24-1117a Transcript

Preacher: Scott Reynolds

(0:04) Good morning. (0:05) It’s good to see everybody. (0:07) This sermon is the result of two recent studies we’ve presented.

(0:12) The first being the equipping of the saints series, where the saints are (0:17) equipped as a royal priesthood to do the works of service in the unity of the (0:22) faith, both unity among brethren and that special unity with God who lives in us. (0:30) The unio mystica and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. (0:36) And the second influence on this sermon was the apologetics press article (0:41) that was presented on October 20th.

(0:43) That was titled, why are we losing them? (0:47) And what’s the importance of maintaining faith in the first (0:50) 11 chapters of Genesis was stressed. (0:53) So with that in mind, I would like to present to you a look at the (0:58) beginning of the Bible narrative beginning in the beginning with (1:04) Genesis chapter one, verse one. (1:07) In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

(1:11) The Bible starts off very simply informing us that there was a beginning. (1:16) The implication of that statement is that there was a specific point (1:20) in time, as we understand it started. (1:24) The Hebrew concept of beginning here suggests an initial moment.

(1:28) A starting point for creation, which includes the heavens, the earth and (1:33) the temporal framework they exist in. (1:37) And as a reminder, the dictionary definition for temporal is relating (1:42) to worldly as opposed to spiritual affairs. (1:45) So relating to time as in the spatial and temporal or space and time dimensions.

(1:52) Notice that the subject of the sentence here in Genesis chapter one, (1:56) verse one is God. (1:59) That may seem obvious, but in contrasting him to what he creates, (2:03) God exists before his creation. (2:07) In fact, the Bible will later tell us God is self-existing.

(2:12) Moses in the second 40 years of his life after he fled from Egypt and before he (2:17) returns to bleed the Israelites out of Egypt while he was shepherding and the (2:23) wilderness came across a bush on fire. (2:26) But not being consumed by the flames, he approaches it. (2:30) And the angel of the Lord begins the conversation with them (2:32) from within the burning bush.

(2:35) The angel instructs him to go back to Egypt, to lead the Israelites out. (2:40) Moses objects. (2:42) In this exchange, the angel identifies who he is from our previous studies.

(2:48) We know him to be the second person of the Godhead. (2:52) In Exodus three, verses 13 and 14, it says, Moses said to God, indeed, when I (2:59) come to the children of Israel and say to them, the God of your fathers has sent me (3:04) to you, they say to me, what is his name? (3:08) What shall I say to them? (3:10) And God said to Moses, I am who I am. (3:14) And he said, thus you shall say to the children of Israel.

(3:19) I am has sent you. (3:23) In the Hebrew Bible, the name of God is represented by four Hebrew letters, which (3:29) are transliterated as Y H W H or J H V H. (3:35) This four letter word is known as the tetragrammaton. (3:40) The exact pronunciation was lost since the Israelites refused to speak it for (3:44) fear of using God’s name in vain.

(3:47) And the pronunciation is uncertain due to the absence of vowels in the original (3:52) Hebrew text, but it is believed to be pronounced as Yahweh or Jehovah. (4:00) These letters appear nearly 7,000 times in the Hebrew scriptures, and they are (4:05) derived from the Hebrew verb to be, suggesting meaning likes, I am, he who (4:12) is, or he brings into existence, whatever exists, God’s name literally means he (4:20) exists, that is God is self-existing. (4:25) God is eternal.

(4:26) And Psalm 90 verse two says before the mountains were born or you brought forth (4:34) the whole world from everlasting to everlasting, you are God before the (4:40) mountains or the earth created and existed. (4:45) He’s existed forever. (4:47) It is from everlasting to everlasting, or as Buzz Lightyear says in the movie (4:52) Toy Story, to infinity and beyond, except in this case, it would be (4:58) from or to infinity and beyond.

(5:02) God is spirit. (5:03) Jesus tells us in John chapter four, verse 24, God is spirit. (5:09) And those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.

