The Pattern of Creation - Genesis 1:3-25
Posted by Calvary Chapel Fremont at 8/14/2011 11:13 PM 
Categories: uncategorized
Tags: Pastor Tim Brown Calvary Chapel Fremont Pattern Creation Genesis
Categories: uncategorized
Tags: Pastor Tim Brown Calvary Chapel Fremont Pattern Creation Genesis
Pastor Tim Brown, Calvary Chapel Fremont, Sunday August 14, 2011
The Pattern of Creation
Genesis 1:3-25
The six days of creation helped Israel determine how to measure/ count time. Ex. 20:8-11 Remember the Sabbath… for in six days the Lord made the heaven/earth…rested on the 7th day…keep Sabbath holy. Pattern/rhythm was set. When their lives conformed to the pattern of creation, God blessed them. When they dishonored Sabbath/forgot God, they withered.
The six days of creation also set a pattern in the Christian life. What God does in the six days of creation will help you understand how God works in your life. The pattern/rhythm seen in creation is the same pattern/rhythm seen in the work of God in your life.
If a counselor/confused – this will help w/ your discernment…
The earth was formless/void/dark. It was not yet hospitable to human life. So what does God do? We find that God illumines /separates things from one another/forms what needs to be formed/fills that which has been illumined/separated/formed. Pattern: illumination/separation/formation/fullness. Apply to David –
Illumination: anointed to be king
Separation: called away from former life
Formation: a life of hardship/difficulty
Fullness: fulfillment
W/o the illumination that God brought to him at his anointing he never would have endured the life of separation, nor the formation that comes w/ hardship/difficulty. There was a destiny being carved out for him. Without the life of difficulty/hardship he never would have attained the extent of the fullness he did as king of Israel. The lessons he learned during the formative process of his life led to the great fullness of his life. The pattern we see of God’s work in creation is the pattern we see of His work in people’s lives.
Day One 3-5 Light/separation from darkness
Day Two 6-8 Separate waters below/above
God separated the waters from the waters and gave form to the expanse between them. At the flood of Noah, the waters above fell onto the earth beneath.
Day Three 9-13 Land/water separated/vegetation
Note the work of separation in the first three days –
Light separated from darkness/Waters from waters/Land from the seas
The crowning work of creation is humanity. If man was to live/ thrive on this planet there had 2b illumination/separation of the elements/formation of the elements. Man couldn’t live in perpetual light or darkness/water world/land w/ no access to water. Separation/formation of the elements is all for the purpose of the sustaining of physical life.
There is also a separation necessary for spiritual life to thrive.
Abraham discovered this. Genesis 12:1-3 In Abraham’s life we see -
Illumination: the Lord said to Abram
Separation: go forth from your country
Formation: I will make you a great nation
Fullness: I will bless you/you shall be a blessing
This pattern/rhythm is seen in the nation of Israel -
Hence I have said to you, “You are to possess their land, and I Myself will give it to you to possess it, a land flowing with milk and honey.” I am the LORD your God, who has separated you from the peoples. Lev. 20:24
They had the illumination of the law/command to separate/formed and shaped in the wilderness/fullness on Canaan.
At the end of day three God begins to fill the earth. He has illumined/separated/formed the earth and now He fills it. Had there been no formation/separation there could be no fullness.
Day Four 14-19 Sun/moon/stars created
Day Five 20-23 Fish/birds
The last part of day 3, 4/5, God is filling what He has formed.
This is the pattern God follows in your life -
Illumination:
For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our
hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
2 Cor. 4:6
Your spiritual life began w/ illumination, not separation. God created light b4 separating the waters because there is illumination b4 separation. We do not ask u2 separate yourself from sin/be moral. We point u2 the illumination of Christ. W/o illumination there is no reason for separation. (Smoke dope/sleep with girlfriend/hate those who hate you…) But after illumination, separation is so easily understood/embraced.
Has God revealed Himself 2un Christ? This is the beginning of spiritual life. You can’t turn on the light/turn to… Light for salvation.
Separation:
Therefore, COME OUT FROM THEIR MIDST AND BE SEPARATE,” says the Lord. AND DO NOT
TOUCH WHAT IS UNCLEAN; and I will welcome you. 2 Cor. 6:17
Are you living the separated life? RU separated from those things unhealthy in themselves/associations? Bad company corrupts good morals. It did then/does now. As light illumines my soul I see more that needs 2b separated. FACEBOOK exhortation. God wants to give holy form to your life. But there is no formation w/o separation.
