Saga: The Creation
We'll see if it works today or not.
so, as we begin the real series, right? We spent, the last several weeks, preparing in essence to look at the whole of the scriptures in a sense. We're not going to go over every verse right today. For instance,. Look at Genesis 1 and 2 in a real condensed manner to look for how Jesus appears in the scriptures, where we see him, where we find him, right? And they're going to be in some of the least likely places you might expect. Hopefully, as we go through this, you're going to begin as you spend time the scriptures alone, starting to see Jesus Christ on every page of the scriptures. Every page. We should see every single page of the scriptures drips with the blood of Christ, every single one of them. And that's my hope. Is that as we finished the series quite some time from now, Right. That we can see that every time we open the scriptures, but not just that, right? What's going to happen is as we look through these stories, as we look at these people stories and their wives throughout the scriptures. We're going to find is that Abraham isn't the center of the story? Jesus has Noah's not the center of the story. Jesus is Adam and Eve are not the center of the story. It's Jesus. Write a My Hope Is that when we're finished with this? In fact, hopefully soon as we get in this you start to see that on a consistent and regular basis, right? That's my hope for the series. So let's get started in Genesis chapter 1, and we're going to look at the first three verses. And they read in the beginning, God created the heavens and the Earth. 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. And God said, let there be light and there was light. Okay. Now it's really easy for us to see that we have the Holy Spirit In action here, right because it says, the Spirit of God.
Was hovering over the face of the waters, right? So that's an easy one to catch. But where's Jesus in? These first three verses is he there?
I say, yes, he is. What's with the next verse Converse Street? Says, and God said, let there be light and there was light. I'm saying that was Jesus. Jesus said. Let there be light and there was light. Let's look at Colossians chapter 1. Verses 15 through 16. It reads concerning Jesus. 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, where their Thrones, our dominions, or rulers or authorities, all things were created through him and for him. So it says that Ford by Jesus, write this about Jesus, all things were created in heaven and on Earth and then in Revelation Chapter 4, verses 10 through 11, we read The 24 Elders fall down before him who is Seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever, they cast their crowns Before. The Throne saying, worthy. Are you? Our Lord and God to receive glory and honor and power for you created all things and by your will they existed and were created?
So right here in the first three verses of Genesis, we hear the very voice of Jesus being spoken. In verse three, I would argue that that voice, that spoke and everything leptin to being was Jesus Christ. Prior to his in kartik Incarnation times, tend to think, as Christians for whatever reason, that when Jesus was born, is when he took on a physical form. Jesus has always been physical. Jesus has always been in this form. Right, and we're going to see that as we continue through this look of the Old Testament because we're going to see Jesus come before people. And speak directly to people in the Old Testament. And so Jesus right here in verse 3, says,
Let it be and it is Jesus created All Things by his voice. And now he upholds all things. So we're going to take, I don't want to go through all the days, right? Because every one of them, he speaks and that's Jesus, right? He creates the Sun and the Moon, he creates the dry land. He creates the oceans, the Seas, right? All of that is created by God by Jesus when he speaks. What I want to do now is get forward to Genesis 1:26 through 27 because this is where I want to camp out for a little while. What we're going to see is this is the creation, right? He's created out everything. Except mankind. He's greater all of the animals. He's created all of the birds. He's created. All the creatures of the sea. He created everything. There's trees. Everything has been created. Now for mankind to come and live here on Earth. He's going to now, create the very Pinnacle of all of Creation, The Very purpose creation occurred was for mankind to be created in order to live within it. Right. And so now we're going to see in these next two verses in Genesis 1:26 through 27. They read 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 creepeth upon the Earth. Okay, I guess I'm going to argue. That's Jesus speaking. All right, and then we get this. Poetic passage in verse 27, that says. So God, created, man in his own image. In the image of God. He created him male and female, he created them. So what is the image of God? What does that mean? I believe it's a huge thing. It's a very vast concept what the image of God is. But here, it's very specific. In this passage, it's really specific.
