How It All Began

Well, I have never run a marathon. Don't look so shocked. I've never run a marathon, but I can imagine standing at the beginning line, the starting line and thinking ahead to 26.2 miles of grueling road ahead of me. I can imagine that. And that's kind of the way I feel this morning, as I get ready to preach Genesis chapter 1. The scope of this passage and the multitude of issues that are raised by the subject of Genesis chapter 1 really is quite daunting for any preacher. I have a feeling in the pit of my stomach that I am facing an impossible task, and some of you are beginning to feel a little queasy as well, aren't you? Well, let me tell you how I came to be at this starting line, how I got here. At my age, I'm beginning to think in terms of what is it that I feel is urgent to preach before I die. That's not an announcement of any kind, but when you get to your mid-60s, you start thinking along those lines. And so I'm beginning to think before the Lord kind of finishes with me, what are the things that are heaviest on my heart? One of the things I think the church needs to hear. And of all the things that I have in my heart and mind that I want to focus on in these years of my ministry, Genesis chapters 1 through 11 have come to the top. It's risen to the surface. I've been praying and thinking about this for months, and these are critical, critical things for us to look at in the days in which we live. So that's how I came to Genesis chapters 1 through 11. Just a little bit of background on this whole section of Scripture. I'm entitling this series beginnings because that's what Genesis is all about, and particularly the first 11 chapters. Genesis is a book of beginnings. In fact, the Hebrew title for the book, the Hebrew name of the first book of the Bible is beginnings. In the Hebrew Bible, they name the book after the first word in the book, and the first word in the book is in the beginning. It's all one word in the Hebrew text, and so that's the name of the first book. We get our name Genesis from the Greek translation of the Old Testament to indicate that this is the Genesis, the beginning, the origin of all things, and that is exactly what Genesis is all about. Genesis was written by Moses, and it is a part of a five volume series that Moses did. The first five books of the Bible, often called the Pentateuch. Now those books of the Bible were designed with this goal in mind. The purpose of Moses in writing Genesis Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuronomy was to tell the story of the nation of Israel. How it got started, the father of the nation, Abraham, called out by God to start this great nation that would be God's covenant people, and then he traces them through the sons of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, then how they got to Egypt as a fledgling little group of people, of 70 people, and how they grew to be a strong nation of over two million, and then after 400 years, God delivered them from their bondage in Egypt and took them through the wilderness to the land he had promised them. On the way to that land, he makes a covenant with them, brings them into a relationship with him as his covenant chosen people, the nation through whom he will bless the earth, and that covenant is made through the giving of the law, through the giving of a worship system centered around the tabernacle, which pictured how man must approach God. That's the purpose of the first five books of the Bible. But that all starts in chapter 12 of Genesis. The first 11 chapters are like the introduction, but it is a magnificent introduction. It is a huge passageway into what God wanted us to know about his purpose and plan for all of humanity. It is a brief sketch of how everything started, but a necessary and critically important sketch of beginnings to help us understand where we came from, who we are, how we got to where we are, and where we're going in the future. There is great relevance to our day in these 11 chapters. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of the themes that are dealt with in the first 11 chapters of Genesis. Because in these 11 chapters, we have the beginning of the universe, the beginning of man, the beginning of marriage, the beginning of sin, the beginning of death, the beginning of redemption, the beginning of judgment, the beginning of races and nations, and almost every one of those is a topic for debate today. And so we need to go back to the basics. We need to go back to the beginning. We need to go back to God's authoritative word about how things got started in order to understand his purpose for the universe, for the world, for mankind, for marriage, what happened with sin, the purpose of redemption, in order to understand all those things. If you don't start in Genesis 1 through 11, you're in a fog the rest of the way through Scripture. And so these are critically important chapters. Now I'm going to begin with chapter 1, a kind of logical limit. That's where you should start, chapter 1, and it would be very easy to get bogged down in chapter 1. So I am purposely forcing myself to take a chapter a week, which means that we will have to do some skimming. And if you're really interested in all the nuts and bolts, the small fine details of creation, there are lots of good resources and places to find all of that filled in. But we're just going to have to give you an overview and a sketch. What we have in chapter 1 is how it all began. How it all began. And what's given to us in Genesis chapter 1 is the record of creation. That's going to be the main subject of our time together this morning is to trace out this record of creation. But I also want to follow that up with some very important practical applications for us in our day. Before we jump into verse 1, let me give you just a kind of a background of my approach to the book of Genesis, and particularly these first 11 chapters. The early chapters of Genesis to no one's surprise here this morning are a battleground where war is waged between those who defend the faith and those who elevate scientific theory above scripture. This war has raised for 150 years. It is the war between