Creation & The New Creation
Genesis 1:1-5
One day a group of scientists got together and decided that man had come along way and no longer needed God. So they picked one scientist to go and tell Him that they were done with Him.
The scientist walked up to God and said “God, we’ve decided that we no longer need you; We’re to the point that we can clone people and do many miraculous things, so why don’t You just go and get lost.?
God listened very patiently and kindly to the man. After the scientist was done talking, God said, “Very well, how about this? Let’s say we have a man-making contest. To which the scientist replied, “Okay, great!?
But, God added, “now we’re going to do this just like I did back in the old days with Adam. The scientists said, “Sure, no problem? and bent down and grabbed himself a handful of dirt. God looked at him and said, “No, no, no. You go get your own dirt.?
I am reminded of the story of the fellow that always fell asleep during the pastor’s sermon. The wife had decided to keep him awake - so she took a large hair pin with the intention of sticking him with it when he nodded off. Sure enough, right in the middle of the pastor’s message, he nodded off. It was just at the time that the Pastor asked a question. He said, "Now who was it that made the heaven and the earth?" Just about that time she jabbed her husband with the pen. He just up out of the pew and screamed, "GOOD GOD, ALMIGHTY". The pastor said, "That’s right Brother – that’s right"
Genesis 1:1 - 5
1In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 3And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.
There is a saying, “First things first.” Well, the first thing is God. Our passage from Genesis begins this way. It says, “In the beginning God . . .” The Bible begins with God. It begins with the account of God creating the heavens and the earth and everything in between: stars and insects, trees and galaxies, planets and animals, the birds of the air and the fish of the sea, not to mention all of humanity.
1. Light into Darkness
a. As we read our text this morning, we see our self existent God at work.
i. We read of His ability to speak into existence everything that exists.
ii. God speaks and things begin to happen.
b. One of the first things God does in the story is to shed some light onto the situation.
i. When God, created light, He saw that it was Good!
1. Anyone who has stumbled around in the darkness understands that it is good.
2. Anyone who has ever put something together understands that just a little more light is always a good thing.
ii. After light was created God separated light from darkness.
2. Order out of Chaos
1In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
a. Our text this morning says, that the earth was formless.
i. In other words, it was a mass without any direction.
ii. No one is certain what creation looked like at this point, but we do understand that it was formless.
1. Just a planet without any context, hanging out in a void.
2. The Spirit of God hovered about it, but we know nothing more of the formless nature of the universe.
b. But then as we read God begins to bring Order out of Chaos.
i. He separates water from water to create the sky.
ii. Then God speaks into existence the dry ground.
iii. Then God created the Sun, Moon, and the stars.
iv. Through it all, God said it was Good!
v. Then God created humanity and placed them in charge of His creation.
Genesis 1:26
26Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.
c. Through the chaos of all that existed – God brought about order!
3. Emptiness Filled
1In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
a. We live in a world that is so full of stuff, can you imagine a time when it was empty?
i. Yet that is what our text tells us that before God began speaking into existence every living thing the world in which we live was empty.
ii. There was nothing, just a planet, with land, sea, and sky.
b. As we have read in Genesis, we see God filling His creation.
i. With trees, plants, and vegetation.
ii. With the sun, moon, and stars.
iii. With fish, animals, and birds
iv. Lastly, He created humanity.
c. The God of creation in a course of six days
i. Spoke light into darkness
ii. Brought Order out of Chaos
iii. Filled the emptiness of Creation.
Although the story of creation ends after these six days, God’s work would continue. Jesus affirms this when He is questioned by the Jews because of a healing He performed on the Sabbath.
Listen to the words of Jesus in John 5: 16-17
16So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews persecuted him. 17Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working.”
If we had continued to read in Genesis we would have read about Adam and Eve and the first sin. God had created us to have fellowship with Him, but because sin entered into the picture there has been a separation between God and us.
One of the key elements of what God is hard at work doing is to restore the relationship between humanity and Himself. And once the relationship is restored to make us new creations.
Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:17
17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
In order for the new creation to come into existence God had to do three essential things.
4. He brought Light into darkness
John 8:12
12When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
a. Jesus came and dwelt amongst us to be a light.
John 1:4-5 tells us:
4In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
i. Light serves the purpose of revelation.
1. Jesus revealed the difference between truth and error.
2. Jesus revealed the source of light to us – our Heavenly Father.
ii. The purpose of Jesus’ coming was so that we would no longer have to stumble around in the darkness.
1. We would have God’s revelation of His purpose and plan for our life.
2. Jesus came to be the light of the world so that every man, woman, and child could have a full revelation of the expectation of God.
b. As we read about the life of Christ we understand that God is at work in Him and through Him.
i. Jesus points to the fact on several occasions that He must do the Fathers will.
ii. Jesus tells His followers that He is doing what the Father has sent Him to accomplish.
c. Jesus came to bring light into the darkness
i. To reveal the Father to us.
ii. To reveal to us what it means to walk in the light.
iii. God is still speaking into the darkness of Humanities of heart to bring light and understanding as to where they are in relation to Him.
