Latest / HBCWestminster / 6.20.21 Genesis 1:1-26 Pastor Danny Gardner

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6.20.21 Genesis 1:1-26 Pastor Danny Gardner · HBCWestminster

• 0:00
  Well, good morning, church, and thank you to Carla for leading us in worship. We do want to say again, although it's already been said, happy Father's Day to all of the dads from Highland Baptist Church, both biological fathers, but also people who have been spiritual fathers to so many for the discipleship and kind of generational teaching that happens here at the church. We're so grateful for each of you. Pray that you are blessed this weekend.
• 0:20
  Well, if you have your Bibles, you can open to Genesis chapter 1. And as you know, if you've been kind of following along with us for the last 18 months, we've been going through the Gospel of Luke. But now for the summer, we are taking a six-week pause. Our summer sermon series will be Origins, How It All Began. And our text this morning is Genesis chapter 1, verses 1 to 26. I know it is our tradition to stand and read the text at the beginning of the sermon.
• 0:46
  But because of the length of this morning's text, we're going to kind of read as we go. And so allow me just to jump in. We'll pray and then begin. Pray with me. Lord, give us the mind of Christ. Help us to think like you think. And Lord, give us the Holy Spirit. Help us to love what you love. And it's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Well, when was the last time, church, that you were humiliated?
• 1:16
  Humiliation actually comes my way pretty frequently. I am rarely embarrassed. I don't often get embarrassed, but that doesn't mean I don't get humiliated. I get humiliated all the time. I'm just not that embarrassed about it. But many years ago now, and maybe going on 20 years ago, I was in my mid or late 20s. I was the youth pastor of a church about an hour north of LA. And I decided, Hallie and I decided when we were much younger, that we were going to take our high school students, about 20 of our high school students, down to Hollywood.
• 1:44
  for a television filming. A show was being filmed in Hollywood. And so we were gonna take our students down there to watch this show. They had a live audience. It was a music performance show. One of those shows where people perform and then every week one of them is voted off or whatever. You get all the way down to the last one. Whoever has voted the last one gets a recording contract. Hopefully they get to become super famous.
• 2:05
  It was the finale of that show being filmed. And we decided, Hey, we'll go down there. We'll take 20 of our high schoolers down and there'll be kind of a cool thing. We get to watch a television show being filmed. And so what we use, we didn't actually have tickets to go. What we used was something called seat fillers. Seat fillers was an organization that if they were ever, you know, if there was a live audience that would ever be in the shot as one of those would be people cheering and singing and.
• 2:29
  whatever and clapping if the cameras were ever pointed out at the audience they wanted all of those seats to be full all the time and so people with tickets would go in and sit down but then if there was ever a time where somebody with tickets had to stand up to go use the restroom or go get a drink of water or whatever they would stand up they'd leave their seat and then a seat filler in the back would run down there and sit in that seat so no matter when the cameras cut to the audience
• 2:54
  Every single seat was full all the time. And when that person getting a drink came back, you'd stand back up, run back to the back and they would take their seat. It would ensure that every single seat was full. Seat fillers. And so we took the 20 of us or whatever down there. We're standing right off of Hollywood Boulevard.
• 3:10
  uh standing on their kind of hollywood and highland the kodak theater and uh many years ago and so we're standing there we're waiting to go in they had this long line of seat fillers we're waiting in line and and kind of waiting in line to get inside and to go start the filming they gave everybody in line these orange bracelets an orange bracelet meant that you're one of these seat fillers so they knew who to look for as we're waiting in line i noticed that somebody who a woman came out from one of the side doors of the theater that had to have been one of the producers
• 3:39
  She was in her probably late 30s. She was holding a clipboard. She had one of those headsets on with the microphone. She was clearly talking to somebody over the walkie-talkie. She had a bunch of interns, I'm assuming with her, you know, people who were scurrying around doing her every bidding. And they were going along the line of all of the orange-braceleted people, all of the seat fillers. They were pulling some out, not all, but a few. Every now and again, they'd pull out. They'd take the orange bracelet off. They'd put a purple bracelet on.
