A Place for Truth
Sermons

The Creator's Powerful Spirit and Word

Rev. Charles R. Biggs
Text: Genesis 1: 1-5

Propositional Statement: Day four through the beginning of day six reveals God's faithfulness to us, he relieves all of our fears, and he provides and cares for all of our needs!

FCF: We can trust God's faithfulness to us every day of our lives. We can know that he will relieve all of our fears in this world. Also, if he cares so much for the animals- -we know he truly cares for us.

Introduction

• In the last few weeks we have considered our Great Creator-King and how he has revealed himself to his people in the creation. We learned about the Trinitarian God who creates and the distinction and difference between God the Creator and his creation. We considered the Word of God and His Powerful Spirit in the beginning and how he brought form to formlessness, fullness to emptiness, and light where there was only darkness! We see the Almighty power of God's Word and Spirit working together in his revelation to man.

Then we considered days one through three. How God by his almighty power separated and began to adorn the creation. On day one, God separated the light from the darkness. On day two, God separated the waters and created the expanse or the heavens. On day three, God separated the seas from the land and began to adorn the creation with self-perpetuating plant-life. God's work of separation taught Israel that they had been set apart for his service, that being set apart or separated was for the purpose of glorifying God- - and so that is still our purpose as God's people!

As we continue to study Genesis chapter one and the creation account, let us not lose sight of the great impact it would have had on the Ancient Israelites! God was gracious to accommodate himself in their language to them through Moses as much as they could understand about his sovereignty and power, as well as about their origin as humans as well as the People of God! Before the Exodus from Egypt, before the covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, before sin had entered the world and reached catastrophic proportions, when God saved Noah, his family, and the animals. Before the fall of Adam and Eve, God created all things out of nothing, by the word of his power, in the space of six days, and all was very good!

Today, we will focus on days four through the beginning of day six of the creation account. These days continue God's work of God's filling the emptiness, or adorning the creation. This will culminate in the apex of God's work that will be the creation of man on day six!

• There are three particular truths that days four through the beginning of day six teach to us: (1) Day four: the God who is faithful to us; (2) Day five: the God who relieves all of our fears; (3) Beginning of Day six: the God who cares for us and through us rules the animal kingdom.

1. Day Four- Greater Light, Lesser Light, and the Stars: Focus on God's Faithfulness to us!

1. To separate day from night (v. 14a)

• Illustration: Importance of understanding the light of day and the darkness of night for the Israelites. Progress and electricity give us light 24/7, but the Israelites had to wait for morning to be able to see.

• The Israelites were taught that the day and night were given for the service of God. During the day, they would work, during the night they would rest. There was an ordered pattern for them to observe in their lives.

• NT: The Apostle Paul speaks in terms of light and darkness when referring to ways or manners of living in God's creation. In Eph. 5:5-16:

5 For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.

7 Therefore do not be partakers with them.

8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light

9 (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth),

10 finding out what is acceptable to the Lord.

11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.

12 For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret.

13 But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light.

14 Therefore He says: "Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light."

15 See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise,

16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

2. Signs, seasons, days, years (v.14b-15)- (Understand this in light of Israel's calendar).

• Israel's sacred times and festivals had great theological as well as practical significance for them. They observed the sabbath weekly, the sabbath year on a yearly basis, the new moon feast monthly, and the Year of Jubilee every fifty years. As well as the other feasts during the year such as the Feast of Harvest and the Feast of Pentecost.

An Israelite's week, month, year, and even lifetime revolved around their work and the worship of God. These were external teachings that pointed them to the God who had created all things and provided light for their work as well as the seasons and years to teach them the ordering of their time.

• Illustration: We want to understand the significance of the Israelite's work being done in light of God's work at creation. Their workweek was modeled after his workweek (God created or worked for six days and rested on the seventh). We might miss the importance of being an agricultural, nomadic people as industrial, progressive people that we are. Their entire lives orbited around the phases of the moon. Their festivals were to remind them of God's gracious provision. We have grocery stores and markets where food is abundant all year round. We do not want to miss the importance of the land and its produce for these Ancient people. The signs of the heavenly luminaries reminded the people of God's undying faithfulness to them. They lived to see another day, another month, another year, and another generation.

