Tag: Genesis

In the Beginning

God Created the Heavens and the Earth

What I am about to share with you is not new, but rather has been shoved to the back of the closet like a pair of old jeans that are 2 sizes too small. It’s truth that is a little wrinkled and dusty and hasn’t seen the light of day in a while.  It’s time it was taken out, shaken out and put back to work for the Kingdom of God!

Ok, lets do this.

In the Beginning…

The bible, from Genesis to Revelation, tells one comprehensive story.   It is the story of God, His creation, and the corruption of and eventual reclaiming and restoration of His creation.  The story of the bible is “what was will be again.” The part of the story we are living out right now is the time in between “what was” and “what will be”.  You and I are living so up close and personal to this that we can’t adequately see the big picture.  It’s like having your face so close to the page that you can’t see the whole book.  We need to draw ourselves away and objectively see things the way God sees them. 

So, the first thing we have to do is get a clearer understanding of what creation looked like “in the beginning”, and how it was.

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1

In the beginning God created the heavens. Stop.

God first created the realm of heaven and all the heavenly beings designed to inhabit that realm.  Notice that the word heaven is plural, meaning there is more than one dimension of the heavens. 

“You alone are the Lord. You have made the heavens, the heaven of heavens with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to all of them and the heavenly host bows down before You.” Nehemiah 9:6

“For thus says the Lord, who created the heavens (He is the God who formed the earth and made it, He established it and did not create it a waste place, but formed it to be inhabited),“I am the Lord, and there is none else.” Isaiah 45:18

“Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens; Praise Him in the heights! Praise Him, all His angels; Praise Him, all His hosts! Praise Him, sun and moon; Praise Him, all stars of light!  Praise Him, highest heavens, And the waters that are above the heavens!  Let them praise the name of the Lord, For He commanded, and they were created.  He has also established them forever and ever; He has made a decree which will not pass away.” Psalm 148:1-6

Colossians 1:16-17,

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.  For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.  He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” Colossians 1:16,17

We can keep reading in Psalm 33:6, Proverbs 3:19, Jeremiah 10:12-13, Hebrews 11:3, Isaiah 44:24, and SO MANY MORE passages that speak of the plurality of the heavens.

Heaven is a place that is unrestricted by the dimension of time.  That is why it is called eternity, and heaven and earth were created at some point in eternity past.  There is no way for us finite beings to know how long ago this was because we do not know how time was measured in eternity.  Truthfully, it is not necessary for us to know how long ago it was, but perhaps one day we will. 

Heavenly beings were created to dwell specifically in the heavens.  In scripture, these beings are sometimes called the “sons of God”, cherubim, seraphim, or angels.  They were individually created by God with specific design and purpose for the kingdom of heaven.  They were not intended to procreate as men do.  They were not to “beget” sons and daughters of their own.  They are spirit beings and their bodies were created of light and energy that is compatible to their dwelling.  As man was created from the components of the earth to inhabit the earth, heavenly beings are created of the substance of the realm of heaven.  Men are natural, heavenly beings are supernatural.  1 Corinthians 15:40-48 provides us a little insight into this.

It is very important to realize that when the bible says that God created the heavens and the earth, it is not simply talking about the area immediately surrounding the earth, it’s atmosphere or the universe, but the entire realm and dominion of the heavens and the heavenly beings.  

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

When God created the heavenly realms, He also created the sphere and substance of the earth.  But at this particular moment in eternity, it is unfinished.  It is merely suspended in the universe awaiting it’s completion.  The sun, the moon and the stars have not yet made their appearance in the grand story.  The earth is there, and even in this state has a purpose to serve. 

But you will have to wait for the next post to discover what that is. 

And I think you will be amazed!

Sometimes You Don’t Know What You Got till It’s Gone

“Don’t it always seem to go, that you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone.  They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.”  These are the words to a catchy little tune that rings of the painful irony of loss and regret.

Have you ever had to live with regret?  Have you ever said or done something that you wished with all your might that you could unsay or undo?  Have you ever turned your Paradise into a parking lot and then thought, “my god, what have I done?”

I think we have all been there.

Some regrets have steeper consequences than others.   An abandoned marriage or a terminated pregnancy will generate a different degree of remorse than let’s say, spending too much on the shoes or having the spicy chili for lunch.  A broken confidence or betrayed trust is harder to earn back than carelessly spent rent money.  Tums does nothing to reduce the acid of a soured relationship.

Sometimes we think we want something until we actually have it.  Sometimes we don’t value what we have…  until we don’t.

Our own fickle hearts will deal us a hand we don’t necessarily want to play; sometimes demanding an ante we can’t afford to pay.  

Just ask Adam.

Talk about a guy having to live with a heap of regret.    All the bounty and favor he was granted in his Paradise was eclipsed by the one thing he was forbidden.  In one act of doubt and desire, the whole course of human history was forever altered. 

Adam did something that he could not undo; he lost something he could never get back. 

Before we can adequately understand and appreciate the full gospel message- the good news of what Jesus Christ came to regain and restore on our behalf, we have to first comprehend all of what Adam had… and lost.  

Now I am just going to tell you right up front that this study in the Word is not something that can be dished out in a few easy paragraphs.  Generally, I try to keep my posts short-ish and easy to digest, but sometimes learning deep biblical truth requires more of a mental commitment than what our usual spoon size attention spans can handle in one sitting.  My intention is to deliver this study out in a series of smaller portions, and I think that if you stick with me all the way through you will be amazed and thoroughly satisfied!

Now, right here I am going to invite you to go fetch your bible and read for yourselves the first three chapters of Genesis.  They are not long, and it should take you all of 15 minutes to read.  But keep your bookmark there because we are going to be camping out here for a while.  

The first three chapters of Genesis tell the story of a Paradise that was created and then tragically lost.  If ever you were a child in any Sunday school class ever in your LIFE, you heard this story of Adam and Eve and the Serpent in the Garden of Eden.  You can probably still picture the flannel-graph easel board standing at the front of the class, still see Adam and Eve in their leafy clothes hiding behind the tree, still holding the half-eaten apple in their hands while the snake hangs smugly from the flannel tree above their heads.  

But the first three chapters of your bible tells you more about YOU than you ever realized, and it tells more about the GOSPEL than you ever realized.  The story of Adam and Eve is the story of sin and redemption, rebellion and grace, and sets the stage for the story of Jesus Christ Who is Himself the creator and redeemer of all things.  The story of death and atonement starts here in the opening chapters of Genesis. 

You will never appreciate all that you were originally created to be if you don’t know who Adam was and all he was created to be, and you won’t know what Adam lost if we don’t first understand what he was given. 

This is more than a story of the first man and woman eating from a forbidden tree in a Garden.

It is a story of kingdoms and realms, of dominions and authority, and of power.  It is a story of truth and lies, thievery and restitution.  It is my story and your story. 

Paradise is not completely lost.  It is within reach.  It is as close as a prayer.

“Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’”   Mark 1:14-15

And he was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!” And He said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.  Luke 23:42-43

Ok, go get that bible and let’s get started!