• 4:06
  And so as they're getting back to our group, we all began to wonder, the 20 of us, what do the purple bracelets mean? And so really quick, I asked one of those interns, one of the younger folks with her, hey, what's it mean, the purple bracelet? And she said, well, purple bracelet means that you will definitely be in the shot. You're not going to be a seat filler.
• 4:22
  You're going to be down in the orchestra pit. We don't, nobody sits in there. You're in the orchestra pit of the theater and you will definitely be in the television shot. You're one of the ones who's going to be right there. The camera's going to be right on your face. And so we're giving purple bracelets to those who will fill the orchestra pit. And I said, well, that's cool. You'd be in the shot. You'll be on TV. How do you get one of the purple bracelets? And she said this, she said, oh, the purple bracelets are reserved for those who are young and good looking.
• 4:50
  young and good-looking, right? I was like, so...
• 4:53
  if you're ugly, you can't have a purple bracelet. He's like, oh no, because you'll definitely be in the shot. And so, you know, kind of news is spreading through the youth group we're with, you know, all these high school students like, man, that is so vain. That is so messed up. How brutal is that? That you'd only give them to the pretty people, right? We're just the orange, ugly people. But now you get the pretty, you know, purple people. I mean, those, so, you know, we're all kind of complaining on, oh, how ungodly that is. And then there was a hush that fell over our group because now we're all wondering, I wonder.
• 5:23
  if any of us will get it. So I'm standing at the front of that group. I got the 20 kids behind me, right? I'm kind of in the front because I'm a leader. And so I'm giving myself the once over. I'm in my late 20s. I still have a relatively flat stomach at the time. I had ironed my shirt. I'm kind of looking. I'm like, well, yeah, I mean, this is kind of as...
• 5:39
  The best it gets, right? I mean, here it is, you know? So I'm wondering, am I going to get the purple bracelet or will they get, you know, kind of stuck with the orange ugly people, you know? And so one of these interns comes walking by. They're getting closer and closer to our group. And so we're all curious now, like, you know, who's going to get it? Who's going to get it? Will anybody from our group get it? One of those interns, as the producer's getting closer, one of the interns looks at me. She goes back over and talks to the producer. I can hear her out loud. The intern says, hey, what about that guy? Talk about me. What about that guy?
• 6:08
  The producer looked at me and then she did this. No, just like that. No, absolutely not. She looked at me up and down and then just shot me down so hard. And church, listen, man.
• 6:29
  The most humiliating thing about that was not how brutal this woman was, but the fact that I'm standing in front of 20 of my high school students. They erupted. They thought it was the funniest thing in the world. Absolutely not. Absolutely not. I was humiliated. One of the things that astounds me, church, about the book of Genesis is the amount of arrogance with which we often read it.
• 6:58
  Everyone who reads Genesis 1 feels like they must understand it perfectly, that their view of it must be the correct one. Now listen, I am not an expert on the book of Genesis, nor am I an expert on creation. I was not there. I didn't experience creation, nor did I witness it firsthand. And listen, church, neither were you. We, therefore, you and I, don't know what we're talking about.
• 7:26
  we don't know what we're talking about and how arrogant would we be to assume that we do i am too old and i have been in ministry too long to feel any kind of arrogance about any thing i have been humbled and beyond that i have been humiliated in my life over and over and over again i am old enough to know that i am not good at everything
• 7:54
  I'm old enough to know that I don't understand everything, that I cannot do everything, and that despite my parents' advice when I was young, I cannot achieve anything I put my mind to. I'm not being a fatalist, church. I'm just being a realist. The book of Genesis has divided the church more than perhaps any other book. Beyond that, the book of Genesis has divided the world.
• 8:20
  Mankind's unwillingness to humble ourselves before God's Word has created factions in the scientific community, and our pride has even put the Word of God against the scientific community.
