God Created

Genesis 1:1-2:3
Richard Spencer | Sunday, November 14, 2021
Copyright © 2021, Richard Spencer

John Calvin wrote that “The intention of Moses, in beginning his Book with the creation of the world, is, to render God, as it were, visible to us in his works.”[1] I pray that as we consider this account of the creation we would all see God more clearly.

Now we know that all of Scripture is God-breathed, authoritative and important for Christians as God’s adopted children, but the first chapter of Genesis is of extreme importance. And yet, there is no chapter of Scripture that has been more controversial among Christians, especially in the last 200 years or so.

In one sense, the controversies are nothing new. St. Augustine lived 1,600 years ago, and yet in his work On the Literal Meaning of Genesis he presented his view that God had created everything in an instant and that the six days in Chapter One of Genesis provide a logical sequence for explaining the creation to us.[2] But the controversies have reached a new level of intensity primarily because of two developments: the publication of Darwin’s book On the Origin of Species in 1859 and the widespread acceptance of the Big Bang theory of the universe, which was developed in the 20^th century.

As a result, I think it is safe to say that most professing Christians today simply do not accept the Genesis account of creation as factual. But if you are truly born-again, you will accept the account given in Genesis One as historical fact. It is not poetry and it is not a creation myth. We may not know for certain exactly how to interpret every detail, but there are many important points about which we can and should be certain.

The great 20^th-century Hebrew scholar E.J. Young stated clearly that Genesis is not poetry.[3] He called it “semi-poetic”, by which term he intended to emphasize the elevated character of the language.[4] But even with its elevated language, it is absolutely clear that Genesis One is not poetry. It has none of the characteristics of Hebrew poetry.

Genesis One is also not mythology. Ever since the discovery of the Babylonian creation myth Enuma Elish in the 19^th century it has been popular to say that Genesis is just another ancient near-eastern creation myth. But this is, to put it bluntly, nonsense. Enuma Elish is a polytheistic myth about warfare between Babylonian gods and creation is just a by-product of that war. And this account of creation is obviously mythological given, for example, that the earth and sky are formed out of different pieces of the body of a defeated goddess and mankind is formed out of the blood of another god.[5]

Modern scholars will often say that Genesis is just another ancient creation myth, but E.J. Young points out the truth; namely, that these ancient creation myths are, most likely, corrupted versions of the true creation story given to us in Genesis.[6] This explains why there are some similarities in the stories in spite of their huge and vital difference as I illustrated a moment ago.

If you have even a passing familiarity with Genesis and myths, you will realize that it fundamentally has nothing in common with them. That is why Vern Poythress wrote that “In contrast to the crass, immoral, quarreling gods of polytheism stands the majestic, ordered, unopposed work of the one true God. Instead of creating man to serve the needs of complaining gods, God creates man out of his sheer bounty, blessing him and caring for him. Disorder and suffering come from the human fall and apostasy, not from the disorder of gods in conflict.”[7]

Now, when I say that we, as Christians, will accept the account given in Genesis One as historical fact, I don’t want to be misunderstood. I mean that we take the account as written and properly understood as fact, without being dogmatic about debatable elements. Regrettably, some Christians improperly take one particular understanding of Genesis One as being a litmus test for true Christianity. For example, if you don’t agree with them that the earth was created in 4,004 BC, or some other recent date, then, according to some, you are denying the veracity of the Bible. But to say that the age of the earth, or the age of this universe, is an important theological issue is simply wrong.

Some Christians will also say that if you don’t agree that the six creation days are six consecutive, 24-hour days, you are denying the veracity of the Bible, but even the great, conservative, Bible-believing scholar E.J. Young didn’t believe that. He, along with others, pointed out that since the sun wasn’t created until the fourth day, the first three could not have been normal solar days.[8] And he also pointed out that no one knows how long the world remained in the uninhabitable state described in Verse 2.[9]

Friends, independent of your thoughts on this issue, let us be clear that the age of the earth, or this universe, is never explicitly mentioned in the Bible and is of no theological importance whatsoever. As a result, I will not be spending any time on that question.

