God’s Good Design in Creation

All right, so we’re picking up today where Mike left off last week. Today’s going to be Part 2 of 2 on God’s good design in creation. So, then, in the weeks to come, Lord willing, we’re going to look at God’s good design in humanity and sexuality and rest and work and marriage. But today is creation. 

And if you were here last week, at one point, Mike said so many questions come to mind when you read Genesis 1. Is this creation account compatible with evolution? Are these literal 24-hour days? How did light show up before the sun was created? Can you be a Christian if you don’t agree with how some other Christians answer those questions? And then he just kind of said, we’ll answer those next week. And I’m literally sitting back there thinking, “Well, that’s easy for you to say, bro, because I’m going to be preaching next week!

So here I am ready to answer all of your questions about Scripture and science and the creation of the universe in the next couple of minutes. Unfortunately, that’s not going to happen, but I do want to give it a try. I want to give you a framework for these questions and along the way to point you to some resources that might be helpful for you if you want to dive in deeper. And in the end, I want to bring this back around, like I said, to really good news that we all need to hear today for our lives, right where you’re sitting right now. And so we got a lot of ground to cover. Strap your seatbelt on. We’re about to fly. 

So we’re just going to start though by just reading the first two verses of the Bible out loud together. So Genesis 1:1–2, can you say this out loud with me?

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 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. 

Thus begins the whole Bible. So how does the Bible, starting with this account of the creation of the world, relate to science and what we know about the world? And if you’re taking notes, I’m going to give you three groups of four today. The first group is four affirmations about scripture and science. 

Four Affirmations about Scripture and Science

So you might write these down. 

1. Scripture rightly understood and science rightly observed support one another.

And I’m not even putting Scripture and science on the same plane, as if they’re exactly the same, but I do want to show you that they’re not in conflict, as some of you might believe and as a lot of scientists would like you to believe. God is the author of all truth, which means that everything that’s true in the world, including what’s true in his Word, and everything that science observes is true. Everything that science observes as true originates ultimately in God. 

So back in the 1600s, Sir Francis Bacon, the man who invented the scientific method, described what’s known, what became known, as the two-book metaphor, saying God has written two books, not just one. Of course, we were all familiar with the first book he wrote, namely Scripture, but he’s written a second book called Creation—and both books are true. 

Yet we have been so influenced by certain scientists who have gone on the assault, offensive, against religion, and specifically the Bible. Steven Weinberg, a Nobel Prize winner in physics, said, “The world needs to wake up from the long nightmare of religion. Anything we scientists can do to weaken the hold of religion should be done and may in fact be our greatest contribution to civilization.” That is an agenda. 

Richard Dawkins, in his book The God Delusion argues that belief in God is dangerous and harmful to people’s lives. Stephen Hawking famously declared, “We must choose between science or God.” And to be fair, on the other side, some Christians have said, “I just believe the Bible. I don’t care a thing about what science says.” But we don’t have to choose. 

Hear this: students, teenagers, kids in classes in college, or anybody in any field, including education or math or physics or science or medicine—you don’t have to choose. Many of the greatest scientists in the world—from Galileo to Kepler to Pascal to Newton—were all confident believers in God, and they actually believed in their science because they believed in God. 

C.S. Lewis, talking about the effect of Christianity on the entire development of science, said men became scientific because they expected law in nature, and they expected law in nature because they believed in a Legislator and a Law Creator. That’s why, when Newton discovered his law of gravity, he didn’t say, “Well, now that we’ve got a law of gravity, we don’t need God.” Instead, he wrote a book called Principia Mathematica, which may be the most famous book in the history of science. And he expressed his hope that what he’d written would persuade any thinking person to believe in a deity. 

And it’s not just scientists of the past, [as if] we’ve progressed from there. You think of all the major scientific developments of the last century. If Dawkins and Hawking and Carl Sagan were right about the discord between Scripture and science, you would expect there to be no Christian Nobel Prize winners in areas like physics or chemistry or physiology or medicine or science, economics. But, in fact, in the last century, over 60% of Nobel laureates were self-confessed believers in God. 

