God In All Creation
Genesis 1:3-25
Main Point of the Sermon: God is like an artist painting strokes of beauty in all he creates, and every stroke tells us something about him.
Introduction
I’m so excited to be studying the book of Genesis! I like beginnings. I like to start new things and build new things. For example, I love writing music. I enjoy the process, the art of crafting a melody and chord progression. And I also love talking to other artists and learning about what went into their process of writing. So, I feel grateful to have this opportunity to explore with you our beginnings and more importantly, to explore the artist behind it all.
You see, God is like an artist painting strokes of beauty in all he creates, and every stroke tells us something about him. So, every time you read this story, it’s like you’ve been given an invitation to an intimate meet and greet with the Father of all art, truth, goodness and beauty. So, welcome to the meet and greet!
Whether you are here as a skeptic or as someone trusting this book to be God’s Word, I welcome you, and I hope that all of us will meet our God today in what we see.
Context
So, for context, let’s start again at the beginning of the chapter.
1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
I take this phrase “without form and void” as a description of the inhabitability of the earth. It’s like a barren land or garden, a blank canvas. Further, there was darkness that none of us have known or experienced. Complete absence of light. But the Spirit of God was there, which is always good news because throughout Scripture, the Holy Spirit precedes life. Ultimately, God is setting the stage for life to thrive.
While the first two verses capture a very broad picture of God’s creative power, verses three and following begins to describe the details of that creation.
What we’ll see in these verses today is the first five and a half workdays of a seven day week that God sets up.
If you look closely, you find a structure that is carefully crafted, like poetry. For example, the author structures the poem in two major sections: forming and filling. I have a slide for it. In the first three days, you’ll notice that God is forming the earth, creating particular environments or domains. In the following three days, days four to six, he will fill those particular domains.
The first domain we read about is light and darkness. Let’s read,
And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
The very first thing that God does with his blank canvas is create light. Into the darkness, where no star or sun or moon existed, came light.
Now, right away, if you are a careful reader, you’ll wonder, “but wait, the sun and moon and stars won’t show up until the fourth day! Where does the light come from?”
Good question! You will doubtless have many more like this. First, we have to be careful not to demand something of this story that it is not trying to tell. Remember that God was not chiefly concerned in giving you a science book of answers about the universe. His concern with this creation narrative is that you would know him and know yourself in relation to him and the world he made.
He is interested in showing you his supremacy in all things and receiving our worship. That is my main task today, that I will evoke in you a passion to worship this God.
Even so, perhaps this is just the idea or form of light, which will be fulfilled on day four when the sun and moon and stars were made, or perhaps it is God’s own glory beginning to illuminate the earth and all things that he made.
Now, notice how God creates the light. He speaks. In fact, in every act of creation in this account, God’s creative power and authority is in his Word. God simply wills something into being and articulates it by his Word, and boom, it comes into being. “And it was so.” Only God has creative authority like this.
Further, God speaking his creation into being tells me that God’s world is like a book telling us what he is like. It’s like a love letter, written into the fabric of creation. All things that we see and experience, the light that we are currently swimming in came from God through a spoken word. God is showing the world who he is.
4 And God saw that the light was good. We will hear this phrase repeated. And when you hear it, I want you to think of an intimately involved artist, working, creating, and then stepping back to enjoy what he has done.
This phrase can a comfort as well in the midst of such a chaotic world. Not only does God have all authority over everything, he is also good. Everything he makes is good and everything he does is good. Why so much evil and darkness, then? That comes later in the story. Verse 4:
And God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night.
God is a God who separates and names things. He gives distinct purposes to things that he makes. Here it is light, distinct from the darkness. We’re also going to see him make a distinction between mankind and animals, dry land and seas, male and female, good and evil. Remember, God defines reality. He makes distinctions and draws the lines where he wishes. This is so countercultural in a world that demands to draw the lines where it pleases, to throw off any constraints and make no distinctions. But God’s Word does not allow for that.
God also names things in verse 5. He calls the light, Day, and the darkness, Night. He will also give names to Heaven and Earth and the seas in the first five days of creation.