I will also not address the issue of how to interpret the days of Genesis One. You can find many solid Bible-believing Christian theologians and Old Testament scholars who will promote mutually exclusive ways of understanding exactly what is meant and even some who will try to reconcile, line-by-line, the Genesis account of creation with modern science. While such an exercise may be interesting, it is again of no theological importance and I will not spend any time on it. Suffice it to say that the given the differences of opinion even among fine, truly born-again biblical scholars who know the original Hebrew, there is much that is ambiguous in the way the account is written.

But this fact should not surprise us because God did not intend to give us a scientific description of the creation. And if you think about it for a moment, it is clear that such a description would have served no useful purpose. The ancient peoples to whom this account was given simply didn’t have the scientific vocabulary necessary to understand it and, perhaps, we still don’t have the necessary vocabulary. And at the time this account was written, mankind was still ignorant of most of modern science, so a description that would make sense to us today would have been incomprehensible and worthless to people at that time. And, if the description was in accord with what we think we know today, I’m quite certain that there are elements of it that would be thought to be wrong 100 years from now. We must realize that modern science, by its very nature, is tentative and subject to change. But God’s Word is true and it does not change. Therefore, I am going to stick with those things that we can know for certain and which are important for us as God’s blood-bought and adopted children to know.

Now Paul tells us in Romans 1:20 that “since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.” Therefore, we know that men can know enough about God from observing creation to be without excuse for not seeking to know him personally, give him thanks, and obey his commands. But for those who by God’s electing grace are born again, it is necessary to know more than we can deduce by examining the creation, and to know it with greater certainty. Therefore, Calvin commented that “if the mute instruction of the heaven and the earth were sufficient, the teaching of Moses would have been superfluous.”[10] Friends, there is information contained in the Bible, which cannot be found anywhere else, that we need for a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Genesis One is not superfluous.

And so, now, with all of that as background, let us begin to look at our text. In the Hebrew, the first three words of Genesis One are berasheth bara Elohim, which means in the beginning God created. E.J. Young pointed out that the first two words have a threefold alliteration, meaning that they begin with the same three letters. He thinks this is deliberate and says, “It ties up these two words by showing that the explanation of the word ‘create’ is found in the word ‘beginning’, and the explanation of the word ‘beginning’ is found in the word ‘create’.”[11]

When we looked at the words, in the beginning God, two weeks ago, I noted that God is eternal. He had no beginning. And therefore, to speak of a beginning makes no sense without God’s sovereign act of creating. It is this creation that had a beginning, not God, and I think that is the critically important point Young was making.

And, even though Genesis One describes the creation of this universe, this world, all living things and, most importantly, man, the emphasis throughout the chapter is on God, not this earth or man. The word ‘God’ shows up 30 times in the 31 verses of our Bibles.

Friends, let me tell you that if your theology is not thoroughly theocentric, that is, God centered, it is not Christian theology. A fundamental first principle of Christianity is that God alone is the self-sufficient Creator and we are completely dependent creatures. As we will find out later in the book of Genesis, the first sin is, in essence, a refutation of this first principle of the Creator/creature distinction.

And I also noted when we looked at the first four words two weeks ago that God had a purpose for creating. The bad news, if you view it from sinful man’s perspective, is that we, as creatures, have no intrinsic dignity or value and no ultimate purpose. According to a materialist’s viewpoint, we are just cosmic accidents, the result of random combinations of inanimate matter and we are not in any intrinsic way of greater dignity or value than a rock. We are just matter in motion guided only by the laws of physics.

The good news however, viewed from the only perspective that truly matters, which is God’s, is that we have tremendous dignity and value and a clear purpose. Our dignity and value are bound up in the fact that this universe was made entirely with us in mind and that we ourselves are made in God’s image and have a covenant relationship with him, and our purpose is to glorify and enjoy him forever as the Westminster Shorter Catechism correctly states.

