Stories of God – Attributes of God. May 4, 2003
Genesis 1
God is Creator
Worship in heaven
Revelation 4
7In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. 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. 8Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying:
"Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,
who was, and is, and is to come."
9Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, 10the 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."
There are two things that God is praised for in this vision of heaven – for His holiness, and for his creation. Last week we talked about the Holiness of God, this week – his creation.
It makes sense – The Church_SHIFT Conference is about connecting the Church with creation. Tuesday was earth day, and the weather is such that we are coming out of our basements and enjoying the whole of creation, not just the cave with the TV.
Creator is such a huge part of who God is, to ignore it is to ignore God, let’s listen to the story of creation once again in some new words.
Genesis 1 (The Message)
Heaven and Earth
1First this: God created the Heavens and Earth--all you see, all you don’t see. 2Earth was a soup of nothingness, a bottomless emptiness, an inky blackness. God’s Spirit brooded like a bird above the watery abyss.
3God spoke: "Light!"
And light appeared.
4God saw that light was good
and separated light from dark.
5God named the light Day,
he named the dark Night.
It was evening, it was morning--
Day One.
6God spoke: "Sky! In the middle of the waters;
separate water from water!"
7God made sky.
He separated the water under sky
from the water above sky.
And there it was:
8he named sky the Heavens;
It was evening, it was morning--
Day Two.
9God spoke: "Separate!
Water-beneath-Heaven, gather into one place;
Land, appear!"
And there it was.
10God named the land Earth.
He named the pooled water Ocean.
God saw that it was good.
11God spoke: "Earth, green up! Grow all varieties
of seed-bearing plants,
Every sort of fruit-bearing tree."
And there it was.
12Earth produced green seed-bearing plants,
all varieties,
And fruit-bearing trees of all sorts.
God saw that it was good.
13It was evening, it was morning--
Day Three.
14God spoke: "Lights! Come out!
Shine in Heaven’s sky!
Separate Day from Night.
Mark seasons and days and years,
15Lights in Heaven’s sky to give light to Earth."
And there it was.
16God made two big lights, the larger
to take charge of Day,
The smaller to be in charge of Night;
and he made the stars.
17God placed them in the heavenly sky
to light up Earth
18And oversee Day and Night,
to separate light and dark.
God saw that it was good.
19It was evening, it was morning--
Day Four.
20God spoke: "Swarm, Ocean, with fish and all sea life!
Birds, fly through the sky over Earth!"
21God created the huge whales,
all the swarm of life in the waters,
And every kind and species of flying birds.
God saw that it was good.
22God blessed them: "Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Ocean!
Birds, reproduce on Earth!"
23It was evening, it was morning--
Day Five.
24God spoke: "Earth, generate life! Every sort and kind:
cattle and reptiles and wild animals--all kinds."
And there it was:
25wild animals of every kind,
Cattle of all kinds, every sort of reptile and bug.
God saw that it was good.
26God spoke: "Let us make human beings in our image, make them
reflecting our nature
So they can be responsible for the fish in the sea,
the birds in the air, the cattle,
And, yes, Earth itself,
and every animal that moves on the face of Earth."
27God created human beings;
he created them godlike,
Reflecting God’s nature.
He created them male and female.
28God blessed them:
"Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge!
Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air,
for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth."
29Then God said, "I’ve given you
every sort of seed-bearing plant on Earth
And every kind of fruit-bearing tree,
given them to you for food.
30To all animals and all birds,
everything that moves and breathes,
I give whatever grows out of the ground for food."
And there it was.
31God looked over everything he had made;
it was so good, so very good!
It was evening, it was morning--
Day Six.
Genesis 2
1Heaven and Earth were finished,
down to the last detail.
2By the seventh day
God had finished his work.
On the seventh day
he rested from all his work.
3God blessed the seventh day.
He made it a Holy Day
Because on that day he rested from his work,
all the creating God had done.
4This is the story of how it all started,
of Heaven and Earth when they were created.
God Created The World
The Trinity
Often times we thing of God the Father as being the creator – the Son is the redeemer, and the Spirit the Comforter/Empowerer. But the whole Trinity is involved with the creation.