Formation:
Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. James 1:2-4
Do you see the changes the Holy Spirit is making to your thoughts/ desires/motives/behaviors…? Trials/tribulations build faith which forms your heart for God. 2 Cor. 4:7-18
Fullness:
After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you. 1 Peter 5:10
God seeks to fill you w/ His Spirit – gifts/fruit/power/love!
We say, “God isn’t filling me.” Are you allowing Him to form you? He won’t fill what He hasn’t formed. He won’t form what is not separated to Him. There is no separation w/o illumination.
6 days measure time in Israel
G1 - pattern in Chr. life
Pattern in creation
Pattern
Pattern in David
Day One
Day Two/Noah
Day Three/3 separations
Crowning…humanity
Separation for spir. life
Gen. 12:1-3
In Israel – Lev. 20:24
End of3 – fill
Day Four
Day Five
Filling what is formed
Pattern in life…
Conclusion:
W/ God removed, there has to be something in place to explain what is. Since there is no God, Godlike characteristics have to be attributed to other forces. Matter always existed/design emerged by coincidence/order came out of chaos by accident/life cam from non-life by happy chance.
Anthony Flew – converted from atheism to theism because he couldn’t account for something out of nothing / order out of chaos / life from non-life.
What Moses does in v1 is to give us a reason for the whole universe – God. The universe doesn’t make sense w/o God.
The Bible begins w/ God – not man/matter/angels/gods.
The universe begins w/ a Person – not a process.
The universe begins w/ a purpose – not blind processes.
Man has a Creator – not just ancestors.
Formless/void/dark – no order/no content /no light. This is previous to the six days of creation which begin in v3. How long was it formless/void/dark? I don’t know. For one day/5B years? Why not? Some say that the first day of creation begins with v1, others with v3. I lean toward v3.
Is the earth young or old? This is a different question than asking whether or not life on earth recent. Geological/biological question. Nature/Scripture do not disagree. The argument is between science /theology. Science is the interpretation of nature/theology is the interpretation of the Bible. The Bible is not at odds w/ nature; science is at odds w/ theology.
Are the six days of creation literal 24 hour periods? The only reason those who normally interpret the Bible literally do so in a figurative way here is to make Genesis 1 conform to the prevailing scientific worldview of the day. John MacArthur quotes E.J. Young, “Whenever ‘science’ and the Bible are in conflict, it is always the Bible that, in one manner or another, must give way.” Battle for the Beginning / p63.
The record of Scripture/fossil record/big bang/punctuated equilibrium do not support the theory of gradual emergence, but of the explosion of life in a moment of time.
Archer (Enc. Of Bible Difficulties / p59ff):
V27 – Eve not created on 6th day. The time after Adam’s creation on the 6th day is not sufficient for him to work the garden/become lonely/name the animals of the earth/have a surgical procedure/get married. Rather, v27 is a summary statement of the creative activity of God.
None of the six creative days bears a definite article in the Hebrew text: the translations “the first day,” the second day,” etc., are in error. The Hebrew simply reads ‘day one,’ ‘a second day.’ The grammar points to a sequence of events rather than to strict units of time.
1 God the Father – over all
2 God the Spirit – above all
3 God the Son – with all. Cf. John 1:1-4. John uses creation to help describe redemption. Paul does the same thing.
In Genesis, the word ‘separating’ is used in creation. The next time the word ‘separation’ appears it is in Exodus -
You shall hang up the veil under the clasps, and shall bring in the ark of the testimony there within the veil; and the veil shall serve for you as a partition between the holy place and the holy of holies. Ex. 26:33
Genesis : different parts of creation are separated from one another. Exodus: man is separated from God.
Leviticus: Israel is separated from the nations.
I recognize that I can preach Genesis 1 from many angles -
Philosophy: Beginning w/ the letter A, count to 100. Can’t start w/ letter A and get to number 100. Beginning w/ man, arrive at God. You can’t start w/ man and get to God. How do I know? Philosophy begins with man/ never gets to God. Philosophy begins w/ reason/experience/ intuitions and ties itself up into knots. Philosophy begins w/ man and ends up in the dark. Philosophy tells us why reason can’t lead us to God. Reason is insufficient to arrive at God.
The Bible doesn’t begin w/ Moses’ reasonings, but w/ God’s revelation. The Bible doesn’t begin w/ man, the Bible begins w/ God. God, in the Bible, is not a conclusion to be arrived at through reason, but is the beginning of all reason/reasoning. He is the reason for reason and not the conclusion of reason.
