Theme: God Created Humanity
Text: Genesis 1:26-31
Greetings: The Lord is good; and His love endures forever!!
Joke:
A Sunday school boy asked his Mom, “Mummy how humanity came into existence?” She told him that ‘we are created by God in His own image and Likeness’.
Suddenly the boy interrupted and told her, but mommy when I asked Daddy the same question, ‘He told me that we have come from Monkey’. Then her mummy replied, ‘Beloved, both are true. I am talking about my ancestry, your daddy is talking about his lineage.’
Introduction:
From time immemorial men tried to find an answer to questions, which tormented their minds. Who am I? Where do have I come? Where do am I heading? Is there any power over me? Mankind searched answers through gurus, philosophers, self-declared gods and goddesses. Only unbelievable myths have increased not the a satisfactory truth till God revealed himself through scriptures. The unsatisfactory answers made some become hermits, and atheists. Children growing up, raise many questions to their parents, grandparents, and teachers about the purpose of humanity.
Let us Observe the Text:
God created mankind (Genesis 1:27). He blessed them (Genesis 1:28). He gave them food (Genesis 1:30). “Then the Lord God formed man out of the dust of the earth and he breathed his breath of life into his nostrils and man became a living creature.” (Genesis 2:7). “The Lord God took the man and placed him in the Garden of Eden so that he might work it and care for it. The Lord God told the man, “You can eat of any of the trees in the garden, but you must never eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you were to eat from it, you would surely die.” (Genesis 2:15-17). These all ascertain that God is the Creator.
Our annual theme: “…Is the Lord's hand waxed short?”(Numbers 11:23). This month theme is: ‘Creative Hands of God’.
God created the mankind so let us Acknowledge Him, Adore Him and be accountable to Him. Friends, let us take this three Points:
- Acknowledge the creator
- Adore the Creator, and be
- Accountable to the Creator
1. ACKNOWLEDGE THE CREATOR
God is the Creator: The Holy Bible begins with God, with the existence of God. God was, and is, and will be. The Bible doesn’t make an attempt to prove the existence of God. God existed even before anything came into being. God is mentioned as Elohim in Genesis 1.
Elohim is used 66 times at the beginning of the Bible. Elohim is used in entire Old Testament 2,570 times. Elohim means ‘the strength, and the power’. In one Person all powers, wisdom and goodness, mightiness are accommodated, by whom the world was created, governed and maintained. Elohim, a noun of the plural number, so in every usage of this word is Plural -"Gods." The Spirit of God (Ruah Elohim) was hovering over the waters and the Word (Logos) joined to create the world as per the wish of the formless God.
Jehovah is the name given to the Creator in Genesis chapter two whereas the name Elohim is mentioned in Genesis Chapter one. Now the Ruah Elohim, Jehovah and the Logos jointly created the World and brought perfection to the chaotic order. All other stories are myths and tales, No other god exists on the earth.
The verbs “create” and “make” are used interchangeably in Genesis 1 & 2 to say that God Created & Made (Bara & ‘âsâh).
Bara emphasizes initiation of something new calling into existence from ex-nihilo - something out of nothing as an act of God by his sovereign power. God created the sun, and moon, and stars, galaxies, milky ways, celestial beings, and terrestrial things out of nothing (Genesis 1:1, 16, 21, 25, 27). ‘âsâh indicates God used the existing raw materials (Genesis 1:7, 2:7-8, 19, and 22). God created some creatures out of nothing (Genesis 1:14-16).
Now when we talk about Man, who is a compound being, having a body and a soul distinctly separately created, the body out of the dust of the earth, and the soul from breath of God (Adam Clark). God formed the first human being (yi'ser) out of something like an artist, a sculptor, or a potter (ref: bibleref.com).
The word used in Genesis 2:7 is ‘formed or made’ whereas the word used in Genesis 1:1, 1:27, 1:26 is “created”. Genesis 2:7 describes that ‘adam was from the ‘adamah. The Hebrew word adamah means “land,” “ground,” or “soil.” That Hebrew word is a'par, which refers to dirt, powder, debris, or ash. The dust is a figurative or symbolic sense, it means something of little worth, associated with lowliness and humility (Genesis 18:27; 1 Samuel 2:8; 1 Kings 16:2). Adam, is the common name of the human species. The proper names for human persons come from Genesis 4:25 onwards. The word Adam in Sumerian language is ada-mu, “my father.” His companion haua in Sumerian language is ama, “mother.” (Genesis 3:20).
The Creative hands of God was involved in the case of creation of mankind although all other creatures were created out of nothing, by the command of a WORD, as we read God said (vayomeir). But in the case of mankind there was a personal touch, involvement, intimacy and communication. We are not the children of monkeys, or donkeys or the rocks or trees. We are created by GOD.
God created us in the Imago Dei (Genesis 9:6, 1 Corinthians 11:7, and James 3:9). Now this image of God is found in rich or poor, ruler or a slave, beautiful or ugly, white or black, man or woman. Josephus (Jewish Historian) says, red earth or clay macerated with water and "formed" (Job 33:6), as a potter forms his clay into whatever shape he pleases (Isaiah 64:8) (John Gill). A man was merely a lump of well-formed dirt. God formed the man out of dust not out of rock, nor from the ores of metals. He is feeble. Adam was created lesser than Angels in power (Psalm 8:5-6), but higher than angels in relationship. God created nations and languages but not the castes, classes among mankind.
