Purpose in Creation

Welcome

Lesson Video: “Created”

I want to welcome you to our first Sunday of God’s Word for Life!

Tomorrow, you can take your devotional and begin your own journey each day that will dig deeper into what I’m about to teach right now. This is going to be an exciting time!

Prayer

Lesson Connection

The aging patriarch stepped out into an open field and looked deep into the blackness of the night sky. Countless stars stretched out as far as his eyes could see. He had tried to count them all before, but the promise of his descendants outnumbering those stars caused him to stop and think, “How can this be?”

He didn’t dispute the promise, but he did question how it could possibly be fulfilled in his lineage. God had promised:

Genesis 22:18 NKJV

18 In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”

Abraham was neither the first nor the last to ask big questions about eternity.

Throughout history, philosophers, poets, prophets, and people from all walks of life have asked questions bigger than their ability to comprehend.

Where did we come from?

How did we get here?

When did life begin?

Why are we here?

People have ALSO come up with some pretty imaginative answers to such questions - from mythological gods fighting like little kindergarteners to random accidents and space explosions that miraculously made this perfect environment in which life-forms magically appeared.

You know what’s funny to me? Embracing some of those explanations requires MORE faith than to believe the long-accepted view of creation in Scripture!

The Bible tells us that the command of God’s voice made matter and energy produce when He said, “Let there be...”

Countless millions of stars appeared in space. Just like that! At His word, planets swirled into their orbits, and comets started blazing trails. Earth spun into a perfect sphere and began its rotation at the perfect speed for us to have gravity, but still move around freely. And an atmosphere was created like a sort of canopy (that if it wasn’t there, radiation from the sun would destroy us).

And then, the speed and distance at which the Lord allowed the planet earth to move around the sun gave us just the right seasons and cycles.

For a Christian, the biblical account of creation is not only something believable, it makes perfect sense and solidly explains the world around us.

Now, the scriptures we read about creation was never intended to be a full-detail extended history. Which is why you won’t read about when, why, and what was He thinking when God created mosquitoes! But what was written was supposed to be a summary of God’s plan for the crowning glory of His creation… no, not a planet… no, not a galaxy… His favorite part of creation was humanity.

God has an incredible purpose for every single individual who is born into this wonderful world. And even if they’re not born yet… He said, “When I formed you in the womb… I KNEW YOU!”

God’s Purpose in Creation

You’re not going to find many people who can’t quote Genesis 1:1. And we believe God created the universe. BUT… do we stop to appreciate the wonder of that?

God made what He made out of the sheer joy of creating. And that joy He had over creation was infectious! The Book of Job says that the sons of God “shouted for joy” when the foundations of the earth were being laid (Job 38:7).

A mother will put a bow in her daughter’s hair, not to make her pretty, but because she’s pretty already. And God, in the same way, decorated the heavens and the earth not out of pure necessity, but rather out of a boundless love for what He had made.

Creation Was Not a Random Act of God

Someone once suggested that the Big Bang Theory about creation would be similar to an EF5 tornado ripping up a salvage yard filled with acres of car parts, only to end up with a gleaming, beautifully restored classic car out of all of the debris.

Nothing like that has EVER happened with a storm. And neither did our planet emerge from some cataclysmic explosion of space matter.

So this is very important to know today: Random destruction has never created order. Chaos has never produced perfection.

At the very least, serious scientists have to agree that some elite force, some higher power, some intelligent designer was at work in creation. Even by definition, creation means there must be a creator.

I have heard it put this way before…

Thousands of miles away from here, on an uncivilized island where tribes live, if one of those people, walking along the beach, discover a pocket watch washed up on the sand from some shipwreck… and they notice the hands moving… they open it up to see the gears working… there is no doubt that they will realize that someONE, some BEING crafted this item. Someone placed it into order.

So creation WAS NOT some random act of the universe, or even random of God...

God Had a Specific Purpose for Everything He Created

He had a specific purpose for everything He created.

One of the most horrifying phrases a parent cant read is “some assembly required”. You scramble through the instructions and pictures (if you’re brave enough) and try to put all the parts in place, only to have a few extra pieces left over once you feel you’re done! And you always hope that these extra parts aren’t important!

When God spoke creation into existence, every single command had divine purpose. No extra, unnecessary parts were scattered everywhere. Every part of creation is joined together for His purpose. All life-forms complement each other. Everything that exists in some way supports other life-forms in existing - even mosquitoes!!!

And if God had purpose for even the lowliest mosquito… then we have to believe… that PEOPLE… have PURPOSE! We are intelligent. And we are created to serve a greater cause than just being food for birds or pollinating plants.

And there are not some people who are more essential or less essential than others. EACH person is valued! All are precious in His sight, and He has a plan for every person’s life.

God Desires to Have Relationship with Humanity

If you took a single living cell and magnified it to a scale of ten square miles, we would see a whole city - a whole galaxy! - just buzzing with life, busier than New York City at rush hour, more complex than a microchip!

…and we’ve not even touched the fact that this single cell is made up of even tinier atoms!