• NT: Jesus came to participate in the sacred times and feasts of Israel. He came to work on behalf of his people, as the true Israelite, working as his Father in heaven works:

15 The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.

16 For this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath.

17 But Jesus answered them, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working."

18 Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.

19 Then Jesus answered and said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.

20 "For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel.

21 "For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will.

22 "For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son,

23 "that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.

These truths of Christ's coming as the True Israelite teaches us that we now daily work and worship God in Spirit and in Truth. All of our days, weeks, months, years are centered upon the Person and Work of Christ. The sun, moon and the stars were to provide ordered time for God's people on earth. It gave order to all the activities of life. It focused the activities on the Great Creator and Provider of all good things.

There were perversions of the truth however…

• These heavenly luminaries were also worshipped in the ancient world. They were to be as guides throughout the lives of God's people, but the pagan peoples worshipped them. Still today we have friends that set the course of their lives by horoscopes and use 900 numbers to call the Psychic Hotline. We are just as mythical as were the ancient peoples.

• Illustration: USA Today in the lounge at BellSouth where grown, mature people were seeking their destiny and guidance for the day. We are no different in our culture!

But the people of God were not to worship anything that God had created…

Deut. 4:13-19: 13 "So He declared to you His covenant which He commanded you to perform, the Ten Commandments; and He wrote them on two tablets of stone.

14 "And the LORD commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that you might observe them in the land which you cross over to possess.

15 " Take careful heed to yourselves, for you saw no form when the LORD spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire,

16 "lest you act corruptly and make for yourselves a carved image in the form of any figure: the likeness of male or female,

17 "the likeness of any animal that is on the earth or the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the air,

18 "the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground or the likeness of any fish that is in the water beneath the earth.

19 "And take heed, lest you lift your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun, the moon, and the stars, all the host of heaven, you feel driven to worship them and serve them, which the LORD your God has given to all the peoples under the whole heaven as a heritage.

In response to these perversions, Moses wrote Genesis this way…

1. Greater Lights and Lesser Lights (v. 16)

• Moses intentionally speaks of these as greater luminaries and lesser luminaries to purposely demote the gods of the ancient people whose name was Sun and Moon.

How does this apply to me?

2. Time is a blessing of God, but I am afraid we are just too busy to enjoy it!

• Progress has not made things easier as much as it has just made everything faster! We must slow down despite the quick pace of our culture. Our daily work, our week established upon the Sabbath or Lord's Day, our months, our years, our lives are to also be focused on our Creator and the great work of redemption he has wrought in our lives! Because of Christ and his Spirit, we can now truly worship God in Spirit and in truth!

• Age: What does this teach about our age? As Modern people, we fret about our age. We have made our age an idol! Think about it, in our world, it is "soooo" important to 'look young' - -we seek perpetual youth- - we fear getting older each day because inherently we know that our society does not have much use for us the older we get.

Observing the days, months, years, and your lifetime as a gift of God will help you to focus on the fact that as Christians, you are not getting older - you are getting closer. That is, closer to your true home where your citizenship is in heaven. Paul described this hope as the outward man wasting away, the inward man is being renewed day-by-day!

Ecclesiastes 3:1 To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven: 2 A time to be born, And a time to die; A time to plant, And a time to pluck what is planted; 3 A time to kill, And a time to heal; A time to break down, And a time to build up; 4 A time to weep, And a time to laugh; A time to mourn, And a time to dance…etc.

A right understanding of time under the sun was why the Author of Ecclesiastes ends with these words:

Ecclesiastes 12:1 Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, Before the difficult days come, And the years draw near when you say, "I have no pleasure in them": 2 While the sun and the light, The moon and the stars, Are not darkened, And the clouds do not return after the rain;

• God was faithful to the Israelites in providing all that they needed, focusing their work and all of their activities upon their Creator. So, he is faithful to us everyday in Christ.

Jeremiah 31:33-36- "But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 "No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more." 35 Thus says the LORD, Who gives the sun for a light by day, The ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night, Who disturbs the sea, And its waves roar (The LORD of hosts is His name): 36 "If those ordinances depart From before Me, says the LORD, Then the seed of Israel shall also cease From being a nation before Me forever."

