Genesis 1 God Created Therefore We Have a Purpose

Below are the rough draft sermon notes for Sunday August 18th.

Genesis 1 God Created

As we are Christians, we are also theologians.  Theology is the study of God.  Every person within creation has some philosophy of theology.  Some are better than others, some may not ever think of God.  But ask anyone how they live and you will ultimately gain an understanding of the theology they hold to.

In theology, the study of God, we find that God is considered, “The first cause.”  This means that He is the one who began all.

All man does is in a sequence of what God has begun.

The scientist, artist, musician, businessman, farmer, doctor, lawyer, parent, spouse, child, all live in their capacity in response to God; whether they acknowledge Him or not.

Kepler said, that science is “Thinking the thoughts of God after Him.”

Simply, God is our starting point, “In the Beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

God in this verse is plural.  He is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  We read that Jesus was there creating, we see that the Holy Spirit hovered over the waters.  When we think of God we can think of Him in unified pluralistic ways.  He is not a savage or pagan multi personality.  Rather, in His holiness, he can be three persons and so unified.  At some point, a sermon investigating this wonder will be necessary.  Let is suffice to say, the creation of the heavens and the earth are a Trinitarian experience.

My goal today is to place us upon a track of a God centered worldview in absolutely everything we do.

God is not distant that He begins the world, or a life, and then allows that life to proceed on its own.  The God that knit you in the womb is also the omniscient and omnipresent God that says. “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself, take up His cross, and follow me.”

Jesus also added, “If anyone abides in Me they will bear much fruit.” These are just two verses of a call to “Come and follow Him.”

As the scripture of Genesis 1:1 begins, so do we, God is the Alpha and Omega, or beginning and ending point, not only of life, but of all events, thoughts, experiences, and existence.

ByTheWay: we speak often of glory.  Glory is attributing the appropriate awe of worship to the rightful source.

The Bible is God’s revelation of Himself to man.

Have you ever considered why God would create “the heavens and the earth?”

Man operates with purpose just as God does.

            God has a purpose and plan in creation.

I agree with Jonathan Edwards, that God created because it was the right thing to do.

            God’s holiness must be expressed.

Expression is often necessary-and in this case I say just.

Good news must be shared, and in the holiness of God worship is required.

·         “We know the Heavens declare your glory above the earth” Psalm 57:5 & 11

·         In all that you do, do unto the glory of God.

·         Sin is intrinsically giving glory to something or someone other than God.

To have good news that is beneficial and right and to not express it would be sin.

            A war over, a patient healed, a love birthed, to withhold good from being conveyed is wrong.

            Thus God created the Heavens and the earth.

            When God makes His glory known He is not prideful or sinful in its demonstration, rather He is benefitting man.  When we glorify God, that is acknowledging in a God centered worship, He is worshipped and we receive joy.  That joy comes from the embracement of love.

Does your worldview center upon God?

Again He is first cause.  That is He began by His own initiative the creation of everything and God never acts without purpose.

When we talk of a God centered worldview, we talk of the authority that God has in our lives.

If God is removed from the creative authority, then man ultimately loses his purpose and value.

            “Philosophers and scientists like to ask, “Where did we come from?”  Though there may be an interest in origins, the ultimate purpose in our origins answers questions of order, law, and morality. 

            When God created the heavens and earth it placed Him as the authority over all.  Without God as Father, man loses his value and purpose as morality and law is reduces to the opinion of the masses and the greater might.  Therefore, truth becomes subjective to the whims of opinion and fad.  It is this type of thinking that led to the rise of Hitler and the Third Reich.  It is the essence of communism and socialism.  These are the end result of man living by his own rules rather than God’s.

God therefore defines who man is.

            For a man to have a fulfilled worth and purpose, he needs God.

So why would God create?

            It is God’s glory to make Himself known.  It is our joy to fulfill that design and we call it worship. 

            You were created to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.

·         God creates to reveal glory

·         Sin destroys twisting glory.

·         Redemption is the return to glory.

This begs a question, “Why would God then ever allow sin which rejects His glory?”

·         Difficult to answer.

·         What can be known is that against the backdrop of sin God is ever so gloriously displayed. Like a jewler’s diamond against black velvet and under bright lights.

In creation there was a plan with order, a purpose to express His glory, and the authority of doing what is just and right.

Creation is the expression of God’s glory.

Creation is the revelation of the heart of God.

            Romans 1 reveals further that man ought to seek the glory of God by being in awe of creation, knowing within that God must exist.

God created in Genesis 1:1 Ex Nihlo, that means “Out of Nothing.”

Therefore, He truly is God, the first cause and the authority over all.

·         Man’s gods are often flawed super-humans or super-heros. 

·         God however, is beyond man’s imagination.  We limit God in our efforts to be gods ourselves, But God is limitless.

Applying this to our lives and worldview

·         If God is God and we are not, then opposition to Him in His holiness makes uf offensive to all that is right.

·         If we limit God’s involvement in our lives we are hurting ourselves in the end.  For we are investing in that which cannot last for it is corrupted by sin and destined for destruction.

·         Surrender unto God through repentance and faith meets the conditions God has set forth for forgiveness and redemption.  Therefore, thought flawed, we can have hope based on the God of such promises. 

·         Stated otherwise, our works, without God, are futile efforts.

·         God can be trusted, for if He were to violate His own word He would cease to be God.

·         Thus our lives can have hope as He is truth, and truth does not change.  For truth to be truth it must not be subjective or moving in relation to the things around it, but rather truth is the cornerstone of all that follows.

·         Thus if we have truth in God, we can have hope, certainty, and love.

To think about God is to gain a truthful perspective on life.  We become…

·         Passionate in love for God

·         Redemptive in nature

·         Hopeful, as God is sovereign

·         Holy as He is holy

·         Orderly, wise, and driven with excellence.

God centered thinking, is a God centered worldview therefore by default removes worry, fear, and folly.  It leads us to a fulfillment of worshipping God and glorifying Him.  Therefore, joy, hope, and love permeate all that the Christian experiences.

Therefore, you can trust in God, for God is the only one who can make sense of a lost world, and His message of redemption, which we carry, is a just and right response to the cross and creation.