One of my favorite quotes on science and the scriptural account of creation here is from Robert Jastrow. He founded NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, and he said, 

“The details differ, but the essential elements in the astronomical and biblical accounts of Genesis are the same.

This is an exceedingly strange development, unexpected by all, but the theologians, they have always believed the word of the Bible, but we scientists did not expect to find evidence for an abrupt beginning because we have had until recently such extraordinary success and tracing the chain of cause and effect backward in time. At this moment, it seems as though science will never be able to raise the current curtain on the mystery of creation. For the scientists who has lived by his faith and the power of reason, the story ends like a bad dream. He has scaled the mountains of ignorance. He’s about to conquer the highest peak. As he pulls himself over the final rock, he’s greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries.”

The point is they go together, and as a result, Christians should not be afraid of science. Psalm 111:2: “Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who delight in them.” Science is the study of God’s great works. Just think: astronomy. Look at how the earth sits at just the right distance from the sun, such as if we were a tiny bit closer, we’d burn up; a tiny fraction farther, and we’d freeze. Look at how the moon’s influence maintains earth’s tilt at 23 degrees, keeping us from wobbling. See how Saturn and Jupiter patrol our solar system, right? And if they didn’t, Jupiter would sling Saturn out of the system, launch into elliptical orbit, and crash right into us. Instead, Jupiter acts like a cosmic vacuum sweeper for our good in the universe. Marvel at how the Milky Way is 85,000 light years across, and we are 25,000 light years from the center, which just so happens to make our planet ideal for oxygen, nitrogen, carbon, and iron—the elements we need to live. How delightful is science? 

And by the way, so if you’re still with Dawkins, thinking, Belief in God is diluted and dangerous for the world. Look at the research. A survey in the American Journal of Public Health, which is definitely not a religious publication, points out how religious involvement correlates strongly in people’s lives with overall well-being, happiness, life satisfaction, hope, optimism, purpose, meaning, dealing with grief, social support. I could go on and on, but I guess the point is, if you want to see the value of faith in God, just look at the science. 

And if you want to dive deeper into this on a short, readable level, or maybe a resource you could give to others, I would highly recommend John Lennox’s, Can Science Explain Everything? Lenox is a mathematician and bioethicist who’s written many books on God and science and creation, all of which you could dive into. But this one is just a short summary. Lenox has debated Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, and many other atheists, with winsome humility. So John Lennox, Can Science Explain Everything? 

Alright, I got to really speed things up here. Second affirmation …

2. Conflicts between Scripture and science only occur when Scripture is misinterpreted or science is mistaken.

Conflicts between Scripture and science only occur when Scripture is misinterpreted or science is mistaken. So, yes, history and the present are filled with conversations that look like conflict between Scripture and science. And the explanation for that conflict is either Scripture being misinterpreted or scientific observations being mistaken. So a classic example of Scripture misinterpretation is when Copernicus rightly corrected misinterpretations of certain Bible passages that Christians said supported the earth being the center of the universe.

Similarly, Scripture reveals the emptiness of scientific theories that natural phenomena randomly come from purely materialistic causes with no ultimate explanation for their beginning. But those discrepancies don’t ultimately pit Scripture against science. Instead, they expose either misinterpretations or mistakes; misunderstandings, in one or both of them, which leads to the third affirmation. 

3. The purpose of Scripture is not to address and/or answer every question we might have.

There are so many questions that the Bible doesn’t address or answer on practical levels. It doesn’t tell me how to potty-train my child or raise teenagers, and I wish it told me both. Medically, it doesn’t tell me how to heal every ache in my body. Scientifically, it doesn’t tell me how to understand quantum physics, because its purpose is not to answer every question we might have.

The Bible’s Purpose is to Reveal Who God is and How We Can Experience Life Forever with him starting right now. The Bible’s purpose is to reveal who God is and how we can experience life forever with him, starting right now. But don’t expect the Bible to answer every question you have. 

