Year of Biblical Literacy: The Story of God (Creation)

Genesis 1:1-5; 26-31 The Story of God Creation Introduction: If this is your first time at Refuge Christian Fellowship, Welcome. You came on a good day because we are beginning a new series. As a part of our year of Biblical literacy we are doing miniseries on different themes in and from the Bible. For the last 4 weeks we’ve been looking at the Bible specifically - what it is, what it claims about itself - it’s authority, it’s accuracy, it’s purpose. In our teaching about, What the Bible is - we talked about how it is first of all a story and when we say that we don’t mean a fairy tale, but a congruent narrative that gives meaning and shape to our lives. Everyone has grand narrative that they are living by, a story that they tell themselves about why we are here, how we got here and where this life is going. We call these world views or meta-narratives - A real (Grand) story, that provides a framework of meaning for all people in all times and places, and therefore our own life in the world. So when we call the Bible a story, we mean the true story of God, his creation of the world, it’s fall into sin, evil and death, and ultimately God’s redemption of the world. Christians believe that this is the true story - that provides us with an understanding of the whole world and our own place in it. “Scripture - the Old and the New testaments - is the story of creation and new creation. Within that, it is the story of covenant and new covenant. When we read scripture as Christians, we read it precisely as people of the new covenant and the new creation. We do not read it, in other words, as a flat, uniform list of regulations or doctrines. We read it is as the narrative in which we ourselves are now called to take part. We read it to discover “the story so far” and also “how it’s supposed to end.” To put it another way, we live somewhere between the end of Acts and the closing scene of revelation. If we want to understand scripture and to find it doing its proper work in and through us, we must learn to read and understand it in light of that overall story.” - N.T. Wright, Surprised by Hope For the next weeks we are going to be looking at that grand story in six parts Creation, Fall, Israel, Jesus, the Church and New Creation - The story of God begins with a good God and a good creation… 1. Creation 1. As we read through Genesis 1, three principal themes emerge from the great creation account. The first is the total and uncompromised power of God as creator (God is supreme king); the second, the intrinsic order and balance of the created world (or the goodness of creation); and third, humankind’s key position in the scheme of creation (Humans as covenant partners with God in ruling over the creation). 2. People (christian and non-christian) get Genesis so wrong because they are trying to force modern questions upon ancient text. We really need to ask ourselves what the author was trying to communicate and to whom? What is Genesis 1-2 for? Is Genesis for creation vs evolution debate? Is the purpose of Genesis to tell us how old the earth is? NO. It’s clear that the author of Genesis did not have “science" in mind when he wrote down and recorded these things…. This wasn’t his purpose, though I do believe that a proper reading of Genesis as seen in historical Creationism makes place for what we know through Science… In the Western World we’re obsessed with causality, at the expense of Purpose/Teleology. 3. What is the point of Genesis and especially the creation account? The Bible doesn’t tell us how God made the world - what the process was whether natural process over millions of years or thousands, or six literal days (God could have created it all in one millisecond if he wished). The point is not how God created (What process). The point is that God created the universe, he created everything.. These are the words we find in the Genesis 1:1 - “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth - this is a Merism, like saying A to Z. 4. Genesis 1 is unmistakably reacting against prevailing Near Eastern cosmogonies of the time. Most of the cultures surrounding Israel had elaborate stories about the birth, sexuality and violent uprising of the gods. The concept of God presented here in Genesis is going directly against this. 1. Example: the Babylonian creation story is filled with death and violence of waring god’s -According to the ancient Babylonian epic Enuma Elish, their head god Marduk was the creator of heaven and earth. Marduk rises out of a fierce battle of the god’s to battle the ocean god Tiamat, violently murdering her (splitting them in half - right down the middle) and using half her carcasses to create heaven and the other to create earth. Then Marduk decides to create humans to be slaves- to bear the burden of the god’s, so the god’s can rest. He makes humankind from the blood of the executed god, Qingu, mixing it with the dirt of earth… After this, “the great god’s convened, they made Marduk’s destiny highest… they established him forever for lordship of heaven and earth.. his word shall be supreme above and below…he shall appoint the black-headed folk to serve him.” - Enuma Elish, Tablet 5&6 2. This is what the surrounding cultures of Israel believed about the god’s, the world and human origins. 1. This might be different from What you have studied in Genesis - but I believe the 4 main things things Genesis 1-2 is teaching us is: 1. YHWH is King 2. The creation/World is intrinsically good 3. Humans are created in God’s image 4. Humans are called by God to be covenant partners in making the whole earth God’s temple/dwelling place. 