2. ADORE THE CREATOR
The story of creation is not intended as a scientific theory about the origins of the universe and human beings. It teaches certain fundamental and perennial truths about God as one, transcendent, existing prior to the universe and humanity. The Lord is the supreme master of everything including mankind.
The man by his body as he is allied to earth and by his soul to heaven, so by the vital union of two, he is associated with the whole animal kingdom as well as with spiritual world, He is connected with humanity on earth and connected with Trinity in Heaven. He is suited to dwell and rule on this earth as well as to dwell in heaven with God. (ref: studylight.org/ Albert Barnes).
Man is made up of mortal and immortal components. One is of the dust and another is of the eternal God. One goes down to earth to decay and another to eternal as imperishable. The beauty of humanity is eternal creation. He was not made of gold-dust, powder of pearl, or diamond dust, but common dust, dust of the ground. Men and women were created in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:27).
Illustration: People drink tea made out of the Super Dust tea. The best qualities are exported. Only dust is sold out in India. But if you get super dust, you drinking a good tea.
The sole purpose of creation of humanity is to worship God, adore him, through love (Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength- Deuteronomy 6:5, Luke 10:27), and to Glorify God through exercising his personality—mind, heart, and will.
With his mind, man has to know God; with his heart, he has to love God, and with his will, he has to obey God. (ref: bible.org). He has created Adam and Eve to have a faithful and devoted generation through their family life (Malachi 2:15). God didn’t create Adam and Eve for live in relationship, live with open relationship, not for homosexual, not for heterosexual, not for LGBTq++.
The Church exists to produce godly parents who in turn to produce a godly children, children’s children, ultimately a godly generation. So, attending the Church services regularly with your kids is not an optional but a mandate from the Lord.
The church feeds the congregation through Sunday Schools, through Fellowship groups for each category namely - Youth, Young Adult, Women and Men, and Elders. The Church feeds the congregation through Bible study, Cell groups and intends to grow in sanctity, in honesty and in faithfulness in the wrecked and immoral society.
My heart pains when I see families break away from covenantal relationships, conventional family life, when the main focus is lost in the church. Sometimes churches become entertainment halls and theatres, sometimes become a place of political arena, and sometimes become a clubs of certain castes, classes and languages.
3. ACCOUNTABILITY TO THE CREATOR
Illustration:
When I was not doing well in my studies at the age of 8, my dad made me to be drop out of the school. He asked me to tend sheep along with my brother. We were given charge of around 20 sheep. When I get angry with a sheep which was disobedient, I used to throw stone at their face. Once a sheep had lost her eye. My dad made me to accountable for that, as usual beatings, and starvation.
As a senior Pastor, I am accountable to the District Superintendent, to the Bishop for the growth of the church. Every year, my work is being audited by the Pastorate Conference. Above all I am accountable to the Almighty. We are accountable to the Creator.
God gives four instructions: God gave four powerful instructions to the first family. Be fruitful (have babies), multiply(have more and more kids), Fill the earth (populate), and Have dominion (authority and management) over all the other creatures.
God created man and blessed him and gave him authority to rule over animals, birds, and over all the living things on earth, and the sea. The third chapter of Genesis gives the very idea of Stewardship, accountability, and audit through the Dominion invested on humanity. God visited Adam and Eve to take stock of the situation on a daily basis.
The creation of two Trees , THE TREE OF LIFE and THE TREE OF THE KNOWLEDGE of good and evil in the garden of Eden along with all types of seed-bearing plants and fruits was for accountability (Genesis 1:29, 2:8-9).
God placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and given them authority over his creation under the heaven, to all aquatic life (Genesis 1:20, 21), land animals (Genesis 1:24; 2:19; 9:10), birds (Genesis 9:10). Dominion is not to manipulate but “to serve” [‘abad] (Genesis 2:15). The main duty of Adam was “to work it”; “to farm it” “to cultivate it”. ‘abad means “till”, “work”, “farm”, or “cultivate.” It means “to serve” the Garden of Eden and to “work for” it. This phrase applies to and in fact “all flesh” (Genesis 9:15, 16).
The commands in 2:16-17 God provided a boundary for the man's freedom. There was a test of their faithfulness and compliance.
Genesis 3:8 ‘Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”’
Bible talks about the accountability. There are many stories narrated by Jesus Christ about the accountability. The sojourner gave 5 talents, 2 talents and one eventually one day he asked account of everyone.
Bible has stories about how God dealt with individuals’ communities for their misuse of their power, talents, and gifts entrusted to them. God records our works, deeds, conversations, our character, and personality. We are accountable to God.
All of us have to submit our books of accounts of our life on earth after the resurrection, Read: Revelation 20:12-15. This spirit in man had come from God (Zechariah 12:1) and will return to Him when man dies(Ecclesiastes 12:7; Acts 7:59).
Conclusion: God created the mankind so let us Acknowledge Him, Adore Him and be accountable to Him. Amen.