And related to that, fourth affirmation …

4. The purpose of science Is not to identify and/or verify everything we should believe 

Stephen Hawking, who was clearly brilliant in many ways, once said, “Scientists have become the bearers of the torch of discovery in our quest for knowledge.” But science is not the only path to knowledge; that’s not true. Lennox, in his book I mentioned earlier, uses an illustration. He says, “Imagine Aunt Matilda bakes a cake. And so we submit it to the world’s top scientists.” He says, “The biochemist will inform us about the structure of the proteins, fats, and so on, involved in its composition; the chemists about the elements involved; the physicists will be able to analyze the cake in terms of fundamental particles; and the mathematicians will no doubt offer us a set of elegant equations to describe the behavior of those particles.” 

But then he writes, “Now we know what the cake is made of, but suppose we now ask the scientists why the cake was made.” And the grin on Aunt Matilda’s face shows that she knows the answer, but they can’t know unless she tells them. Because science can answer what something is at a certain level, but science cannot answer why it is or who made it or where it’s going. 

And again, this is where science and Scripture work together, not against one another. Which then leads us back to Genesis 1 and four questions about creation …

Four Questions about Creation

So I’m going to go ahead and recommend a book here at the top because I know I don’t have time today even to answer these questions, because there are volumes of books written to answer these questions. But one I would recommend to you is entitled 40 Questions About Creation and Evolution by Ken Keithley and Mark Rucker. Dr. Keithley actually used to be one of my professors in school, and this 40 questions book is so helpful in giving just concise answers to some of the many questions we might have about creation and evolution after reading Genesis 1–2. And then if you want to go deeper, this book contains a great list of other books on different topics that you could dive more into. 

So here are four main questions, though, amidst many others about creation from Genesis 1–2. 

1. How do we rightly interpret various words and concepts (like day, earth, heaven, formless, void) in Genesis 1–2?

And that’s just the first couple of verses. So remember, right, interpretation of Scripture is vital. So how do we rightly interpret, understand these key words in context and concepts in this biblical account of creation? 

Just take the word “day,” for example. I’ll put this back up on the screen in a minute if you’re still writing it down. But here’s Genesis 1:5: “God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning. the first day.” You see it twice. That’s 2 of over 2000 times that the Old Testament contains this word in the Bible. And over the course of those 2000 times, it’s used in about 5 different ways.

Sometimes “day” refers to a period of 24 hours. Other times “day” refers to the daylight portion of a day. In contrast to darkness at night, sometimes “day” vaguely refers to time in general in his day. Sometimes day refers to a year, particularly when it’s in the plural; and other times “day” refers to a long but a finite period of time. So that’s a lot of options to choose from in any one verse, where we have to dive in and look at the context. And that’s just in the Hebrew. That doesn’t even account for what might first come into our minds in our culture when we read this word “day” or consider this concept of a day in creation.

For example, one Old Testament scholar named Trumper Longman points out how many readers stumble in Genesis 1 over the 6 days of creation. They ask how could it happen so quickly? It’s interesting to note, though, that before the 19th century and the work of Charles Darwin, the question was just the opposite. For instance, in the 16th century, John Calvin encountered skepticism concerning the biblical account because it took God so long to create. The biblical accounts seemed ridiculous to many readers in the 16th century because they knew that God could create instantaneously if he so willed. So we might have different questions about certain words or concepts from the start, which just shows how we need to actually study the Bible in order to rightly interpret what it’s saying. More on that in a minute, but it leads to a second question. 

2. Is the earth young?

So many Bible-believing Christians who also embrace science, believe that the Bible is talking here about 6 special, literal 24-hour days that took place somewhere between about 6 and 12,000 years ago. If you’ve ever heard of “Answers in Genesis”—that’s a website—or the Institute for Creation Research, or the creation in the Arch Museums in Kentucky, they would be strong advocates for a young-earth view of creation in Genesis 1–2. Or …

3. Is the earth old?

So, other Bible-believing Christians would say that these days in Genesis 1–2 are not 24-hour periods, but longer periods of time, maybe up to millions of years, over the course of which God created the world. And this view would be promoted on websites like Reasonstobelieve.org, and by Bible-believing Christians in the history of the church from Charles Spurgeon to Dietrich Bonhoeffer to C.S. Lewis to Billy Graham.