• 8:35
  The world in which we live would tell us emphatically that Genesis, and especially in chapter 1, that Genesis should not be taken literally, should not be trusted, and probably should not even be read, maybe except as a fairy tale. And my goal as we study Genesis chapter 1, what I want for us to come away with this morning more than anything else, is the realization that God created us and everything else.
• 9:03
  And so we should show some respect. We should come to Genesis with a proper humility. Amen? Amen. Gordon Wynnum in his commentary has said Genesis chapter 1 is the majestic opening chapter of the Bible. It introduces two main subjects of Holy Scripture. God the creator and man his creature. That is who we are, church. We are not the creator. We were not there. We are the created.
• 9:34
  and therefore we should probably take God's word for it when it comes to how creation happened. He continues, it sets the scene, Genesis 1, for the long tail of our relationship between the created and their creator. Genesis chapter 1 is the overture to the whole rest of the work.
• 9:50
  It is what A.W. Pink calls the seed plot of the Bible. In it, we have in germ form almost all of the great doctrines of Scripture. And the entirety of the remaining Scriptures must be viewed, church, through that lens of its first chapters. In fact, I believe Genesis chapters 1 through 11 answer almost every one of man's most essential questions. Like, who are we?
• 10:17
  How did we get here? Why are we here? Is there a moral code that we must live by? Why do we die? Is there life after death? Is there a heaven and a hell? If there is heaven and hell, who decides where we go when we die? The most foundational questions of humanity that philosophers have argued about for millennia. Those are answered in the first 11 chapters of...
• 10:42
  genesis but more than that church i believe those same chapters even answer most of man's non-essential questions like why do we wear clothes right i i mean i i why it doesn't make any sense i mean it makes some sense to me right you go sometimes to the public pool and you're like definitely glad we wear clothes but why do we wear clothes it's answered in genesis where did languages come from what about cultures what about ethnicities where did they come from what about music who invented that
• 11:12
  It's in there. What about war? What about tools, cities, animals, fossils, weather? Where did that come from? It's in there. What about slavery? It's in there. What about families and nations and oceans and even the continents? Where did they come from? It's in there.
• 11:32
  The book of Genesis, especially its first chapters, are foundational to our understanding of ourselves and of our world, and they shape our worldview. They begin the story of us, of how we got here, of where we're going. And there is, in fact, very little about the human race that cannot be answered from the book of Genesis. If you want to know who you are, start at the beginning. Jacob Cherian, the Genesis account is a beautiful symphony telling the story of why we are the way.
• 11:59
  we are. And so this summer sermon series, a study of just the first three chapters of Genesis, we've called Origins and How It All Began. Origins, How It All Began. We're going to look at first today the true origin of species, and that is the title of our sermon this morning. The true origin of species, with apologies of course to Charles Darwin, who really messed some things up.
• 12:24
  Next week, we'll study the origin of gender and sexuality, with apologies, of course, to just about every modern American politician who have also really messed some things up. We'll study the origin of Sabbath, how Christ is our true Sabbath rest, what is the purpose of work, why is it so hard, why do I constantly feel tired?
• 12:47
  Why do I feel like I can never get ahead? Is work itself a result of the fall? Week four, we'll study the origin of Satan. Where did he come from? Does he really wear red tights and carry a pitchfork? Is he the equal but opposite of the God of heaven? Like there is God versus Satan and we don't know which one's going to win. Does Satan have a chance to win? And if not, why does it seem like he's winning? Week five, we'll study the origin of sin.
• 13:17
  Genesis is the telling of mankind's downward slide from paradise to prison, and then the Lord's provision for him to be restored. And finally, the last week, we'll study the origin of sacrifice. What is the deal with all the death? Where did death come from? Why do we die? And is there a way to avoid dying? We'll do all of this in six weeks. And so, church,
• 13:46
  buckle up it is going to be a whirlwind month and a half and so let's turn our attention with all of that in mind to the text and have some of our questions answered you'll notice first in genesis 1 1 that the first verse of the bible is like the masterful stroke of an artist's brush and using one simple verse containing a mere 10 words in english it's only seven words in hebrew in seven words
• 14:14
  The author gives us the when, the who, and the what. Notice it begins in the beginning. In the beginning, nothing came before the first moment in time. Think about that for just a moment. Nothing came before the first moment in time. The first second of creation, nothing came before the first moment.
