The Great God of Creation

In your holy name we pray. Alright, so let's open up your copy of God's word back to Job chapter 38. I'll read verses 1 through 7. And just a little bit of context and springboard in a sense. I want to make reference to this morning and just sort of use it and kind of have some cohesion, some cohesiveness. That Job has spent the better part of 25 chapters and he's been attacked by friends. And he has defended himself and his own integrity. Saying that no sin of his brought on this great calamity. He quite arrogantly and proudly demands an audience with God.

He demands that the Lord sit as judge that he might display his innocence, that he might state his case. But he also laments that he's not worth the time. Let's hear what the Lord says in response. I think this is quite fitting to where we will be in our small groups. Job 38 verse 1. Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said, "Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Dressed for action like a man, I will question you. And you make it known to me, where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding, who determined its measurements? Surely you know.

Or who stretched the line upon it? Or what were its bases hung? Or who laid its cornerstone when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?" What we have in this verse is God telling the narrative of creation. This is God sharing to Job the creation experience as he spoke it into being. And we see a front row seat of God proclaiming the glories and the excellencies of the great Creator. Tonight if you're taking notes, the title of the message is "The Great God of Creation." And I just kind of want to spend some time with verse 4.

"Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?" I think that's a good question for all of us to ask. Where were you when God laid the foundation of the earth? You know, Ephesians 2.10 tells us why we were created. Ephesians 2.10 tells us we are his workmanship created in Christ for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2.10 answers this question that God presents to Job. Where were you when God laid the foundations of the earth? If you're born again, you were in Christ. You were hidden in Christ.

And more so, not only were you hidden in Christ before the foundations of the earth, but you were known and God created good works for you. Do you realize that God prepared every struggling brother that you lifted up, every encouraging word that you shared, every prayer that you prayed. We learned this morning that Job strengthened the feeble knees. He ministered to the poor. He taught those in great need. And he was generous with his wealth and he was fervent in his prayer. Do you realize that Ephesians 2.10 tells us that before the foundations of the earth, Job was hidden in Christ.

That means Jesus is all knowing he's eternally with the Father. And God being Lord over creation is outside of his creation. So that means that God having power to create all things is not dependent upon anything at all. In fact, God is outside of time and space limitations. You know, if somebody is late in the fellowship a lot, you know, sometimes I can perhaps struggle with maybe being on times and sometimes, you know, sometimes I can misplace my keys a little, probably a lot, my wife would say. But you know, we have the limitations of time. God has no limitation of time. In fact, we can't even comprehend this.

This is incommunicable in the sense that we cannot really understand what it means to be outside of time. When we study Genesis and this Bible study that we will have in our small group, we will look at several key doctrines that are addressed in the book of Genesis. We will learn directly what God's Word has to say about creation of the world. And so just so that you can have a heads up, I want to encourage every family to grab a copy of this. So if you could grab one of these books, we have a box tonight. I begin to study this.

Also, I would encourage you if you don't already have a good study Bible, since this is MacArthur's Bible study, the MacArthur study Bible is highly recommended by the elders here. The ESV study Bible is a good resource. But getting a good study Bible and read through the first 11 chapters of Genesis, you could read through these every week, once a week for five weeks quite easily. You could read below in the study materials, but we want to encourage you to pray through the Word as you study. Let's look at what the Bible says about the creation of the world. Listen to Psalms 33, 6 through 7. Psalm 33, 6 through 7.

"By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host. He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap. He puts the deep in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord. Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him." Job in this book gives us a look into the heart of the Creator. I think it's a fitting primer to this book. And do you realize that God's eternity is in existence without the passage of time? God's eternity is in existence without the passage of time. Therefore, God is outside of time and God is not bored. God is also not lonely.

This is important when we think of why we were created. We were created not only for good deeds, but do you know that God did not need and does not need our good deeds? God does not need our companionship. Now, God created Adam to glorify him and to see the beauty and the glory in God. And the Lord enjoyed his walks with Adam in the cool of the day. We are to walk with God in our day. But you have to understand, and you have to see this correctly, that God was not in need of anything. The minute we think that God is in need, we lower him and we take him out of his eternal, all-powerful state.

We will see in this study Adam and Eve, Genesis 2, verses 3, and you can study this in verses 3 through 25. Adam and Eve were created to notice the wonders of God's creation and to walk with God in fellowship. But I'll say it again, that God was not in need of a buddy. Does that mean that he does not want our companionship? God wants us to pray. So said this morning, the Lord commands us to pray. He delights in our prayer. And we meet him in the fullness of our heart. We meet God in the fullness of his. We will study the fall of Adam and the fall of man in Genesis chapter 3. This brings corruption into creation.