And then as part of these questions about how young or old the earth is, some ask …

4. Is it possible to believe in the Bible and parts of evolutionary theory?

And if so, which parts? And I want to emphasize here, we’re talking about people who believe in God and the Bible, the authority of Scripture, the truthfulness of Scripture. So they’re not embracing secular Darwinism that’s God-less; but they do embrace certain facets of evolutionary theory to certain degrees.

And this is where I simply want to encourage all of us when we explore these questions to study the Bible and read what different brothers and sisters in Christ say about different positions, and realize that just because you don’t agree with every other Christian on this one doesn’t mean that they’re not a Christian. And I say that because, particularly over recent years, the rhetoric around the age of the earth has become really divisive in the church—to where how you answer these questions seems like a litmus test for whether you believe the Bible or the gospel, or you’re compromising. And that’s not true. There are genuine Bible-believing, gospel-embracing, seeking Christians who have different views on many of these questions. And as a pastor in our church family, I want you to know that we do not divide as a church over how you answer these questions.

But that doesn’t mean we don’t have convictions about how we may answer them, and even discuss and debate those. It doesn’t mean we don’t hold tightly to any beliefs about creation. We just realize that there are some things we don’t totally know in this world, but that actually leads to four certainties about creation that we know based on what’s crystal clear in God’s word. 

So I’ll go through the first three pretty quick, and then I really want you to see and soak in number four. So, number one … 

1. Certainty about creation.

If it is rightly interpreted and understood, the Genesis account of creation is true. So Genesis 1 and Genesis 2 is absolutely true when it’s rightly interpreted and understood, and that’s why it’s good to work hard to rightly interpret and understand it. Even if that work leads us to some disagreements, we know that what we’re reading is true. We may just have to wait for heaven to figure out who of us had it exactly right. 

Number two ….

2. The One True God created everything that exists.

That’s crystal clear in these chapters, and we bank our lives on this. “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). Those ten words led the foundation for everything else to come. In the Bible, there is one true God and he created everything, period. So Isaiah 45:18: “Thus says the Lord, who created the heavens (he is God!), who formed the earth and made it (he established it; he did not create it empty, he formed it to be inhabited!): ‘I am the Lord and there is no other.’”

The One True God created everything that exists. Number three …

3. Adam and Eve were historical people.

We’re going to talk more about this next week, Lord willing, about the first man and woman created by God. They’re not mythical creatures. They’re not metaphors for humankind. They are real people who represent humanity; a real man and woman made in the image of God, which then leads to truth number four …

4. God designed creation including the creation of man and everything else for a glorious purpose.

And this is where I want us to see … so God’s good design for creation. I want us to see God’s glorious purpose in all of creation, including God’s glorious purpose in your life, right where you’re sitting. So please forgive me: up until this point, the sermon has been a little unique. We’ve not done a lot of in-depth study in God’s Word, but I’m about to make up for it. And there’s going to be a lot of … you won’t be able to turn to all these places. I’ll have them up here on the screen, but you do not want to miss what we’re about to see.

So if we’re going to rightly understand Genesis 1 and Genesis 2, then we have to start by putting ourselves in the shoes of the person who was writing this under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and the people who first read it or heard it. And when we do that, we realize Moses who wrote this was writing to people, the people of God, specifically 3000 or so years ago. And when they read this, they were not immediately thinking how these chapters square with 21st century science like we do. They didn’t read these words, hear them spoken, and then start forming debate clubs about the age of the earth, which is not to say that’s unimportant. We’ve just spent all this time showing science is important, but it’s not what was going through Moses’s mind when he was writing this, and it’s not what was going through the Israelites’ minds when they were hearing it. So instead, let’s put ourselves in their shoes. 

Let me draw this up here. So Moses writes this chronologically after the Israelites; God’s people had spent 400 years as slaves in Egypt surrounded by Egyptian gods, and God miraculously freed them from slavery and was now leading them through a wilderness to a land that God had promised them centuries before to give them, where they could walk with him and worship him and enjoy God’s blessing as God’s people in the Promised Land. And as that journey was nearing an end, they’re getting close to the Promised Land. Moses writes the first five books of the Old Testament: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. They’re a unit together, and he writes these books to remind them who the one true God is, not all these Egyptian gods, who they are as his people as they’re traveling through the wilderness, and he’s reminding them of the promise that God has given to them about this land and his blessing that he wants to bestow on them as they are with him. 