creation and evolution. And sometimes even solid Bible believing Christians have trouble figuring out where to stand in this war. What side you're on or where you should position yourself in the battle. So let me just right up front. Let you know where I position myself and where I believe Johnston Chapel positions itself as a church. I am very grateful for science and scientific advances. Science has produced tremendous benefits for mankind. Every time you get on a plane, every time you go to a doctor, every time you open your computer or use your smartphone, you ought to be thankful for scientific advances. Because it is the increase in the ability to explore this world and the way God has made things scientifically and to apply that to the technology of the day, which gives us all of those blessings. And so we ought to be thankful for the contributions of science. But in the area of origins, there are great clashes. That's where the warfare is. Now, some people positioned themselves this way. Some people go all the way to this end of the spectrum. And they say, science is always right. And you know, the Bible was never intended to teach us science. It's an old book. It's kind of irrelevant. It's ancient. And so really we need to trust science over the Bible. Some people go all the way to that end of the spectrum. Others, fearful of that end of the spectrum, swing all the way to the other end of the spectrum and have a hostility toward all of science as though it is some monster. That's not a wise position either. As with most things in life and in biblical interpretation, there is a balance here. While we appreciate the advances of science and what it has afforded us. And we are grateful for all of the discoveries of scientists and how it has made our lives richer and better able to understand God's creation better. And many, I believe most of those scientific advances support and promote the biblical view of creation. When there are differences in theories that scientists propose and what the scriptures teach, then we must trust what the scriptures teach. We must trust what God says. When there are theories of science that conflict with the statements of scripture, then we must trust what the Bible says. So with that kind of background, and if you will, presupposition, let's dive in to the first chapter of Genesis where we find in this record of creation the initial stage of creation given to us in verses 1 and 2. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Simple statement, matter of fact, it is so simply and matter of factly stated that it is obvious God is calling on us to trust him on this. To believe in faith, the record of scripture, because there is no proof for when the beginning was, there is no lengthy explanation about how long ago it was. Although I am convinced from the biblical record and even I believe properly understood the geological record of taking the flood into account, I believe in a young earth, probably no longer than 10,000 years ago, God created this earth, somewhere in that time frame. But there is no proof here, there is no lengthy explanation, this is a matter of faith. There is no proof for the existence of God in the beginning, God. No proof, no lengthy philosophical arguments. And by the way, I have been through all those, I know the four philosophical arguments for the existence of God. I have had them crammed down my throat in theology classes so much I am tempted to regurgitate them, but I am not going to do that this morning. But there is no proof, there is no proof given in the Bible here, just as God, we are expected to believe that, to trust that. There is a place for all those proofs, understand all that, but that is not what the Bible's position is. In the beginning, God, and then there is no proof for the fact that He created all that. He is just stated in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. And so you can see from the very get-go, we are called upon to believe, to trust, to have faith in the record of Scripture. But let me clue you in on a little secret. If you don't know this already, evolutionists also exercise a great measure of faith in their presuppositions and in their systems. And I will quote two of them to show you Eugene Mallow, an astronomical engineer, science writer, and a broadcaster on the voice of America noted this in one of his writings. He said, some cosmologists are proposing that the universe has been perfectly designed for life in a way that could not have happened by chance. There is an infinity of ways that the universe could have been set up that would have been more simple with fewer improbable coincidences. Of course, in almost any of these simpler universes, the odds for the development of anything is complicated as life, no matter how you imagine it, would be nil. Now, he gets to the specifics of what he's saying in his next statement. He says, the universe, as happy conspiracy, there are too many coincidences for a life to have happened by chance. This is an evolutionist who is admitting there must be some kind of intelligent design because the chances of this just happening by chance are too great. In fact, a French mathematician did the math on this. French mathematician Le Compe de Nue examined the laws of probability for a single molecule of high decimetry to be formed by the action of chance. What he found was that on average, the time needed to form one, one such molecule of our terrestrial globe would be about 10 to the 243rd power billions of years. Now, try to wrap your mind around that. 10 to the 243rd power is 10 with 243 zeros after it. And that many billions of years would be required for one molecule to happen by chance. Those are the mathematical odds and De Nue goes ahead and writes this. However, one molecule, or he says this, let us admit that no matter how small the chance it could happen, one molecule could be created by such astronomical odds of chance. However, one molecule is of no use. Hundreds of millions of identical ones are necessary. And here's this conclusion. Thus, we either admit the miracle or doubt the absolute truth of science. Now, here's the point in those two quotes. The point