The Spirit is hovering over the chaos in Genesis 1:2
Isaiah places the Spirit at creation in 40:12-13 when he writes
12Who else has held the oceans in his hand? Who has measured off the heavens with his fingers? Who else knows the weight of the earth or has weighed out the mountains and the hills? 13Who is able to advise the Spirit of the LORD? Who knows enough to be his teacher or counselor? (NLT)
Jesus at Creation
John places Jesus at creation in John 1
1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning.
3Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood[1] it.
Genesis tells us that God creates the universe by His Word, and John calls Jesus the Word! Jesus is the Word that the father spoke when he spoke the universe into existence!
Paul says this in Colossians 1:
“15He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. 17He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”
Not only is Jesus the creator of all things, he is the one who holds it all together.
Back in 1979, Bruce Cockburn wrote a song called Creation Dream
– this is what Bruce said about the song : "Maybe one of my more successful attempts at putting guitar and words together - a sort of vision of Christ singing the universe into being - dawn before the parting of the waters."
The song is great, but it is four minutes long, so here are the Lyrics:
Creation Dream --
20 December 1978. Ottawa, Canada.
Centred on silence
Counting on nothing
I saw you standing on the sea
And everything was
Dark except for
Sparks the wind struck from your hair
Sparks that turned to
Wings around you
Angel voices mixed with seabird cries
Fields of motion
Surging outward
Questions that contain their own replies...
You were dancing
I saw you dancing
Throwing your arms toward the sky
Fingers opening
Like flares
Stars were shooting everywhere
Lines of power
Bursting outward
Along the channels of your song
Mercury waves flashed
Under your feet
Shots of silver in the shell-pink dawn...
You can find the song on his “Dancing In The Dragon’s Jaws” album
The whole Triune Godhead is involved with the creation of all that there is – The Father’s Wisdom, the Son’s Word, and the Spirit’s Power.
God Created All Things
John 1:3
Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made
With all this cloning and things going on, there was a group of scientists who decided that since they could create life, they had no more need of God. So they voted and decided who was going to go and tell God that they didn’t need him any more. The fellow they chose went to God and gave him the news. God seemed a little let down, but he seemed to take it pretty well, over all.
As the scientist was about to leave, God said, “Hey, just for fun, lets have a contest to see who can make a man just like I did back in Genesis.” So the Scientist said “sure!” And he bent down and picked up a clump of dirt to start.
God looked at him and said, “get your own dirt!”
God made everything – even the dirt! (As a mountain-biker I’m especially glad about the dirt) We should never get over the awe of this – we are walking in God’s creation, we are God’s creation!
I found this story on the web:
Bob Evans was blind. For the first 51 years of his life he lived in a dark world filled with sounds, but not sight. Then delicate surgery was performed, & for the first time in his life, he could see.
He has written of his experience in seeing things for the very first time, He wrote, "I couldn’t believe yellow. I never dreamed that yellow was so, well, yellow. And red. Red is my favorite color. It’s so brilliant & warm & penetrating. Then there are the airplanes flying high in the sky, stretching their vapor trails behind them. I love watching the airplanes."
"And the sunsets. There are times when I just sit outside to drink in the beauty of a sunset, followed by a night filled with the brilliant light of the stars, blinking in the heavens." He went on, "I wonder if you realize just how wonderful the gift of sight really is?"
There is nothing that we touch that God did not create. And there is something of God is all these things. Romans 11:36 says “for from him and through him and to him are all things!”
We need to keep our sense of awe – the beauty, the majesty, the microscopic intricacy of all that is. Each moment of each day we have something in front of us that God made that is wondrous to behold.
I’m not a great horse lover, but when I look at a horse, I’m am just amazed at the strength and beauty of the animal, and I find it incompressible that someone could say that it is only by chance mutations that we have horses today. That could be said about anything in creation – a daisy, a mosquito, a rock, the human form:
The Psalmist writes:
13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
16 your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
Even the air around us is perfect in it’s creation and wondrous in how we can breathe in the air that God made!
