The Gospel in Creation
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Introduction
Introduction
Thank you for being here.
Looking forward to an amazing victory night this evening at 5pm. We are going to look back at this year and celebrate what we are doing this coming year.
God has allowed us to do some amazing things this last year and I can’t wait to see what He does through our church in the coming year.
How comfy are those chairs huh? They look beautiful, the feel great, and it’s going to be amazing to see the Lord fill them as we get the gospel out to Bristol.
If you weren’t here last week you need to know that this year I’m preaching through the whole Bible. We are starting in Genesis today and will end in revelations.
I can’t preach it verse by verse, there are not enough Sundays in a year for that. However, we will be seeing the Gospel Story throughout.
Some things I covered last week that establish the foundation for our journey through scripture are these.
The Gospel by which we are saved is the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. (1 Cor 15 1-7)
When we refer to the gospel story we are talking the death burial and resurrection of Christ seen throughout scripture and the biblical truths that are found within the Gospel.
Jesus himself expounded on the Old Testament and how it spoke of Him. (Luke 24:27)
Today, you can open your BIble’s to the book of Genesis and we will be going through the creation story to see how the truths of the gospel are found even at the beginning of time.
Now, I typically take a passage and expound on that but the creation story covers an entire chapter and we won’t read through all of that this morning. Please follow along in the selected text to see where our focus will be and I’ll expound on some of the other verses as we go.
Gen 1:1
1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
Gen 1:26-31
26 And 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 fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.
30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.
31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
Gen 2:8-9
8 And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.
9 And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
PRAY
Let’s start with a basic truth in Christianity and observe some other thoughts the world has about it.
1. God Created the Universe
1. God Created the Universe
In the beginning God…The Bible does not seek to prove the existence of God, The Bible starts with the understanding that God exists.
John Phillips, a bible commentator says:
Exploring Genesis: An Expository Commentary I. The Introduction (1:1)
There it stands in all its naked force; the opening statement of Scripture. No attempt is made to water it down, to apologize to a skeptical age, even to prove that God is. The Holy Spirit simply deems certain truths to be self-evident, the first and foremost, that God is. In one sublime statement He sweeps aside atheism by asserting His existence, polytheism by declaring Himself to be one, and pantheism by separating Himself from matter.
As bible believing Christians there is no room for discussion on this matter.
Where we typically find the debate with the accounts of creation is not in this verse, but in the verses that followed.
After establishing the existence of an all powerful creator God of the Universe, Moses through inspiration of the Holy Spirit records what God did to establish this planet for us.
He spoke light into existence, he spoke the sky into existence, he spoke animals and trees into existence.
And, he did so in 6 literal days.
There are three theories of the beginning that you are likely to hear in the world and they are: The Theory of Evolution, The Gap Theory, and The Creationism theory.
A. The Theory of Evolution
A. The Theory of Evolution
https://answersingenesis.org/theory-of-evolution/evidence/hasnt-evolution-been-proven-true/ <<<<<Use this link to create a hyperlink in the notes of the digital bulletin with the text (Is evolution true?)
Evolution is a theory, not a law, not a scientific fact, that relies upon the “big bang” theory as it’s stories of beginning.
Notice that both evolution and the big bang are to this day called theories…why?
Because neither have been proven.
Dr. Monty White with Answers in Genesis wrote
All logic predicts that if you have nothing, nothing will happen. It is against all known logic and all laws of science to believe that the universe is the product of nothing. This concept is similar to hoping that an empty bank account will suddenly give rise to billions of dollars all on its own.
This theory goes completely against scripture.
You cannot believe that Jesus died on the cross for your sins and not believe Genesis 1. For to disregard Genesis 1 brings into question the existence of God, the extent of His power, and His sovereignty over the universe.
The next theory is called, the Gap theory.
2. The Gap Theory
2. The Gap Theory
Now, this theory acknowledges the existence of God and Him creating the world. However, it seeks to blend evolution and creation.
The Gap theory teaches that there is a million to billions of years gap between Gen 1:1 and Gen 1:2.
https://answersingenesis.org/genesis/gap-theory/gap-too-wide-cross/ <<<<<include in digital bulletin with hyper link text (Why the Gap theory is wrong)
The text whether in Hebrew or english does not support this idea.
It seems to be well meaning people trying to conform scripture to the theory of evolution.