• 14:42
  in time. Now, there are only two ways to get around that statement. The first is to believe that there was no beginning of time, that time has always existed and can be stretched therefore into eternity past. Now, this view, if you hold that view, poses some real problems considering the second law of thermodynamics. Now, that would be for another sermon. The second
• 15:07
  way to get around that first statement is to believe that if something did exist before time itself began then that something must be outside of time and not bound to it in any way notice the author continues in the beginning god now no sooner is that question posed than it is answered there does exist one who is outside of time and this is the foundational truth
• 15:38
  of all real theology, God. No argument is made nor explanation given for his existence. His presence, we notice, is merely assumed. Now, if this is the case, then not only is God pre-existent, but he is not therefore contingent upon anything in his creation, nor is he dependent in any way. He must be self-sufficient and the creator of time itself.
• 16:08
  and it continues in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Created means to make something out of nothing. The Hebrew, ex nihilo, out of the void, out of nothing. God created with a word, and his word was all that was needed. You're going to notice many times in Genesis chapter 1 that God spoke.
• 16:34
  god said god said god said he had to perform no other action his word was all that was needed now a carpenter may very well be able to make a rocking chair out of wood but the carpenter cannot make the wood itself and here we find that god literally made the wood
• 16:56
  He didn't just take something that already existed and shape it and fashion it into something else the way that an artist would today. Rather, he made the material itself. John chapter 1 and verse 1 says, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things, all of them, church, all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.
• 17:26
  Nothing that has ever been made did not come from God's creation. But that does not mean that God is the author of all things. Follow me in this line of thinking for a moment. God, in his grace and kindness, has allowed his creation, you and I, certain freedoms. Freedom to create from the raw materials he provided.
• 17:56
  but freedom also to twist and distort that which he made. Now, this is how God can be both the author of all things and yet not the author of sin. Did God make all things? Yes. Was there anything made that God did not make? No. Did God make sin? No.
• 18:19
  do you see how that works he endowed certain freedoms even the ability to create he endowed certain freedoms to his creation that we have been taken and twisted and distorted sin itself we find and we will study this more in the coming weeks sin itself is a distortion of god's creation and intention in the beginning god created the heavens and the earth listen to how
• 18:49
  A.W. Pink summarizes the first sentence of the Bible. I think it's funny to use that word summarizes because he takes a verse that is only 10 words long in the English and yet he gives us an entire paragraph about it. So it's like he's unsummarizing it. But listen to what he says. Just the opening sentence repudiates atheism. You cannot be an atheist and believe Genesis 1.1. For it postulates, he says, the existence of God. It refutes materialism.
• 19:18
  You can't be a materialist and believe Genesis 1.1. He says, for it distinguishes between God and his material creation. It abolishes pantheism, for it predicates that which necessitates a personal God. It tells us that he was himself before the beginning and hence eternal. It informs us that he is an intelligent being. For if he were an abstraction, like if he were just this impersonal, unintelligent force.
• 19:47
  Like many people here in the Denver-Boulder corridor believe. Just this impersonal, if he is anything, he's impersonal. He's just this kind of force, this feeling, this good whatever spirit in the universe or whatever it is. If that's all he was, if he were an abstraction or an impersonal first God, first cause, he could not create.
• 20:11
  It argues that he is infinite and omnipotent, for no finite being possesses the power to create, and none but an omnipotent, all-powerful being could create the heavens and the earth. What an opening verse. Now, just a cursory reading of verses 2 to 26, the remainder of our text, breaks the creation into six days, and we pick up in verse 2. You'll notice,
• 20:40
  Day 1, verses 2 to 5, God created the light. Verse 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. And God said, let there be light. And there was light. And God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light day. The darkness he called night, and there was evening, and there was morning.