(5:13) There’s another realm beyond the physical, a spiritual realm that exists without the (5:20) constraints of the physical realm. (5:22) Unlike what Carl Sagan of Cosmos fame thought, the

cosmos is not all that is or (5:29) was or ever will be. (5:31) The cosmos had a beginning and it will have an end.

(5:35) It is not everlasting. (5:37) It is the physical, natural realm. (5:41) It is temporary.

(5:42) It is finite and it will end. (5:44) Second Peter three, verse 10 says, but the day of the Lord will come like a thief and (5:51) then the heavens will pass away with a roar and the heavenly bodies will be burned up (5:56) and dissolved and the earth and the works that are done in it will be exposed. (6:02) And then Isaiah 51, six, it says, lift up your eyes to the heavens and look on the (6:09) earth beneath, but the heavens will vanish away like smoke.

(6:14) The earth will grow old like a garment and those who dwell in it will die in like (6:19) manner. (6:20) But my salvation will be forever and my righteousness will not be abolished. (6:26) And in Hebrews chapter one, verses 10 through 12, the Hebrew writer quotes from (6:33) Psalm 102, verses 25 through 27, where he says, and you, Lord, in the beginning laid (6:41) the foundation of the earth and the heavens are the work of your hands.

(6:45) They will perish, but you remain and they will all grow old like a garment, like a (6:51) cloak. (6:52) You will hold them up and they will be changed, but you are the same and your years (6:58) will not fail. (7:00) The spiritual realm is outside and not under the constraints of the physical natural (7:05) realm.

(7:06) It is super natural. (7:08) That is, it is above or over or beyond the natural realm. (7:13) We are also told later that Jesus is eternal.

(7:17) In John chapter 17, verse five, Jesus says in his prayer to God, the father, and now (7:24) father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world (7:31) began. (7:32) So both Jesus and the father existed before the world began. (7:37) And more than that, the apostle John says that this about Jesus, the word in John (7:43) chapter one, verses one through three, in the beginning was the word and the word was (7:49) with God and the word was God.

(7:52) He was with God in the beginning. (7:55) Through him, all things were made. (7:58) Without him, nothing was made that has been made.

(8:02) But Jesus is God and was with God in the beginning. (8:06) And more than that, Jesus is the creator. (8:10) It is appropriate that the person of the Godhead who is called the word, who is Jesus, (8:16) is the one who spoke things into being.

(8:19) Psalm 33, six and nine says, by the word of the Lord, the heavens were made and all the (8:26) host of them by the breath of his mouth. (8:29) For he spoke and it was done. (8:31) He commanded and it stood fast.

(8:35) You know, since Jesus is God, that is the Lord and Jesus is the word, we could (8:42) substitute his name in Psalm 33, six for the phrase, the word goes like this by Jesus, (8:51) the Lord, the heavens were made and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. (8:56) For he spoke and it was done. (8:59) He commanded and it stood fast.

(9:02) Is it any wonder then that even the winds and the waves obey his command, as it says (9:08) in Luke chapter eight, verses 22 through 25, we sing that song. (9:13) You remember, master, the tempest is raging, the winds and the waves obey his will. (9:20) And when he says peace, be still.

(9:23) There’s one more person of the Godhead to look at in connection with the creation, the (9:29) Holy Spirit. (9:31) The very next verse in Genesis chapter one, the Holy Spirit mentioned in Genesis (9:37) chapter one, verse two, the earth was without form and void and darkness was on the face (9:44) of the deep and the spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. (9:50) This verse directly states the Holy Spirit is present at the very beginning of creation.

(9:56) And then Psalm 104, 30, it says, you send forth your spirit, they are created and you (10:04) renew the face of the earth. (10:07) See Psalm 104, 24 through 30 for a fuller context. (10:11) This passage directly credits the spirit with the act of creation and sustaining life.

(10:19) The context is talking about all the life in the seas and specifically Leviathan, a (10:26) sea creature. See Job 41, the entire chapter, to learn about Leviathan, which is (10:33) interesting since we see the Holy Spirit hovering over the face of the deep and that (10:38) would be the deep sea. (10:40) God in three persons, we see that all three persons of God, Godhead, were involved in (10:47) the creation.