Okay. So let's go back to verse 26, in the next slide Gabe. We read the next one. Keep going forward. There we go. Then God said, let us make man in our image and after our likeness who is now saying right, like create got I'm going to create mankind to be an image of me. And this is what that image says. He says 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 creepeth upon the Earth. Jesus, as King has dominion over all things because he is the creator of all things. And then he made the very Pinnacle of his creation. And he said I'm going to create them in my image and I'm going to give them that Dominion. I'm going to give them the responsibility of that stewardship over my creation.
What it means to Bear. The image of God is that we take on the responsibility as those who have dominion over his creation to the really important as we go forward. Right in Genesis 3, we're going to see the fall of that dominion and the curse that comes from that is eschewing of that Dominion. And so we are given power and dominion over his creation. He says, look I created this for you care for it. This is what it means that we are created in the image of God. It says it right here. We read in Ephesians chapter 1 verse 22 and he put all things under his feet. God the Father does under Jesus's feet and gave him his head over Church, all things. To tour for the church. Write the church's responsibility ultimately here on Earth. Is for us to rule and reign with Christ, eventually. That is our responsibility. That is what we are to grow into becoming. Are you remember the the parts and roles of a king right to produce, protect and provide for and perfect of people, write all of this is seen right here in Jesus. And now we're giving some of those responsibilities in relationship to his creation. Right, and so will we get to some of what that means for us later. In Daniel 7 verse 11, we read end to him. Jesus was given dominion and glory and the kingdom that all peoples Nations and languages should serve him. His Dominion is an everlasting Dominion which will not pass away in his kingdom one. That shall not be destroyed. This is what this word means. Right to have dominion. And God says, we have been given dominion over his creation. And that is the image that we bear of God.
That should cause us to pause. Because that's a heavy burden to carry. I believe. In verse 27, we read. Genesis chapter 1. So God created man in his own image, the image of God. He created him male and female, he created them until God first. Create Adam. first he created Adam and then he bought all of the animals before Adam and said, look, pick the one that fits you best as your
Sidekick will call it. Write the one with which you will. Be with all of your life and none of them fit, right? Brings a cheetah's whatever and it's like an hour. Now that thing And God says, okay put some to sleep. Right? And then from his side. We we say rib the word doesn't mean Rib. King. James had that put in there? Why? I don't know the word means guts. Ain't that's what the Hebrew word means. Sorry, his lower parts. God took that out. Right? And created another human being from what was there already from the earth. God created man, and then from man, God created woman, and he said, now that comes from me. all right, that's of me and that I can love. And so, then we have Adam and Eve. In Genesis, 1:28, the next verse from that we read and God bless 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 so there's a sense in which God created, not just a man, right? But a man and a woman to come together to reflect his image. And together to subdue this Earth and to rule over and have dominion over this world in which we live. And then in verse 31, weary concerning creation. God says, and God saw everything is at the end of the sixth day. Right? And God saw everything that he had made and behold. It was very good up to this point. Everything is going good. Now, it's very good and it was evening and there was morning the sixth day. So God has created everything up to this point now in 6 days. And we can argue over what that means and how that looks, right? And if you want to talk about that afterwards, that's cool. I'll just say this. Jesus references, Adam and Eve Adam and Eve come up often. Paul references. Adam. In fact, Adam is so important to our story that if Adam isn't a real man, the first man who existed and wasn't created as God called him to be created. As it says here, then guess what? We have no need for Jesus. That's right. Because if Adam himself didn't fall just as it says he did into sin. There's no need for a sacrifice for this sin. He committed because it's that sin did the sacrifice of Jesus really covers, because in that send Jesus, as all of us fell. Right. That's what cause skin to come into US, is Adam's first sin. So, however, you want to see all of this right creation. How many years? How many days you wanted to be? If Adam's not real from the beginning. The whole of scriptures from this point forward. Mean nothing. Alright, I'm just going to leave it at that and you can come to the decision. Whether there were thousands of years, millions of years, six literal days. Right. Because God then inverse one of chapter 2 says it reads. So God bless the seventh day and made it. Holy because on it. God rested from all his work that he had done in creation. God didn't need to rest. He didn't take, need to take a break. God. Did this is an example for all of us and he says, look, don't push yourself to the point. That you break. God's not going to break but he recognizes we will. Right, and he says, as an example don't work every day of the week. It's not healthy. You need to rest, but he's pointing forward to something greater. Write the book of Hebrews uses the word rest over and over and over and over again. It says seek the rest, look for the rest, find the rest, and the rest is only found in Jesus Christ. Because the rest is the Salvation that comes through his crucifixion.