What I’m trying to illustrate to you is that the universe that God created is vast! It’s beautiful and nearly mind-bending.

Have you ever stood outside at night, when the stars are in clear view, eating a bucket of fried chicken, and looked up in wonder at what God has created??? You start feeling sort of small!

And this extensive, detailed universe can actually lure us into a misunderstanding about God...

God Cares for All of His Creation

It’s easy to assume that God is too great and too mysterious to be concerned with small matters.

Here’s what happens: we start looking at the beauty and wild detail of heaven - the stars of space, the staggering distance from here to there - and then we project our limitations on God. We all know what it’s like to feel unimportant, but we make a mistake about God when we look at His amazing creation and think, “He must have better things to do.”

The truth is, it’s not in the wonder of the universe that we see the wonder of God...

Take, for instance, a spider’s perspective. From his eyes, humans, with our stadiums and skyscrapers, must seem awfully big. But… nothing in this universe is truly “big.” Largeness and smallness are relative. And what I mean by that is: A star is big until it is compared to a galaxy. A mountain is big, until it is compared to a star. A tree is big, until it is compared to a mountain.

We can’t determine what God values simply by measuring and comparing in physical size.

How about this… this will mess with you: God is not great because He is infinitely big. He is great because He is infinitely present!

And the exactness of His creation - the attention to matters that might seem unimportant to us - reveals this truth! He cares about the little things - even littler than your problems!

Human beings have attention span problems. But I want to ask you… how powerful must God’s attention span be to:

attend the sparrow’s funeral

make a mathematical recalculation every time a hair falls from the head of each of the 8 billion human beings alive today? (especially when some of us are seeing those hairs come a lot faster!)

That insignificance we often feel doesn’t line up with how your God feels about you!!!

His behavior toward us - His infinite love, the gift of His presence, and the fact that He became a man Himself - tells us all we need to know!

God Breathed on Man and Gave Him Life

In the midst of all of this creating that God was doing… on the sixth day, He created man.

God formed man from the dirt, the Bible says. Then God breathed life into the motionless body, “And man became a living soul” (Genesis 2:7).

So we are reading that God gives life. If you are alive today, it’s because God breathed life into you! God has given life… and only God’s timing should cause a life’s conclusion.

Creation gives value to every living soul. Now, if we were the product of some random evolution, we absolutely would not have any value. Lives would be expendable. But because people are created and designed in the image of God, every individual has important value, and we are reflections of Him.

I don’t care how drunk they are, how ill they are, how mean they are… you better get a Christ-like attitude about it! They have value to Him! YOU have value to Him!

Only Man Became a Living Soul

But there was something else that was different about man when God created us...

Not only did Adam live and breathe, but (unique to creation), he was given a spiritual core: a living soul.

And that breath of God made man unlike any animal or created thing. All others were spoken into existence by His word. But the first man was fashioned by the hand of God, and life was breathed into him by the Spirit of God.

Now, there are some who hold the belief that soul is just another word for life. But there is a distinction in Scripture… others in the animal kingdom have intellect, emotions, learn skills from their environment… but no other creature was made in God’s image and so carefully designed with His attention.

Though some animals are definitely stronger, humans have been able to tame and train them. A variety of animals have adapted to great challenges in their environment, but humans have been able to create shelter and have survived almost every environment.

From the very beginning, God established a uniqueness in humanity. We have a responsibility to other human beings. And we’re responsible to wisely use the resources in earth that we’ve been given.

God Created the World with Humanity in Mind

And once we fully realize the truth that god has created the world, something starts to become clear...

All of creation points us toward God.

And you begin seeing the power of his creation in flowers and skies and animals and mountains and even crops that are ready for harvesting… it’s like a symphony that is praising its Creator!

We might even call the wold the great “matchmaker,” setting up a place for us to meet God. Every time you see a dove or a beautiful sunset - the world is trying to play matchmaker with you and God!

And the problem that some step into is that they begin seeing creation as God… Naturism.

I remember a major news story a year or so ago, where an entire college class “confessed their sins to plants”. It was Union Seminary. This is what they had to say:

“Today in chapel, we confessed to plants. Together, we held our grief, joy, regret, hope, guilt and sorrow in prayer; offering them to the beings who sustain us but whose gift we too often fail to honor. What do you confess to the plants in your life?”

People start seeing creation as the Mighty One, and they are incorrect.

If creation is the matchmaker, a matchmaker isn’t supposed to become the object of love himself; he is supposed to bring lovers together. The created world IS NOT our ultimate partner! The great thing about this world around us is the fact that it was made to remind us of God!

God Created Everything, Knowing Man and Woman Would Live on the Earth

Something that’s interesting about creation is how methodical God was in what He did. He included everything in nature that is necessary for life to continue.

God placed humanity in a prepared place. The oxygen levels would be kept at just the right levels. Seasons would keep the temperature in the correct range and cause there to be harvests of food, allowing us to eat and animals to live and function.

Ultimately, God purposefully prepared everything for humanity! Everything was designed to bring quality to our lives and sustenance for our continued well-being!