Knowing Jesus is the person of the Godhead to speak things into being, we (10:54) can see all three in the first three verses of Genesis. (10:59) In Genesis chapter one, verse one, we see God the Father. (11:03) In the beginning, God, and that would be the Father, created the heavens and the earth.

(11:08) Supporting the idea that God the Father is in verse one is Hebrews chapter one, verses (11:14) one and two, where it says, In the past, God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets (11:21) at many times and in various ways. (11:23) But in these last days, he has spoken to us by his son. (11:29) He has appointed heir of all things and through whom, and that would be a son, he made (11:35) the universe.

Notice that the person of the Godhead who speaks to us is God’s son, (11:41) Jesus. In Hebrews 11, 3, it says, By faith we understand that the universe was formed (11:49) at God’s command. (11:51) So that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

(11:55) In Genesis chapter one, verse two, we see God, the Holy Spirit. (12:00) The earth was without form and void and darkness was on the face of the deep and the (12:05) spirit of God, the Holy Spirit, was hovering over the face of the waters. (12:12) And in Genesis chapter one, verse three, we see God, the Son.

(12:17) And it says, Then God, and that would be Jesus, said, Let there be light. (12:24) And there was light. So when the Bible says in Genesis chapter one, verse twenty six, (12:29) that God said in the creation process, Let us make man in our image, in our likeness.

(12:37) It makes sense to use the plural there, since all three persons of the Godhead were (12:43) involved in the creation. (12:45) They all existed before creation. (12:49) One last thing I want to talk about before we move on to the creation of the heavens (12:54) and the earth is that God made plans.

(12:58) Before God began his work of creating, he planned his work. (13:02) In Ephesians chapter one, verses three and four, it says, Blessed be the God and Father (13:09) of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in (13:14) the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, (13:23) that we should be holy and blameless before him. (13:26) God made choices and he made plans for us to be redeemed before the foundation of the (13:34) world.

This implies that God, before he created us, knew that he would need to save (13:41) us and that we would need redemption. (13:46) And in Titus chapter one, verses one and two, Paul says, Paul, a servant of God and an (13:53) apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of (13:59) the truth, which accords with godliness and hope of eternal life, which God, who never (14:05) lies, promised before the ages began. (14:09) The hope of eternal life, that would be the possibility or hope is the possibility of (14:17) eternal life was promised to us before the ages or before time began.

(14:25) In Second Timothy, chapter one, verse nine, it says, God who has saved us and called us (14:32) with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and (14:38) grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began. (14:44) The calling us to salvation was according to God’s purpose and grace given to us in the (14:51) person of Jesus Christ before time began. (14:55) And we are specifically told that time is not eternal.

(14:59) Time had a beginning. (15:01) Time was created. (15:03) And it says before time began.

(15:07) So God planned to call us to be holy and blameless. (15:11) He promised us hope of eternal life to save us according to his purpose and grace given (15:18) to us in Jesus Christ before time began. (15:24) He did that through Jesus, who was also foreknown or chosen before the foundation, the (15:31) creation of the world.

(15:34) In First Peter, chapter one, verses eight through twenty one, it says, knowing that (15:39) you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of (15:45) life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood as of a lamb unblemished (15:51) and spotless, the blood of Christ. (15:54) For he was foreknown before the beginning of the world, but has appeared in these last (16:00) days for the sake of you who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the (16:07) dead and gave him glory so that your faith and hope on God. (16:13) You see Proverbs chapter eight, verses twenty two through thirty one for a description of (16:19) God utilizing wisdom during the creation process.

(16:23) So before time began, God made plans for creation and redemption. (16:29) Tonight, we will continue our discussion before the beginning with a look at the heavens (16:34) and the angels and morning stars, all created before the creation of the earth. (16:41) The invitation is being extended now to anyone who is subject to it while we stand and (16:48) sing.