Then comes another repeated phrase in the narrative: And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
Is this describing a literal 24 hour day within a literal 7 day week? Many good Christian scholars say, yes, but many others say no, that it is more likely referring to some undefined period of time. Though I have no problem believing that this could take place in a 24 hour period, and maybe lean towards it being the case since it relates so closely with the form and function of our time and order of the week, I do not believe that this matter is at all the main point and therefore not something we should fight over. To demand this poetic text to tell us about precise times and processes is again to demand something from it that it never intended to give. I do not believe that the Bible’s truthfulness hangs on whether or not this is a literal 24 hour day and seven day week.
More importantly, we are to see in these words the God who orders the earth with great purpose and intentionality. Our God is a God of order, of times, and seasons. Even our 24 hour day and 7 day work week can help point us to God and worship him.
Let’s look at the second domain, sea and sky, in Verse 6:
6 And God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” 7 And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so. 8 And God called the expanse Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.
On the second day, God separates the waters, and creates an expanse called heaven, which I think is better translated “sky”.
This expanse is what scientists call the atmosphere, which is vital for human life. Do you like to breathe? Do you enjoy the blue skies and the clouds? God did that for you. That was his idea.
Let’s look at the third domain of creation, the dry and fertile land. Verse 9:
9 And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.
The preparation for life continues. Not only is there an atmosphere in which life can exist, there is now dry ground, separated from the seas, where plants, animals, and human life can exist. We take this for granted, unless you are in Kentucky or in some other place that’s been experiencing intense flooding recently. But this is another great act of love by our Creator that we can stand on solid ground and that food can grow from the ground like we’ll see in verse 11. It’s because of this, that we get to enjoy both the seas and the mountains. The beach was God’s idea. Aren’t you glad he made that?
11 And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so. 12 The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.
Give me a shout if you enjoy watermelon, or pineapple, or apples, or pears, or coconut, or mango – can you tell I like fruit? What about cucumbers, zucchini, and squash, cocoa, coffee, tea, dates, sugar, bread… I could go on and on. Our good God prepared the earth, causing it to sprout vegetation and fruit that is beautiful and tastes good! That should make us worship. Our God knows sweet. He made savory flavors. It was all his idea. The grass, the flower, full of color and diversity, his plan. What a God!
Notice this interesting phrase “according to its kind” in verse 11 and 12. We’ll see this same phrase repeated as God describes the sea creatures, the flying winged creatures, and the animals that inhabit the earth. What this is saying is that God created all kinds of animals with massive diversity, each one showing off the creativity and goodness of God.
Now, in verse 14 we shift from the forming of domains, to the filling of those domains.
First, the filling of the domain of light and darkness. I’m going to read this quickly.
14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. 16 And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. 17 And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18 to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.
Church, if you are not already marveling at the God who gave us strawberries, get this! God said let there be lights, Sun and Moon, and it was so. He made them, just like that. The vastness of the ocean or the grandeur of the mountains, or the intricacy and beauty of the plants of the field show God’s beauty, but when I read this, I find my jaw dropping to the floor involuntarily.
With a single word, God hurled the blazing sun into the sky. Scientists say that more than one million earths could fit inside the sun. It’s vast and vital to human life. Verse 17 says that God “set them in the expanse”, which gives the sense of an architect placing an important piece of his foundation. He’s setting our solar system in orbit with a word. Friends, if the orbit of the earth and the sun changed, if we were closer or further from the sun, life would not exist. Our God was fashioning a home for humanity, that no accident or coincidental explosion could produce. Intelligent design is written into every part of this world that we live in.
Additionally, I find it funny that the author includes the stars almost parenthetically here. God made the sun and moon. Oh, he made the stars too. Friends, galaxies upon galaxies came from the breath of God’s mouth. Psalm 33:6 says, “The LORD merely spoke, and the heavens were created. He breathed the word, and all the stars were born (NLT).” But this brief mention of the stars highlights the fact that the earth where man would dwell is the apple of God’s eye.
So the Lord made the sun and moon to govern day and night, and so that we can track time and seasons. Time is created by God, you know. The timeless, eternal God, set time in motion with the creation of the sun and moon and their orbit.
Observing the sun, moon, and stars should humble and drive us to worship. I wish I could camp here, but we need to move on.
The second domain God fills is the sea and sky.
20 And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.” 21 So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” 23 And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.
