The Maker of Heaven and Earth Series: The Apostles Creed [#2] Selected Scriptures Pastor Lyle L. Wahl September 17, 2006 Introduction Today we are considering the last phrase in the opening statement of the Apostles Creed. In it we state that we believe that God the Father Almighty [is] the maker of heaven and earth. Heaven and earth in this creed refers to everything that exists, except God Himself, who had no beginning, who is eternal. Every culture asks basic questions about origins. Where did we come from? How did it all start? The Bible asserts that God is the Creator of all that exists. I don t need to tell you that there are highly charged emotions and battles around this assertion. You probably have not met a Pastafarian. That s what followers of a new religion call themselves. Their god is the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Their logo is a parody of the Jesus fish symbol adding two eye stalks on the top, noodle-like appendages below, and the initials FSM (Flying Spaghetti Monster) in the middle. You may have seen the symbol on T- shirts and car ornaments or decals I ve seen some in Edmonton. This religion, as you probably guessed, is a parody. It is a sarcastic shot at those who want intelligent design creation to be taught in schools. But, it also is a sarcastic parody of the basics of the Christian faith. My goal today is bring light, not heat, to the fundamental and indispensable Bible truth that God is the Creator of all that exists. Our approach today is positive and practical. Positive I m not setting out to refute the positions of those who reject the Biblical view. Rather, we are going to focus on the truth God gives us in the Bible. Our focus today is not on theories or debate. We also want to be practical So what does this truth mean, mean to us? What difference does it make? What are the implications?
The Starting Place. So let s get going with the starting place. The fundamental questions: who and why, not how. When you began writing assignments in school, your teachers explained the six interrogatives, or the six question words to use to cover any subject: Who, What, Where, When, Why and How. Each of these is important. When it comes to the starting place for understanding origins, discussions usually move quickly to the How question How did life begin? How did something come from nothing? And, of course, that moves into differing theories. Answering the How question is important. But it does not move us beyond process. It cannot answer our drive for understanding our existence, our place and our purpose. For that we need to start with two of the other questions words, Who and Why. God has revealed Himself and His truth to us in the Bible. The fundamental answers: God and His glory. Let s answer the Who question first. Yes, this may sound elementary if you have been a believer for any amount of time, but we need to make sure we are not proceeding on assumptions, e.g., All Christians just know God created everything. The first words in the Bible, Genesis 1:1 tell us In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Among other things, this tells us that God existed prior to the creation of all things. He is not part of creation. He is, as we are told in Deuteronomy 33:27 the eternal God. And, yes, it does tell us clearly that God is the One who brought all things into being. Let s look at a few more statements. Isaiah 45:18, 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. God is the One who created the heavens and earth. When we come to the New Testament, John s gospel opens, In the beginning was the Word [Christ], and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things 2
came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. The Bible answers the Who question it was God who created all things. Now, the Why question. One old, folksy paraphrase and expansion on the Genesis account of creation begins, And God stepped out on space, and he looked around and said: I m lonely I ll make me a world. This is folksy, but wrong. There was no internal or external factor that compelled God to create. Our heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew 5:48), and does not require anyone or anything outside of Himself. Why then did God create? The answer, in the Bible, is to display His glory. Ephesians 1 tells us God works all things after the counsel of His will, to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory. Going to the last book of the Bible, The Revelation chapter 4 pictures people worshiping God before His throne saying, Worthy are You, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created (11). The starting place in understanding what we can about creation knowing that God created all that exists, and that He created it for His own glory. This puts us, and all of creation, in the proper perspective so we can then go on and pursue the other questions. The Making Of Heaven And Earth. Let s move on to the making of heaven and earth. God chose to create. While we have just touched on that, it is important to be clear that everything exists because of God s decision to create. The narrative of Genesis 1 & 2 records the choices and actions that God made in bringing the creation into existence. Remember, God did not have to create anything or anyone. God is complete in Himself: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God does not need His angels, us, or anything else which He created. He is self-existent. He is complete in Himself. This is critical to understanding what we can of the How of creation. Another overall observation about creation is that it is was created by God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The Apostle s creed notes that God the Father is the Creator, but creation was also the work God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Genesis 1:1-2 tells us 3
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. There we see God Father and God the Holy Spirit active in the work of creation. Moving on to the New Testament, in 1 Corinthians 8 verse 6 we read, there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him. There we see God the Father and God the Son. Again, Colossians 1:16-17, For by Him [Christ] 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. Creation by God the father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. With this as a framework, let s note some things we know, and some things we do not know about the making of heaven and earth. An opening observation. When we began walking through the book of Genesis two years ago, I mentioned Arthur F. Holmes statement that all truth is God s truth wherever it be found. He was not saying that everything people think is true is truth; rather, that everything that is finally, really true is from God. We know this because Jesus told us, I am the truth Anything that is really true is from God whether it comes from the people of God or from people who do not know God. The Bible and real truth never contradict. So, we should not quickly dismiss data that does not immediately and precisely fit with our current understanding, nor should we rush to reinterpret Scripture by the latest thinking from any field. Now, some things we know about the creation of all things very, very briefly. We know that God created by His word. The Genesis 1 account repeatedly tells us God said, Let there be and there was. Psalm 33:6, 9, By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of His mouth all their host For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast. Moving to the New Testament, Hebrews 11:3, By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible. 4
