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Creation, Sabbath, and Sunday
Today I want to take some time to think about the significance of meeting on Sunday and why, from the very beginning of Christian worship, Sunday has always been the day Christians gather to worship and remember. And why most Christians refer to Sunday as the Christian “Sabbath.” But today I would rather not examine the history of Sunday worship. Instead, I want to reflect on patterns we find deeply woven into the stories of the Bible. Today, I’m going to use just a bit of speculative interpretation. I’m not trying to create some kind of new doctrine. I’m trying to encourage a bit of sanctified imagination and give us all a little fresh food for thought about why we do what we do on Sunday.
After the six days of creation, God rested, or as some have said, sat down to rule.
Ever since, the seventh day has been a commemoration and a time to reflect on what God has done in creation. And it has given us a pattern to follow in the process. Six days of work followed by one day of rest to reflect and restore our spirits.
But although God’s creative work was done, the work for man was just beginning; we were told to be fruitful and multiply to fill the earth; we were to subdue the earth (implying it needed subduing). This could mean that God’s good creation was good in the sense that the earth was exactly as God wanted it in preparation for us. His project was done, and we were never to forget it. But our work of filling, subduing, and caring for His creation was just beginning. And the Sabbath gave us one day a week to rest and ponder the greatness of God and the commission he gave us. A day to join with God and each other in unhurried fellowship.
Seven plus one
Likewise, Sunday is resurrection day, the first day of the new creation, the eighth day, as it were. Like David was the eighth of Jesse’s sons, foreshadowing Jesus. John, in his gospel, related seven signs that prove Jesus is the eternal Son of God. Then—he added one more, an eighth sign: the resurrection of Jesus. God’s work of creation was done in seven, and His son’s work was done in eight, beginning a new week. Jesus’ work of redemption and the restoration of our spiritual lives was done. Then, like his Father when His work was done, Jesus sat down at the right hand of God to rule. His work was finished, but once again, ours was just beginning.
We were commissioned to fill the earth with the knowledge of God. To preach the gospel and teach all nations to obey the things that Jesus taught us. And every Sunday is our time to stop and together remember what Jesus has done. A time to reflect on the commission and the anointing of the Holy Spirit he gave us when he left. On the eighth day, Jesus began a new week.
What’s next?
This begs the question, “What’s next, and what will the next age look like?” The Bible tells us that Jesus will physically return, the dead will be brought to life and judged, and all of creation will be re-created. But now, I can’t help but wonder, “What will the challenge of the next age be?” We were, it seems, created for challenge; created for doing things. We don’t yet know the nature of the world ahead and the challenges that it will bring, but I’m pretty sure we were created to do more than eternally lie around practicing our harps. There will be endless fellowship, worship, rest, and satisfaction, to be sure. But God has plans for more; everything about his creation tells us that God thinks big and is endlessly ambitious. He did not retire after creation, He did not retire after our recreation in Jesus, and He will not retire after the recreation of earth in the coming age either. And neither will we. We will finally be free from futility and empty struggle, we will have rest, and we will be free to do things that truly matter—for eternity. What things? Who knows? That is where sanctified imagination comes in.
We have a taste of that satisfaction now as we follow and obey Jesus. As we join in his work, our work takes on eternal significance even now. As believers, we are the seeds that grow into the glory of the next age. So let’s review the patterns of work and rest in the Scriptures and find encouragement for our work today.
In Genesis 1 we find our first commission.
Then God said,
“Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.
And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea
and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock
and over all the earth
and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
And God blessed them. And God said to them,
“Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it,
and have dominion over the fish of the sea
and over the birds of the heavens
and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Genesis 1:26-28[ESV]
And when God had finished His work, He rested. He sat down to rule over all He had made.
Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done,
and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.
So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy,
because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.
Genesis 2:1-3[ESV]
But this was just the beginning. There was a recreation coming, as we see in this passage from Colossians.
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.
And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
And he is the head of the body, the church.
He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
that in everything he might be preeminent.
For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,
and through him to reconcile to himself all things,
whether on earth or in heaven,
making peace by the blood of his cross.
Col 1:15-20[ESV]
And because Jesus has reconciled us to God, we have a new commission; a new purpose.
And Jesus came and said to them,
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
And behold, I am with you always,
to the end of the age.”
Matt 28:18-20[ESV]
But there’s more, and this passage from Revelation is what I want to leave you with today.
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
“Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man.
He will dwell with them, and they will be his people,
and God himself will be with them as their God.
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes,
and death shall be no more,
neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore,
for the former things have passed away.”
And he who was seated on the throne said,
“Behold, I am making all things new.”
Rev 20:3-5[ESV]
Get full access to On walking the Way at tompossin.substack.com/subscribe
Creation is going somewhere; by our clocks it may seem to be moving very slowly, but we also have the advantage of time past to show us that God is moving all of creation to a future that will be worth the wait. Each step of creation is punctuated by patterns of work and rest. Sunday—today—is a day set aside to enjoy what God has done in creation, in our recreation in Christ, and in the ultimate recreation of this earth and the final restoration of our relationship with God.
Take the time today to enjoy this day, this new week, this new life, this new age, brought to us through Jesus, while remembering rest is not retirement. God is still working in us through Jesus and His Holy Spirit to bring about a new creation by filling the earth with His good news. We work and we rest as we wait for the new heavens and earth where we all rest and work with eternal joy in the presence of God.
Have a great Sunday!