But the sun, moon, and stars serve a different purpose for the wicked. They are a constant reminder that their time is short…today is the day of salvation…repent before the Great and Terrible Day of the LORD!

10 For the stars of heaven and their constellations Will not give their light; The sun will be darkened in its going forth, And the moon will not cause its light to shine.

11 "I will punish the world for its evil, And the wicked for their iniquity; I will halt the arrogance of the proud, And will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.

12 I will make a mortal more rare than fine gold, A man more than the golden wedge of Ophir.

13 Therefore I will shake the heavens, And the earth will move out of her place, In the wrath of the LORD of hosts And in the day of His fierce anger.

Additional Material

• Notice how God created the greater light, or the sun, the lesser light, or the moon. One was to rule the day and the other to rule the night. He also made the stars. This was to separate/divide the light from the darkness, and God's people would know when their work should be performed and when it should not be done. In a sense, God was "turning down the lights" at night in order for his creation to enjoy the stars, but more importantly he did not want to give enough light for them to work during the night. At night they were to rest. Thank God for our rest!

• The sun, moon, and stars God created for his creatures to enjoy. These three luminaries would have reminded God's people of his transcendence and eternality, while continuously reminding them of their own time-bound existence as creatures of God. Time, in signs and seasons, days and years (hendyadis), taught Israel that they were a temporal people, that they grew old and time passed from one day to the next, from one season to the next, from one year to the next, etc. But these times were created and controlled providentially by their Creator and Redeemer! Although the people of God change, God does not! In the present, the people of God were to know that God is the origin of their being, their provider, their sustainer, and ultimately the fulfillment of all their future hopes as well.

• These gifts of creation were for guidance in temporal life, not for worship and idolatry (cf. Deut. 4:14-19). The pagans read their horoscopes, came up with elaborate displays of the heavens in the stars and tried to map out their life by them. They personalized and personified the sun, moon, and the stars and called them by the name of their gods (e.g. Saturn's Day: Saturday; Moon's Day: Monday; and even today is known by the pagans as Sun's Day!). Whether Akkadian, Babylonian, or Canaanite, these pagans sought the heavens for answers. Much like modern man does today.

• With all of our modern reason and rationalism, we still are some of the most superstitious people in history! Today we have our own magicians and sorcerers - -they don't wear elaborate ANE priestly garbs with serpents on the turban. In fact, they look more like Anthony Robbins, L. Ron Hubbard and Dionne Warwick. However, modern man still seeks the stars, the Tarot, and the horoscopes.

• Our daily papers carry things such as these. In fact, we are probably the only culture in history where you can be entertained by Peanuts and Garfield on one page, and then seek idolatrously the stars on the next page! We also have 900 numbers for readings on our future and Psychic Hotlines to find out if that someone special is indeed "Mr. Right"!

2. Day Five- Birds of the Air, Sea creatures and Sea Monsters: the God who casts out all of our fears!

1. Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth (v. 20)

• Here God makes makes the creature to inhabit the seas and the skies. Up until now, the sea and skies had no life in them. God fills them with the aquatic and aerial life of his creation. These are part of the animal kingdoms that man will be given dominion over. Man will reign as prince over all of God's created kingdoms, including the aquatic and the aerial kingdoms! Let us now focus our attention on the sea creatures that God created. Particularly the Sea Monsters or Sea Creatures described in verses 21-22.

2. And God created the great sea-monsters (v.21)

• First of all, these verses use the verb create again which is very significant. God creates the Sea Creatures. This is important for the Israelites! It is important to God to relieve all of their fears!

• Let me explain. For Israel, as well as other ANE people, the seas were incredibly frightening. In the ANE most of the people were like Israel, they were nomads or land-people. The seas were extremely frightening to them because they could not harness the power of the sea. In fact, one of the reasons the Israelites found the Philistines to be so frightening as a people was because they were known as Sea-Peoples, those who had learned to build ships and harness the waters. (E.g. Crossing of the Red Sea took a great amount of faith).