5. He brought order out of Chaos
After the first sin in the Garden of Eden, chaos once again existed. The chaos was different now, yet it was very similar. A life without order or direction is very much like the chaos of early creation. Yet God did not want chaos that is why He continues working to bring order to our Chaos.
a. Humanity separated from God exists in chaos.
i. We have a tendency to do things our own way.
1. People ask today why things in the world are so bad.
2. It is because humanity has chosen to do things their own way rather than be obedient to God.
ii. We have a tendency to live by our own standards and values
1. We live in a day and age where truth is relevant to who you are.
a. What I think is true is true for me
b. What you think is true is true for you.
c. But don’t try to make me accept your truth.
2. Friedrich Nietzsche said, “You have your way. I have my way. As for the right way, the correct way, and the only way, it does not exist,”
b. Jesus came to bring us order out of Chaos
John 14:6
6Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
i. Jesus came not only to reveal the Father to us, He came to give us access to the Father.
1. Jesus says He is the way.
a. Which means that if you are trying to get to the Father any other way you are missing the mark.
b. Coming to the Father is unlike asking someone what is the best way to Canton
i. There are a vast array of routes to Canton.
ii. A great deal of how you get there is where you are starting from.
iii. Unlike getting to Canton, no matter where you are starting from, Jesus is the way to having access to the Father.
2. Jesus states He is the truth.
a. Jesus is the standard for how we determine right or wrong.
i. The choice is ours we can accept the truth of who Jesus is and His revelation of the Father’s will for our life.
ii. Or we can choose to live in error.
b. Without Jesus there is no truth.
i. A partial truth is a lie
ii. Jesus is truth- without Jesus there is no truth.
3. Jesus states He is the life.
a. Life without Jesus is merely existence.
b. He did not live with death as the ultimate end of his life; he died to demonstrate the power and continuity of his life.
c. Those who receive Jesus, are promised the life eternal He came to bring.
ii. This morning if there is chaos in your life understand that you have access to the Father through Jesus.
1. Through Jesus you can have peace with God.
2. Through Jesus you can have peace in the midst of the storm.
3. Through Jesus you can find answers to life’s most difficult questions.
6. Jesus came to fill our emptiness
a. Emptiness is what was left in the heart and soul of Adam and Eve after they sinned against God in the garden.
i. The place where God once occupied every part of their existence was now filled with emptiness and void.
ii. Thus placing them in a vulnerable position.
b. Now Satan could offer every attraction imaginable, leaving no room for God.
i. Where man was once full with God, now there’s a void that he seeks to filled, to bring happiness, stability, and comfort to his life.
ii. But it’s an endless and unfruitful journey.
Sitting in her car - on a dark road just outside of town, a young high school girl looks at her life. This is what she sees:
• I am overweight
• I have no friends
• My future holds no promise
As she slides the bullet in the chamber of her father¡¦s 38 revolver, she thinks; "It¡¦s no use - there is no hope."
A middle aged executive sits alone in a motel room, a day of meetings just completed. He thinks about his life;
• The kids are all gone
• My wife doesn’t seem to care or love me anymore
• My job is a dead-end
As he reaches for the phone book to look up the number of a local escort service, he thinks to himself, "Maybe, at least, I can have a couple hours of pleasure."
A housewife sits at home, alone. As she sits there, she looks at her life:
• My husband has his job
• The kids are all in school
• I am so alone
• As she pours herself another drink, she thinks to herself-, "Thank God I have my soaps . . .
And so it goes. Everyday, we hear about it, or read about it. People are checking out on life.
c. They are not living they are existing.
i. Life is meaningless –
ii. it is empty
iii. - it is unfulfilling.
iv. Life without God is empty – because God is the source of life and its meaning.
d. However, Jesus comes to replace our empty lives with fruitfulness.
John 15:1 – 4
1“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
i. You and I were placed upon this earth to live fruitful lives for God.
1. Lives that demonstrate God’s presence
2. Lives that demonstrate the fruit of God as He is at work in us.
ii. We are unable to produce fruit on our own.
1. That is the reason so many peoples lives seem empty.
a. They are trying to live fulfilling lives without God in the picture.
b. Often times we as Christians do not see the fruitfulness we could see because we have not fully given all of who we are to Jesus.
i. We have not fully surrendered our lives to His will.
ii. Often times we are trying to do God sized tasks in our own strength.
This morning as the worship team comes forward, I want to you to understand that no matter what you are, these three things remain true:
o God wants to bring His light into your darkness – He will pardon your sin and give you light so you will not walk in darkness any longer.
o God wants to bring order into your Chaos – He will put your life in order.
o God wants to fill your emptiness – He will bring meaning to your life.
Will you come this morning and invite the God of Creation into your life and make you a new creation? Will you allow the revelation of Jesus be the light that points you to God? Will you invite the God of creation into your Chaos? Will you allow the God of Creation give your life meaning as He fills you with His presence and empowers you for His purpose? Far too many people today are trying to be self made men or women, when God wants us to be a people who are made into His image.