And we aren’t left to wonder how we can glorify God. In John 17:4 we are told that Jesus said to the Father, “I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.” And we glorify God in precisely the same way, by walking in obedience and doing the work God has prepared for us to do. As we are told in Ephesians 2:10, “we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” And further, in 1 Corinthians 10:31 we are told, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

In my sermon two weeks ago, we focused on the first four words of Genesis 1:1, in the beginning God. But we now want to look at the rest of this creation narrative, which extends from Genesis 1:1 through 2:3. We will examine this very important narrative by looking at four points: First, God created the universe; second, God prepared the world for man; third, God created man; and fourth, God blessed and commissioned man. And note that, in keeping with the emphasis in this chapter, each point begins with God. Now let’s begin by examining the fact that God created the universe.

I.       God Created the Universe

Genesis 1:1 says that “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” This simple statement is surely one of the most profound sentences ever written. The word ‘heavens’ simply signifies everything in creation outside of this earth.[12] Everything that exists outside of God was created by God, both this physical universe and the angelic host. All energy, all matter, all the laws of physics and chemistry, all spirits outside of God himself. There is nothing outside of God that he didn’t create and it is all included in this amazing statement.

And, of course, this creation is the work of the triune God, not just the Father. In John 1:3 we are told that “Through him”, referring to Jesus Christ, “all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” If we take that last phrase, without him nothing was made that has been made, which is a negative statement, and turn it around into a positive statement, we can say that everything that has been made – in other words, all of creation – was made with the participation of Jesus Christ. And the presence of the Holy Spirit in creation is obvious as well. We are told in the second verse of our chapter that “the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” The Triune God revealed to us in the Bible is the one true and living God and he created this universe.

Returning to the first verse, the Hebrew word used for create in this verse is bara, which means to create out of nothing and is only used in the Bible with God as the subject; man is never the subject for this verb.[13] Human beings can certainly make many things, but we can only make things out of existing materials, we are craftsmen and builders and sculptors and so on, but only God can create something out of nothing.

And so, this first verse teaches us in one simple sentence one of the most profound truths there is, and a truth which is at the very core of true Christianity; namely, that every thing that exists outside of God himself was created by God out of nothing. The Creator/creature distinction is a first principle that we must know and remember as we read and apply all of Scripture to our lives.

But before we proceed, I want to very briefly address the fact that a few modern translations of the Bible take this first verse as a dependent temporal clause, rather than an independent statement, and in doing so they make it the beginning of one long sentence, which ends with our third verse. In this case, this first verse reads something like, “When God began creating the heavens and the earth …”[14], which implies the pre-existence of matter. But this translation, while grammatically possible, is called by E.J. Young a “desperate” translation. He thinks it is done solely to make the verse read more like the opening of the Babylonian creation myth I mentioned earlier.[15] He discusses in depth why this translation is wrong[16], so I will not go into it further today and we will stick with what our Bibles and most other English translations say, which is a proper translation.

Now let’s move on to consider the second verse. It says, “Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” This verse has also been controversial. Some have postulated that there was a large span of time between Verse 1 and Verse 2. This view is most famously put forward in the Scofield Reference Bible and is called the Gap Theory or Restitution Theory. According to this theory, Genesis 1:1 speaks of the original creation by God and the angel Lucifer ruled this first creation. But, according to this theory, when Lucifer sinned, God destroyed that world and it became the desolate world described in Verse 2.[17]

This theory however, results in an extremely unnatural reading of these verses and is opposed by other Scriptures. For example, it is opposed by Exodus 20:11, which says, “For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” While this verse in Exodus does not use the Hebrew verb bara, it is clearly referring to the original creation and makes no mention of a prior fall. In addition, as E.J. Young points out, when Verse 2 tells us that “the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep”, it simply refers to the earth in its primordial uninhabitable condition and does not in any way imply the existence of evil.[18] Therefore, I personally reject the gap theory, although this is again, not a critical issue.

