I really like books. I love to buy them and read them and put them on my shelves. My wife would probably say that I love books a bit too much. However, in these past few months I have begun to enjoy books even more as I have started reading fiction books. This is a departure from the normal technical (though enjoyable) reading. And the thing that I like about fiction books is that they have a story. It’s hard to put down a fiction book at any point because you are longing to see where the story is going to go next. Also, something different between a reference book and a book with a storyline is that you can pick up a reference book at any point and be fine in your reading. However, with a book that has a storyline you want to start at the beginning so that you understand what’s going on and why everything is the way that it is.
The same is true with Scripture. The Bible tells a story. It is the story about God’s creation, its fall, God’s redemption of it, and ultimately the new creation. Therefore, like reading a story, we want to start at the beginning this morning so that we might better understand the necessity of the gospel and why the cross was a necessary component of redemption.
Thus we start in Genesis chapter 1, the beginning of the Bible and of creation. The word “genesis” itself means “beginning.” Because Scripture has a beginning, it logically follows that there is an end of the story as well. History doesn’t merely go around in circles; it has a goal. And the goal of Creation (or the end of the story) is ultimately another creation, a new creation of which we can read in Revelation 21-22. It is this storyline that we will observe throughout our study of Scripture. However, we must take in the first things first, and everything starts with God, who he is, and what he has done. Thus, we will start here as well.
Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Now there have been endless discussions as to how God did this (e.g., in seven literal days, etc.), but I believe the main theme of this first chapter is not whether God created this way or that but that he created. Everything that is created has its root in God, for he is the creator. As we study this world and its properties, we are studying the work of God. He created all things from nothing, and yet he is separate from his creation. That is to say, though he created the world with order so that scientific study is possible, he is not bound by his creation because he is not contained with it but is separate from it.
Therefore, though God always was and always will be (the statement to Moses in Exodus 3:14, “I AM”), everything else we know was created by him and is utterly dependent on God for its existence, while he is dependent on nothing.
This has implications for us as to who God is as well as his nature. Some of them are as follows:
1) God is sovereign
God has all power, knows all, and is in control. There is not one ounce of power that is not ultimately under his authority. After all, everything that is, is created by him. He is the owner of it. Nothing has a hint of an upper-hand on God.
2) God sustains his creation and is the ground and guarantor of moral order.
Because God created the world, his creation is utterly dependent on him for its existence. And his creation derives its moral order from him. If God ceased to be who he is, then the creation would fall apart The reason sin is sin and right is right is because sin is against the character of God and that which is right aligns with the character of God. The reason we have a desire for justice is because we were created by a God who is perfectly just. And if he were to be unjust, he would (by necessity) destroy the moral order of his creation, for all of creation is founded in him. This is an implication of the doctrine of creation which becomes huge in understanding the necessity of the cross, which we will look at later.
3) God is judge and ruler of all.
Because God is the creator, it also means that he rules and judges his creation. It is not the other way around. Men do not stand as judge of God, for man is simply the creation, not the creator. However, this is the case in the mind man of sinful man today. Lewis, writing years ago, told of this: “The ancient man approached God (or even the gods) as the accused person approaches his judge. For the modern man the roles are reversed. He is the judge: God is in the dock. He is quite a kindly judge: if God should have a reasonable defence for being the god who permits war, poverty and disease, he is ready to listen to it. The trial may even end in God’s acquittal. But the important thing is that Man is on the Bench and God is in the Dock.” This is far different from the biblical view.
Therefore, the thing that I want you to see is that because God is the creator, he is the sovereign judge over all of creation who must judge in a just and right manner because his character sustains the moral order of the world. For God to judge (or act in any way) in a manner that is not just and right not only destroys who he is but destroys the creation that is dependent on him for its existence. This is crucial to understand as we begin to look at what creation says of man.
Genesis 1:26-27 says, “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing at creeps on the earth.’ And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” Therefore, creation also has many implications for man. They are the following:
1) Because man is created in God’s image, we are to reflect his character and nature in our lives.
This also assures us again that we are dependent on God. Man’s life is defined in relation to God. Therefore, we were created to reflect the glory of our maker. Sin falls short of reflecting that glory and the fall tarnishes this in man.
