All Things Created

Psalm 33:1–11 NIV

1 Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise him. 2 Praise the Lord with the harp; make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre. 3 Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy. 4 For the word of the Lord is right and true; he is faithful in all he does. 5 The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love. 6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth. 7 He gathers the waters of the sea into jars; he puts the deep into storehouses. 8 Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the people of the world revere him. 9 For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm. 10 The Lord foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples. 11 But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.

John 1:1–14 NIV

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. 9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. 14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Revelation 4:1–11 NIV

1 After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” 2 At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. 3 And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne. 4 Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. 5 From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. In front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God. 6 Also in front of the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal. In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. 7 The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. 8 Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying: “ ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,’ who was, and is, and is to come.” 9 Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say: 11 “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.”

Introduction:

I had a wonderful vacation, but I must admit that I have felt like I have been on a roller coaster ever since my return. One of those roller coasters has been on what to preach this week. I had one more sermon I wanted to preach to close my “He Lives!” series, but at the same time, I had originally planned to start in Genesis this week which is why I decided to take up the Genesis Sunday school subject. However, I looked at our next two weeks and realized that the subject would be interrupted (not for bad reasons) by Faith Promise and Father’s Day. So, it felt right to finish with the Pentecost subject and to start Genesis after Father’s Day.

I appreciated Pastor Scott and Pastor Dick filling in for me and they did a great job. Even though I had not disclosed what I had been preaching and what I hoped to preach, each lent themselves to both subjects beautifully. It is always awesome to see how God works.

Last Tuesday, I prepared a sermon from Acts 2 with the intention of preaching it today to finish us with Peter’s sermon at Pentecost. I had previously covered the events of Pentecost, but not the incredible sermon from Peter that day, showing an instant transformation of His spirit. However, MY spirit led me somewhere different yesterday. So, today we are beginning with “The beginning of all things and creatures.”

I am presenting the text in video form today, as it really brings alive the event that took place.

Video: Creation Video & Text (4:29)

Many of us have heard the account before, but I never like to presume all have heard it. So, each time I preach it, I try to add new information for those that have heard it. You see, the event is so rich with details, there is always something new to learn. For this reason, I have a second video I would like you to watch before I begin.

Video: Bible Project (7:43)

These videos describe the creation of all things. However, there is one not created and that is ...

I. God

He was not created because He always was! He has no beginning and no ending. I have shown something like this before, but I did it a little better this time. We tend to think of God like this.

Slide one - God floating

Some entity floating in space. However, there was no space. It had not been created yet. There was nothing but...

Slide two - God!

God describes Himself to Moses in...

Exodus 3:14 NIV

14 …“I am who I am…

This is difficult to grasp as virtually everything we know was created at some point. They have a specific beginning and ending.

We find our first impressions of God through this passage.

First, as I have just shared...

A. God always existed.

Revelation 22:13 NIV

13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.

Another unique feature of God is that...

B. God is plural.

This is a really hard thing for us to grasp. It is what we refer to as the Trinity. The word God is singular, yet God describes Himself in the plural.

Genesis 1:26 NIV

26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over…

To Moses God says, “I AM” singular, yet here in the creation event He refers to Himself as “us” and “our”. However, “likeness” is once again singular. This is difficult to understand and yet throughout scripture we find references to three aspects of God, three distinct personalities: The Father, The Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is quickly identified in this passage.

Genesis 1:2 NIV

2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

It clearly says, “The Spirit of God was hovering” not that “God” was hovering. It is making a distinction between the two. Yet it is “God” who speaks each into being and pronounces it good. In John 1 read earlier, we find the actions of the Son (Jesus), involved in creation.

John 1:2,3

2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

We find the Son was an essential part of creation happening. This idea of a singular, yet plural God is not something we can explain easily, but we find hints of it throughout scriptures. The Jews who had clear communication with God early on, have given us many of our understandings that are not always clear in scripture.

We wrestle with the concept because it is so foreign to anything we know. Oh, we can make some comparisons (egg, water-ice, steam, liquid), but these are not perfect as these are inanimate objects with limitations.

I like what A.W. Tozer had to say about the Trinity.

The reason for our dilemma has been suggested before. We are trying to envision a mode of being altogether foreign to us, and wholly unlike anything we have known in our familiar world of matter, space, and time.

(Tozer, A.W.. The Knowledge of the Holy . Fig. Kindle Edition.)

This idea of the Trinity was part of the early church creed that came from the apostles. If anyone would have known if this was valid or not, it would have been those closest to Jesus, hearing firsthand Jesus’ teachings. So, who are we to argue with it? Just because we do not understand something does not mean it is not so. We are not God with an understanding of all things as He does. The scriptures describe many beings far outside the scope of what I can imagine, but that does not mean that I do not believe them to be real. I do understand that there are many things outside this world that I cannot begin to dream or imagine, but one day I will witness them for myself.