2. YHWH as the supreme King over everything 1. As we open up the pages of Genesis it’s striking how alike and unalike the Biblical story of creation is with the surrounding nations. This narrative also involves God, the chaotic waters, the forming of heaven and earth, and the creation of humanity - but instead of being an act of violence and war it is an act of power, beauty and love. God is not at war with other gods, he is the supreme unrivaled Sovereign who commands with his word and it is done - he speaks and it is established; he brings order out of chaos; he names Day, Night, Sky, Earth, and Seas and they obey… 1. “God is introduced into the narrative without any description of origins, sex, or limitations of power. As the only functioning character of the chapter, he occupies center stage. There is not opposition, no resistance to his acts of creation, which occur in perfect harmony with his express word.” - Everrett Fox, The Five Books of Moses 2. God is displayed in Genesis 1 as the supreme king in contrast to Marduk, he does not fight for this title.: he speaks and it is done; he brings order out of chaos; he names Day, Night, Sky, Earth, and Seas. 3. “The theme of the creation narrative is (this): With his powerful word, the King of the universe created the earth as his good kingdom” - Sidney Greidanus, Preaching Christ from Genesis. 4. Moses writing this for the nation of Israel was showing them that their God, YHWH, who delivered them out of slavery in Egypt, with a mighty hand and outstretched arm, is the same God who created all things… he is the sovereign God - He has no rival or equal.. (There are all sorts of applications you can pull out for their context) The Israelites do not need to fear the scarcity of the wilderness - God brought life out of a world that was an empty wasteland.. surely he can sustain them in the wilderness. The sun, moon and stars, that are associated with the powerful gods of the surrounding nations, are created by YHWH’s powerful word, along with the rest of creation.. they do not need to fear the gods of other nations for the Almighty God, creator of heaven and earth is their God and their protector…He rules over all. 3. The Earth (creation) as YHWH’s Good Kingdom 1. Genesis teaches that the creation is intrinsically good. Many people and cultures throughout history have believed and practiced some sort of dualism..(Especially Christians) believing that the physical world is somehow intrinsically evil and should be rejected or maybe used as a necessary evil. But the Bible teaches just the opposite. This physical world was created by God to be a place where he would dwell in peace and harmony with humanity (Genesis 1-2 is filled with Temple language) We are used to thinking of temples as buildings, brick and mortar, God originally established the whole world as his temple. The divine, the sacred was not confined to a building but filled the whole creation.. 2. I mentioned this already, but in contrast to the surrounding cultures Genesis teaches that creation is not a result of violence and war of the gods but an act of supreme love, from a loving and good Creator. 3. Again and again in the narrative God says that the product of his work is good - night and day, sun, moon and stars; land and sea, trees and plants, sea animals, birds and beast - everything is good it is harmonious and at peace..and I don’t know about you but when God says, again and again that what he has made is good it seems to be me to be the delight an artist takes in their work 4. The earth is filled with wonderful natural resources that make for life - raw materials for cultivating.. The Psalmist will later comment that the earth is filled with YHWH’s covenant love - Natural resources for life -evidence all around us of God’s goodness and provision. 4. Humans as God’s Image Bearers 1. In the Bible, a man or a woman is a creature designed and made by God as part of God’s world. However you might interpret God’s activity in creation to scientific theories, if you are going to be faithful to what the Bible says you are, you cannot think of yourself or others as merely random products of time and chance -coming out of some chaotic soup. There is design and intent - purpose Humans are creaturely (Created) according to Genesis -and very special creatures at that… 2. The Biblical account tells us that God created mankind in his own image and likeness, male and female. (This is not said about any other creation or creature) 3. God created them to be the rulers over his good kingdom (the earth) and God blessed them. There is harmony and peace between God, mankind and the earth. “God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” 4. Notice, Mankind is not bearing the burden of God, or the god’s, but is crowned with dignity and honor as the chief of God’s creation according to Psalm 8, “You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor. You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet: all flocks and herds, and the animals of the wild, the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.” 