Sometimes I think about things we enjoy today and when they were first discovered. Like coffee. For a good while, those beans just sat there. And nobody could think of what they would be good for. Then, somebody crushed ‘em up and poured hot water through them. And then, it’s like, “Wow! Even these bitter beans we thought were useless, have a use designed by God!”

And you could spend days of your life just observing what many, many, uncountable things that exist, that God gave so clear a purpose for humanity!

And you know what??? God WANTS you to observe these things for the rest of your life, too! He wants you to see that in all that He does, HE… HAS… PURPOSE!

It’s NOT random! It’s NOT chance! And God most certainly has great and wonderful purpose for your life and for your family!

God knows the end from the beginning, and He has methodically prepared everything for the length of our days. Our resources are in abundance. We should certainly value our resources and conserve our supply in care for His creation, but, let me say this: we can live free from fear and dread of what could happen a thousand years in the future.

There are people who are deathly afraid that we are on the verge of planet destruction because of heat or the loss of some part of nature. Can I say something? You better get faith in God. God don’t make mistakes. And the world most definitely is going to end. And whatever end happens or loss of resource takes place, it’s not because He miscalculated or messed up - it’s built into His plan!!!

Let me put it this way: He does not answer to nature. And we do not worship nature. We are blessed with nature! And you don’t abuse the blessings that God gives, but at the same time… nature is subject to HIM!

Everything Created on a Specific Day Needed Everything Created on the Previous Days

Show image: “Days of Creation” chart

The days of creation were God’s strategic design.

“Let there be light,” God said. Those were the first words at the dawn of creation. And because He did that, this light sustained everything in the following days.

The waters and atmosphere were next, and elements were divided to hold their places and respect their boundaries. Day and night, water and sky, and then the earth and seas were designed for fruitfulness, all within the first three days of creation.

In the next three days, God continued to populate and detail what He was making. He gave us this awesome object to harness the light, reflecting it throughout the heavens - the sun. And it would light not only the day, but the moon and millions of stars filling the night sky.

The waters were filled with fish (and all the fishermen say “Amen!” Or maybe you’re thing is frog-gigging, or hogging). He put birds in the air (and if you’re into Chick-fil-a, He put a few on the ground!).

By the sixth day, plants and vegetation were already prepared for the cattle, and creatures of the earth started eating what God had grown.

And then… the culmination of creation, was the design of the first man, Adam.

Genesis 2:2 NKJV

2 And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.

Everything to this point had been prepared for us to live and for our pleasure. I’m telling you, He, from the start, wanted us to see that He had us in mind all along, so we could have Him in mind all along!

I Can Develop a Fulfilling Relationship with God Because He Has Given Me Everything I Need

And here’s something even more, God has provided everything we need to grow in relationship with Him.

Through the Church, we have fellowship with other believers and find the strength and encouragement we need in difficult times.

We have received His Word, to guide us and order our steps.

The privilege of prayer (to be able to talk to Him!) has been placed at our disposal.

And He has given us His Spirit, so we can have the power to live as overcomers.

Every single good and perfect gift has been given to us from above!!!

Internalizing the Message

I think we like things in life to be predictable.

In a fairy tale, everything is completely unpredictable! With Anna, at the house, we have been getting into some old Disney greats. We watched Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, which has been deemed the greatest animated film of all time.

In these types of stories, it can be a little absurd. The princess approaches a tree, and the tree might end up talking; she’s kind to a toad, who might turn out to be a prince. ...But what happens when the princess has figured out her world? Houses made of candy no longer surprise her. Is it still a fairy-tale world?

And, has anything changed about her world? No. The only thing that has changed is in her.

We actually need a certain amount of predictability to get through life. Usually, the better we are at anticipating what comes next, the better we are at what we do. But for all the skill we develop in predicting and regulating life, there’s a cost: we lose the ability to be surprised.

As children, the world surprises us - constantly. And for many, it’s no coincidence that they look back on their childhood and feel they’ve lost something valuable. Life seemed more enchanted then. And we go toward trading wonder for predictability.

In reality, the world hasn’t changed since we were children. It’s we who have changed.

Think about this… have you ever looked at a giraffe? We dismiss the idea of a unicorn, calling it a “fantasy.” And it is the work of imagination. But let’s not assume that the unicorn doesn’t exist because it’s too strange and unreal. If we’re denying the existence of things on the basis of them looking “unreal,” what should we say of a giraffe? The most amazing thing about it is that it looks as if it shouldn’t exist! But somehow, it does!

In your wildest imaginations, in your most imaginative thoughts, you could not come up with a world stranger and more mystifying than the world in which you now live! And if we’re not careful, adulthood puts us in this danger of losing our ability to be awed by creation. That doesn’t have to be lost as we mature, any more than love has to leave once you’ve been around your spouse a long time. Wonder, like love, can mature!

What we have to do is strip away callouses that have formed on our outlook.

I want to challenge you to look at creation with some fresh wonder this week! Don’t just walk by the plants around your house - look at it and be amazed at the purpose, the power of God!

And if you do that for awhile, you can ask yourself, “If creation is this awe-inspiring, how much more is the Creator?!”