• 21:10
  The first day. We'll continue. You'll notice day two, God created the seas and the skies. You pick up in verse six. And God said, let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters and let it separate the waters from the waters. And God made the expanse and separated the waters from the waters under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse.
• 21:30
  So the water that is on the earth, the oceans, he separated from the water that is above the earth, the clouds. And it was so. And God called the expanse heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day. You notice as we continue to read in day three, that God creates the land and the plants.
• 21:52
  You pick up in verse 9. God said, Let the waters under the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear. And it was so. God called the dry land earth. And the waters that were gathered together he called seas. And God saw that it was good. 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. And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation.
• 22:22
  plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good, and there was evening, and there was morning the third day. We notice in day four that God creates the heavenly bodies, the sun, the moon, and the stars. Notice verses 14 to 19. And God said, Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night.
• 22:51
  let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth and it was so and God made the two great lights the greater light to rule the day the lesser light to rule the night and the stars and God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth to rule over the day and over the night and to separate the light from the darkness and God saw that it was good and there was evening and there was morning the fourth day
• 23:21
  You'll notice on day five that God created the fish and the birds.
• 23:27
  Pick up in verse 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. So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves with which the water swarm according to their kinds and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them saying, be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas and let birds multiply on the earth. And there was evening and there was morning.
• 23:57
  the fifth day. You'll notice finally, day six, that God created the land animals and more specifically and prominently, humans. Verse 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. And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds.
• 24:26
  and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 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. And thus was creation completed. Now, if you're sitting there thinking, no, it wasn't created. Number one, he didn't make the woman.
• 24:54
  Right? And you didn't say anything about being made in the image of God. Never fret, church. That is where we pick up next week's sermon. The origins of gender and sexuality. We will talk next Sunday about male and female. Created he them. Okay? And so we'll pick that up next week. So that's first. Like a masterful brush stroke. You have here the artist. God himself from heaven creating all things. But notice second.
• 25:22
  It answers this question and it's kind of become an age-old question and it's one that's still hotly debated today. Did it take half a dozen days or did it take billions of years? Now, this will not be an in-depth argument either for or against a young or old earth. If that was your hope coming into this, you're going to be sorely disappointed. I will touch on the big arguments very briefly. I'll explain their problems and then I'll move on. Now, there are those.
• 25:49
  within the Christian community who believe Genesis 1 took place over the course of billions of years. Perhaps they would say each day of creation, those six days that we just read about, were actually an entire age of the earth. Like each one of those days represents a billion and a half years. The reason they hold such a view is most often because creation looks and sometimes even acts very old.
• 26:14
  Now, the problems with this view are numerous, first, and this cannot be overstated. It is not what the Bible says happened. If you were to simply sit down and read Genesis 1, and then you were to take your reading comprehension test, and you were asked, how long did it take to create the heavens and the earth, you would answer, six days. You would not give any other answer.
• 26:41
  The Lord could have inspired the writing of any units of measure he wanted. He could have said weeks, or months, or years, or decades, or centuries, or millennia. All of those words were available to God in the Hebrew language, and yet he chose days. Days is what the Bible says. Second, and this is a serious problem, an old earth and old earth creationists
• 27:10
  almost always assumes the presence of death over the course of those billions of years almost everybody almost invariably who believes in an old earth also believes in death before sin and that is a problem because scripture says that death came as a result of sin there was therefore no death among sentient animals or among humans prior to sin evolution however is
• 27:42
  predicated upon death. Its foundational truths are survival of the fittest and massive adaptation and mutation over time. Evolutionary theory as applied to biology in any form simply is not what the scriptures teach. Apologies to Darwin and his followers. I believe that the very first death among animals
• 28:08
  Even the very first sacrifice for sin, which we will talk about on week 6, took place in Genesis 3, long after the creation of the heavens and the earth. Boiled down church, an old earth poses a problem biblically. On the other hand, there are many who believe the creation of the heavens and the earth to have taken place over the course of a literal six days. But the problems with this view are also numerous. First,
• 28:35
  The Hebrew language they would argue against, the Hebrew language of Genesis 1, was not meant to act as a science textbook the way many of us treat it. Its language from Genesis chapter 1 was even poetic. Each day of creation corresponding to another day. Days 1 through 3, you probably noticed, the Lord created the light, the heavenly bodies, the earth, the sea, the sky.
