Genesis Framework Part 20

GF 20 Psalm 93
January 10, 2016
Part 20

Genesis 2:4-7
4 This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens,
5 before any plant of the field was in the earth and before any herb of the field had grown. For the LORD God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to till the ground;
6 but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground.
7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

The original creation process proceeded in an orderly and stately fashion as a major building motif as God divided the world structure into compartments suitable for habitation by various types of creatures.

For God “created it not to be an empty thing but formed it as a place to live” Isaiah 45.18.

While it is true that during the Scriptural account of the original creation as an architectural building motif is barely suggested in the original imagery of Genesis 1, it is carried out in more picture-like detail in other subsequent revelations which obviously reference the creation account.

The emphasis I want to make plain today is that God’s creation was designed to serve a far more exalted function than just the housing of a variety of creature-beings in their respective areas of the earth.The cosmic structure was built as a habitation for the Creator Himself.Heaven and earth were erected, architecturally designed and built up as a house of God, a palace-temple of the Great King, the seat of sovereignty of the Lord of the
covenant.

NKJ Psalm 93
1 The LORD reigns, He is clothed with majesty; The LORD is clothed, He has girded Himself with strength. Surely the world is established, so that it cannot be moved.
2 Your throne is established from of old; You are from everlasting.
3 The floods have lifted up, O LORD, The floods have lifted up their voice; The floods lift up their waves.
4 The LORD on high is mightier Than the noise of many waters, Than the mighty waves of the sea.
5 Your testimonies are very sure; Holiness adorns Your house, O LORD, forever.

Let’s get the proper perspective of the relationship of the heavens to the earth.

Genesis 2:4
This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens,

We tend to forget when reading the Scriptures that God created both the heavens and the earth, and that the particular reference to the earth is intended to be all inclusive of the physical realm of creation; namely, the habitable earth and beyond, all the rest of the entire cosmos universe.

On the other hand, the reference “the heavens”, unless otherwise made clear by the context, is a term that points to the distinctively spiritual realm of God’s creation, the entire kingdom of heaven.

In our Genesis 2.4 verse,

“This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens,”

the idea emphasized here is that only God created absolutely all things in all realms, both the physical and the spiritual, thus we are expected to understand the appropriate implication that nothing exists that was not created by God, therefore He has the proper ownership of absolutely everything.

The purpose of our present preliminary work prior to examining the issue of Fall of man in the Eden Garden is to prepare us for a proper view of the circumstances surrounding that event, in order to grasp the full impact of its true character of it as opposition against God.

The lesson for us today is that even when some particular aspect of creation should raise its voice against the Lord, He and His throne remain stable, unshakable, and its establishment holds everlastingly firm.

NKJ Isaiah 66:1
Thus says the LORD: "Heaven is My throne, And earth is My footstool. Where is the house that you will build Me? And where is the place of My rest?

Matthew 5:34-35
34 "But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God's throne;
35 "nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.

Also, God sits above the circle of the world within the heavenly curtains.

Isaiah 40:21-23
21 Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
22 It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.
23 He brings the princes to nothing; He makes the judges of the earth useless.

So elsewhere in many places in the Bible we discover this theme and imagery of God on His throne, and earth as His footstool is used, usually to portray God’s redemptive triumph over the powers of Hell.

Sometimes it is used to describe the Creator’s government of the world of nature, particularly His control of the more tempestuous phenomena and especially the raging waters of the sea.

God has no adversary in His original creating, hence there is no need for the sword, the word of His will is His all-effective instrument.

Luke 10:18
18 And He said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.

Job 9:8
He alone spreads out the heavens, And treads on the waves of the sea;

Job 9:13
God will not withdraw His anger, The allies of the proud lie prostrate beneath Him.

Job 26:11-14
11The pillars of heaven tremble, And are astonished at His rebuke.
12He stirs up the sea with His power, And by His understanding He breaks up the storm.
13By His Spirit He adorned the heavens; His hand pierced the fleeing serpent.
14Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways, And how small a whisper we hear of Him! But the thunder of His power who can understand?"

The imagery of the Bible, the Word of God and the sword, are closely related.