So with that context, Moses writing these books including this book—Genesis to God’s people wandering in the wilderness on their way to the Promised Land—he starts this creation account by saying what we read earlier: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void and darkness was over the face of the deep” (Genesis 1:1–2). This is so good. 

You got to circle two words here. First, circle “earth.” You see it twice, and that’s one way to translate this Hebrew word. But the problem is what comes into your mind when you hear that word “earth”: You probably picture the big blue and green ball that we live on, but that’s not what would’ve come into the minds of the first people who heard this, because what they heard is the Hebrew word eretz. So you’re really getting your money’s worth this morning. You’re going to learn some Hebrew. So write that down. So good, so important, because eretz is one of the major words and themes in the first five books of the Old Testament, where it’s often translated “land.” 

So the land was “without form.” So you might circle that phrase that means “empty” or “uninhabitable.” And here’s why that’s important. So I’ll just put this on the screen. I don’t think you’ll have time to turn there, but Deuteronomy 32:10. So near the end of these first five books in the Old Testament, kind of like a bookend, Moses records a song about God’s people as they’re wandering through this wilderness, and he sings about how God, listen to this, God found him. So this is God and him and his people. God found him, his people in a desert land, and in the howling waste of the wilderness, he encircled him; he cared for him; he kept him as the apple of his eye. Circle that word “land.” You’ll never guess what Hebrew word it is. It’s (boom!), you are Hebrew scholars, just like that. 

So, and then circle “waste” here, because that’s the exact same word that’s translated “without form” back in Genesis 1:2, or “empty.” So Moses is saying to God’s people in the first verses of Genesis: the same God who in the very beginning, this God who took what was like a dark, empty wilderness, and he said, “I’m bringing it light,” that same God is now encircling you; he’s caring for you; he’s keeping you as the apple of his eye as you walk through the waste, this formless empty wilderness. He’s with you, for you, leading you somewhere. 

So now we’re starting to see, wait a minute, there’s some parallels here between the land God is creating and preparing in Genesis 1, and now the land God is promising to bring his people to in the end of Deuteronomy, which then leads us now … so now turn to Genesis 2:10, as we start to see the Garden of Eden described with more description than Genesis 1 gives us. So this land that God is making, he says, a river flowed out of Eden, and you might just make a note: “Eden,” that word means “delight” or “pleasure.” This is a land full of delight and pleasures. So this garden of delight, a river is flowing out of it to water the garden, and there it divides and becomes four rivers. So, branches out into four rivers that are like the boundary around Eden.

“The name of the first is the Pishon. It is the one that floated around the whole land of Havila, where there is gold. And the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there. The name of the second river is the Gihon. It is the one that floated around the whole land of Cush.” (Make a note here: Cush is linked with Egypt and other places in the Old Testament.) “And the name of the third river is the Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates” (Genesis 2:11–14). 

So when you’re just reading the Bible, you’re like, okay, sounds good, keep moving on. But check this out: In Genesis 15, when God is talking to Abraham about the Promised Land that he’s going to bring his people to. listen to how he describes it:

Genesis 15:18: “On that day, the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your
offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates.…” That look familiar? This land from the river of Egypt, and Euphrates. Wait a minute: Egypt, Euphrates—that’s the way God described Eden in Genesis 2, when God is describing the Promised Land in Genesis 15. God is using the same boundaries we have for the Garden of Eden in Genesis 2. In other words, God is telling his people here in this account of creation: “I’m bringing you back to the place of delight in me.” Obviously not to Eden in the sense of a perfect, sinless state, but God is saying, “I’m bringing you back to me to the delight I’ve made you for, to the land where you’re dwelling with me, that I’ve created by my good design for you.” Amen!

And there are so many other parallels that highlight this from Genesis, Deuteronomy. I wish we had more time. Let me show you just one more. So when Adam and Eve sin, they’re banished from the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3. And what happens? Genesis 3:24: God “drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.”