What is clear, is that Verses 1 and 2 together tell us that God created this entire universe out of nothing and that there was a time when this earth was in an uninhabitable state, it was not ready for man. This state is described in Verse 2 by three conditions: first, it was formless and empty; second, darkness was over the surface of the deep; and third, the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.[19]

And then, immediately following this verse, we begin a new section of this chapter, in which God transforms the world to make it a suitable habitation for man. And this is my second point, God prepared the world for man.

II.      God Prepared the World for Man

This next section includes the first five days of creation and extends from Verse 3 through Verse 23. One characteristic of this section that is interesting and important is that, grammatically speaking, there is only one subject in all of the verses: God.[20] While the transformation of the earth could logically be called the subject of these verses, the emphasis is clearly on the One who is doing the transforming, the only Creator, the only God. And even though the word used for God here, Elohim, is plural, the verbs used are usually singular and the pronouns referring back to God are singular.[21] This is entirely consistent with the fact that there is but one God, who exists in three persons.

Another interesting characteristic of this section is that it is the first place we see the phrase, ‘And God said’. John Calvin noted that while we can be sure that the earlier creation described in Verse One was done by the same creative power of God, we are first told about God speaking here because it is here, in the act of transforming the world to be inhabitable by man, that God’s wisdom “begins to be conspicuous”, as Calvin put it, and we know that the Word of God, meaning Jesus Christ, is called the wisdom of God in 1 Corinthians 1:24.[22]

James Boice notes that “the word comes first, followed by the deed, followed by a further revelation in words to interpret the deed spiritually. This means that a hearty emphasis on the word of God is both biblical and mandatory, if one is to appreciate the acts of God prophesied, recorded, and interpreted in the Scriptures.”[23]

Friends, truly God is magnificent and glorious beyond description. As Christians, we have a tendency to focus our worship on the fact that God is our Redeemer, which is certainly wonderful and praiseworthy. But even before that, he should be worshiped for who he is and for his work of creation. We see this pattern, for example, in the book of Revelation. Chapter Five contains three hymns of praise to Christ for his work of redemption, but prior to that, in Revelation 4:8 we are told that the four creatures surrounding the throne of God are always saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.” They are praising God for who he is. And then, in Verse 11 we read that the twenty-four elders worship God saying, “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.” They are praising God for creation. And so, brothers and sisters, let us also learn to praise God for who he is and for his work of creation as well as his work of redemption.

And now let’s look at this section of our text in some detail. It begins in Verse 3 by saying, “And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.” E.J. Young points out that this verse does not speak of the sun as the source of light, the sun comes into the picture on Day Four, and he thinks this was done deliberately because the sun was so often an object of worship in the ancient world.[24] God wants all people everywhere to know that he alone is the source of light and life and he alone is to be worshiped, not the sun or any other part of creation.

Young describes this whole section containing the first five days as comprising repetitions of fiat, fulfilment and summing up[25]. Fiat is a Latin word that means let it be made or let it be done.[26] Over and over again in this section of Genesis One we see fiat – a simple statement by God, like “Let there be light”, followed by fulfilment, something like, “and there was light.” And then in many cases the fulfilment is followed by a summary statement like, “And it was so”, which emphasizes God’s sovereign ability to accomplish his purposes. When God says “Let there be”, there will be.

You and I are not always able to do all that we desire to do, but God accomplishes all that he desires perfectly. God tells us in Isaiah 55:10-11 that, “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”

When we look at this section of Genesis One, we also notice a clear progression in God’s work. It begins with inanimate matter and progresses to plant life and then to aquatic and avian animal life. And all of this is done to make the earth into a suitable habitat for man.

As we just saw in Verse 3, the first thing created was light, which is essential for life. And we also see here the first of God’s moral pronouncements about this creation. We are told in Verse 4 that “God saw that the light was good”. In fact, everything that God does is good.

