Genesis (Pt. 5) (Creation Ordinances)
Text: Genesis 1:26 – 2:3
By: Ken McKinley
(Read Text)
Well last week we looked at this text and we talked about what it means to be created in the image of God. We saw that mankind is not just “another animal” or even the “highest order of animal” but that we are a distinct, unique creation of God. And because of this mankind has been endowed with the capacity to rule and have dominion over God’s creation. We talked about how mankind has certain of God’s attributes, not omnipotence or omniscience… but the ability to think and think rationally, morality, and personhood. And lastly we talked about how being created in the image of God means that we are an immortal spirit. And that soul and spirit goes on forever and ever.
So this morning we are going to be looking at what theologians typically call the creation ordinances. And what those are – are mandates, or commands, or I guess you could say… principles, that God gives to man in his original state before the fall. And the purpose of them is to promote God’s glory and to express in a practical way what it means for us to be created in His image.
So first of all, verse 26 tells us that we are created in God’s image and that we are to be stewards over His creation. And again we see our distinctness there, because God doesn’t create man like He did everything else. Everything else God said, “Let there be…” Let there be cattle, let there be fish, let there be birds, let there be creeping things. But when it came to man, we see the Trinity hold a conference before announcing mans creation. And instead of “Let there be…” now it was “Let US make…” And so man is created in the image of God and then given dominion, and what that’s telling us is that man is created in God’s image, and is therefore supposed to reflect that image. So verse 26 tells us what God had intended to do, and verses 27 and 28 show us God doing what He intended to do. And verse 28 says that God blessed them, but it also says that God gave them a job. A lot of people misunderstand that. They think that work is part of the curse that came upon man when Adam sinned. But God instituted work at the same time He instituted marriage. Hmmm…. I’m only kidding honey, I had better be nice to her, or she’ll mess up my power point. But seriously, we see marriage and work both instituted at the same time.
So man is blessed, and man is given an obligation, or I guess we could say, a duty. And both of those things are components of a covenant. Keep that in mind as we go through this book of Genesis, because covenants are a big part of God’s dealing with mankind. In-fact, covenants are how God deals with mankind. Now a lot of times people get confused about how they see God in the Old Testament. Some have even said that the God in the OT couldn’t possibly be the God Jesus spoke of in the NT, because the God of the OT was harsh and unloving. But if you hear someone say that then you immediately understand that its coming from a person who either has very little understanding of the Bible or a twisted understanding of it. Because the first thing we see here… the first words from God to man, are words of blessing. “God blessed them, and told them to be fruitful and multiply.” And what this is; this blessing – is God showing favor upon man, even though man had done nothing to earn it or deserve it. Some theologians say this is grace; not in the sense that we know it today because Adam was not sinful, but a type of grace – a type of undeserved favor and blessing none the less. And so we see God is showing favor, or a type of grace, even before He institutes the covenant of works, and then we come to the ordinances of creation.
The first one is the mandate to procreate. God tells Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply. And we see here that God’s plan for this is through the natural relationship between a man and a woman. Now we can obviously see how this relates to marriage, which is given as an ordinance in chapter 2, and we’ll look at that a little more closely when we get to those verses, but I want you to notice that this ordinance to procreate also relates to our obligation to subdue the earth and have dominion over it. It would be very hard for just one man to exercise dominion over all creation by himself. The 2nd ordinance, and we’ve already touched on it, is labor – work. MariJo and I started a garden this year (thanks to Donald and Katy bringing a tiller by and tilling up the ground for us). We’ve got potatoes, tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, squash and zucchini (thanks to Kendra giving us some seeds), and we’re about to plant green beans… the package says to plant them in the middle of May. There’s something therapeutic about getting outside and working, if you’re able to do so. Here in our text we see God giving man work. And again, I want to stress this, work is a good thing, it’s just become laborious to do the work after the fall. We are to work, and then we are to enjoy the fruit of our labor. Now let me say that again. We are to work, and WE are to enjoy the fruit of our labor. This is why a system like communism has never done well in Christian societies. Now some people will point out that the first Church mentioned in the Book of Acts appears very much like Communism. But what is often missed by people who like to say that, is that the gifts that were brought to the Church to be given to the less fortunate were totally voluntary. The Church had a sort of emergency fund that was used to help others who were less fortunate, and only when they needed that help. Churches today should do the same thing. But that emergency fund’s coffers were filled by voluntary giving. Not state mandated giving. And I could go on and on about this, but I won’t today.
There’s two other points I want to make really quickly before we look at the first of the last two ordinances. The Sabbath… but I don’t think we’ll get to marriage today.