In terms of imagery, the temptation scene in the Garden of Eden, where Satan is identified in his appearance as a wily serpent, the character of this imagery is not unlike that of the tempestuous nature of the adversarial waters which raises its voice against the will of the Creator.

“He stirs up the sea with His power, And by His understanding He breaks up the storm. By His Spirit He adorned the heavens;
His hand pierced the fleeing serpent. Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways,” Job 26

During the creation era God’s acts are of absolute creation, there is no pre-existing tempestuous adversary to overcome, there is no goal in view to struggle through to a precarious victory, only to complete a building, so there was no need for the Word as a sword.

During the postcreation era and prior to the Fall, a portion of creation, a number of angels rose in a great rebellion in the heavenlies, and many angels fell to earth becoming active adversaries to God’s kingdom.

At that time we see the imagery of the Word of God transformed into the likeness of that of a sword.

Notice also that the first mention of the use of the sword appears when God is threatened by adversarial forces.

Genesis 3:24
24 So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.

Thus becomes the character of the sword of Truth.

That was the kind of sword that man was expected to have taken up in order to oppose and to still the tempestuous voice of the blasphemous intruder, the lying voice that dared to challenge God before the very tree of judgment, God’s tree of the of the knowledge of good and evil.

Let us remember that not only are we God’s creation over which he has absolute authority of ownership, as born-again believers, we are now part of a new redeemed creation order characterized by a familial relationship with our Creator as Father, Lord, Savior and Friend; and we have become a dwelling place for God, a living temple.

Every temple needs a good cleaning from time to time.

Let’s yield to the true cleansing power of Christ and of His Spirit, and not allow our pride to oppose the creative work of God in our sanctifying process unto true holiness!

Listen to the Lord speak for Himself…

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

NKJ Psalm 104:30
You send forth Your Spirit, they are created; And You renew the face of the earth.

Jeremiah 24:7
'Then I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the LORD; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God, for they shall return to Me with their whole heart.

NKJ Isaiah 43:1
But now, thus says the LORD, who created you, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine.

NKJ Isaiah 43:7
Everyone who is called by My name, Whom I have created for My glory; I have formed him, yes, I have made him."

NKJ 2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

NKJ 2 Corinthians 6:16
And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people."

NKJ Ephesians 3:17
that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love,

God dwells with us, because Christ has become God with us.

NKJ Revelation 21:3
And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people.
God Himself will be with them and be their God.

NKJ Ezekiel 37:23
"They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions; but I will deliver them from all their dwelling places in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them. Then they shall be My people, and I will be their God.

NKJ Ephesians 4:24
and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.

Psalm 93
4 The LORD on high is mightier Than the noise of many waters, Than the mighty waves of the sea.
5 Your testimonies are very sure; Holiness adorns Your house, O LORD, forever.

Many will be surprised on the Day of Judgment when they discover that it was just as the Word of God says; only the righteousness of Christ is able to save you.All men are sinners and no one can save himself. God is just, so He must punish sin; but He is also merciful, moreover gracious, and offers His Son as the perfect sacrifice in order to purchase a place for you in heaven, which He offers to you as the free gift of eternal life. As we continue to examine man’s earliest duties with regard to the covenant of works, although they can be categorically divided into two distinct types of classes; one in relationship with God, and the other in relationship with fellow man, all covenant stipulations are expressions of the will of the Lord. The law of the covenant is the law of man’s image-sonship.

Jesus is God Incarnate

In order to pay the debt of our sins, He came from Heaven, having been sent by the Father, where He lived a life of perfect obedience to the Father even unto the shameful death upon the cross in order to pay the debt of your sins.This gift must be received by faith, believing that Jesus’ perfect life and Cross Work was His complete and necessary Atonement for your sins, in your behalf.Faith is a gift that comes by the Power of God the Holy Spirit working in a person’s innermost being. The Holy Spirit has the authority and power to quicken your dead spirit, to make it come to life. If you have not done so before this moment, ask Jesus to forgive you your sins, tell Him you’ve stop trying to be your own savior, and ask Him to come into your life right now, and to give you eternal life. Then, in faith believing, thank Him for the gift that He is giving you, the one He paid for in full in your place, in Jesus’ name,AMEN