And light is particularly important. Just as physical light is literally necessary for life, so also spiritual light is literally necessary for new life. Therefore, physical light is sometimes used appropriately as a metaphor for spiritual light, or illumination. We see this, for example, in 2 Corinthians 4:6 where Paul wrote, “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” Just as God produced light in order to create life, so also he gives spiritual light in the work of regeneration to give his chosen people new life.[27]

We are next told that God separated the light from the darkness, giving us day and night. The darkness here does not imply evil in any way, we are simply being given a pattern that marks the passage of time. We are told in Verse 5, “And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.”

We then see God causing the earth to have an atmosphere on the second day, followed by his causing dry land to appear and be filled with plants on the third day. And all of this is in preparation for the creation of man.

Then, on the fourth day the account returns to consider the heavens and tells us about the creation of the sun, moon and stars. And, very importantly, it tells us that they also serve a purpose related to man. We are told in Verses 14 and 15 that they, “serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, and” they are to “be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth”

Then, on the fifth day we see something completely new and different: the creation of animal life. This difference is made clear by the second use of the Hebrew word bara, which you will remember refers to creation out of nothing and is always used with God as the subject. It is God, and God alone, who can create out of nothing. In this case, he creates life. In Verse 21 we read, “So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.”

Brothers and sisters, only God can create life. It is qualitatively different than the inanimate creation and does not come about through random processes operating on inanimate chemicals. There is not only no proof for the atheistic view of the origin of life, there is massive evidence against it. The only real reason that atheistic scientists hold firmly to the idea that life arose naturally is that they have a fundamental presupposition of materialism. Take away that presupposition, which is baseless and a wicked rejection of God, and look at the evidence fairly and it is clear that the Bible is telling us the truth, God made every living thing.

And now we come to the last day of God’s creative activity, the sixth day. And what a glorious day it is. It begins with God creating the land animals, both wild and domestic. But then it moves on and that brings me to my third point, God created man.

III.    God Created Man

We read in Verse 26, “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’” I noted in the sermon two weeks ago that the plural pronouns in this verse are clear evidence for the trinity. But now notice, in addition, that we see God deliberating about the creation of man. We don’t see this with any other element of the creation, but here we see God deliberating with himself so to speak – “Let us make man in our image”, it is an indication of the unique place man has in God’s creation.

Then, in addition, we see this amazing statement that God is going to make man in his image and likeness. That is an incredible statement that should cause us to pause and ask, “What does it mean to be created in the image of God?”

To understand this statement, we need to look ahead a little. As you know, after God creates Adam and Eve, they disobey God, bringing sin to the human race. The fall shows that man is a moral creature. We make real decisions for which we can and will be justly held accountable. That moral nature is an important part of what it means to be made in the image of God.

Also, as a result of the fall, all of Adam’s descendants inherit a sinful nature.  In other words, the image of God has been defaced by sin. But, praise God, he had a plan from before creation to redeem some people out of their sinful estate. And when we are born again, Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:17 that we are new creations. In other words, the image of God is being restored. And in Ephesians 4:24 we are told, “to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” In other words, part of the image of God is that we should be righteous and holy. This simply means that we should do what is right, we should walk in moral purity and be set apart for service to God and his people. That is part of the image of God. And God told us in the Old Testament that he was going to do this. In Ezekiel 36:25-27, which you will read tomorrow, God spoke of the regeneration of his chosen people when he famously declared that “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.” That is what it means to be righteous and holy – to follow God’s decrees and be careful to keep his laws.

In addition, in Colossians 3:10 we are told that Christians have, “put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.” So, another part of the image of God is that we have knowledge.

We are rational creatures, made by God to be able to think and understand. And the highest and best use of our minds is to think God’s thoughts after him. We should seek to know his laws, understand them and obey them. And we should seek to know God, which is done through study of the three books he has given us: the book of creation, the book of conscience and the book of canon, meaning the canon of Scripture.