Science: evolution in all its forms and arguments/age of the earth/ presuppositions of scientists/intelligent design/evidence for creation
Theology: monotheism/transcendence/sovereignty/theodicy/covenant
I am not a philosopher/scientist/professional theologian – pastor. I am going to approach this passage pastorally. If these other angles are of concern to you, let’s talk about them over coffee after the service.
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The Pattern of Creation
Genesis 1:3-25
The six days of creation helped Israel determine how to measure/ count time. Ex. 20:8-11 Remember the Sabbath… for in six days the Lord made the heaven/earth…rested on the 7th day…keep Sabbath holy. Pattern/rhythm was set. When their lives conformed to the pattern of creation, God blessed them. When they dishonored Sabbath/forgot God, they withered.
The six days of creation also set a pattern in the Christian life. What God does in the six days of creation will help you understand how God works in your life. The pattern/rhythm seen in creation is the same pattern/rhythm seen in the work of God in your life.
If a counselor/confused – this will help w/ your discernment…
The earth was formless/void/dark. It was not yet hospitable to human life. So what does God do? We find that God illumines /separates things from one another/forms what needs to be formed/fills that which has been illumined/separated/formed. Pattern: illumination/separation/formation/fullness. Apply to David –
Illumination: anointed to be king
Separation: called away from former life
Formation: a life of hardship/difficulty
Fullness: fulfillment
W/o the illumination that God brought to him at his anointing he never would have endured the life of separation, nor the formation that comes w/ hardship/difficulty. There was a destiny being carved out for him. Without the life of difficulty/hardship he never would have attained the extent of the fullness he did as king of Israel. The lessons he learned during the formative process of his life led to the great fullness of his life. The pattern we see of God’s work in creation is the pattern we see of His work in people’s lives.
Day One 3-5 Light/separation from darkness
Day Two 6-8 Separate waters below/above
God separated the waters from the waters and gave form to the expanse between them. At the flood of Noah, the waters above fell onto the earth beneath.
Day Three 9-13 Land/water separated/vegetation
Note the work of separation in the first three days –
Light separated from darkness/Waters from waters/Land from the seas
The crowning work of creation is humanity. If man was to live/ thrive on this planet there had 2b illumination/separation of the elements/formation of the elements. Man couldn’t live in perpetual light or darkness/water world/land w/ no access to water. Separation/formation of the elements is all for the purpose of the sustaining of physical life.
There is also a separation necessary for spiritual life to thrive.
Abraham discovered this. Genesis 12:1-3 In Abraham’s life we see -
Illumination: the Lord said to Abram
Separation: go forth from your country
Formation: I will make you a great nation
Fullness: I will bless you/you shall be a blessing
This pattern/rhythm is seen in the nation of Israel -
Hence I have said to you, “You are to possess their land, and I Myself will give it to you to possess it, a land flowing with milk and honey.” I am the LORD your God, who has separated you from the peoples. Lev. 20:24
They had the illumination of the law/command to separate/formed and shaped in the wilderness/fullness on Canaan.
At the end of day three God begins to fill the earth. He has illumined/separated/formed the earth and now He fills it. Had there been no formation/separation there could be no fullness.
Day Four 14-19 Sun/moon/stars created
Day Five 20-23 Fish/birds
The last part of day 3, 4/5, God is filling what He has formed.
This is the pattern God follows in your life -
Illumination:
For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our
hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
2 Cor. 4:6
Your spiritual life began w/ illumination, not separation. God created light b4 separating the waters because there is illumination b4 separation. We do not ask u2 separate yourself from sin/be moral. We point u2 the illumination of Christ. W/o illumination there is no reason for separation. (Smoke dope/sleep with girlfriend/hate those who hate you…) But after illumination, separation is so easily understood/embraced.
Has God revealed Himself 2un Christ? This is the beginning of spiritual life. You can’t turn on the light/turn to… Light for salvation.
Separation:
Therefore, COME OUT FROM THEIR MIDST AND BE SEPARATE,” says the Lord. AND DO NOT
TOUCH WHAT IS UNCLEAN; and I will welcome you. 2 Cor. 6:17
Are you living the separated life? RU separated from those things unhealthy in themselves/associations? Bad company corrupts good morals. It did then/does now. As light illumines my soul I see more that needs 2b separated. FACEBOOK exhortation. God wants to give holy form to your life. But there is no formation w/o separation.
Formation:
Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. James 1:2-4
Do you see the changes the Holy Spirit is making to your thoughts/ desires/motives/behaviors…? Trials/tribulations build faith which forms your heart for God. 2 Cor. 4:7-18
Fullness:
After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you. 1 Peter 5:10
God seeks to fill you w/ His Spirit – gifts/fruit/power/love!