Then there is the Creationism theory
3. The Creationism theory
3. The Creationism theory
The Creationism theory takes a literal interpretation of scripture and views the world through it. Which is exactly what we are to do.
https://answersingenesis.org/creationism/ <<<<include in digital bulletin with hyper link text (Why Creationism is biblically and scientifically accurate)
God Created everything and He did so in 6 literal days. He rested on the 7th.
At the end of the days of creation there is the statement “And the evening and the mornings were the first day”
that’s a literal 24 hour period.
How could He do that? Because He is God. He is omnnipotent or all powerful.
He is the one who created the universe and He creates the universe.
But why did he create it? Why did He choose to speak this universe and all that is in it into existence?
Before we explore those we have to understand this next truth.
2. God Chose to Create Man (You)
2. God Chose to Create Man (You)
God chose to speak man man into existence. God chose to have you existence in the universe in which He created.
Gen 1:26-27
26 And 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 fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
Before the recording of time in Genesis what were things like? Why did God choose to create?
Before creation God existed in sublime glory.
Be Basic 1. Before Genesis: Redemption Planned
Frederick Faber expressed it like this:
Timeless, spaceless, single, lonely,
Yet sublimely Three,
Thou art grandly, always, only
God in unity!
So why? Why create this universe? Why bring mankind into existence?
Is 43:6-7
6 I will say to the north, Give up; And to the south, Keep not back: Bring my sons from far, And my daughters from the ends of the earth;
7 Even every one that is called by my name: For I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.
That’s pretty direct.
What does that mean for us?
Well, it means that we cannot fully live our lives as intended until we accept this and live it out.
Remember, if we just KNOW what the Bible says without understanding or applying, we are wasting our knowledge.
One pastor said this
God created us for this: to live our lives in a way that makes him look more like the greatness and the beauty and the infinite worth that he really is.
When Jesus said that He came so that we may have life and have it more abundantly, I believe that the abundant life He is speaking of is the life lived for the glory of God.
Paul under inspiration of the Holy Spirit took our lives down to the basic things we do and said they should be for the glory of God.
1 cor 10:31
31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.
If we are to eat and drink shouldn’t we have a job for the glory of God? Shouldn’t we come to church for the glory of God? Shouldn’t we interact with others for the glory of God?
God chose to create us for His glory. So that He may be seen as great, mighty, and powerful.
When you are going through the dark days of a New England Winter. When your in tough times. Young people, when you are deciding what job to get, college to go to, trade school to attend, and everything else you need to ask yourelves “How can I do this to the glory of God?” As you live as teenagers in your home, ask yourselves “How can I live in this house to the glory of God? How can I love my parents and siblings, to the glory of God?”
When a group of people, family or not, come together for the purpose of glorifying God, then the divisions caused by non-essential things of this life and personal opinions are pushed to the way side because we are not pursuing our own glory, we are pursuing the glory of God.
It is God who created us and God who deserves the glory for our lives.
Be Basic 1. Before Genesis: Redemption Planned
“God has a voluntary relation to everything He has made,” wrote A.W. Tozer, “but He has no necessary relation to anything outside of Himself.” God needs nothing, neither the material universe nor the human race, and yet He created both.
He voluntarily created you for His glory. He is God, He can do as He pleases, and He chose to allow you to exist in a universe where He desires a relationship with you.
Knowing that relationship would be Broken God started with a plan of redemption
3. God Provided a means for your salvation
3. God Provided a means for your salvation
Gen 2:9
9 And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
While I could expound upon the tree of life and the tree of knowledge of Good and evil, I want to just point out that God placed both in the Garden. Which leads us to ask the question “Why would God even provide a means for a person to sin?”
God did not want Adam and Eve to sin. God knew ahead of time what the results of sin would be. God knew that Adam and Eve would sin and would thereby bring evil, suffering, and death into the world. Why, then, did God allow Satan to tempt Adam and Eve? God allowed Satan to tempt Adam and Eve to force them to make the choice. Adam and Eve chose, of their own free will, to disobey God and eat the forbidden fruit
By choosing of their own free will their love for Him is proven to be a pure love and obedience by choice.
While we can debate this for hours on end and probably still get it wrong in some sense, the greatest truth we should take from this is that knowing the free will of man and choices that would be made, God provided a means for your salvation.
Rev 13:8
8 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.
God knew Jesus would die for our sins before He spoke the light into existence.
It’s here in this understanding we see the gospel being told through the story of Creation.
The necessity of the death burial and resurrection of Christ made evident by the chooses of Adam and eve. The Love of God for mankind in providing a sacrifice and not requiring anything else.