is no matter which side of the debate you're on, you are believing and trusting a belief system. You cannot prove mathematically or scientifically that things could have happened by chance. That is a faith assumption. And then evolutionists look at the evidence and try to position it to what they already believe. So, there are no different than we are as creationists. Creationists, we who believe the Bible, we are called upon without any apology by God to trust Him. No lengthy explanations, just trust me on this in the beginning. God created the heavens and the earth. End of story. That's it. Now, verse 2 describes the earth as it first popped into existence by the creative word of God. Verse 2 is what it was like when it was first exploded into existence by God's creative word. Verse 2 says, now the earth was formless and empty. Darkness was over the surface of the deep and the spirit of God was hovering over the waters. Fascinating description, this globe that has just proceeded out of the creative breath of God by his spoken word is in its beginning stages formless and empty. There's nothing in it or on it and it hasn't been shaped yet into the kind of world we know today. So, it's formless and it's empty and it's dark because light has not yet been created and the Holy Spirit is just waiting expectantly to get the job moving. That's what verse 2 describes. Now, what we have next after this initial stage of creation is in verses 3 through 3,1 the remainder of the chapter the six days of creation activity and obviously for sake of time we're just going to have to summarize this. We're not even going to read these verses. I'm just going to summarize the six days of creation. But first of all, I want to state this that I believe in six days, six literal 24 hour days, not long eons or periods of time that might be called days, these are six literal 24 hour days and there are three good reasons if you read the Hebrew text, if you read the original text, three good reasons for believing that. First of all, anytime you find a number, a numerical adjective with the word day in the Old Testament, first day, second day, third day, fourth day, then it refers to a literal 24 hour day. Oh certainly the word day is used of periods of time in the Bible, but not when it's combined with a numerical adjective like this. Unless it's clear in the context or maybe one or two occasions where that happens, but it's clear in the context. Here it's first day, second day, third day. Secondly, the Bible says evening and morning. There was evening, there was morning, the first day, there was evening, there was morning, second day. That division of the day into two light and dark sections indicates a 24 hour period just as we would see day and night today. But the main reason for believing these are 24 hour days is because of what Moses says in Exodus chapter 20. When Moses was getting the 10 commandments, he gave the rationale for the Sabbath day, one day of rest, and his rationale in Exodus chapter 20 in verse 11 is that in six days God created all things and on the seventh he rested. Now Moses wrote both of these accounts. I think in Exodus 20, he knew what he was talking about in the record of Genesis 1. He wrote both of them. In Exodus 20, it's clear he's talking about six literal 24 hour days because God's creative activity serves as a model for our work and rest rhythm of life. We are to work not six long periods of time, thousands of years, and then maybe rest a thousand years. We are to work six days and rest a seventh day. And Paul uses the creation account as the model for that. It's clear he's talking about six literal 24 hour days. So with that said, let's find out what happened in those six days. In the six days of creative activity, let me just briefly describe the activity on each day. Versus three through 25. The first day versus three through five, God creates light. Now there's a great bit of debate over what kind of light source this is. There are those who believe it could not be the sun because the sun apparently is not created till day four. However, it's possible that he is talking about the sun here. If the earth is spoken into existence in verse one and the heavens are also spoken into existence, why wouldn't that include the stars, the sun, the moon, all of the rest? What I think is happening is this probably is the sun, but in verse two, God flips the switch on and the sun who has just been there like the earth, formless and void, not yet operating just there. God turns the light on and the sun starts functioning as it does now and the light bursts forth out of it. And in that sense, God created light. On day four, it's clear that the emphasis is on God fashioning the sun and moon to serve as time standards, as indicators of the passing of days and months and years and seasons of life. That's the emphasis on day four. So I'm certainly willing to to believe that this light source is the sun and it is not some other kind of light source. Although either way, God created it. God created it. Day two, verses six through eight, God separates the waters in which the earth is situated. Now the earth is not yet formed, it's covered with water and God takes some of that water and the Bible describes he lifts it up above the earth in what the King James calls a firmament, what newer translations like the NIV call a canopy or a vault. What I believe is talking about there is that God separated some of the waters that were on the earth and raised them above the earth and formed a canopy of water vapor around the earth, which would serve like a greenhouse effect so that everything would grow in amazing abundance on earth. Life would be protected from the harmful rays of the sun and also there would be a great amount of water that would come crashing down to the earth in the flood. All of that is accounted for in this vapor canopy around the earth. That's day two. Day three verses nine through 13, the waters on the earth are then gathered. You see God is now shaping this formless sphere. He's shaping it. The waters on the earth are gathered into oceans and seas and land masses appear and are formed into continents. There's also