• 28:59
  Days 4 through 6, the Lord creating everything else that would correspond to those things, everything that would fill the earth, the sea, the sky, all the fish, all the birds, all the animals, all the humans. So they would say, well, the language is poetic. It's not meant to be scientific. And second, they would argue against a young earth by saying that the earth really does look and sometimes act very old. What about starlight?
• 29:26
  Right? I mean, light moves at the speed of light, and the stars in our universe, some of them are relatively close, four to five light years away, but some of them are hundreds of millions of light years away. And so if we can see them, if those stars can be seen from Earth, then how did the light get here so fast? If the Earth is only several thousand or ten thousand years old, what about stars that are visible from hundreds of millions of light years away? It would have taken that long for it to get here, and therefore the Earth must be very old.
• 29:56
  And what about dinosaurs? And what about the fossil record? And what about the Grand Canyon? You're telling me that the Colorado River, right, it would have taken thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, if not millions of years for the Colorado River to carve the Grand Canyon. What about that? What about carbon dating? You know, boiled down, a young Earth poses a problem perceptually. What we perceive doesn't always look young.
• 30:25
  Now here's where you ask, will I disclose my personal interpretation? Will I give you my view of the creation timeline? Yes, church, I will. I will show you my cards. I think the mental and hermeneutical gymnastics required to hold to an old earth are unnecessary. I think the Lord created all things in six literal.
• 30:50
  days and i therefore believe the universe to be somewhere around six thousand years old now you say well how do you then explain the seeming old age of the earth i believe church that not only did the lord create but i believe that he created with the appearance of age allow me to illustrate on day six of creation the lord gathered together a pile of
• 31:17
  dirt he breathed onto the pile of dirt and that dirt became the first man the lord named that man that dirt adam adamah is literally a hebrew word for dirt and so he put the dirt together he breathed on it it became alive it became a man and he named him dirt and he gave that dirt dominion over the earth in that moment that very first
• 31:46
  moment that the Lord breathed on the dirt and the dirt became a man, how old was Adam? 10 seconds. When Adam was 10 seconds old, how old did he appear to be? 20 or 30 years old? Adam's age did not match Adam's looks. Does that make sense?
• 32:15
  When Adam was 10 seconds old, he looked 30 years old. His age didn't match his looks. And I believe the same principle can be applied to the entirety of creation. I believe that trees were created with rings. If you had been able to walk through the Garden of Eden and cut down a tree and look at that 10 second old tree, I think there would have been rings on the inside. They were created with the appearance of age. I believe stars were already emitting their light to the earth.
• 32:45
  i believe canyons and rock formations and rivers and lakes entire ecosystems ecosystems were already fully functioning a mere 10 seconds after their creation i believe that antelope were created mid-stride i believe that birds were created mid-flight i believe that lions were created mid-roar and although they were only 10 seconds old i believe they looked much older i believe that rocks
• 33:12
  that were 10 seconds old would nevertheless using whatever carbon methods you want to use would have tested much older you say well but danny could you be wrong yep okay well danny will you unfriend those who think differently than you on this matter nope like i said we must approach the creation account with humility and respect understanding church
• 33:44
  understanding that we probably don't really know what we're talking about. We just have to take God's word for what it says. I think the point that we should come away with from Genesis is that God created everything.