The world is now in bondage to decay. We will also study in Genesis chapter 3, verse 14, the fall of man, the cursing of the serpent, and the promise of the Messiah. Now this is a passage that we frequently address and we frequently discuss. I want you to perhaps write this down and study this this week. Genesis 3, 14. This will help you come next Sunday night prepared to get into the Word. The Lord said to the serpent, "Because you have done this deceiving Eve, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field. On your belly you shall go and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.

I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your offspring and her offspring. He shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel." Who is the offspring of the woman, the offspring of Adam and Eve, who will bruise the serpent's head and shall bruise his heel? It's none other but Jesus Christ. This is the proto-Evangelia, as theologians refer to this. This is the first gospel. This is the first mention that Jesus would come and he would indeed crush the serpent's head. And all the serpent would bruise his heel. That's a picture of the cross. Jesus would die. What is the greater injury?

A bruise on the heel or a fatal blow to the head? Clearly this is Jesus and his resurrection from the grave. In a few weeks we will study Cain and Abel and the first murder, Genesis 4, 1 through 16. And we will look at the stain of interpersonal conflict that results. Cain's murder of Abel is the reason why we lose our temper. Cain's murder is the reason why we have unforgiveness and bitterness. Brother Jared has a series of lectures entitled "Acceptable Worship" and he has preached here and he's also taught in a small group.

He said that Adam and Eve would have shared their experience of their fall and how the Lord covered them with animal skins. And this was symbolic of our covering that Jesus Christ would be crucified and that his righteousness would cover us. But Cain desired to worship in his own way. Instead of animal sacrifice as the Lord had set forth to his parents, he brought fruit to the field. He became jealous and he killed his brother. You, dear friend, may only murder someone in your heart through unforgiveness and bitterness. But you were following in the footsteps of Cain, as have I, and apart from a savior we've got no hope.

This morning we saw bitter accusations that arose from Job's three friends. In a church we must be careful to be more like Job and less like his friends. People often describe the congregation here as a loving body, caring. I say this not because I see the spirit of Job's friends, but if we're honest we all have a little build-dad within us. We all have a little Zophar in us. We all have some Eliphaz. We can be judgmental. We can blame the victim when they go through trial and difficulty. And perhaps we can simply do this by not praying.

Notice the three friends circled the wagons and they pointed out accusations, but they didn't just pray with them. I received an encouraging text message today from a brother who praised the Lord Jesus and said that he is the true and better Job. And Job laid aside the abundant riches of heaven, that Jesus himself laid aside the abundant riches of heaven, took on our infirmities our sin, he bore our cross.

And Jesus was said of his father, "I have no one like him in the face of the earth." He is blameless to Satan, he would say, "Have you considered my servant Jesus?" And I'm thankful that we have a congregation where we can lift each other up, pray for one another. Secondly tonight, I want us to see the great God's creation. In this study we will look at not just the Creator, but the creation. And so we will study more about the doctrine of man. When God asks Job, "Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?" It's important to know that God created the world out of nothing.

So you will see the phrase by theologians, "Ex-neo." We are teaching this to our youth on Wednesday nights in this book, Christian Beliefs. It is a tremendous resource if you'd like to purchase a copy and read it so that you could discuss with your teen what's going on in class. It's really phenomenal. But in studying this a few weeks ago in the doctrine of man, do you know that ex-neo means that God did not need any tools to create the world. He needed so much as a hammer in a sense he would not be totally self-sufficient and all-powerful. Man was formed out of the dust. Do you know that all other elements of creation were just spoken?

But yet the Lord formed us with His hands out of the dust, and He breathed life into us. And we are created in the image of God. So Wayne Grudem has helped us in our youth with these two questions. How does knowing that you are made from the dust with the hand of God, how does that give you great humility? You know, the dust is something that is not clean, and we are not clean. The dust is something that is stepped on and walked on. It is something that is humble. And we must take a lesson from our origin that we have nothing good within us.

Martin Luther said, "Man was made out of nothing, and before he can become anything, he must first become nothing." It's my testimony that you've heard that over the years I was raised in a Christian home, and I was the most religious kid in my high school in Mettery, Louisiana, in the city of Mardi Gras. And I did not do some of the things that my classmates did, but I was just as sinful, and I was equally as prideful, if not worse. See, religion made me twice the son of hell. And my religious pedigree, if you will, kept me from being saved, as I took pride in what I had done for God.

See, if you're going to realize your proper place, and if you would be saved and converted to Christ if you were not, you must become nothing and realize that nothing, apart from the Lord's gracious hand, can save you. So our conversion restores glory to God as our lives are sanctified by His grace. But the second question that Wayne Grudem asks, "How does knowing that you were created out of dust by the hand of God, how does that give you great dignity?" We are created for great purpose. We are created as the crown of creation. We are created on the sixth day. After everything else was made, after God had made our home, He created us.

