Creation To New Creation - Masterpiece

Creation To New Creation - Masterpiece

Creation (Genesis 1&2)

Heaven & Earth

  • What we have in Genesis 1:1 is a summarizing statement concerning what we’re going to read from 1:2 to 2:3. The NRSV translation really brings this to the fore.
    • In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth Genesis 1:1 (NRSV)
  • Verse 2 presents us with 3 problems that God overcomes in creation:
    • A lack of order (without form)
    • Emptiness (void)
    • Darkness
  • The way to think about “Heaven” and “Earth” is “sky” and “land”.
    • God made the expanse, and separated the waters which were below the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so. God called the expanse heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.

    God called the dry land earth, and the gathering of the waters He called seas; and God saw that it was good. Genesis 1: 7-8, 10

  • In Genesis 2 (2: 4-25), we have a re-telling of the origins of creation, with focus on the land
  • God loves His creation. We see the consistent repetition of “God saw that it was good” in Genesis 1, crowned with “very good” in Genesis 1:31.
    • God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. Genesis 1:31

Humanity

  • God made humanity to be God’s image in the world, reflecting the rule & reign of God in his stewardship of creation
  • We then see that in Genesis, the original creation was God’s work to create the earth (what we know as planet earth) and all its inhabitants, with humanity as the steward of the created world.

Man’s fall & decline (Genesis 3)

The fall

  • Genesis 3 gives us the account of man’s failure in His vocation as God’s image and creation’s steward.
  • After the fall, man is ejected from the garden, and the ground is cursed as a direct consequence of man’s sin. This is the first indication we get into the idea that creation is corrupted by man’s sin.
  • At the end of God’s discourse with man, God assures that some day, the evil that caused this great tragedy would be totally defeated.
  • God didn’t withdraw man’s commission, so creation still remained under man’s authority.

Man’s decline (Genesis 4-7)

  • From Genesis 4, we are introduced to humanity’s steady fall into decadence with Cain murdering his brother, polluting the earth with violence and his brother’s blood.
  • Man continually corrupts the earth as we see in Genesis 6:11
    • And the earth was corrupted before God, and the earth was filled with violence. Genesis 6:11 (LEB)
  • God then decides to flood the earth and “restart” the project with Noah and his family

God’s commitment to creation

  • Despite knowing man’s nature, God’s love for man and creation still shines through in Genesis 9 with His blessing on Noah and his descendants, and His commitment to never destroy the earth by flood.

God’s approach to fixing things

A man, a people, a promised land

  • In Genesis 12, we see God choosing a man named Abraham, making a promise to him that his descendants would inherit a portion of land with similar words to what we have in God’s commissioning of Adam and Noah.
  • Through this man (and his descendants), and from the promised land, the blessing is to be restored to all nations
    • Too long, please open your Bible Genesis 12: 1-3, 7
    On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land, From the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates Genesis 15:18
    “I will give to you and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.” Genesis 17:8
  • It is interesting to note that the description of the borders of the land match the far north and south of the places watered by the river of life in Eden.
    • Now a river flowed out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it divided and became four rivers. The name of the first is Pishon; it flows around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. The gold of that land is good; the bdellium and the onyx stone are there. The name of the second river is Gihon; it flows around the whole land of Cush. The name of the third river is Tigris; it flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates. Genesis 2: 10-14

The nation of Israel

  • God indeed fulfils His promise and the descendants of Abraham became a nation and settled in the promised land.
  • They were expected to walk in obedience to the covenant, with a responsibility to reflect God’s rule to the rest of the world. The blessings they received were intended to overflow, impacting the world and inviting all peoples to recognize and worship Yahweh.
    • “See, I have taught you statutes and judgments just as the LORD my God commanded me, that you should do thus in the land where you are entering to possess it. “So keep and do them, for that is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ “For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as is the LORD our God whenever we call on Him? “Or what great nation is there that has statutes and judgments as righteous as this whole law which I am setting before you today? Deuteronomy 4:5-8
  • The people of God did poorly in their obedience to the covenant, and were exiled out of the land just like Adam and Eve.

God’s promises to fix humanity

Through the prophets, we find promises of God to fix both man and creation

Too long, please open your Bible Jeremiah 31: 31-34
Too long, please open your Bible Micah 4: 1-4

God’s promises to fix the earth

Too long, please open your BIble Isaiah 11: 1-10
Too long, please open your BIble Isaiah 65: 17-25

Our groan

  • The bold claim of the New Testament is that God has started the fixing of humanity & creation with the death, burial & resurrection of Jesus, by launches a new kind of humanity.
  • With this knowledge, when we see the contrast between our understanding of who God is & what He is doing in the world and the way things seem to be unfolding causes us to groan.
    • Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 2 Corinthians 4:16 - 5:17
    Too long, please open your Bible Romans 8: 18-25

The final picture

Too long, please open your Bible Revelation 21: 1-8