So, God exists and then God creates. But why? And when? It baffles the mind. if there is no beginning and no end, there is no time. But God creates time and creates a world and fills it with living creatures of all “kinds.”

The subject of “kinds” will be discussed later but for now I will leave it at that. When I say all “kinds,” I speak of every living creature including humankind. But why? Why did God choose to create?

II. Creation’s Purpose

Nowhere does God state why He created what He did. However, we have an entire book about His love for creation and His purpose for it. It was an act of love. However, even this we tend to pervert in our descriptions of it. We tend to make is sound like God was lonely and needed companionship, but that is not the case. God is fully complete, fully satisfied, fully content. Here again, I like what A. W. Tozer says,

The problem of why God created the universe still troubles thinking men; but if we cannot know why, we can at least know that He did not bring His worlds into being to meet some unfulfilled need in Himself, as a man might build a house to shelter him against the winter cold or plant a field of corn to provide him with necessary food. The word necessary is wholly foreign to God. (Tozer, A.W.. The Knowledge of the Holy . Fig. Kindle Edition.)

No, we may not understand why, but we do find a purpose stated.

It just seems to be for pleasure. God saw all that He had created and it was good. I believe creation was an expression of God’s love. We define God by love, but the truth is the opposite. Love is defined by God. God literally is love. I could quote Tozer again, but for the sake of time I will not. But now look with me at...

III. Humankind’s Purpose

Genesis 1:26, 28–30 NIV

26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

28 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.” 29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.

God created man to oversee all the wonderful things He had created…

A. To oversee creation

God saw what He had created and that it was good, but it was created. It was not God and had needs that needed tending. So, God created human kind in his likeness to oversee all that He had created.

If I were to create an authority flowchart of created beings, human kind would fall right under God. I bet you thought I was going to say angels, but if that is what you thought, you are incorrect. Look with me at the following scriptures.

Psalm 8:4,5

4 what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? 5 You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor.

We are made a little lower than the angels, but we (God’s people) are crowned with honor and glory.

Hebrews 1:14 NIV

14 Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?

The angels were created to serve God and humans.

1 Corinthians 6:3 NIV

3 Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life!

Just because we have authority, does not make us better than another. I do not look down on angels as something less superior to me. In fact, I am grateful for all the times they have communicated God’s message to me, have interceded to protect me from harm, and the many battles they fight on my behalf. But in God’s design, there is an authority granted to man over all created beings.

Another purpose is for us…

B. To enjoy creation

I believe God created us to enjoy this world He created. He created us in such a way that as we oversee this world, it also supplies our needs and provides pleasure. It was also a place for God and man to dwell together. This was probably the main purpose.

At this point in the creation, all is good. However, in a couple week’s we will see what caused this very good place and very good way of life fall into destruction.

So, what is the purpose of starting with this event? All has changed and this is no longer that life that is experienced, so why share it? It is because in this event, we find...

III. Humankind’s Purpose Demonstrated

We look back at this event and the details that follow, and we find our purpose, we find our hope and it points us to our future.

When I was a little girl, I felt called to full-time ministry. Then in my youth I got frustrated and I sinned. I became an unwed mother. I felt I had destroyed my purpose. I would never be able to serve my created purpose again. Later, when my life had gained some spiritual order once again, I found that my purpose had never changed. It was still the same and God put me on a path to fulfill it.

It is the same with the creation event. It demonstrates the purpose God has in mind. It demonstrates for us what our lives are meant to be like. (We will see more of this in our sermon in Genesis 2). It was disrupted for a time, but in the final chapters we find...

IV. Humankind’s Purpose Fulfilled

Revelation 21:1–7 NIV

1 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” 5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. 7 Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.

Conclusion

We often think of eternity and wonder what it will be like. But I believe in the creation event and the description of humankind in the garden of Eden we see a beautiful description of what some of it will be like. The rest is described in the final chapter.

Revelation 22:1–5 NIV

1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.

I cannot speak for you, but as for myself, I can’t wait! However, not all will be able to enjoy that beautiful creation. In chapter 2 we will discover the beauty God intended, but in chapter 3 we will find the disruption. It is important to understand these events because it is within these events, we find the truth for today. The truth that will one day divide all humanity in the end. There will be two factions; those who receive back what was lost and those who will lose it for all eternity. I pray you will stick with me as we return to the Old Testament and see how key it is to our understanding of the New Testament.

Pray