Another part of the image of God, which is vitally important, is that we have a spirit. Verse 27 goes on to say, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”

This verse is the third time we see the Hebrew word bara used, and it is used three times, which gives it special emphasis. Remember that this special type of creation, creation out of nothing, occurred when God first created the matter and energy of this universe in Verse 1, then again when he first created animal life in Verse 21 and now, finally, when he creates man in his image in Verse 27. It is a clear indication that there is something completely new. That something is the fact that man is not just a living physical being like the animals, he also has a spirit and is able to have communion with his Creator. Man has both a body and a soul, or spirit. This is clearly taught in the Bible and our spirit is the center of our being, who we are. Our spirits can exist without our physical body as we learn from Hebrews 12:23 where we read about “the spirits of righteous men made perfect” who are with God in heaven.

As human beings, we share something with the physical creation and we share something with our Creator, for as we noted two weeks ago, God is Spirit. This makes man ideally suited to be God’s representative in ruling creation as he stated in Verse 26. We are made in his image.

In addition, Verse 27 tells us that God created man male and female. This is an important point because it is the basis upon which God builds the family, which then forms the basis of the church and the state. In addition, as we will see when we get to Chapter Two, woman is made from man, or, we could say, in the image of man. James Boice says that “It is not wrong to say that men and women are to God somewhat as the woman is to the man. They are God’s unique and valued companions. In support of this we need only think of the Bible’s teaching concerning Christ as the bridegroom and the church as his bride.”[28] But, of course, we must never forget the Creator/creature distinction, so this similarity has a critically important difference. Nevertheless, as I noted before, our intrinsic dignity comes from God – we are made in his image.

The Westminster Shorter Catechism is certainly correct when it says that God “created man male and female, after his own image, in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, with dominion over the creatures.”

It is not chauvinistic of man to consider himself the pinnacle of God’s creation, it is clear from the text. First, as I said, God presents the divine deliberation before creating man. Second, he creates man in his image. And, third, he gives man a job to do in ruling creation. And that brings us to my fourth point, God blessed and commissioned man.

IV.    God Blessed and Commissioned Man

In Verse 28 we are told that “God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.’” God blessed man in making him in his image and in making him the ruler over the rest of creation. He blessed him abundantly in having fellowship with him in the Garden. And after the fall he has blessed his chosen people above and beyond all we could ask or imagine by sending his own Son, Jesus Christ, to redeem us from sin by paying the price that we owe.

And God gave Adam and Eve a specific commission, sometimes called the Creation Mandate. He told them to “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it”, and to rule over the rest of creation.

This is a serious charge from God and was not removed when man sinned. We are still bound by God’s charge to subdue the earth. We now have to deal with the results of the fall, which has made our labor hard and at times unfruitful, but we are still called to labor. We are to work six days a week and provide for our needs, support God’s church and have something to give to others who are in need. And we should be good stewards of the earth that God has given to us.

And before we move on and wrap up, we must take note of the final verse of Chapter One, which tells us, “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.” Here we see God again making a moral pronouncement on the original creation, it was not just good, it was very good. God is perfect and all that he does is perfect. So his original creation was also perfect, even though we know that it was corruptible. Sin did enter. There is mystery here to be sure, but this universe was created very good. It was, and is, the perfect universe to accomplish God’s purpose of displaying his multifaceted glory.

But now we must move on to the first three verses of Chapter Two. These verses close out the creation account. The important points made are: First, that God completed the creation. There was nothing left undone. Everything that was necessary for the accomplishing of his purposes was provided and it was all very good. Second, there is a pattern to life established by God. He points back to this himself when he gives Moses the Ten Commandments. The Fourth Commandment specifically points to the fact that we are to rest from our earthly labors on the seventh day because God was able to complete the creation in six days. The seven-day week is not an arbitrary convention of man, it is part of God’s created order. The seventh day shows that God completes the work he plans and gives us a pattern. Life is not an endless cycle – God has a plan and history is linear, moving inexorably toward the end God has ordained from before the beginning. Third, the rest referred to is not speaking about God sitting around doing nothing. It is a rest from the work of physical creation, nothing else.