We no longer have to battle and fight to be righteous. He declares us as suction.
so, when you jump over to verse 15, God created, Adam and Eve. And God takes the man, so specifically. Adam Wright. Put him into the Garden of Eden to work it, and keep it. I know I've talked about this word, keep before I do it again, cuz it's really important word. It's not the word to tend a garden, right? Cuz we get that it says, I'mma put you in the Garden of Eden to work it, and then we think the next part is, keep it tended, right? That's not what it means. This word is used throughout the scriptures for a Watchman that's placed on guard Duty. This is the first job responsibilities given to Adam. God says hello work. The garden. And he doesn't have to get rid of weeds, right? The fact is all you have to do is pick berries. And vegetable. That's all he needs to do. There were no weeds. Before the fall, the fall creates the problem of the weeds right? There were no Thorns. No thistles, none of that. All he had to do was go. Oh God. Gave us an Apple today. Oh, look. I got a bell, pepper or a jalapeno. Wonder if it's too hot. Nope. Just right. Right, it's always perfect. He didn't have to do, like he didn't even have to plant anything. It was already done for him. Woody really needs to do. Is guard. The garden? And we'll get there next week. Then the next verse queried then, the Lord. God said it's not good for the man to be alone. I will make him a helper fit for him. At the end of chapter one. We see both Adam and Eve created chapter 2 plays out what that looks like, right? So it's not like he created Adam and Eve. And then goes, oh, that's pretty deep again. He's flushing out. What that look like here in Chapter 2, is what's happening. So he says, look, it's not, it's not good for Adam to be alone. He needs a helper. So he brings all of this. Right? And then finally, he creates Eve from his side and the Jewish rabbis of old used to say that. God chose to bring Eve out from the side of, man. Not from the bottom of his feet. That the man should stand over her. Right. Or from the top of his head that she might rule over him. But from his side that they might be equal helpmates of one another. I think that's a wonderful picture and I believe there's some truth to that, right? That we see here. And so at the end of chapter 2, the last 2 verses in 24 and 25, we read there for a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife and the man, and his wife were both naked and we're not ashamed. And so husband and wife were created. This is perfection. The fall hasn't happened. This is what reality is supposed to look like. This is the way God intended life, to be look like right for men to grow up, to be men, women to grow up to be women and them to Mary. That's what God intended. All right.
Yeah, cultural commentary there, okay. We see this in Ephesians chapter 5. I'm not going to go in all of the reasons why we're going to get there because it's an important picture of creation and how God created things, and how he created Adam and Eve. In fact, but in verse 25, right? I skip 24 and verse 25. Wearied. Husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. In the beginning. God created Adam. And then he created Eve. He places all of the responsibilities every bit of it, for what happens in the garden, who took the Apple who put the first bite, doesn't matter who fell at?
Adam did who take all of the responsibility for the fall of the church? Jesus does. And Jesus Takes the full weight of the punishment for what the church deserved upon himself. And feel the full weight of the punishment of the Fall falls upon Adam, their consequences for Eve. And for women with a weight of the Fall falls upon Adam and the scripture forever will declare Adam is the one who fell not Eve. Why is Adam the full weight and responsibility lies upon an atom?
This is the Dominion that God gave to mankind. This is what it's supposed to look like. This is then the microcosm of what a family should look like. That's what it's meant to be. When we throw that out of kilter. Things, go bad. They just do.