1. It’s so fascinating because we are living at a time when we want all the meaning and purpose of the Genesis account but without the Creator who purposed all of it, without the authority of God. We want the kingdom, without the king. Christians believe that all humans are created equal, and are endowed with honor and worth because they’ve been created in the image of the one true God. Our secular culture also believes in human rights but simultaneously holds to an atheistic evolutionary view of life - therefore they have no basis for human rights except for their western cultural view point. If human beings have not been made in the image of God then human rights and equality is just a pipe dream. It’s just one person or one cultures ideas against another. There is no transcendent or outside authority or morality to appeal to. But people believe with all their hearts, and fight with all their might for human rights and equality for all - And at the same time reject the idea of being created by God - they are therefore being intellectually dishonest. If you believe your life has meaning and purpose, that has to come from somewhere.. but there of course is a cost - this means that you do not belong to yourself, your life’s purpose isn’t for you to make up, your identity - as male or female isn’t for you to decide.. in fact you can only find your true purpose and meaning as you submit to your Creator… 1. According to Genesis Humanity’s identity is rooted in their Creator and the vocation that he has given them. 5. Covenant Partnership 1. As mentioned already, the surrounding nations saw humanity as a sort of after thought of creation.. created for bearing the burden of the god’s.. to do work for the gods so they can rest. In the Genesis account however, God crowns humans as the pinnacle of his creation and sets them over all his works… but why? It’s incredible, but the God of the universe wants to share his goodness and glory with his creation, he wants relationship with and to partner with humanity. 2. In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth he placed the first humans in the Garden of Eden - Don’t think english garden, think Yosemite or Yellowstone. It’s like a national park. God commanded humanity to work it and take care of it, or keep and protect it (The same term God will use to describe the priestly temple work of the Levites, Numbers 3:7-8) Adam and Eve’s garden work is a form of worship to cultivate the garden. They are the guardians of God’s sacred space.. 1. Eden is a temple - the meeting of heaven and earth; the divine and the human — Almost all commentators that I have read see the first pages of scripture painting a picture of a cosmic temple being fashioned - where God and humanity dwell together in harmony and shalom. God makes this habitat (Eden) and then sets his image in it (Mankind) - in the same way that pagans would do by setting up images of their god in the temple or belief that the Pharaohs or kings were images or sons of the gods. All of this is temple language - pointing us toward God’s plan from the beginning - to dwell with his creation, to be God in our midst. 3. He tells them to have dominion over the land and the animals.. to fill the earth and bring into into submission. Now often when we think of having dominion we think of violent terms or in negative terms submission through mastery - wrestling, victory in war. Unfortunately there has been to much of this exploitative view of submission over creation.. 1. But God, this kind, generous God is the one who is commanding this work of mastery and submission of the earth. Adam and Eve are to take the natural resources that God has put into the earth and to cultivate them in such a way that they will produce an abundance for many. God is saying in essence 'Rule in the same way that I rule over you' - he has richly provided this garden with fruit trees and vegetables, water..it is a home for mankind, a paradise. 2. God’s great rule is seen in his service and generosity toward humanity not his exploitation of it. Rule in this same way..Image me.. Fill the whole earth with this same rule with which I rule over you. I believe that Eden is to the rest of the earth what Normandy was to World War 2. It seems that the rest of the world at this time is uncultivated, and unpopulated.. God is calling Adam and Eve to spread out the boundary of the garden to the ends of the earth. Eden was the beach head - it was the place where God, humanity, and nature all dwelt in harmony. God wants to work with Adam and Eve so that Eden will spread to the rest of the world. That the whole earth would be God’s temple, his dwelling place - filled with God’s presence, goodness and glory. 3. “A (good) way to express humankind’s dominion over creation may be to say that we are God’s royal stewards, put here to develop the hidden potentials in God’s creation so that the whole of it may celebrate his glory.” -Barthlolomew and Goheen, The Drama of Scripture 4. This is humanity’s commission to fill the earth with God’s goodness and blessing, with his reign and rule.. and yet they have another option, there is a tree in the midst of the garden. It is the tree of knowledge - good and evil. What will humans choose? Will they do what God has called them to: will they live in the limits that God has set for them; or will they strike out on their own and seek knowledge, maturity, meaning, and purpose, right and wrong apart from God, apart from his authority? Will they choose to listen and obey the voice of God, seeing all that he has done for them.. or will they try and have the kingdom without the king? 1. Adam and Eve aren’t so different from the nation of Israel or from us. The question for us is will we choose to obey God out of gratitude -seeing his kindness and goodness or will we choose to strike out on our own, to center our lives around ourselves..? These are choices we make each and every day, either to live under our own wisdom and rule, or to live under God’s wisdom and rule. 2. Reading the Genesis Creation story helps us make sense of our disordered and often chaotic lives - We don’t recognize/honor God as the rightful king over the world and our lives; We don’t image (reflect) God’s goodness, kindness, justice, righteousness and love the way were created to.. and we are not partnering with him to build his kingdom here on earth…most of our lives are about ourselves, our own happiness, our kingdoms.