Jesus told us John 5:17 that “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working.” And this is similar with the weekly Sabbath for us. It is not a day to lie on the couch and do nothing, it is a day to set aside our earthly employments and recreations and focus on God and his kingdom. Fourth, the sabbath rest points to the fact that there is, ultimately, a rest from our labors. In Hebrews 4:9-10 we read, “There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his.”

Notice that in this account of the seventh day we are never told there was evening and there was morning. There is no indication the day ended. In fact, we are still in the seventh day.

Friends, let me close by quickly reminding you of six things I have said: 1) The age of the universe or of this earth and the exact interpretation of the six days are not theologically important; 2) The creation account, like all of scripture, is theocentric, and our lives should be as well; 3) Our dignity and purpose come from God – we are made in his image and are to live for his glory and rule creation for him; 4) We must always keep the Creator/creature distinction in mind; 5) We should worship God for who he is and for creation in addition to redemption; and 6) we should work six days a week and worship God on the seventh.

Finally, we must realize that God is working even now to finish the creation of his most important work, the creation of his glorious church, the bride of Christ. While we learn from Genesis One that God made this earth for man, it was not, ultimately, for all men and women. We learn from the rest of Scripture that God chose some to be saved and to be a part of his eternal church, the family of God. The rest of humanity will be eternally punished for their rejection of God. Therefore, the most important thing for each one of us to do, is to repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

God’s work will only be completed when everyone whom God chose before the creation of this world has been effectually called and justified. Then Christ will return and we will receive our glorified bodies and begin to spend eternity with him. What a glorious future we have to look forward to in the new heaven and the new earth, the home of righteousness.

So, brothers and sisters, join with me in worshiping and serving our great and glorious Creator by doing the work he has assigned and longing for his appearing. Then we will truly enter our final, eternal rest.

[1] John Calvin, Commentaries on The First Book of Moses, Called Genesis, in Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol. I, Baker Books, 2009, pg. 58

[2] J.C. Lennox, Seven Days that Divide the World, Zondervan, 2011, pg. 42

[3] E.J. Young, In the Beginning, The Banner of Truth Trust, 1976, pg. 18

[4] E.J. Young, Studies in Genesis One, Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing, 1964, pg. 40 (see fn 47)

[5] Lennox, op. cit., pg. 121 and Vern Poythress, Redeeming Science, Crossway Books, 2006, pg. 71

[6] E.J. Young, In the Beginning, The Banner of Truth Trust, 1976, pg. 38

[7] Vern Poythress, Redeeming Science, Crossway Books, 2006, pg. 72

[8] E.J. Young, In the Beginning, The Banner of Truth Trust, 1976, pg. 43

[9] Ibid, pg. 30

[10] Calvin, op. cit., pg. 62

[11] E.J. Young, In the Beginning, The Banner of Truth Trust, 1976, pg. 23

[12] Ibid, pg. 27

[13] Ibid, pg. 25

[14] The Living Bible

[15] E.J. Young, In the Beginning, The Banner of Truth Trust, 1976, pp 21-23

[16] E.J. Young, Studies in Genesis One, Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing, 1964, pp 1-14

[17] J.M. Boice, Genesis, An Expositional Commentary, Ministry Resources Library, 1982, Vol. 1, pp 50-51

[18] E.J. Young, In the Beginning, The Banner of Truth Trust, 1976, pp 29-30

[19] Ibid, pg. 39, but I have used our NIV text rather than the KJV he was quoting

[20] Boice, op. cit., pg. 70

[21] Ibid

[22] Calvin, op. cit., pp 74-75, see fn 2 on pg. 75, I have summarized the argument

[23] Boice, op. cit., pg. 71

[24] E.J. Young, In the Beginning, The Banner of Truth Trust, 1976, pg. 40

[25] Ibid, pp 15-16

[26] https://www.answers.com/Q/What_does_the_latin_word_Fiat_mean

[27] Idea taken from Ibid, pp 41-42

[28] Boice, op. cit., pg. 78