So as a result of their disobedience, they’re driven out to the east, and an angel—that’s what “cherubim” is referencing there—guards them from the tree of life. They can’t live forever with God the way God had designed them to. So later in Genesis, Jacob is in this Promised Land and he heads out to the east in search of a wife. And who does he meet? As he goes eastward out of the Promised Land, he meets an angel—Genesis 28. 

“And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it! And behold, the LORD stood above it and said, ‘I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring” (Genesis 28:12–13).

Catch it. Here he is on the eastern boundary, the Promised Land. Jacob sees God with the top of this ladder ascending to heaven, and God says, “Jacob, I’m going to give this land that you’re lying on right now. I’m going to give it to you and to all your family.” So Jacob goes, he builds a family, and he comes back in Genesis 32:28 to this eastern boundary with all his children. And who does he meet again? You guessed it. An angel, or manifestation of God himself, who wrestles with him and says to him, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but” … what? … “Israel.” The reference to the people of God in the Old Testament.

So here’s the picture. Here’s what Genesis 1 and Genesis 2 is showing us: God created, he prepared, Eden for his people, for Adam and Eve. They disobeyed him, were driven out. But as God is inspiring Moses to write this account of creation in Genesis 1–2, God is telling his people, who are wandering in the wilderness, “I am bringing you back to me, Israel. I’m bringing you back to Eden. I’m bringing you back to delight in me, to the land I promise, where I will dwell with you, and you will enjoy all my blessing.”

But then what happens? Do God’s people walk with him and worship him in this land? No. They get to the Promised Land and they turn away from God toward empty idols and futile gods that they make with their own hands in this world. And what happens? Well, God brings judgment again through a nation from the east called Babylon, and they come and they destroy the Promised Land, and God’s people are yet again driven out to the east. And listen to what Jeremiah 4:23 says when that happens; listen to this language: “I looked on the earth, and behold, it was without form and void; and to the heavens, and they had no light.”

That sounds like the creation account: earth “without form … void” … “heavens … no light.” But this is not talking about creation of the world: This is talking about this land. When God’s people had been driven out of it, they were not inhabiting it anymore; it was empty, and they were back in the wilderness. And this is the whole story of the Old Testament. God wanting his creation, desiring his creation, to experience his delight, his pleasure, on the earth—in the land in Eden, in the Promised Land. But over and over again, God’s creation continually turning from him and experiencing the wilderness; separated from God over and over and over again.

You say, “Well, why are you showing us this? I thought you said God designed creation for a glorious purpose. This story does not sound glorious.” Well, here’s what’s glorious: The Old Testament of the Bible is not the end of this story, because one day God, listen to this, the Creator himself, comes to the creation. And one of the first people to recognize Jesus after Jesus sees him sitting under a tree—it just so happens we’re going to be in this in our Bible reading in this church tomorrow—Nathaniel, whom Jesus calls a shining example of an Israelite. He says in John 1:49, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel! Jesus answered him, ‘Because I said to you, “I saw you under the fig tree,” do you believe? You will see greater things than these.’ And he said to him, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man” (John 1:49–51).

What does that sound like? It sounds like Jacob’s ladder. It’s exactly what would come in Nathaniel’s mind when he heard that Jesus is saying to this descendant of Jacob of Israel, “I am the ladder to God. I am the one who has come to make it possible for creation to be with God in heaven.” This is the gospel. Jesus has come from heaven to earth to die on the cross for sinners, to pay the price for our rebellion, our wandering away from God into the wilderness of this world. And through his death on the cross, Jesus has made the way for us to come back to Eden, for us to come back to delight in God. The curtain of the temple, the presence of God, torn in two; the way is open for sinners everywhere to come into the presence of God through Jesus. And after he dies on a cross, he is buried in a tomb in a … what? … in a garden!

At the end of the book of John, Mary goes to that garden; the tomb is totally empty. She’s weeping outside, thinking somebody’s stolen Jesus’ body … until she meets … guess what? Two angels! And they say to her—she’s weeping—she sees two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus was laid; one at the head, one at the feet. They said,

“‘Woman, why are you weeping?’ She said to them, ‘They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.’ Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?’ Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, ‘Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Mary’” (John 20:13–16).

