequently invited to play piano and sing in musical performances throughout the country, including two performances at the Grand Ole Opry, and onstage performances with Pam Tillis, Lonestar, Lane Brody, Chad Brock, Faith Hill, and Bryan White. Also in 2007 he played solo trumpet on stage in performance with the Louisville Orchestra. Patrick was asked how he would describe his disabilities, Patrick replied, “They’re not disabilities at all— more like abilities.”

You see society must end these type of stories, they must find a way to say that these children are not ok and that it is child abuse to have a child like this when you can simply abort the child. Why would they want this? It is simple, if that child lives and is a glorious example of how God created that child perfectly even through what we see as a disability then they understand that they have no excuse and the judgment is going to be that much worse for them. But if they can play God and end the “disability” births then they can stand and say that God was wrong and that they were right. God has made it very clear that He makes no mistakes with us. Maybe you are here and you think to yourself, all I do is mess things up. I cannot bring God Glory, I cannot make Him happy. Let me be the first to tell you, God created you perfectly the way you are for His Glory. Maybe you struggle with depression and anxiety, maybe you struggle with an eating disorder, maybe it is cancer, ashtma, diabetes, or the other thousand medical issues we can be assigned. Through this we must not forget what God said in His Word Psalm 139

English Standard Version Psalm 139

14  I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Wonderful are your works;

my soul knows it very well.

15  My frame was not hidden from you,

when I was being made in secret,

intricately woven in the depths of the earth.

16  Your eyes saw my unformed substance;

in your book were written, every one of them,

the days that were formed for me,

when as yet there was none of them.

You were formed and created perfectly, there is no mistake in you. Those disabilities or those medical issues those are opportunities. You may be sitting in dialysis with the person God has designed for you to be the mouth piece of salvation to. Maybe it is your oncologist, primary care doctor that God has set you before to proclaim His Glory. You see the things we see as disabilities or medical issues are God’s designs in our lives to place us in the right places at the right time for the message of Christ. Before you were born and before Adam and Eve were created God had already set a plan in motion to reconcile His creation to Himself. Jesus created you and He created you with a purpose, and while you may have a disability or medical condition as a Christian you are already healed. This leads us to the last and most important point of this entire message. That is God’s Glory through Reconciliation of His Creation.

God’s Glory through Reconciliation of His Creation

Colossians 1: 19-20

English Standard Version Chapter 1

19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

From the beginning God was please to dwell in Christ and through Christ to reconcile all things. What does this mean? This means that before you were formed in the womb God knew you. God knew what disabilities or medical issues you would be born with. He knew if you would be born without any disabilities or medical issues and He designed you with a perfect purpose to declare the Glory of His son Jesus Christ. That’s right God set in motion a glorious plan of redemption and reconciliation before the foundations of the earth were set. You were born the way you were, to the family you were born into, in the time you were born for a purpose that He designed for you to fulfill. Just like the previous points we must bring this back to the lens of Christ though and without Christ you will never be able to fully understand the riches of his Grace and Mercy. There are millions of people fighting horrible things like cancer and other debilitating issues that do not understand why? Why was I the one who got cancer? Why was I the parent who had a disabled child? Why was I born a child with disabilities? There is truly only one reason but without Christ it makes no sense. Without Christ it is hopeless. My issues, your issues, everything we struggle with in this world is meant to be used to draw us and others to the knowledge and relationship with Christ. In this passage of Scripture Paul sums up all of Life’s questions. Why am I here? Because of Christ? What am I supposed to do here? Glorify Christ. Why was I born this way? To Glorify Christ. There is no secret knowledge that will make you the perfect Christian, there is no secret club of highly intelligent people who get to choose who goes to Heaven. No it is Christ alone. Are you reconciled to Christ? Maybe you are here today and you need to have some understanding of why your life has gone the way it has. Why have you struggled with drug addiction? Why did you come to church this week? Why did I get cancer? Why did my child die at an early age? These questions can only be answered through one person, Jesus Christ. Make Christ the center of your life today. Make all that you do, all that you go through to glorify Him. God did not make you by mistake and He understood everything you would go through in your life and it all leads to the Cross. Will you take up your cross today? Christian do you need to recommit your life to that understanding? Do you need to quit living like life is just a random set of days? Our days are set by God with purpose don’t waste them. I will close us out with this last verse and though. Philippians 1:21-26

English Standard Version Chapter 1

21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. 24 But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.

Paul through his many struggles and physical issues in his life understood that those things were designed by God as Holy tools for the Kingdom of God. No sickness, no pain, no struggle is a random act it was understood by God what you would go through and He designed a plan to give you peace beyond understanding. Our lives like Paul’s must come to the point where to die is gain but to live is Christ. I challenge each and every one of us this morning to pray, to ask God are we living as vessels of Glory to our King? Do we reflect the Glory of God and hold tight to the truth and promise of the resurrection. If you are not saved this morning, there is hope in all you have been through, there is a reason God brought you here today and it is not by chance. Today may be the last day God gives you the opportunity to finally make sense of all you have been through and to use your challenges and struggles for His Glory.