• It was the understanding of the cosmology of the times that the Sea was inhabited by great Sea Monsters. Before Jacques Cousteau came along, people did not have underwater cameras and such. They just knew that whatever was out there on the vast blue waters was strange to land-people, and very deep - -deep like an abyss. Also, it was believed at this time in history (remember this is a pre-modern age- - that is, they can only know certain things by observation or by God's revelation to them), that the Sea creatures stirred up the deep and produced many of the great waves and disturbances that were observed in the seas and oceans. I imagine that some of these great Sea Creatures were whales and other great fish, perhaps Great sea creatures that are now extinct. But whatever, they were great and frightening to the Israelites! Perhaps a few Scriptures would help us to understand the Israelite's understanding of the Great Sea Creatures that God created!

Psalm 74:11-14- 12 Yet God my King is from of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth. 13 Thou didst divide the sea by thy might; thou didst break the heads of the dragons on the waters. 14 Thou didst crush the heads of Leviathan, thou didst give him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.

Isaiah 51:9-10- 9 Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD; awake, as in days of old, the generations of long ago. Was it not thou that didst cut Rahab in pieces, that didst pierce the dragon? 10 Was it not thou that didst dry up the sea, the waters of the great deep; that didst make the depths of the sea a way for the redeemed to pass over?

Jeremiah 51:34 Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured me, he hath crushed me, he hath made me an empty vessel, he hath swallowed me up like a dragon, he hath filled his belly with my delicates, he hath cast me out.

There is an end to the Sea Monsters…

Isaiah 27:1 In that day the LORD with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.

What do these verses about Sea Monsters teach us today?

• Simply that God relieves all of our fears of the natural creation by knowing that all things even the Sea Monsters and the creatures that we do not fully understand were created and ruled by God. In fact, Jesus when he comes he relieves the fears of his disciples by calming the wind and the waves of the storm when they are out on the Sea of Galilee. He shows them that he is the LORD OF ALL CREATION. As well, part of the great hope of the New Creation is that John records for us in the Book of Revelation these words:

21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

• Whatever our fears today! Whether it be diseases that are unseen, that are even now creeping through our bodies, these things should not cause us unnecessary alarm. These may be tiny and microscopic compared to the Great Sea Creatures of the deep, but they can cause us a great amount of fright and worry. Even there our God is faithful to relieve our fears. He is the Lord of all creation! From the greatest creature, to the smallest (like a disease or bacteria), God is Lord over all and in control! Be still and know that our Creator is God!

3. And God blessed them saying: "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth (v. 22)

3. Day Six- Creatures of the land: Wild and Domesticated (Cattle), and Creeping Things: the God who will care and provide for all of our needs!

• Beasts of the Earth- Canines, such as Jackals, wolves, hyenas; Great Felines, such as Lions, Tigers; deer, antelope, giraffes, and assortment of other (non-domesticated animals).

• Cattle- Behemoth, elephants, oxen, cows, horses, etc (domesticated animals)

• Again, modern man with machines knows not the blessings of being able to use cattle to till the land. To farm the land and to receive God's abundant blessing from the earth!

• Creeping Things- reptiles, insects, etc.

• After their kinds… (no hybrids)- God ordered the creation. He had the animals produce (as the plants and trees), after their kind. Animal hybrids in Scripture represent chaos. Some scholars call them chaos monsters (because they are the antithesis of the order established by God in creation). Poetically and metaphorically these hybrid creatures always represent intense evil. Think about the sea monsters described in Daniel 7: (think back to the Sea creatures)

2 Daniel spoke, saying, "I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the Great Sea. 3 "And four great beasts came up from the sea, each different from the other. 4 "The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings. I watched till its wings were plucked off; and it was lifted up from the earth and made to stand on two feet like a man, and a man's heart was given to it. 5 "And suddenly another beast, a second, like a bear. It was raised up on one side, and had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. And they said thus to it: 'Arise, devour much flesh!' 6 "After this I looked, and there was another, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird. The beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it. 7 "After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth; it was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. 8 "I was considering the horns, and there was another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words.

