Creation

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[SLIDE 1] Introduction

Gratitude for Doug Campbell and Mike.
Time with family and friends. And BBQ.

Today

Picking back up with Vintage Faith - creation.

My love for Nature

Always outside
Lay in the grass, experiencing it
Playing in the dirt with Matchbox cars
Camping and fishing
Trusted Christ in the out of doors
Today: Triathlon, hiking, camping - an ongoing celebration of that experience.
To be engaged with nature - creation is for me a spiritual discipline where I commune with Jesus who made it.

[SLIDE 2] The Passage

Written over 4k years ago.
Illiterate people.
Alphabet was being perfected and writing was still new.
No books, no paper.
Genesis 1:1–2:4 ESV
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. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. And God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so. And God called the expanse Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day. And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the third day. And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day. And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.” So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day. And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation. These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.
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[SLIDE 3] Questions From Our Perspective

Western, STEM and Scientific discovery
Scientific discovery
Did God create it in 7 - 24 hour days or in periods of time?
“Day” and “Generations (2:4)”
The Lexham Bible Dictionary Creation in the Old Testament

Ancient Israel understood creation as an ongoing process and not a definitive moment in time.

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Isn’t this a made up story?
Didn’t use myth because a myth in the OT is a story that describes supernatural events. Not a bad thing.
Are the creation story and science compatible? If so, how?
The beginnings of earth and life as reported by Genesis correspond very closely with current scientific knowledge.

Too many other questions that we bring to this passage to get into here that are fun to explore.

Some of us - studied and clear about what we believe.

What If...

Others, still wondering.
Moses wasn’t interested in answering any of them?
People with different points of view are very passionate about this subject matter. Respect for each other’s point of view is what’s important
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Why The Creation Story (Hymn)

[SLIDE 4] What If...

Moses wasn’t interested in answering any of the questions we’re asking of it? What if thers’s more?

Responding to Pagan Creation Stories

[SLIDE 5] is a hymn of confession
The Lexham Bible Dictionary Creation and Science

They are also confessions of faith for a particular people, Israel

Sun Worship
Written in response to other religion's creation myths.
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The Lexham Bible Dictionary Creation and Science

They are also confessions of faith for a particular people, Israel

the author’s concern is to display before us the visible world as God’s handiwork,

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[SLIDE 6] Time of Moses:
Polytheism - worship of many gods
Astrology - stars and planets have divine or god-like influences on us
Nihilism - a viewpoint that traditional values and beliefs are unfounded and that existence is senseless and useless; denies any objective ground of truth and especially of moral truths
Rob
Writer's main concern - address the theological and philosophical errors of those other religions and show readers the visible world as God's handiwork.
It’s merely the raising of the curtain of a drama that unfolds throughout the bible.

The Message

The Lexham Bible Dictionary Creation and Science

They are also confessions of faith for a particular people, Israel

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The Message

It is no accident that God is the subject of the first sentence of the Bible,.

[SLIDE 7] God Did it - But What Did He Do?

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Conquered Chaos

V. 1 - In the beginning - (NRSV)when God began to create - without form, void, chaos.
Creation was a conquering of chaos.
Most creation accounts from the ancient world began with a primeval chaos.
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In Moses’ time - The God who could conquer chaos was understood as the true and living God.
at its core is about how the God of Israel brought the chaos of into an ordered universe.
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Here’s How: He spoke

Until he spoke, nothing existed
He gave it structure

Here’s How: Creatively, With Structure and Process

Spirit - brooded over a formless and void earth like a bird (the Message)
Spoke everything into existence - breathed life
The ordering is more about showing God’s intentionality
Day, night, waters, heaven, land, vegetation, fruit that reproduced - living things bear fruit
Sky - dome or vault
Sun, moon, living creatures. Be fruitful and multiply first to the animals.
Separation from day and night - in Hebrew thought marks the seasons, days, years. NIV - sacred times.

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Creativity, structure and process go together

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The creative ordering, structure and process is about God teaching his people a process of becoming than to reveal truths of physical science.
IT’S GOOD.

Here’s How: He Upholds and Sustains

Upholds natural order
Sustains us in the natural order for our good
Creation is upheld for the good of humanity

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What God Did

Chaos will always try to make a come back - to guard ourselves:

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Most creation accounts from the ancient world began with a primeval chaos.
Creation was a conquering of chaos.
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The God who could conquer chaos was understood as the true and living God.
is a magnificent account of how the God of Israel brought the chaos of into an ordered universe.

God is creative

Listen to the voice of the Lord - hear him speak; make time, contempletive prayer and scripture.
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Allow the creativity of the Spirit to flow through us; use our giftedness; imagine and create ministry
Spoke everything into existence - breathed life
Embrace structure and process. They are partners of creativity, not enemies. They are necessary to be and become disciples.
Day, night, waters, heaven, land, vegetation, fruit that reproduced - living things bear fruit
Sky - dome or vault
My personal rhythms, routines
Sun, moon, living creatures. Be fruitful and multiply first to the animals.
Separation from day and night - in Hebrew thought marks the seasons, days, years. NIV - sacred times.

He gave it structure and Process

Not to reveal the truths of physical science but to recognize creation as
Creativity, structure and process go together
The creative ordering, structure and process is about God teaching his people a process of becoming than to reveal truths of physical science.
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GOOD.