on day three the creation of plant life and I would point out to you these plants are created mature, reproducing plants with the appearance of age. Fruit trees already have fruit on them. I believe that trees would already have rings in them as though they've been there for years but God spoke them into existence. They popped into existence by his power of his word and they had the appearance of age just like man would later on. That's day three. Day four verses 14 through 19, the sun moon are placed as the two great lights in the heavens from earth's perspective they are. They are the two great lights in the heavens and they now are designed to be the signs, navigational signs, prophetic signs, they distinguish the seasons and the calendar changes. All of that is described now as the earth or as the sun and moon are functioning fully. That's day four. Day five in verses 20 to 23, God creates all the marine animals and the birds and I would have you note in verse 20 what it says and God said let the water keen with living creatures and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky or under this vapor canopy in our atmospheres is the idea here. It's not like God created one little amoeba and somewhere after millions of years it crawled up and look it's sprouting the leg it's going to become a frog. Wow. No the way this record describes it. Boom! The whole oceans are teeming with life when God speaks that life into existence and so creation is God speaking things into existence the marine animals and the birds then verses 24 and 25 day six land animals are created on day six three different kinds of land animals first of all the livestock that's all four footer domesticated animals cows horses so forth and then here's the ones we really love those that crawl along the ground that's worms and insects and reptiles and all those lovable creatures and then the third category is wild animals that's everything else. So by now on day six the earth is filled it has been formed land matter ocean seas it's been formed and now it has been filled with luxurious vegetation teeming with animal life on land in the sea and in the air that's on day six but that's not all that happens on day six in verses 26 to 30 there is a special focus on the creation of man that will be expanded and explain more fully in chapter two but here's the overall statement of the creation of man let's read this verse 26 then God said let us make mankind in our image in our likeness so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky over the livestock and all the wild animals and over all the creatures that move along the ground so God created mankind in his own image in the image of God he created them male and female he created them God blessed them and said to them be fruitful and increase in number fill the earth and subdue it rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground and then he gives them their food sources in verses 29 and 30 there are four critical bits of information about the creation of man in these verses four critical foundational bits of information that we need to be reminded of in the culture and day in which we live first of all mankind is made in the image of God and we are the only creature made in God's image we are not animals we did not come from animals we are not supposed to live like animals we are uniquely among God's creation created in his image now the Bible uses two words here image and likeness same thing there's really very little difference in the two words they're overlapping throughout the Old Testament the idea is that we were created with qualities that are shared by God and us unlike the animal kingdom and these qualities that that link us with God distinguish us from the animal kingdom and they are qualities like this self-consciousness speech now I know there are many who will say there are animals who have some form of speech and maybe even some form of self-consciousness but not these next two characteristics here's the essence of the image of God we have moral discernment we are able to distinguish between right and wrong animals learned by instinct they learn by training what is beneficial to them or what is not but to morally distinguish between right and wrong is uniquely human and we share that with God in his image but the main part of the image of God is that we have the capacity to have a spiritual relationship with him and thus be his children I'm sorry but your dog does not have that capacity your cat is wonderful and as seemingly spiritual as it may be does not have the capacity to have a relationship with God now for all of you parents who are wondering how to answer the children's question well my dog being heaven I know there will be animals in the millennium on earth by the way in eternity we will be on the new earth so I think there will be animals here just you know hold out hope that your little puppy will be one of them that's about as far as you can go okay but we are unique in all of God's creation in that we are in the image of God there's a second key quality of this creation of mankind's story and that is there is an equality verse 26 between male and female verse 27 I should say God created mankind in his own image in the image of God he created them male and female he created them there is an equality between male and female as far as relationship with God is concerned spiritual opportunities are concerned there's an absolute equality as far as personhood there's an absolute equality of men and women now God will later form distinctions in function for men and women in the home and in the church and so forth but it doesn't mean one is superior to the other it doesn't mean one is more of a person than the other it's very clear in creation they are both in the image of God equally so there's an equality the third key element that we need to understand about the creation of man is the element of sexual identity when God created mankind he created man and woman male and female sexual identity is not an accident of nature now if you're an evolutionist that's what you'll believe because everything is isn't you know accident of nature by random chance and mutations