In the Book of Revelation, the Beast is described thus:

13:1 Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name. 2 Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority. 3 And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast. 4 So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, "Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?" 5 And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months. 6 Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. 7 It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. 8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

• Man was to have dominion over all of the beasts of the earth. God gives man a responsibility of naming the animals, as well as to have dominion over them. It is no surprise that King Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon was punished for his pride against God, and he became like an animal.

29 At the end of the twelve months he was walking about the royal palace of Babylon. 30 The king spoke, saying, "Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?" 31 While the word was still in the king's mouth, a voice fell from heaven: "King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: the kingdom has departed from you! 32 And they shall drive you from men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. They shall make you eat grass like oxen; and seven times shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses."

33 That very hour the word was fulfilled concerning Nebuchadnezzar; he was driven from men and ate grass like oxen; his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair had grown like eagles' feathers and his nails like birds' claws.

• Man is to care for the animals and use them responsibly. God made a covenant with Noah and creation in Genesis 9. It is important to remember that God loves his creation, including the animals. In fact, the fourth commandment gives rest to our cattle, or our domesticated animals! Animals are to be placed under man's dominion, but they are important as creatures of God. As Christians, we want to preserve the life of animals to the best of our abilities. But we are not to make idols out of this noble task. God was interested in preserving the animals - -so should we! In Genesis 7 we read:

17 "And behold, I Myself am bringing floodwaters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything that is on the earth shall die. 18 "But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall go into the ark -- you, your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives with you. 19 "And of every living thing of all flesh you shall bring two of every sort into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. 20 "Of the birds after their kind, of animals after their kind, and of every creeping thing of the earth after its kind, two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive. 21 "And you shall take for yourself of all food that is eaten, and you shall gather it to yourself; and it shall be food for you and for them." 22 Thus Noah did; according to all that God commanded him, so he did.

Although God preserved and cared for the animals (they were part of his creation to glorify him), God never wanted man to worship them. This became a perversion…

• Ancient people worshipped the animal kingdom. As the Apostle Paul says, they worshipped the creature rather than the Creator who is forever praised! Egypt had Ra who was half man, half falcon, etc. The crocodile was an inhabitant of the Nile River and Egypt worshipped this beast. Think of what Paul says in Romans 1: "…professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man -- and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things."

• Illustration: Today, the roles have been reversed. Man in some ways serves the animal kingdom. We are fascinated by the animal kingdom. Think of all of the animal channels on cable if you have happened to "channel-surf" lately. Has there ever been a time when Pet Superstores could have opened across the country and successfully stayed in business. In fact, they seem to be multiplying, one after another, after their kind! People today have bought into the old saying that now appears on some bumper stickers around the country: "The more I get to know other people, the more I love my dog."

• We want to save the manatee, but we abort humanity even before it is out of the womb. We are to be responsible for taking care of the animals, but they are for our good. We can eat them and even enjoy the sport of hunting them. Today, we have animals rights people who are giving more importance to our dogs and pets than they are human beings and their rights. Can you imagine: If some of the pet-rights advocates were alive at the time of the flood, they would apparently have built an ark just for the animals and forgotten about the preservation of man himself!!

What does this mean for the people of God today?

• Our Lord Jesus has told us that if God cares for the sparrow, how much more does he care for us! If our God reveals his concern for the preservation of the animal Kingdom shown by their riding high above the waters of the flood in Noah's Ark, how much more does he love and care for his people!

• He has redeemed his people from the flood of his wrath! His only and dear Son took the cup of wrath that we deserved for our guilt, sins and transgressions against God's Holy Commandments! Jesus, our Lord, suffered the anguish, pain and wrath of God due us for our sins! He has imputed Christ's righteousness to us and watches over us!

• In Christ, God is still proclaiming to all those who would believe: I am the God who is faithful in giving you signs, seasons, days and years so that your life may be ordered to my purposes. I am the God who relieves your fears of the unknown - I have created all there is and I rule over it so that no harm will befall except that which I have ordained to make you more like Christ. I am the God who cares for you. If I care for the animal kingdom, if I care for the small and insignificant sparrow, how much more do I care and provide for you - -O you of little faith!

May we sing with the saints in heaven: "You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created."

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