A Walk In The Garden (week 6)

The Days of Creation

Genesis 1:26-31 “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.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

You’re the Son of God

Fred Craddock is a lecturer at Phillips Theological Seminary in the United States. He tells of a time he was on holiday in Tennessee. He and his wife were having dinner at a restaurant when an old man started talking to them, asking them how they were doing and if they were enjoying their holiday. When the old man asked Fred what he did for a living Fred saw the chance to get rid of him – “I’m a preacher.”

“A preacher? That’s great. Let me tell you a story about a preacher.” The old man sat down at their table and started to speak. As he did Fred’s annoyance was changed to one of profound humility. The old man explained that he was a bastard – in the literal rather than the figurative sense. He was born without knowing who his father was, a source of great shame in a small town in the early twentieth century. One day a new preacher came to the local church. The old man explained that as a youngster he had never gone to church, but one Sunday decided to go along and hear the new pastor preach. He was good. The illegitimate boy went back again, and then again. In fact he started attending just about every week. But his shame went with him. This poor little boy would always arrive late and leave early in order to avoid talking to anyone. But one Sunday he got so caught up in the sermon that he forgot to leave. Before he knew it the service was over and the aisles were filling. He rushed to get past people and out the door, but as he did he felt a heavy hand land upon his shoulder. He turned around to see the preacher, a big tall man, looking down at him asking, “What’s your name, boy? Whose son are you?” The little boy died inside, the very thing he wanted to avoid was now here. But before he could say anything the preacher said “I know who you are. I know who your family is. There’s a distinct family resemblance. Why, you’re the son, you’re the son, you’re the son of God!”

The old man sitting at Fred Craddock’s table said “You know, mister, those words changed my life”. And with that he got up and left.

When the waitress came over she said to Fred Craddock and his wife, “Do you know who that was?”

“No” they replied.

“That was Ben Hooper, the two-term governor of Tennessee.”

Source: Reported in Tony Campolo, It’s Friday but Sunday’s Comin. (Word, 1985)

God instructed man to have dominion over all creation. This simple command has three distinct implications which we will examine today.

1. God extends His authority to man. Up to this point in the creative act, God has made it clear that He is the Creator, He is the one in control, But now, He gives man dominion over the entire earth. Why would He do that and what does it mean for us today? God is clearly elevating man above the rest of creation. We have been given the mandate to care for God's creation. We alone have been chosen for this unique task. Once upon a time two brothers bought fish tanks. The younger brother’s setup was very simple – a fishbowl with some gravel and weed. The older brothers was much more elaborate – a larger, enclosed tank with a filter, lighting and much better decoration. The younger brother rarely cleaned his tank. The older brother was vigilant in keeping his tank clean. The older brother couldn’t understand then why his fish died but his brothers lived. It turns out the cleaning chemicals the older brother was using were toxic to fish. Whenever he cleaned the tank tiny traces of the chemical remained, but these were enough to keep fish targets down. Which all goes to show that when it comes to serving others good intentions aren’t enough. If we want to have transformative impact, we need to match good intentions with good practice.

2. God expects man to be a good steward over creation. We are to care for creation just as the Father does. God has dominion over creation, meaning He rules over it, and He allows us to be the under shepherds. The Hebrew meaning of the word used for dominion is "to rule over", Some have suggested that means to exploit and plunder creation. This view clearly goes against the message of the Bible. God does not rule over us with an iron fist, although He could. He loves, instructs and guides us. He cares for us and expects us to treat creation in like manner. It does not belong to man but is placed under his authority. One of the most amazing things about our world is the delicate balance required to sustain it, that is, to have a universe capable of producing and sustaining life as we know it. In the book The Creator and the Cosmos, astrophysicist Hugh Ross points out twenty-five factors that must all exist within very narrowly defined ranges for life of any kind to exist. Just one of these is the number of electrons. Unless the number of electrons is equivalent to the number of protons to an accuracy of one part in 10 to the 37th power, or better, then galaxies, stars and planets could never have formed. To get an idea of just how sensitive this is Ross asks us to imagine covering the entire continent of North America in dimes all the way up to the moon. Then do the same thing on a billion other continents the same size as North America. Now you have 10 to the 37th power dimes. Now imagine that just one dime is painted red. You have mixed it in will all the others. Now take a friend a blindfold her and stand her in front of those of those billions upon billions of dimes covering a billion continents and piled to the moon and ask her to pick one out. Her chances of selecting the red one are one in 10 to the 37th power. These are the same odds as the ratio of electrons to protons being at the precise level required for life, and this is just one of many parameters that must be so finely tuned. Ross and many other scientists believe this points to a universe which has been carefully and skillfully designed by a Creator.

Source: information in Hugh Ross, The Creator and the Cosmos (Navpress, 1993)

3. God established man as unique. By allowing man to share in creation, He places man above the animals. This is very important in light of the prevailing theory held to by academia, Clearly, if we are above the animals in the created order, we are not descendants of the animals. The theory of evolution is an attack against God as Creator. If we are here by cosmic happenstance, then the Bible is false along with everything where we believe and hold dear. Also, by establishing us as unique, He is establishing that we are redeemable. You were created unique, special and for a purpose. If you are the product of billions of years of evolution, there is no need for a savior.