And as soon as he said her name, she realized who he was. And in that moment, she realized he’s not just any old gardener. He’s the one who made the garden in Genesis 1–2, and he came to make the garden possible for any who trust in him. So you put it all together; put all of this together in light of the headlines around us. Today we live in a wilderness in this world where we have all wandered away from God, and we feel it in the sin and evil and sorrow and pain and confusion and anxiety and fear and futility and frustration that surrounds us. Preach. 

But, good news: God has not left us alone in the wilderness. We have the God of other-worldly peace. We have the God of all transcendent joy. We have the God of unshakable hope. We have Emmanuel, Jesus, God with us, and for anybody who trusts in Jesus, God forgives you for all your sin, all your rebellion against him.

And if that’s not enough, he fills you with his Spirit. He comes to dwell inside you, so you have everything you need for whatever the wilderness of this world throws at you. And do you know where he’s leading you and me and all who trust in him? I’m glad you asked. Fast forward to the last chapter of the Bible, Revelation 22, and check out this language:

“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life (just like Eden!) bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God (direct from God) and of the Lamb (that’s a reference to Jesus!) through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life (boom! It’s back! It’s the first time we’ve seen it since Genesis 2. It’s back! But now it has “twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of all the nations. (This is a new and better Eden that brings healing for all the nations.) No longer will there be anything accursed, (the curse of sin will be gone. No serpent here. He has been defeated and thrown down!) but the throne of God and of the Lamb (of Jesus) will be in it, and his servants will worship him” (Revelation 22:1–3).

Which leads to the five most beautiful words in all the Bible: “They will see his face …”—they’ll see his face! See the face of our Creator! —”and his name will be on their foreheads. And (watch this) night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever” with him (Revelation 22:4–5). 

Mark it down. This world with all of its darkness is not the end of the story. The God who said in Genesis 1, “Let there be light” in the beginning of creation, he’s coming to bring the light forever, and a new creation for all who trust in him. Yes, yes, yes! God designed creation from the very beginning for a glorious purpose. And he’s making it clear to us in his Word that he designed creation from the start to bring sinners—any sinner from anywhere, no matter who you are, no matter what you’ve done, anyone who trusts in his love for them—back to himself, to an eternal Eden where sin and evil and sorrow and wars and shootings and death will be no more; where the light of the Creator’s face will shine on men and women from every nation, satisfying them with pleasures forevermore.

And so he is worthy of all your trust in the wilderness of this world. If you have never placed your faith in Jesus, let today be the day where you come back to God. He is inviting you to come back to him right now. Why wait any longer? Why spurn the invitation of your Creator to experience life in relationship with him, as you were designed to do from the beginning. And for all of us: live this week to worship your Creator above everyone and everything. This is what you were made for. You’re not just made to coast through life. You’re made to enjoy and exalt your Creator and find life in him on a day by day basis. Yes! So turn away from the empty idols of this world that don’t satisfy. Money can’t do it. Position can’t do it. This person can’t do it. This thing, this achievement—they can’t do it.

Only God can fill the heart, the void that is in your heart. You are made for relationship with him. So stop running after the emptiness of this world. Run to him. And whatever you’re wandering through in the wilderness of this world, whatever the wilderness of this world is throwing at you right now, just keep your eyes fixed on him. He is with you. He is for you. Just walk with him, worship him, and he will bring you through. Don’t spend all your time scrolling and filling in your minds with the stuff of this world. Spend your time filling your mind with his Word, fixing your eyes on his goodness and his grace and his love for you. That’s life.

So live this week to worship your Creator above everyone and everything, and spend your life spreading His Word to everyone everywhere. God is bringing creation back to himself; people all over the world, back to himself. And he wants to use your life to lead them to him. In the words of our Bible reading today, go and share the good news with the whole creation. We are, we are, you and I are part of God’s plan to bring all the nations to delight in him. That’s a good design for our lives. Let’s not settle for anything less than that.

So will you bow your heads with me in light of all we’ve just seen. I just want to give you a quiet moment to fix your eyes on your Creator and to worship him right where you’re sitting; just to worship him and gaze upon him and to ask him for help for whatever you need in this fallen world right now, knowing he’s with you and he promises to give you what you need.