• 33:59
  This is the message of the rest of Scripture Colossians chapter 1 verse 16 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 Romans 11 36 for from him and through him and to him were all things Hebrews 1 and verse 2
• 34:19
  In these last days, God has spoken to us by his son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. When creation is talked about throughout the rest of scripture, the reminder is don't forget God made you. Did the Lord create in six days? Yes. He says he did. But should this completely preoccupy our understanding of the creation account? No. The point is, church,
• 34:49
  He created. He made you. You'll notice finally, there's a word that I want to bring out, a word that I want to point out that's used multiple times. You notice last that the creation reflected its creator. If you go back to verse four, you'll notice it said, God saw that the light was good. You skip down to verse 10. God saw that it was good.
• 35:16
  Notice verse 12, and God saw that it was good. Verse 18, and God saw that it was good. Verse 21, and God saw that it was good. Verse 25, and God saw that it was good. And then the next week's text, verse 31, that it was very good. Seven times Genesis chapter 1 says that God saw his creation, he looked at it, and his creation was good. Again, A.W. Pink.
• 35:46
  Takes this to mean that the creation was worthy of himself. That they reflected, the creation reflected the perfections of their maker. That they were exceedingly fair in their pristine beauty. The phrase, God saw that it was good, becomes the divine approval formula. It's like God looked at it and stamped it. Yes. And then he finished there.
• 36:10
  Yes, he stamped it. And I'm looking at it. I'm going back over my work. Yes, he is stamping it. Approved, approved, approved. As Winnem says in his commentary, God, the great artist, is pictured admiring his handiwork. Now, the Hebrew word for good draws attention to the object's quality, but not only its quality.
• 36:35
  Also, it's fitness for purpose. In other words, not only was God's creation of the highest quality, he did a good job, but whatever he made fulfilled its purpose in every aspect. But as we all know, the creation would not stay good for long. Allow me to conclude with just this kind of aside. There's been an interesting follow-up question that I get asked pretty frequently, actually.
• 37:05
  And that is this, Pastor Danny, is God still creating? I know that God created the heavens and the earth in the six days and he rested on the seventh. We'll come to that. Is he still creating? Does God still create? And I've heard pastors give an immediate negative response to that question. No, they will say, God created all things in six days and then rested and therefore God's creative work is finished. But church, and with...
• 37:33
  A whole heap of humility. Allow me just to disagree. Turn with me, if you would, turn in your Bibles to 2 Corinthians 5 and verse 17. 2 Corinthians 5 and verse 17. And it's a verse that we've probably memorized. If you were a part of our men's and women's book studies on Friday mornings early this last year, then you probably memorized this verse. 2 Corinthians 5, 17, which says, therefore, if anyone is in Christ,
• 38:03
  Notice what it says. He is a new what? You see it there in your Bibles? He is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come. And you could argue, so is God still creating? Yes.
• 38:20
  Yes. Is he creating material, ex nihilo, out of nothing, out of the void? Not in the same way that he was before. But has God stopped creating? No, he has not stopped creating. What is he creating now? He's creating new creatures. He is creating something new in you. If you are in Christ, he is giving you a new spirit. You now have the spirit of God living in you. You are a new creation. The old is gone. The old man has gone. Behold, the new man has come.
• 38:50
  And you could argue, well, why would God create something new in me, Pastor Danny? I'm nothing. And I would say perfect. Perfect. Because nothing is exactly what God needs. And Lord, as we launch into this new study, God, I pray that you would bless it. We thank you. We thank you for the story of creation. We thank you for Genesis. We thank you that we can trust that Genesis 1 is just as true.
• 39:18
  as John 3, 16. That Genesis 1 is to be read in the same way as the gospel of Matthew. That Genesis 1 and the way that you created all things and made all things and that all things were good should be believed in the same way that we believe the gospel story of the crucifixion and the resurrection of Christ. Lord, neither of those was any more difficult for you to accomplish. And so, Lord, we rejoice in you, our creator.
• 39:48
  And it's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.