In verses 29 and 30, we see God’s provision for His creation. He’s providing food for man and for animals. Keep in mind that this provision was given even before Adam sinned, even before the fall of man. And what that tells us is that we need God’s provision now. If Adam needed before sin entered the world, how much more do we need it today? So we shouldn’t just be going to God in the tough times and the hard times; we should go to Him everyday. In the Lord’s Prayer, we’re told to pray, “Give us this day, our daily bread.” Have you ever met someone whose always playing the lottery, or gambling, or maybe they’re involved in “get rich quick schemes?” A lot of times when you talk to those people they’ll say things like, “Well I just want to be able to take care of my family,” or, “I just want to pay off my bills and be out of debt.” Or whatever… but when you scratch below the surface, a lot of times… not all the time, but a lot of times, their real motivation is a lot closer to idolatry than it is selflessness. Because they get it in their head that money’s going to make all their problems go away, and they won’t have to rely upon anyone or anything. It’s an inherent desire to be free from reliance upon God. I have the utmost respect for wealthy people who are faithful to the cause of Christ, because a lot of folks wouldn’t be. We need God’s caring provision every day, regardless of who you are, or how much you’ve got in the bank. And we should cultivate an attitude that is always dependant upon Him.
Then; in verse 31, God pronounces His creation as “Very Good!” And He finishes His work of creation. This ties into what I said awhile ago. God’s creation is good, but because of the corruption of sin our use, of creation is often times not good. People like to blame their problems on “things” when the actual problem is their use of those “things.” Money is not the root of all evil, it’s the LOVE of money that is the root of all kinds of evil. Guns don’t kill people, people WITH guns kill people. The television set in your home isn’t evil, its what you chose to watch on it that matters. It’s the heart, the fallen human nature that’s the problem, and only becoming a new creation in Christ can fix that.
Alright, chapter two… let’s look at Genesis 2:1-3 again (Read). Now I want to be clear about this. When it says God rested, that doesn’t mean that God isn’t doing anything else. It doesn’t mean that God created the heavens and earth and all their hosts, and then stopped doing things. That’s the deist belief system. Deists believe that God created all things, and wound it up like a clock maker, and then left it to itself. They believe that God is no longer active in His creation, but that He set in motion certain natural laws, and is simply waiting till the “clock” runs down. The Bible doesn’t teach that.
God is active in His creation throughout time.
So this idea of resting, means that God was finished with this particular work; the work of creation. Now if you want to dive deep into the pools of theology, you could start thinking about what this phrase means in light of God’s omniscience and omnipresence, but we won’t go there today. Just keep in mind that God is active in time, and in His creation, but what God had set out to do by creating the heavens and the earth and everything within them was completed, and finished. And so God stopped that particular work there… He rested from it. And that should actually be an encouragement to us… That God finished what He set out to do. Right there in the first book of the Bible we see that God is faithful. What He sets out to do, He will bring to completion. We see Him do it Genesis when He brings to completion His work of Creation. We see Jesus do it on the cross in John 19:30, when He says, “It is finished” and brought about the work of redemption, and even in 1st Timothy 1:12 where Paul writes, “I know in Whom I have believed, and I am convinced that He is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me.” What God begins, He completes!
So when He promises that He will not leave us, nor forsake us, that should be a source of encouragement. When He says nothing can pluck us from His hand, that should be a source of encouragement to us. And when He says that the good work He has begun in us, He will bring to completion, we can stand on that promise with boldness and know that our God finishes what He starts!
And so God rests from His work of creation on the 7th day; the Sabbath Day. And then He tells us to remember this day and to keep it holy. Turn with me to Mark 2:27-28 (Read). You see… Jesus isn’t disagreeing with Genesis here, He’s actually reinforcing it. He’s saying that the Sabbath is supposed to be a blessing to man, not a curse to man. It’s not supposed to be a day when we are basically chained to wall and forced to do nothing. No! It’s a day that God has set apart and blessed, for mans sake. And that’s why we call this an ordinance. The Sabbath Day is a day that God has consecrated and set apart as a means of blessing man, and showing us His mercy and goodness to us. It’s a memorial day to remind us of God’s blessing to us in His work of Creation.
Of course as Christians, this rest finds its fulfillment in Christ Jesus our Lord. Let me explain this really quickly and then we’ll close. Turn with me to Hebrews 3 and look at verses 16-19 (Read)… Ok; lets go on to chapter 4 (Read Hebrews 4:1-10). How do we enter into this rest? By faith, what is this rest? Ceasing from your works and trusting in Christ alone for your salvation. And this is why we rest on the Lord’s Day… on Sunday. Before Jesus came, believers would take the 7th day, Saturday and they were to rest on that day as a memorial, and also as a promise of a true rest that was to come. That true rest was provided in Christ, and He was raised up because He met those requirements of God so that we might enter into that true rest. So now we hold our memorial on Sunday, because the True Rest has come. The question for us today is: Have you entered into it?
FINAL CLOSING WORDS
