God’s Reasoning For Creating Mankind Series

Alpha and Omega, Part 5

God’s reasoning for creating mankind

Genesis 1:26

Introduction

- We’ve begun the year with “one purpose”: Knowing there is a God!

-- Just as a building requires a builder, a creation must have a Creator

- Continuing our series, “Alpha and Omega”; looking at the beginning to the end

-- Studying two critical questions: How did we get here? How does it end?

- Last week’s big ideas (v20-25):

1. God desired to create living, conscious life

-- EX “conscious” life: An animal runs when it’s in danger … compared to a tree?

-- We have a God that has planned everything we see in advance; but consider this:

-- God, did not create everything we see for us … but to reflect His worthiness

2. Reproduction of life is God directed and blessed

-- God ordained things to reproduce “according to its own kind” (scientific FACT!)

-- All animals, trees, fish, organisms of all makes solely reproduce their own kind

-- There is no mystery here: Type A, plus Type A, equals Type A!

3. The birds, animals, and the fish were created to demonstrate God’s glory

-- This is why it’s critical for us to see that our worship begins at Genesis Ch 1

-- The worship we must have for God is because He has done these things

- How does this apply to us?

-- Before we can truly know Jesus, we must BELIEVE in the work of His Father

-- His work should motivate us to worship because of His work

- Let’s look at our passage for today … Read Genesis 1:26 / Pray

- TR: Level set: As we begin to unpack humanity, we need to see …

Point 1 – God’s sovereignty is displayed through humanity’s creation

- Note the continuous “theme” through of Ch 1

-- “God said” … Hebrew: amar, to speak or say (it is directive; requires response)

- Throughout this series we have seen where God commands, and the Earth obeys

-- But here, at the crowning of God’s creation … something amazing happens

-- God creates what He deems “in His own image”; unlike anything else

-- Hebrew: b?·?al·mê·nu, in our image (specifically: tselem, “image”)

- Backstory:

-- The Earth, the heavens, the heavenly bodies, animals, & fish were created:

-- To reveal God’s majesty in His craftsmanship … actually …

-- All of creation can be summed up, through God’s eyes, in one verse:

-- Psalm 115:3, “Our God is in the heavens, and he does as he wishes.”

- To be blunt, humans spend more time trying to avoid seeing what God has done

-- How come? Natural rebellion to any authority that challenges our own desires

- However, God continues to be consistent, to show us His glory, to draw us in

-- Hebrews 1:3, “The Son (the very image of God) radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven.”

- So now … when we examine our makeup we must marvel at God’s handiwork

-- To honestly believe that we are accidental formations is just nonsense

-- Even science supports that we are individually made … DNA is unique!

-- Side note: unique DNA can convict criminal, but cannot support creation???

- Consider for a moment what you are made of:

• 206 bones in skeletal system

• 700 muscles in muscular system

• cardiovascular system

• digestive system

• endocrine system

• nervous system

• respiratory system

• immune and lymphatic system

• urinary system

• reproductive system, and,

• the integumentary system (outer skin)

• Encompassing 37.2 trillion cells in the human body

- IMP: And all of this happened by the spoken word of God … WOW!!!!!!

- Now, look at how scripture describes all of this:

-- Genesis 1:26a, “Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image …”

-- Jeremiah 1:5a, “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb…”

- TR: So this morning I want us to see the heart of God at work

-- Fact: God created man (v26), but I’d like us to dive deeper and …

Point 2 – Explore God’s purpose for creating mankind

- When man was created, God was already at work to provide redemption to us

-- Notice the word use (asah; to do) : “let US create” … who is God talking to?

-- We know that the Holy Spirit is already there (v2 – Spirit hovering …)

- BIG: Even in our rebellion, God still provides a way for us to know Him