In Mark, chapter 10. Verse six, we read, but from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female.
Be careful like how much I open this can of worms up. Open it up a little bit. Right, but here's what's important is, however, we see this. There's a lot of things here, right? That this dresses.
Mark right here, talkin about Adam and Eve. He made male and female from the beginning. When did Adam exist from the beginning? He wasn't in the beginning?
Then Mark is a liar.
And if we say Mark's got it wrong, because we say the the scriptures are God, breathed right. The Holy Spirit came upon mark. And using Mark and who Mark was wrote the Book of Mark.
If this isn't true as it states, it is.
Then what we're saying is not only has Mark, got it wrong, but somehow God got it wrong as well. All right.
Then Matthew 19. Verses 3 through 6. We read and Pharisees came up to him, Jesus and tested him by asking, is it lawful for two divorce? One's wife for any cause, and Jesus answers. Have you not read that? He who created them from the beginning? Made them male and female. And he said there for a man, shall leave his father, and his mother and hold fast to his wife and the two shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What? Therefore, God has joined together, let not man separate. All right. So, Jesus is not honestly addressing their question for say, right. He's not answering whether or not divorce is okay. What are you saying is God, created the institution in the idea of marriage. And so if you're going to enter into a divorce, you need to be very very, very careful what you're doing, right? There needs to be really good reasons and Paul lays somehow. All right, but you need to be very careful about how you proceed. In Luke 11 vs. 50 and 51 reread so that the blood of all the prophets Shed from the foundation of the world. May be charged against this generation from the blood of Abel. The blood of Zechariah who perished between the altar in the sanctuary. Yes. I tell you it will be required of this generation. What Luca saying here is from the beginning, from the beginning. There was a man who was named Abel. This is the child of Adam and Eve Abel isn't a real man that came from Adam and Eve in the beginning.
Then we can take the whole book of Luke and throw it out because we can't trust any of it. So, you can either trust these words to be true or we can't and Luke 3 verse 38. Wearied of the, this is the lineage of Jesus and it goes backwards and Luke Wright starts with Jesus and works back to God. And it reads, I'm just going to be the end of it. The son of Enos, the son of Stack. Who is the son of Adam? Who was the son of God? Which really interesting about this? Is that it goes from Jesus, the beginning, at the end of it, right? The beginning of it and it's Jesus again.
As his Creation in the middle. All about all of those men, all of their lives. All of these people, that Jesus chooses. Point to him. Two atoms life points to Jesus Seth's wife. I'm going to show next week points to Jesus Seth's very little life points to cry.
1st Corinthians, 11 verse 32. This is why I say it's all about. If Adam is not real. Jesus, doesn't matter for is an atom Paul Wright all die. So also in Christ shall all be made alive. Adam isn't the cause of the Fall. Jesus doesn't need to be the cause of our salvation.
They're all wrapped together. However, you want to see the creation, these men need to be real men who walked this Earth, as Adam as sap pain needed to be a real man who killed Abel.
These men need to be real, they have to be, they can't be.
Somehow primate in the midst of this takes Evolution the idea of evolution and it makes it really hard. The whole to this idea that we evolve from anything, right, like whatever. Cuz then there's many fiery, right? Not just monkeys. There's Dolphins as well. Are you in our society today? You can come up with whatever you want and it's okay. Maybe it was pink bunnies. I don't know.
So, what? Here is for me, the greatest picture. The greatest thing. We should come from Genesis chapter 1 and 2. The most amazing thing. Is this, your life, everyone in this room has purpose, it has meaning, it has value. Because the creator of all things choose to create you and you bear His Image. He looks at you. He sees you and sees himself.
You are an image bearer of God almighty.
You should wake up every morning and look in the mirror and say, I bear the image of God before creation.
At one of my one of the prayers that I pray often, is that as an image bearer of Jesus Christ. I might not somehow everyday mess that up. Before this world because I have a tendency to get in the way.