2) Being created in God’s image means that we are able to know God and communicate with him.
This is a characteristic unique to man. None of the rest of the created order is able to know God and communicate with him. Only man is able to do this. And this ability to know God, stemming from being created in God’s image puts within man’s very being a desire to see himself as more than a bunch of atoms. We hunger to relate to God in some sense. D.A. Carson has said it this way: “We have been made in God’s image, and however much we have abused ourselves as God’s image-bearers until this innate capacity is distorted and twisted, at some deep level we hunger for its restoration, while scarcely understanding what it means.” However, we must also remind ourselves that no matter how deep this longing is in humanity, man, apart from Christ, despises his creator.
3) Because we are created in God’s image, we are responsible creatures.
Man is responsible to his Maker, and God treats man as responsible. God takes sin seriously because he takes humans beings seriously. Hell is therefore a reminder to us that God treats man as responsible to our judge (God) for our actions. Thus, one can say that because we are made in God’s image, we are responsible to a judge who must judge justly or destroy the moral order of his creation.
This is the stage for the gospel. For what happens if responsible man despises his Maker and sins? How can a just and holy judge do anything but judge? Forgiveness would seemingly be impossible, for God cannot simply forgive, but must judge if he is to be a right and holy judge.
We all know that this hypothetical question is not hypothetical at all. Rather, as Adam sinned in the garden, he plunged all of those who would come after him into sin and guilt as well and we sinned in him. Therefore, we need another like the first-born, created in the image of God to come and redeem us from the horrible state that we were plunged into in Adam. This is Christ. Note the similarities to Adam in Colossians 1:13-17.
“For [God] delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. And He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things have been created by Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”
Do you see? Just as Adam was the first-born within creation, Christ is the first-born over all creation. And just as Adam was created in the image of God, Christ is the image of the invisible God. So The One has come in Christ, who is man. However, he is also spoken of as the one who did the creating. Therefore, he is also God. He is the God-man. He is God the Son, Jesus the Christ.
But Jesus cannot just come in and do things right and reverse everything, for God must still judge man for his sin or he fails to be a just judge, destroying his created order.
Therefore, what God does is thus: he places those who will believe in Christ and judges their sin in his own Son. This is what occurred on the cross. Jesus took the wrath of God that our sin merited as we were judged in Jesus Christ. He became sin for us, and his righteousness was transferred to our account. He was the propitiatory sacrifice for our sin. That is to say Jesus was that which appeased the wrath of God and rendered him friendly toward man. This is summed up in Romans 3:21-26. Paul writes, “But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”
Therefore, as “in Adam” all sinned, so “in Christ” the sin of those who believe is judged and dealt with righteously. Therefore, God remains just as a judge of the universe, upholding the moral order of the world, but he justifies man, redeeming him from his sin. This is the beauty of the gospel.
And as man is born again, we become the first-fruits of the new creation (James 1:18). That is to say we are the first part of the new creation. Those who are born again, becoming new creatures, are glimpses into this age of the creation that is to come as we anticipate what started in creation – the goal of all creation, the end of the story.
The doctrine of creation is not simply one to be debated in high school classrooms; it is something that needs to be put forth today. One of the few advantages of the postmodern mindset in our world is that man is beginning to doubt the value of science explaining everything. They look at the past one hundred years and are more troubled by it being the bloodiest century instead of being excited about it being the most technologically advanced century. Therefore, they are looking elsewhere for answers. The theory of evolution is becoming more and more doubted. And this leaves a door for us to again set forth the doctrine of creation.
What I hope you see this morning is that this doctrine is simply the beginning of the story of redemption and ultimately of the new creation that is to come. Creation is the beginning of the story of the gospel. Therefore, take advantage of these opportunities. Only the biblical account of all things can answer the world’s questions.
Also, read your Bibles in this story line. Yes, it all points to Christ in whom we have redemption. But you need not stay in the gospels to see this for the story is constantly giving shadows of what is to come as we read in the Old Testament.
Finally, live to God who has redeemed you. You can live to his glory because he has redeemed you. You are not left to merit anything, but live by his grace, by his strength, through faith in his faithfulness. He is your creator, judge, and redeemer. To him be glory forever and ever. Amen.