Get full access to On walking the Way at tompossin.substack.com/subscribe
View all episodes
By Tom PossinToday I want to take some time to think about the significance of meeting on Sunday and why, from the very beginning of Christian worship, Sunday has always been the day Christians gather to worship and remember. And why most Christians refer to Sunday as the Christian “Sabbath.” But today I would rather not examine the history of Sunday worship. Instead, I want to reflect on patterns we find deeply woven into the stories of the Bible. Today, I’m going to use just a bit of speculative interpretation. I’m not trying to create some kind of new doctrine. I’m trying to encourage a bit of sanctified imagination and give us all a little fresh food for thought about why we do what we do on Sunday.
After the six days of creation, God rested, or as some have said, sat down to rule.
Ever since, the seventh day has been a commemoration and a time to reflect on what God has done in creation. And it has given us a pattern to follow in the process. Six days of work followed by one day of rest to reflect and restore our spirits.
But although God’s creative work was done, the work for man was just beginning; we were told to be fruitful and multiply to fill the earth; we were to subdue the earth (implying it needed subduing). This could mean that God’s good creation was good in the sense that the earth was exactly as God wanted it in preparation for us. His project was done, and we were never to forget it. But our work of filling, subduing, and caring for His creation was just beginning. And the Sabbath gave us one day a week to rest and ponder the greatness of God and the commission he gave us. A day to join with God and each other in unhurried fellowship.
Seven plus one
Likewise, Sunday is resurrection day, the first day of the new creation, the eighth day, as it were. Like David was the eighth of Jesse’s sons, foreshadowing Jesus. John, in his gospel, related seven signs that prove Jesus is the eternal Son of God. Then—he added one more, an eighth sign: the resurrection of Jesus. God’s work of creation was done in seven, and His son’s work was done in eight, beginning a new week. Jesus’ work of redemption and the restoration of our spiritual lives was done. Then, like his Father when His work was done, Jesus sat down at the right hand of God to rule. His work was finished, but once again, ours was just beginning.
We were commissioned to fill the earth with the knowledge of God. To preach the gospel and teach all nations to obey the things that Jesus taught us. And every Sunday is our time to stop and together remember what Jesus has done. A time to reflect on the commission and the anointing of the Holy Spirit he gave us when he left. On the eighth day, Jesus began a new week.
What’s next?
This begs the question, “What’s next, and what will the next age look like?” The Bible tells us that Jesus will physically return, the dead will be brought to life and judged, and all of creation will be re-created. But now, I can’t help but wonder, “What will the challenge of the next age be?” We were, it seems, created for challenge; created for doing things. We don’t yet know the nature of the world ahead and the challenges that it will bring, but I’m pretty sure we were created to do more than eternally lie around practicing our harps. There will be endless fellowship, worship, rest, and satisfaction, to be sure. But God has plans for more; everything about his creation tells us that God thinks big and is endlessly ambitious. He did not retire after creation, He did not retire after our recreation in Jesus, and He will not retire after the recreation of earth in the coming age either. And neither will we. We will finally be free from futility and empty struggle, we will have rest, and we will be free to do things that truly matter—for eternity. What things? Who knows? That is where sanctified imagination comes in.
We have a taste of that satisfaction now as we follow and obey Jesus. As we join in his work, our work takes on eternal significance even now. As believers, we are the seeds that grow into the glory of the next age. So let’s review the patterns of work and rest in the Scriptures and find encouragement for our work today.
In Genesis 1 we find our first commission.
Then God said,
“Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.
And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea
and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock
and over all the earth
and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
And God blessed them. And God said to them,
“Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it,
and have dominion over the fish of the sea
and over the birds of the heavens
and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Genesis 1:26-28[ESV]
And when God had finished His work, He rested. He sat down to rule over all He had made.
Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done,
and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.
So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy,
because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.
Genesis 2:1-3[ESV]
But this was just the beginning. There was a recreation coming, as we see in this passage from Colossians.
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.
And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
And he is the head of the body, the church.
He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
that in everything he might be preeminent.
For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,
and through him to reconcile to himself all things,
whether on earth or in heaven,
making peace by the blood of his cross.
Col 1:15-20[ESV]
And because Jesus has reconciled us to God, we have a new commission; a new purpose.
And Jesus came and said to them,
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
And behold, I am with you always,
to the end of the age.”
Matt 28:18-20[ESV]
But there’s more, and this passage from Revelation is what I want to leave you with today.
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
“Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man.
He will dwell with them, and they will be his people,
and God himself will be with them as their God.
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes,
and death shall be no more,
neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore,
for the former things have passed away.”
And he who was seated on the throne said,
“Behold, I am making all things new.”
Rev 20:3-5[ESV]
Get full access to On walking the Way at tompossin.substack.com/subscribe
Creation is going somewhere; by our clocks it may seem to be moving very slowly, but we also have the advantage of time past to show us that God is moving all of creation to a future that will be worth the wait. Each step of creation is punctuated by patterns of work and rest. Sunday—today—is a day set aside to enjoy what God has done in creation, in our recreation in Christ, and in the ultimate recreation of this earth and the final restoration of our relationship with God.
Take the time today to enjoy this day, this new week, this new life, this new age, brought to us through Jesus, while remembering rest is not retirement. God is still working in us through Jesus and His Holy Spirit to bring about a new creation by filling the earth with His good news. We work and we rest as we wait for the new heavens and earth where we all rest and work with eternal joy in the presence of God.
Have a great Sunday!
Get full access to On walking the Way at tompossin.substack.com/subscribe