but if you believe the creation account gender identity sexual identity is not an accident of nature it is not just a biological phenomenon and it is not a choice it is God created from the beginning on and you know what there've never been any other genders than these two and so God intended that that continue right on male female male female I don't want to be harsh toward anyone who may have trouble with gender identity there are so many influences in our culture today that I understand why some people struggle with this but we have to come back to the beginning while we want to show grace and mercy to people who struggle with gender identity where we want to take people is back to the beginning God created mankind male and female and you were born male or female that's the gender God intended you to have now for those who may struggle with that there needs to be a return to that foundational truth and some some good help to be able to struggle with all of the influences that are pulling you another direction but it's clear in the creation account sexual identity is set and settled the fourth very critical piece of this puzzle is the mandate that man is given in creation notice it if you will in verse 28 three things he told man to do this is your mandate is what you're supposed to do God bless them and say to them be fruitful an increase in number fill the earth and subdue it rule over the fish in the sea in the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground I want to say more about this in just a moment but basically let me summarize it this way we are given the mandate to not only fill the earth but also to exercise dominion over it and subdue it which means this is a call for mankind to advance civilization and regulate nature and the forces of the animal kingdom and the plant kingdom and all of the natural resources of this world regulate all of that for the benefit of mankind that is how God intended it in creation it is man who is to have dominion and to rule I'll come back to that in a little bit but man stands between God and his creation to order it to direct it in a way that's pleasing to God yes but also in a way that is beneficial to mankind I love the way Henry Morris says this in his excellent commentary on Genesis he says there's no actual conflict suggested here in this subdue part no conflict here since everything God had made was pronounced good at this time he says the cultural mandate which is what he calls this threefold command the cultural mandate as some have called it is clearly a very expressive figure of speech for first intense study of the earth with all of its intricate processes and complex systems and then utilization of this knowledge for the benefit of the earth's inhabitants both animal and human here is the primedal commission to man authorizing both science and technology in man's basic enterprises relative to the earth he goes on goes on to describe this dominion and ruling as this subdue is this science is man's discipline study and understanding of the phenomena in his world technology is the implementation of this knowledge in the effective ordering and development of the earth and its resources for the greater good of all earth's inhabitants including such fields as human of human service as engineering agriculture medicine and a host of other practical technologies this twofold commission to subdue and have dominion to conquer and rule embraces all productive human activities science and technology research and development theory and application study and practice and so forth are various ways of expressing these two concepts what a beautiful understanding of the role that God has given us to play in this world of searching out discovering all that he has placed here in this creation that is the process of science and then developing it and using it for the benefit of mankind and all of creation is the development of technology all of that is included in this cultural mandate most every job that you performed unless it's illegal is a part of this cultural mandate to subdue to to rule this earth I want to come back to that in just a moment and expand on it and just briefly but let me finish the chapter first verse 31 is the last part of the record of creation and that is the approval of God verse 31 says God saw all that he had made and it was very good and there was evening and there was morning the sixth day God has already pronounced good upon his creation several times in these six days but now he steps back at the end of it he looks at all of it and it is very good all creation basks in his satisfaction it is very good there is nothing wrong in all of creation so what do we learn from this record of creation how can we apply this record of what God has done in giving us this wonderful universe and world and creating us what can we learn from that a couple of practical applications the first of which is the revelation of the creator one thing that saddens me about Genesis chapter one and how most people treat it is that the interest in the scientific questions often overlooks the real emphasis of the chapter which is to be God on display the glory of God the revelation of the creator is the focus of chapter one his greatness his glory his majesty is presented in his creation in chapter one and there are three things that we see of him in this chapter that illustrate his glory in his majesty the first is his existence his existence verse one again just says in the beginning God no proof he's just there alive and well whenever the beginning was God already was and so there are a couple of things about his existence that are important here first of all his pre-existence in the beginning God's already there he's alive and well and now he's about to act to develop time and space the universe and us but he was already existing no proof is given of that we had to accept that by faith his pre-existence and then something else about his existence is found here his self-existence and what I mean by that is that God does not need anything else to keep himself going yeah we were all brought into existence by by parents God was not brought into existence by anyone we