We were the crown of His creation. No other creature was made by the hand of God, and no other creature was created as the Lord breathed life into us. The breath of God means that the Spirit of God made man in His essence. As we breathe out grace, surely as we walk with God, we give Him glory as His born-again sons and daughters. Again, Job 38.4, "Where were you when I lay the foundations of the earth? Tell me if you have understanding." In the first three chapters of Job, we see God enthroned in majesty, sovereign over all creation. God is even Lord over your suffering.

As hard as that can be, when we understand that God is in control, He purposes the evil we face for our good, and even for the holiness of the Church. God lists elements of the creation that He is holding in the palm of His hands. And so we have this assurance, finally tonight, the great care of the Creator. The great care of the Creator. Because we are the crown of creation, because He breathed into us, because we were made in His image, do you realize that your cares are important to Him? The Scripture not say, "Cast your anxieties upon Him, for He cares for us." In this study, we will see the Lord's redemptive plan.

We will learn about Noah in the ark, Genesis 6. How the world had become fallen. In fact, every thought of man had become all evil, only evil all the time. In the great flood, this leads us to the first covenant, the Noahic covenant, Genesis 9. In Genesis 9, 18-29, we will see the sons of Noah all the way through the Tower of Babel. And we will see in the first 11 chapters, as we conclude this study, that Noah's son Shem, and the descendants of Shem, eventually become the Abrahamic peoples.

And this is important for us to see, that even when it looked as though the Lord's discipline would destroy the earth, we see Shem, Hymn, and Japheth, we see them multiply, and we know He has a redemptive plan. We rejoice as sons of God, and we see creation anew when we understand that this glorious and great Creator has great care for us. 1 Peter 5, 7. Cast all your anxieties upon the Lord, for He cares for you. Dear friend, you are not unknown today, and you are not unloved today. Listen to what Matthew 10, 31, says.

"And do not fear those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny, and not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your father; but even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore, you are of more value than many sparrows." You see as the highlight and the crown of His creation, He cares more for you than many sparrows. Because we have a great Creator with a great creation, we know that His care for us is great. The Scripture tells us, and we will learn in this study, that all that God made, He said, was good.

And because He spoke everything into existence, He made us ex-neo. He formed us out of dust. We, too, are very good. We stand with the redeemed. Through Christ we again are beloved, called, and we are kept. Last, I want us to think of one more Scripture verse. I want us to think of the book of Hebrews. This is of Christ. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature. And He upholds the universe by the word of His power. And after making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high. This is greatly encouraging to us.

Not only is Jesus God's Son Creator, the great God of creation maintains great care, but do you realize that He is upholding this creation with His own word even now? That tells us that as you go through trial, as you go through suffering, the Lord not only determined it and purposed it, He is walking with you and He is upholding you, but by what? The power of His word.

When you go through trial and difficulty, and even your own weaknesses may frustrate you, even your own immaturity as a believer, even having walked with Him for many years, we can understand that just as creation is upheld, just as the sparrows fly, just as the sun rises and it sets, the Lord upholds you, dear saint. The Lord upholds you by the word of His power. Christ's death on the cross, making purification for sins, means He sat down at the right hand of the Father and He ever liveth to make intercession for you.

So I want to just discuss, I want to mention five words, kind of big words, but your life can be changed through the book of Genesis, verses 1 through 11, and these five words can cause you to grow in your faith. The first word is theology. This is your belief about God. Our theology should expand, and what we believe about God should be affected as we study this book. Not just going through the study and not even just reading Scripture, but meditating on this and praying over it and asking the Lord to purge your heart. Are there times when you doubt the character of God, when you go through difficulty?

Are there times when you doubt His loving care, His goodness and faithfulness to you? Second, Christology. This is what we believe about Jesus. If you believe that Jesus is what He said and what Scripture says in the book of John, that in the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God and the Word was God. It means Jesus had to have been the Word of God that spoke us into existence. Thirdly, I want us to see anthropology. Anthropology, or a biblical anthropology, is what the Bible says about man. Studying the first 11 chapters of Genesis ought to inform your belief of yourself.

Who am I and how was I made and where do I stand in this great creation? Also, pneumatology, that's a word we don't hear as much, but that is the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. You know that the Holy Spirit was present at creation. We've been teaching our youth. Scripture says in the beginning, the Spirit of the Lord was hovering over the waters. We see the Trinity even at work in creation, and we will learn this. And finally, doxology. Doxology is what you believe about worship. Ultimately, church, this is not just information we're trying to fill our heads with.

We're trying to ask the Lord as we study Him and His character to expand our hearts, to change our church, that we would be worshippers, that you would worship the Lord as you go to school, that you would worship the Lord as you go to work, that you would worship the Lord as you tend to family responsibilities and as you obey your parents, and that our hearts would be ever expanding around this truth, that we serve a great creator. This is a great creation, and He has immense care for us. Well, in conclusion, let's pray, and let's sing, and let's ask the Lord to change us with the reality of the Father, the Spirit, and the Son, great creator.