We must understand something here. God....is God. That means He can do as He pleases. He could have made this universe, this planet, and us in any way he wanted. We could have had three eyes. The sky could be green and dogs could talk.
He chose to create things as He did. He chose the order by which things would exist. He chose what would need to be accomplished for us to be reconciled to Him. A perfect sacrifice in Jesus Christ.
He also chose the means by which we are saved through that sacrifice.
Now this is where I’m going to get theological on you so stay with me.
There are two major viewpoints at each end of the spectrum when it comes to salvation. Armineanism and Calvism.
Both views are named after the men who developed the systems of theology based on their interpretation of scripture.
Amineanism, in its most basic sense, relies wholly upon the free will of man in salvation and believes that you can lose your salvation.
Calvinism says that man is so depraved he cannot make a decision to be saved on his own and is chosen by God to be saved.
Now, I believe that the Bible teaches something in the middle of that.
It’s apparent man has free will. We see that here in the Genesis account. The debate then gets into the free will to choose salvation.
The Holy Spirit is the one who convicts the heart and must be responded to in order for one to be saved.
Jesus says in
John 5:40
40 And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.
And then in
Matthew 23:37
37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
Both of these passages indicate of work of God and people choosing not to respond to them.
Calvinist would teach that Christ’s atoning death was over for the elect, those that God chose to be saved.
Why is this wrong?
John 3:16
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Rom 10:13
13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
The use of the word, whosoever in those verses and the context of God’s love for the world in John 3:16 seem to throw that argument out the window.
πᾶς
pas
pas
Including all the forms of declension; apparently a primary word; all, any, every, the whole: - all (manner of, means) alway (-s), any (one), X daily, + ever, every (one, way), as many as, + no (-thing), X throughly, whatsoever, whole, whosoever.
^^^^Above on one slide (2 if space needed for the last.
The use of this greek word that whosoever is translated from here is Pas. Here is the greek word and its english rendering, along with definition.
All manner, Whoesoever, throughly.
It’s not that God can’t conduct Himself or salvation in this way. He’s god, He could say you have to wear pink t-shirts everyday to be saved. it’s that the idea of unconditional election (meaning God chose those who would be saved) and limited atonement contradict multiple Bible Passages. While a doctrine of scripture should not be formed based off of one verse, neither should one stand against a verse of scripture.
In creation God exercised His sovereignty in creating a universe with a system of salvation solely dependent upon Him, requiring us to only have faith in Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection to have a restored relationship with Him.
Jehovah God is a God of reconilation. Even in creation the redemption of mankind is seen and the necessity of the gospel is evidenced. Why? Because God loves you.
What do we do with that? How should these truths impact your life?
Time of Response
Time of Response
If you are here today or listening online as a born again believer that has trusted in Jesus as your savior. Not some form of religious system where you have to give money, attend on certain days, or do anything for salvation. Then the truths of today knowing that God created the universe, chose for you to exist in it, and provided a means for you to have an eternal relationship with Him should drive you to live for His glory as he intended.
So let me ask you…are you? Are you living for the glory of God? Do you steward your finances to the glory of God? Do you love your wife and children to the glory of God? Do you interact on social media to the glory of God? Do you speak to others to the glory of God?
If not…why not? That’s why God created you. Begin to live for the purpose God created you for in all that you do you will see the great blessings of God on your life.
Do you know God? Do you believe Jesus is the Son of God and died for your sins?
Are you here this morning or listening online and not sure if this was your last year on earth you would go to Heaven?
The Bible says that when we believe by faith in Jesus, we are saved.
John 3:16
KJV 190016 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
God does love you. Loves you so much He sent Jesus to die for you.
Now you are faced with a decision…will you continue finding salvation in your own works or in the finished work of Christ?
Ephesians 2:8–9
KJV 19008 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Your first have to admit your sinner
Romans 3:23
KJV 190023 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
I’m sure each of us could do that.Next you believe
Romans 10:9
KJV 19009 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
Then confess. Confess Jesus as your Savior and call out to Him
Romans 10:13
KJV 190013 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
IF you’d like to do that today I’d like to help.
“Dear Jesus, I know I’m a sinner, I believe you came to die on the cross and rose from the dead. I put my faith right now in you and ask you to come into my life and change me from the inside out. Amen.”
Christians, ask the Holy Spirit to reveal in you what you can do to glorify God more with your life and then commit to doing that right now.
PRAY
Visitors bag on way out