The early chs of Genesis were, of course, not given to reveal the truths of physical science, but they recognize creation as marked by order, continuity, law, plastic power of productiveness in the different kingdoms, unity of the world and progressive advance. The Genesis cosmogony teaches a process of becoming,

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[SLIDE 8]Humanity

Experiencing my kids taking their first breath.
2:4-7.
Zoom in - humanity, human beings. God formed human beings from the dirt and breathed the breath of life into it making it a living creature.
Male and female created in the likeness (character, nature) of the Father, Son, Spirit.
The fundamental understanding of humanity. Men and women are in the image of God
Rule (co-create) over creation.
Fill the earth, take care of it and it will provide your food.

Sabbath

2:4 - these are the generations/records/the story of how it all started.

Awe and Wonder

Take a Breath: Awe and Wonder

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BUT...
Study the creation story,
God says to each generation, whether it is burdened with the weight of factual knowledge which our own possesses, or with the misleading fantasies of the ancient religions, ‘Stand here, on this earth and in this present, to get the meaning of the whole. See this world as my gift and charge to you, with the sun, moon and stars as its lamps and timekeepers, and its creatures under your care. See the present age as the time to which my creative work was moving,
Enjoy

Witness

God says to us whether we have to deal with misleading fantasies of other religions or show the truth of what God has done, see this world as my gift and responsibility to
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- to the existence of God
whether it is burdened with the weight of factual knowledge which our own possesses, or with the misleading fantasies of the ancient religions, ‘Stand here, on this earth and in this present, to get the meaning of the whole. See this world as my gift and charge to you, with the sun, moon and stars as its lamps and timekeepers, and its creatures under your care. See the present age as the time to which my creative work was moving,

[SLIDE 9] Creation and Redemption

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Redemption serves as the backdrop of creation
The new creation came with the death and resurrection of Jesus. We are made new. Our relationship with God is new - no longer estranged but beloved children of the king.
The OT promises that God will create a new or restored heaven and earth.
- to the existence of God
I believe in God the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth. Redemption serves as the backdrop of creation as the end of it is the creation of the new heaven and new earth.
Redemption serves as the backdrop of creation as the end of it is the creation of the new heaven and new earth.
as the end of it is the creation of the new heaven and new earth.
The Lexham Bible Dictionary Creation in the New Testament

The New Testament understands creation christologically, that is, in what God has done and accomplished in Jesus Christ. For example, the prologue to John’s Gospel (John 1:1–18) emerges out of the Old Testament wisdom tradition in Prov 8:22–31. There, Wisdom is personified and reveals that she was not only in existence prior to creation, but assisted God in the creative process. John’s prologue hypostasizes wisdom in the figure of Jesus, who becomes the λόγος (logos, “word”) of creation.

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Lexham Theological Wordbook Theological Overview

The OT promises that God will create (bārāʾ) a new heaven and new earth (Isa 65:17), but many passages also depict God’s ultimate redemption of the world in terms of a restoration of his creation back to its original pristine state (Isa 35:1–10;

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Lexham Theological Wordbook Theological Overview

The new creation (κτίσις, ktisis) has dawned with the death and resurrection of the Messiah, Jesus (2 Cor 5:17; Gal 6:15). God’s creation (ktisis) is awaiting liberation from its bondage and decay at the second coming of Christ (Rom 8:19–22). God in Jesus is doing a new thing with his creation (ktisis): He is renewing the universe (κόσμος, cosmos) and humanity (2 Cor 5:17). Ultimately, Jesus, the first born over all creation (ktisis; Col 1:15; Rev 3:14), will usher in the new heaven and new earth at his second coming (Rev 21:1–3), thereby restoring and renewing creation.

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- to the existence of God
Why it matters: The end of redemption is the creation of the new heavens and the new earth.

[SLIDE 10] Our Responsibility

1. Take Care of God’s Creation

Study the creation story, dig into science of it, learn and have fun doing it.
BUT...
Enjoy
Study the creation story,
God says to us whether we have to deal with misleading fantasies of other religions or show the truth of what God has done, see this world as my gift and responsibility to take care of all of it - nature, other human beings...
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God says to each generation, whether it is burdened with the weight of factual knowledge which our own possesses, or with the misleading fantasies of the ancient religions, ‘Stand here, on this earth and in this present, to get the meaning of the whole. See this world as my gift and charge to you, with the sun, moon and stars as its lamps and timekeepers, and its creatures under your care. See the present age as the time to which my creative work was moving,
See the present age as the time to which my creative work was moving,

For Creation

GOD HAS GIVEN HUMANITY RESPONSIBILITY TO PRESERVE CREATION
Impact of sin
Because it speaks of God’s divine and eternal nature and character
-Eternal and divine nature
His Authority
Glory and majesty
Love and faithfulness
Power
Wisdom
-Unchangeableness and eternity
Work in believers’ lives
GOD HAS GIVEN HUMANITY RESPONSIBILITY TO PRESERVE CREATION

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2. Grasp the creation story as purposed to first, addressing the theological and philosophical errors of the day

What are the theological and philosophical errors of our day that it helps us address?
Responding to other belief systems rather than hiding from them
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3. Receive the creation story by faith.

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Hebrews 11:3 ESV
By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.
2 Corinthians 4:6 ESV
For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Hebrews
Hebrews 11:6 ESV
And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
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2 Cor
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It is given not as a tool to determine fact but a way to provide understanding. Therefore, it is to be received by faith regardless of any proof for or against.

4. Live as Redemptive Imago Dei

1 Corinthians 15:45–49 ESV
Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.
2 Corinthians 4:6 ESV
For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
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1 Cor 15:
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Ability to live in the tension of the imprecision of the Hebrew language and by faith
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What are the theological and philosophical errors of our day that it helps us address?
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