With a word, God fashioned the beautiful sea creatures and flying birds with all their glorious sounds and color. Whales and sea horses, lobster and flamingos, hummingbirds and eagles.
Now, look at verse 22, where we find God doing something different. Not only does he call them good, he blesses them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and seas.” He gives the charge and ability to procreate and multiply.
Don’t miss this. Our God not only creates beautifully and gives generously, he blesses what he made and calls them to spread. It’s like an artist who paints a beautiful painting full of flowers, and birds, and fish and then commands the images to get up off the page and go reproduce their beauty everywhere.
He gives life and provides for the sustaining and reproduction of life. Only God can create, but he then gives his creation a role to play in the process of life-giving. This is amazing!
Finally, verse 24, God fills the third domain, the dry land.
24 And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. 25 And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
With a word, he made the wild and the domestic animals, from the hippo to the ant. Whether the dinosaurs fit here or with the Great sea creatures, I don’t know, but I know that God made them. I leave it to your afternoon for you to think about all the creatures God made for our joy and service. But Church, I want you to know that every animal you enjoy holding, beholding, or eating – that is after the flood when God lifted the curse of vegetarianism. :) God made them. The pets you enjoy, the food you enjoy, the big and small that crawl over the face of the earth. That was God’s idea, God’s art.
The artist formed and filled the earth with life. And we hear yet again, he saw that it was good! All that he had made, he said, “good.” Don’t you agree with him?
And that’s where we’ll pause in our text. Pastor Ross will pick with the small task of preaching what mankind is next week. Welcome back, Ross.
Application:
But now I want to close with a question, how should we respond in light of what we just read?
I believe this story invites us to look for God in everything you see in this world and enjoy him in it. This is part of our purpose in this world! He placed us here to enjoy God when we see color because he was behind it. He thought of it. I believe he had you in mind when he painted the strokes of the colorful rainbow in the sky or the colorful sunset. When you hear beautiful sounds, like the sound of trickling water or a crashing wave, or birds chirping, I want you to see God and know him, because he gave it to you. It was made for you. When you feel the warmth of the sun and walk under the glowing light of the moon and gaze at the stars, know that God is talking to you and inviting you into fellowship through all that he made.
This is exactly what David articulates in one of his famous Psalms: The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard. Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world. Psalm 19:1-4
I imagine David in a field under the moon’s light with a lamb by his side singing these lines to his God. As he looks, he cannot help but hear the silent sound of God’s world telling of his glory.
A few years back I spent a few hours at a park in Minneapolis. I rode my bike to somewhere I’d never been and couldn’t get back to if I trie. I plopped down with my Bible, and began to read the creation narrative. With each line, I stopped and looked around; I breathed; I felt the grass; I pondered the gift that I was given and was experiencing because of my good and generous Father. The more I looked, the more I worshiped. From the minute to the massive works of God’s art, I found him in what he had made. I recommend you get outside and try that this week without your phone - not even to show other people on social media.
And then talk to God about what you see. This story not only tells you about who God is, it actually starts a conversation. With two great books, God’s world and God’s Word, he has spoken to us. He started a conversation and he invites us to respond to him.
And remember, he is near. He spoke every bit of this into existence. So, he is as near as the air you breathe and the grass you lay in. God’s creation is expressing God. In all that God made, his intention was that we would know him and rejoice in him and be in relationship with him.
And friends, our God has the same purpose in sending us his Son. Hebrews 1:3 tells us that Jesus is the final expression, or Word of God. It says, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being….”
When we behold the creation of God, we learn so much about our God and what he is like. But when we behold Jesus, we see God in a complete way. We see God’s glory, like a mirror reflecting God, in the face of Jesus. Why does this matter so much?
Because the world we know today is not always so bright and beautiful. It’s not that God has changed or isn’t good. The story goes that our rebellion against God put a vast separation between us and God, one another, and all of creation. But God’s unfailing love, his goodness, and pursuit to be in relationship with us is seen in Christ, who came to us, to die in our place for our sin, to rise from death, and to make all things new, even us and this world we live in.
If you don’t know this God, and the healing that he can give you through Jesus, come to him. He’s made it clear that he wants you.
And now, Church, let’s worship him and bow before our Maker.
[1] https://albertmohler.com/2013/04/14/genesis-13-19