Last week I pointed out that everyone is a believer all of us have faith; it is neither practical nor possible to live without faith. It is neither practical nor possible to live without faith. To me it takes more faith to believe that the great complexity of creation was the product of time plus chance than to believe that is was the planned, determined work of almighty, sovereign God. It takes more faith to believe that something somehow came from nothing, rather than from eternal almighty God. God spoke, and from nothing came something. God created by His Word. We know that God sets out an order of creation in the Genesis account. While there are questions, and there is much we do not know, this is the order of creation. We also know that there was differentiation in God s creation He created everything after it s own kind. We know that our best understanding of the How of creation is not complete, nor completely accurate. That is because there is so much we do not know. Some things we do not know again, very, very briefly. We do not know the timing of creation how long ago. After all, CNN was not around and live on the scene. Theories abound, but after all the best study in science and the Bible, we do not know, and may never know. This tells us to keep open minds, to keep searching everything that is really true is God s truth and to be committed to the best of Biblical and scientific scholarship. Since there is much we do not know, and because we are the created not the creator, we should be humble. Neither the best science or theology of today is infallible. As one writer tells us, living in an age that has history books telling of both atheistic Nazis who purported to worship science, and Spanish Inquisitors, who purported to be doing God s will, we [all should] be a bit more humble and lower our voices. [http://www.halos.com/book/ctm-07-d.htm] So, whether we hold to a young earth or an old earth, to 24-hour days or the days being ages, to a linear progression or a gap between Genesis 1:1 & 1:2, we need to remember we are finite creatures, and be humble. There is much we do not know. 5
The Implications Of Being Made. When we think of the phrase in the Apostles Creed that God is the maker of heaven and earth, there are some important implications. One of them is that it gives us life with real quality. We are not on our own in a vast universe. We have value, purpose and meaning because God created us and without this, or living without recognizing it, life ultimately is without meaning, as King Solomon discovered and recorded in the book of Ecclesiastes. But, we were created by God in His own image; we are valued and loved by God God the Son came to redeem us; we have purpose for life on earth and eternity. We have a certain, unchanging standard for truth, for values, for morality, for ethics God is truth; He is holy & righteous. Without the Creator of heaven and earth it does not matter what we do, how we live. It would be might makes right, my opinion your opinion, the majority opinion. But we have life with real meaning because God is the maker of heaven and earth. We also have life with real responsibilities. After God created Adam and Eve, He told them (Genesis 1:28), Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth. There is a real responsibility here to manage our world for God which means doing it in a way that pleases Him, managing it God s way, nor our way. Adam and Eve s sin affected them, us, and our world. That stewardship is more difficult because it is marred by sin, but it is our responsibility to be God s stewards over the earth. One of things that troubles me, and I am sure God is not pleased with, is that as the people of God we often we to a large extent left this stewardship over creation in the political arena, or the social activist arena, or perhaps to just some segments of the organized church some of which some theology with which we cannot agree. Those of us who know God and the importance of the gospel and that it is only through Jesus Christ that people can know God and live with Him forever, often don t spend much time thinking or carefully living out our stewardship over this earth. Because we are God s creation, because we are now re-created by faith in Jesus Christ, just as we are not on our own, we are not our own, but God s stewards. Paul summarizes it this way in 1 Corinthians 4:1-2, 6
Let a man regard us in this manner, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy. As God s stewards we are to use the spiritual abilities God has given us and all our abilities as good stewards of the manifold grace of God (1 Peter 4:10), to let our light shine before men in such a way that they may see [our] good works, and glorify [our] Father who is in heaven (Matthew 5:16). A steward is one who does not own something but is entrusted with it, is given a responsibility to manage and perform for another. We are God s stewards, stewards to use all the abilities God has given us, to be good stewards of the manifold grace of God. We are stewards so as to let our light shine before men in such a way that they may see our good works and give glory to our Father who is in heaven. Because God created heaven and earth, created us and loves us, we have life with real responsibilities and also real and wonderful privileges. The Bible has a long list of our privileges and blessings, too long for us to even list today. Where do we start? Where do we end? Let s read just a few passages which link God and His creative work and His relationship, His blessings to. For example,! Psalm 121:2-3, My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber. God who created all that exists, is your help if you are His child.! Psalm 134:3, May the LORD bless you from Zion, He who made heaven and earth. The Creator of all that exists blesses you, He wants to bless you.! One more, the beautiful words of Isaiah 40:28-31, Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable. He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might He increases power. Though youths grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly, yet those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary. 7
All of these privileges, all of these blessings and so many more, are ours as believers because God the Father Almighty is the Maker of Heaven and Earth. Conclusion The statement I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth is rich and overflowing with truth about God, ourselves and our world liberating, comforting, encouraging, empowering truth. God who created all that exists is not an absentee, uninterested Sovereign. God our Father has a father s heart. 1 John 4:14 b - 15, the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. How should we, how will we respond to this truth? If you have never come to God through faith in Jesus Christ, that is the first step. For those of us who have taken that step, our response should be to bow our hearts in worship of God the Creator who is worthy of all glory, honor and power. And then to make sure that our faith is complete as I said last week, there are three components of complete faith: to know, then to accept and then to trust. Trust is demonstrated in what we think and do. Is our faith really complete? With respect to the truth we have looked at this morning this means: to not believe Satan s lies about us and to live as children and stewards of the almighty, sovereign King of all that exists; to be focused on eternal things, not temporary, passing things; to be joyful and faithful stewards of God. As you spend the next quiet moments with God, consider and step out on these things. 2006 Lyle L. Wahl Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, Copyright 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. 8