Right. I am my greatest. Enemy. I don't need Satan to get in the way. I get in the way enough of my own junk, right? I am a bigger problem in my life than Satan ever. Probably will. Could imagine being. He looks like he got enough junk. I don't need to help this thing. I believe he does but I pray everyday that God would somehow use me for His Glory by his grace. That I might not Mar even more than was already marked by the Fall, the image of God that I'm called reflect before this world. We should see because we all bear the image of God, all of humanity. Not just the church, right? Even the unchurched, even the pagans, even the one who calls himself a Satanist, the one, who chooses to worship. Satan is created in the image of God.
They are created in the image of God. And so therefore, we should see something in all Humanity that causes us to give them dignity, right? There should be a dignity to life.
We should care for life. This means we are pro-life and let me say this. What does it mean for us to have and reflect the image of God? It's not intellect, right? Because what if one is born? With very little intellect. I did not reflective of the image of God. That's who they are. Absolutely. We need to be careful how we do find the image of God because of this dignity piece. All of us, bear the image of God, right? And all of us are dignified Viet there for, because And we deserve dignity. We should treat each other. Well. It's not always easy. Right. That she often times in the workplace. Some of us, it's easier than others. It's a real easy or do you go to Amazon for that reason to treat area managers and undignified manner? I'm guilty. I've done it right? They deserve dignity because no matter what they believe they bear the very image of our creator, the bear the image of Jesus himself before us all the time. It also means that we have a responsibility. We have a responsibility that we bear every day of Our Lives to care for and to Steward his creation. Right? And I'll admit early on in my Christian walk. I struggled with this one, that was many years ago. And at that time, one of the things that was just starting to take off was like Recycling and all of this green stuff and I was pretty anti-green, to be honest. It was probably I was responding to perhaps an over. Lee green Society right by being. So anti to that that it was simple. Right, you can become so green that what you really do. And the fries is perfect, right? A tree hugger. They worship the trees and they hugged the trees. Because they worship them. What Romans 1 says? That's what happens. The Fallen person ends up worshipping the creation rather than the Creator. We have a responsibility. However, to our creation, we have been given Dominion by, Jesus himself to care for what he has created. How well are we doing that? Caring for that?
There's a sense in which we also need to guard. I would say this idea of Sabbath. This idea of Sabbath, which is arrest. Do we take time to rest? Its really easy to say while I work if you were at Amazon for days. But then you go home and how much do you work? I do continue to work three more days. At home will you're not resting? You need to rest the Jews have really rigid laws about the Sabbath to the point that an old man was picking up sticks once and they stoned him to death. And God told him to do that. To bring into light just how important it was for us to take time and simply rest. But not just told rest right now just to sit out back in the hammock and chill. Pretty good. When it's beautiful out, like it's been lately, right? Not raining like today. That's not what that means. Right, but when do we rest in him? That's why Christians take Sunday off often times when we come to church, right? Were resting. There's a sense. Why were injured were resting in him, but we need to do that more than just today, because it needs to be an extended time. Right? How do we do that? Well, throughout the day then because oftentimes, we leave here and we go do yard work or whatever work. Let's work. Still. How hard? How? How hard is it? For us to take up whole day. And just rest in Jesus. Here's what I would challenge you to do, find a way. Plan a day in the future Sunday or Saturday, or whatever day and say, I'm going to take that day and I'm going to rest in him. What that means is you're going to spend time in the scriptures going to spend time in prayer and spend time listening, Christian music, worship. Whatever it is, right? All of those wonderful things that you're going to do that for the day.
A lot of us. Go on this project projects. Can wait. along with that truth is it don't really matter that much. Because when Jesus returns and they are all gone. Anyways. And he's going to do away with this Earth and recreate it as it was meant to be.
How do we Sabbath? Well? Find your rest in him. Jesus is our only hope that we might have in this world. Today, we're going to take communion together and we're going to rest in him as we remember his sacrifice. Alyssa. Can you pass out the communion draw near to God? It is Supernatural. Right now, he's calling each one of us to himself. We simply need to respond to his call. And a pro.