all need certain things to sustain our existence we need nourishment we need warmth we need protection all there are certain things that God doesn't need any of that that's why in the establishment of the creation of man the text says it this way in verse 26 let us make man there's no compulsion God did not need us there was nothing lacking in God that he said I'm so lonely up here I better have some some companionship fellowship I need to make man that was not it there was perfect fellowship between God the Father God the Son and God the Holy Spirit there was nothing lacking no imperfection and God just said let us make man it was just purely of his own desire and will and grace that he would make us he does not need us we desperately need him and it is to our benefit that he chooses to make us and have a relationship with us it is to our eternal loss if we do not establish that relationship with him through faith so his existence is clearly described Isaac Asimov the famous science writer and commentator boasted this he said I am an atheist out and out I don't have the evidence to prove that God doesn't exist but I so strongly suspect he does not that I don't want to waste my time now do you understand what he's saying he's saying what I'm what I'm telling you is just as much a faith commitment as you believers who say you believe in God he says I don't I don't believe in God but there's no way I can prove he doesn't exist but I so strongly suspect he doesn't aha there he's showing his true colors he has a belief system a faith system and he doesn't even want to waste his time to try to see the other side so really Isaac Asimov and every other evolutionist who does not believe in God has a faith system that they have put their confidence and trust in and they look at all the evidence and try to make it fit that we are called upon to believe in the existence of God by the clear statement of scripture in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth so we find his existence clearly stated secondly we see his power clearly displayed God spoke and matter popped into existence do you get this man will be the only exception in chapter two we'll see how he fashioned man but in the rest of creative activity God speaks God said let there be light boom there was light God said let there be a vault between the waters and it was so whenever God speaks by the very powerful word that he speaks things pop into existence out of nothing it's incredible his power his word is all that is necessary to actually bring things into existence and the Bible resonates with this beyond Genesis 1 look at these two passages in Psalm 33 the Psalmist would say by the word of the Lord the heavens were made their starry host by the breath of his mouth for he spoke and it came to be he commanded and it popped into existence it stood firm he brews chapter 11 in verse 3 says by faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command so that what is seen was made out of what was visible was not made out of what was visible in other words God speaks and things pop into existence not from existing material but they just pop into existence when God speaks that demonstrates God's almighty power I love the message of Bill Hybel's pastor of Wilkreet Community Church preached several years ago and I read about this message he was preaching a message to a very diverse audience a lot of unbelievers in the audience and he was preaching on how do we know there is a God he gave four reasons number one only God could create a universe out of nothing only God could create a universe you'd create a universe out of nothing secondly universal order speaking of the order in the creation could not happen without design in other words design means there must be a designer his third reason credible people demonstrate the born again experience in other words people who've genuinely been saved are credible not false professors hypocrites but genuine born again people demonstrate the power of God in a way that you cannot argue against and his fourth reason for the the power of God which is still true today it is mid-September and the Chicago Cubs are still in the running for a playoff spot and that demonstrates the power of God for sure now I was about to lose some of you so I had to get you back okay really it's only the first three the power of God is seen in his creation he speaks and matter pops into existence universe solar systems galaxies pop into existence and begin their movements but we also see his wisdom when his work was complete he surveyed it all in verse 31 said it was very good every part of his creation is in perfect harmony with every other part it is all beautiful there's nothing lacking there's nothing misfiring it's all working perfectly everything that is wrong with creation now is a result of man's fall and sin and the curse on nature that was placed as judgment but in the beginning it was all perfect Eugene Surnin was one of the Apollo astronauts one of the I think only two men who walked on the moon twice he was the last man to walk on the moon in Apollo 17 and you may recall the words he spoke from the surface of the moon he said our world appears big and beautiful all blue and white you can see from the Antarctic to the North Pole the earth looks so perfect there are no strings to hold it up there is no fulcrum on which it rests contemplating what he could see beyond the earth looking out into space he said he felt as if he were seeing earth from God's perspective when it was created there's one scientist who was definitely a creationist when he saw this earth he said it looks perfect it looks beautiful he was seeing it from a distance yes but when God finished it up close it was perfect it was beautiful it was all very good and God's wisdom in creation is seen so the revelation of the creator is one of the lessons we are to learn but the second lesson we're to learn has to do with the response of his creatures how should we respond to this information in Genesis chapter one well first of all I believe we should respond with respect for creation it is good it's God's hand it worked and even with the fall and the resultant judgment of