God continues to create
New life – God did not just set the world in motion and let it go it’s merry way, Colossians tells us that Christ is the glue that holds the whole thing together, he holds it together and e goes on creating new life – like Joshua, like every bud that is opening outside right now. It occurred to me lately that God is creating a gorgeous sunrise and a gorgeous sunset right now and at every second of the day as the earth orbits the Sun.
The scientists tell us that the universe is still expanding – God is still creating the heavens – stars and planets and galaxies that go on forever!
Wow!
New creation
God is not just continuing to create on a cosmic scale, he is continuing to create on a very personal scale
2 Corinthians 5:17, “if anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”
Almost from the get go, this amazing creation that God made went wrong – we humans, through Adam and Eve brought a virus into the world called sin, and the virus has affected every area of the world. But instead of crumpling up all of creation, or atleast humanity, and throwing us in the cosmic dust heap, he chose to renovate. It is because he loves us.
God became part of his on creation by coming as a new Adam – Jesus Christ. And just as the first Adam’s action brought the virus to all of humanity, so the second Adam’s obedience and sacrifice on the cross brings the cure to all of humanity. He is the ultimate anti-virus!
But just because there is an anti-virus out there, doesn’t mean that your computer is clean! – you have to download it!
You have to accept the cure that Jesus gives and invite him to come into your life and begin the repair work that begins a whole new creation!
God created us with a will of our own, and he doesn’t cross that will and force us into the repair shop! He comes to us and says “You’re broken, I made you, can I fix you? When we say yes, he takes us, and removes the virus of sin and uddenly we work like we should – we are able to experience our creator the way that we should, and obey him the way that we should. We are a whole new creation! God has recreated me and you, and he is continually forming us into the people that he wants to be.
It blows be away that at the same time as he is creating a whole new galaxy off on the edge of the universe, he is fine tuning my character. We can’t even drive a car and talk on a cell phone well enough!
God will create
God is not finished with just us as individuals – the virus of sin has infected all of creation. He wants to debug all of the created order, and one day he will.
Romans 8:19-22 says:
“The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. 20For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.
22We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.”
New Heavens and new earth
Revelation 21
”1Then 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. 2I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4He 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."
5He 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."
6He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. 7He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son.”
God was, and is and will be creator of all that is. He is always creator.
Our Response
Worship Him!
If the angels worship him because he is creator, than we should too! Many sermons that you hear about creation deal with questions about evolution and the Bible – the Angels hadn’t even heard of evolution when John caught a glimpse of the heavenly worship – all they knew is that God is the creator and the re-creator of all things and is worthy of praise!
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."
Allow Him to Re-Create You!
Give your life to Christ, let him heal you, follow the Spirit, let him shape you, come to the Father, let him love you. You are his creation, let him finish the work!
Engage Creation – learn the awe and respect for the created order
Name people who engage creation in their work. Arthur, Elaine, Sandra…
Care for Creation
Evangelicals have often been at odds with environmentalists – sometimes because of the science-faith debate, and sometimes because of our end-times theology.
The way the world is going to end has a bit to do with how we treat the earth, but the way it began has a lot more to do with it! Even if all that we see is destined for destruction (I’m not so sure it is), we need to let the creator look after that – not to start the process ourselves.
If made a coffee table, and a few days later came downstairs to find Nicholas going at it with a pen knife – I would not be happy! He might say to me, but dad, it’s just going to be firewood in 20 years anyway! I’d say I don’t care – I made it, and I love it, and there is some of me in the making of that table – stop wrecking it!
Ezekiel 34:18 Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture? Must you also trample the rest of your pasture with your feet? Is it not enough for you to drink clear water? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet?
Genesis 2:15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.
Work = serve in every other place where the word is translated in the scripture.
God made this place – we love him, we should take care of his place – it is as simple as that! We cannot say we love the creator and at the same time destroy his creation because of our greed and carelessness.
Be Creative!
Our God is an artist, and we are made in his image. When we do art, when we to are creative, we are letting a big part of the image of God within us shin through – so pick up a paint brush, or a guitar, or a pen, or a hammer, or a trowel and join God in the creative process!