We say, “God isn’t filling me.” Are you allowing Him to form you? He won’t fill what He hasn’t formed. He won’t form what is not separated to Him. There is no separation w/o illumination.
6 days measure time in Israel
G1 - pattern in Chr. life
Pattern in creation
Pattern
Pattern in David
Day One
Day Two/Noah
Day Three/3 separations
Crowning…humanity
Separation for spir. life
Gen. 12:1-3
In Israel – Lev. 20:24
End of3 – fill
Day Four
Day Five
Filling what is formed
Pattern in life…
Conclusion:
W/ God removed, there has to be something in place to explain what is. Since there is no God, Godlike characteristics have to be attributed to other forces. Matter always existed/design emerged by coincidence/order came out of chaos by accident/life cam from non-life by happy chance.
Anthony Flew – converted from atheism to theism because he couldn’t account for something out of nothing / order out of chaos / life from non-life.
What Moses does in v1 is to give us a reason for the whole universe – God. The universe doesn’t make sense w/o God.
The Bible begins w/ God – not man/matter/angels/gods.
The universe begins w/ a Person – not a process.
The universe begins w/ a purpose – not blind processes.
Man has a Creator – not just ancestors.
Formless/void/dark – no order/no content /no light. This is previous to the six days of creation which begin in v3. How long was it formless/void/dark? I don’t know. For one day/5B years? Why not? Some say that the first day of creation begins with v1, others with v3. I lean toward v3.
Is the earth young or old? This is a different question than asking whether or not life on earth recent. Geological/biological question. Nature/Scripture do not disagree. The argument is between science /theology. Science is the interpretation of nature/theology is the interpretation of the Bible. The Bible is not at odds w/ nature; science is at odds w/ theology.
Are the six days of creation literal 24 hour periods? The only reason those who normally interpret the Bible literally do so in a figurative way here is to make Genesis 1 conform to the prevailing scientific worldview of the day. John MacArthur quotes E.J. Young, “Whenever ‘science’ and the Bible are in conflict, it is always the Bible that, in one manner or another, must give way.” Battle for the Beginning / p63.
The record of Scripture/fossil record/big bang/punctuated equilibrium do not support the theory of gradual emergence, but of the explosion of life in a moment of time.
Archer (Enc. Of Bible Difficulties / p59ff):
V27 – Eve not created on 6th day. The time after Adam’s creation on the 6th day is not sufficient for him to work the garden/become lonely/name the animals of the earth/have a surgical procedure/get married. Rather, v27 is a summary statement of the creative activity of God.
None of the six creative days bears a definite article in the Hebrew text: the translations “the first day,” the second day,” etc., are in error. The Hebrew simply reads ‘day one,’ ‘a second day.’ The grammar points to a sequence of events rather than to strict units of time.
1 God the Father – over all
2 God the Spirit – above all
3 God the Son – with all. Cf. John 1:1-4. John uses creation to help describe redemption. Paul does the same thing.
In Genesis, the word ‘separating’ is used in creation. The next time the word ‘separation’ appears it is in Exodus -
You shall hang up the veil under the clasps, and shall bring in the ark of the testimony there within the veil; and the veil shall serve for you as a partition between the holy place and the holy of holies. Ex. 26:33
Genesis : different parts of creation are separated from one another. Exodus: man is separated from God.
Leviticus: Israel is separated from the nations.
I recognize that I can preach Genesis 1 from many angles -
Philosophy: Beginning w/ the letter A, count to 100. Can’t start w/ letter A and get to number 100. Beginning w/ man, arrive at God. You can’t start w/ man and get to God. How do I know? Philosophy begins with man/ never gets to God. Philosophy begins w/ reason/experience/ intuitions and ties itself up into knots. Philosophy begins w/ man and ends up in the dark. Philosophy tells us why reason can’t lead us to God. Reason is insufficient to arrive at God.
The Bible doesn’t begin w/ Moses’ reasonings, but w/ God’s revelation. The Bible doesn’t begin w/ man, the Bible begins w/ God. God, in the Bible, is not a conclusion to be arrived at through reason, but is the beginning of all reason/reasoning. He is the reason for reason and not the conclusion of reason.
Science: evolution in all its forms and arguments/age of the earth/ presuppositions of scientists/intelligent design/evidence for creation
Theology: monotheism/transcendence/sovereignty/theodicy/covenant
I am not a philosopher/scientist/professional theologian – pastor. I am going to approach this passage pastorally. If these other angles are of concern to you, let’s talk about them over coffee after the service.
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