curse on this earth it is still wonderful it is still glorious it is still majestic it is still an evidence of the glory of God and he wants us to enjoy that thoroughly but he also gave us a mandate to manage it well to preserve it to protect it that's part of our dominion but hold on we do not worship the creation I want to remind you again that he said fill the earth and subdue it and rule it you know what the Hebrew word subdue means the word translated in our English translation subdue it means literally this to bring something into subjection so that it yields its service to the one subduing it that's what the word subdue means to bring something into subjection so that it yields its service to the one subduing it so what he's talking about is that we have the responsibility to do investigate creation we have the responsibility then to develop its resources but for the purpose of rendering them useful and beneficial to mankind you see radical environmentalism gets it wrong on Genesis 1 radical environmentalism basically deifies nature worships nature the environment nature itself is what is most important and man is supposed to serve its needs that's entirely backward from what God said in creation in creation he gave us as mankind the command to subdue it to bring it under our control to further and bless and benefit mankind not the other way around so the Bible teaches that God's creation is to be subservient to man's needs now yes we should manage that carefully as good stewards we stand between God and his creation and we certainly don't want to abuse that which he has made but we don't also want to be a slave to it we don't worship the creation we are to subdue it and use it for our benefit let me just say it very plainly God allowed coal to be pressed into place in this earth as a result of the flood and the huge water pressures created by the flood and the instantaneous fossilization and so forth that happened during the flood God allowed that to happen as a part of his creation for the benefit of mankind so we are not to make decisions of the natural resources of this earth based on how it's going to affect a little fish or a snail or a fox somewhere yes we treat with respect all of God's creation but we got to get this thing turned back around to the right order where creation was designed to be subdued by mankind to be used for his welfare and benefit not the other way around we are not slaves of the creation so we have a respect for creation but we reverence the creator we reverence the creator we do not worship creation we worship the God who put it into place and you know what that means if there is a creator as Genesis 1 teaches that means there is a God to whom we are accountable to whom we will be submissive one way or the other either voluntarily or someday as Philippians 2 says every knee in every tongue shall confess every knee shall bow every tongue shall confess that Jesus is Lord one way or the other it's going to happen what the Bible is saying is that we ought to recognize from creation that there is a God to whom we answer and we need to submit ourselves to Him and so the real question today in closing Genesis chapter 1 is do you understand that as a result of what we find here we are led to this conclusion there is a God who put all this into place and who created mankind and thus he is greater than us higher than us and we will answer to him someday that means we will stand before God and give an account one of the primary motivations of evolution is to do away with accountability to a creator if there is no creator there's no one I have to go and account to for my life and thus I can live like I think what I am the rest of the animals but the Bible teaches we are not animals we are uniquely designed by God and his own image to have a relationship with him he is above us and we are accountable to him as the creator he is the creator we are the creature and so here's the issue since sin came into the world as we'll see in a couple of weeks man has been separated from God but God loved us so much that he wanted that initial creative relationship to be reestablished he wanted us to be his children he wanted us to be fully back in his image you him and to spend eternity with him and so he made a plan whereby he would send his perfect son who had never sinned and thus had nothing to pay for on his own he sent his perfect son to take your place and die for your sins on the cross to be your substitute and if you will accept that as God's only way into his presence and into heaven and if you will place your faith in Christ who died for you then this original intent of creation will be a reestablished it will be renewed you will be back to where you should be in the image of God not fully until you get to heaven and get a glorified body we'll struggle with sin the rest of our days because we live in a sin cursed world but the relationship with God can be reestablished through faith in Christ and that's what it means to submit to the creator to receive his son Jesus as your savior that's how you reestablished that broken relationship with the one who created it all this is how it all began today it could all begin for you new life a new creation is the Bible speaks of it to become a child of God let's pray together Father we bow in submission to you because you are the great creator but we thank you that you've made a way for us to be reestablished into that relationship you initially intended in creation and that is through the death of your son to pay for our sin to clean this late in heaven so that we can be your children and we can live forever with you Lord I pray that you will not only sharpen our thinking in our minds about how to look at our world and look at all the social issues through a biblical lens but more than that Lord help us to know for sure that we have come into a relationship with the creator the one who created us to be in his image to have a relationship with him thank you Father that you did that and I pray that if there's anyone here this morning it's never trusted Jesus they would come into that relationship with you that you created them for in Jesus name we pray amen