And if you have never placed your faith in Jesus, I invite you to pray. Just say, “God, I have wandered from you. I have run from you. I’ve sinned against you. But I believe today that Jesus died on the cross for me, for my sin. And I believe Jesus has risen from the dead so that I can come back to you, experience life in you as my Lord. So I am trusting you today. Today is the day I’m trusting you to make all things new in me. Today is the day I’m staking my hope, my life on you. Thank you for your love for me.”

Observation: What does this passage say?

1. Read Genesis 1:1–2 and Genesis 1:26–2:25 as a group. Let group members share observations. Try not
   to move into interpretation of the passage or application of what you read quite yet. Simply share
   what you observe.
2. What do you learn about God from the story of creation? Genesis 1:1; Isaiah 45:18; Psalm 102:25–27;
   Psalm 136:5–9; Acts 4:24
3. What do you learn about God’s creation? Genesis 1–2; Psalm 119:160
   – What do you learn about Adam and Eve? Genesis 1:27–28; 2:19–23
   – What do you learn about the Garden of Eden? Genesis 2:8–14?
   – What was the condition of all that God had created? Genesis 1:31
4. What is the relationship between Genesis 1 and Genesis 2?
5. How would you summarize Genesis 1–2?

Interpretation: What does the passage mean?

1. Starting with Genesis 1:1–2 account of the creation of the world, how does the Bible relate to science
   and what we know about the world?
   – How does our understanding of the creation story affect our understanding of science? Psalm
   111:2; Colossians 1:16–17?
   – What are some conflicts that may arise between scripture and science? What do these conflicts
   reveal about the limitations of science?
   – Is it possible to believe in the Bible and parts of evolutionary theory (and if so, which parts)?
2. How does the story of creation in Genesis 1–2 fit into the grand narrative of Scripture?
   – What do these words and concepts mean in Genesis 1:1–2?
   a. Earth – Genesis 15:18
   b. Formless and Void – Deuteronomy 32:10; Jeremiah 4:23
   c. Eden – Genesis 2:10–14
   d. Adam & Eve – Genesis 2:8, 2:15–16, 3:6, 3:24
   e. Creator with His Creation – Genesis 3:15, 28:12; John 1:49; Revelation 22:1–5
   – What was God’s purpose for creation? Isaiah 45:18
3. How does the creation story frame our understanding of the age to come? Isaiah 65:17–18; 2 Peter 3:1–
   13; Revelation 21:3; 22:12

Application: How can we apply this passage to our lives?

1. What struggles do you have in believing in the compatibility of scripture and science?
   – What truths about the creation story are you struggling to believe in light of scientific discoveries?
   – How can your Church group pray for you?
2. How does the story of the creation encourage you to live amidst the chaos in this fallen world?
   – How does the hope of a new Eden in Revelation 22:1–5 fuel your joy today?
3. What steps do you need to take to worship the Creator above everyone and everything this week?
4. How does the creation story ignite a sense of urgency to share the gospel?
   – What steps can you take this week to spread the good news of the Creator coming for His creation
   to someone in your sphere of influence?
   – How specifically can your Church group pray for you?
5. In light of this week’s sermon, as a Church Group Family, set aside some time to fix your eyes on the
   Creator.

SCRIPTURE READING

Read Genesis 1:1-2; Genesis 1:26-2:25. The full passage is essential for today’s discussion.

SERMON RECAP

Pastor David emphasized four affirmations about scripture and science:

1. Scripture (rightly understood) and science (rightly observed) support one another.
2. Conflicts between Scripture and science only occur when Scripture is misinterpreted or science is
   mistaken.
3. The purpose of Scripture is not to address and/or answer every question we might have.
4. The purpose of science is not to identify and/or verify everything we should believe.

Four questions about creation:

1. How do we rightly interpret various words and concepts (day, earth, heaven and earth, formless and
   void) in Genesis 1-2?
2. Is the Earth young?
3. Is the Earth old?
4. Is it possible to believe in the Bible and parts of evolutionary theory (and if so, which parts)?

Four Certainties about Creation

1. Rightly interpreted and understood, the Genesis account of creation is true.
2. The one true God created everything that exists.
3. Adam and Eve were historical people.
4. God designed creation for a glorious purpose.