The beginning of the greatest story ever told.
We are excited to begin the new year at the very beginning of the greatest story ever told. This is a story that changes everything for us. But this isn't an ordinary story like the fictional tales we indulge our children with, or the ones that writers in Hollywood invent. Our story is HIS story. It's true history. No other history of God or man predates that which we find in Genesis 1:1.
The history of Genesis has been passed down for generations. It was first passed down as oral (spoken) tradition. Then it was recorded onto parchment. In time, it was passed down to Moses, who was inspired by God, gathered up God's history, and recorded it into the book of Genesis. And then Moses, inspired by God, added the history of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
And so the story of God begins with a simple, but powerful declaration. "In the beginning God created..." These are five of the most important words ever recorded in history. They do not constitute a scientific proof. By definition, science cannot prove or disprove the existence of God. Science can only contend with what we perceive with our senses, with what we can observe in a laboratory, through a telescope, under a microscope, or in a test tube. Science deals with the realm of the visible.
But consider what Hebrews 11:3 (NIV) says, "By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible."
Faith transcends science.
Faith isn't unscientific. It transcends science, it goes beyond science, and it reveals what science can never discover. Psalm 19:1-2 (NIV) says, "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge." Romans 1:20 (NIV) tells us, "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities-- his eternal power and divine nature-- have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse."
Thus, it is an act of faith to believe in God. But it is an even greater act of faith to disbelieve in God. Those who do not believe God exists have a lot of explaining to do! If you take the position that God does not exist, you will find next week's message quite helpful. But for those of you who believe that God exists, I want to spend the balance of our time this morning asking a question. What kind of God exists?
What kind of God exists?
As you know, Genesis was originally written in the ancient Hebrew language, by Moses. Well, the Hebrew name for God in Genesis 1:1 is Elohim. This name Elohim is repeated thirty-two times in Genesis 1 alone! The name itself reveals a few clues about God.
First, the root word of Elohim is el-- which means the strong, prominent, or mighty one. Like people today, the ancients could sense Elohim's eternal power and divine nature by what had been made. They marveled at the power that could create the heavens and earth, vast landscapes, animals, and man.
Second, Elohim, and especially its root el, is the generic name for God. It can certainly refer to the God of Israel, but the word can also be used to describe foreign gods. It doesn't really mean anything to say, "I believe in God." Is your god Allah? The God of Israel? Jesus Christ? Mother Nature? The Star Wars force, the Twelve step groups' higher power, ying/yang, New Age collective consciousness, or something angelic or demonic? In ancient cultures, deities were created beings. In Genesis Elohim is the one true God powerful enough to create all things in heaven and on earth. Elohim is the Elohim of Elohims.
It gets more interesting. Third, the name for God, Elohim, is plural. You could almost translate Elohim as "gods" except in Genesis it's always used with singular verbs. So in Genesis 1:1 the Elohim (he) created the heavens and the earth. There is plurality implied in the name Elohim-- and yet Elohim is one. He speaks and acts with singularity. The Lord God is one.
The plurality of God is a mystery, but it's evidenced in Genesis 1:26 (NIV). "And God (Elohim) said, 'Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."
Let "us" make man in "our" image. Even in Genesis 1:2 we find an allusion to the Spirit of Elohim hovering over the waters. In Genesis 3:22 (NIV) when Adam and Eve sin, "And the LORD God (Elohim) said, 'The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil.' " In Genesis 11:7 (NIV) when evil men build the tower of Babel, Elohim says, "Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other."
In Isaiah 6:8 (NIV) Elohim is speaking to Isaiah the prophet, "Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?' And I said, 'Here am I. Send me!' " Or what about David's revelation in the well known messianic psalm in Psalm 110:1 (NIV). "The Lord says to my Lord: 'Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.' "
So let's put all of this together! Our story is a story about a most powerful, and mighty, and prominent God.
But not just any god! The God of gods, the Elohim of elohims, the King of kings, the Lord of lords, the one who created the heavens and earth-- the sun and moon and stars, the mountains and vast seas, the birds of air, the fish of the sea, and every living creature that dwells on earth, even man!
But more than this! Our God is a relational plurality, a trinity, three-in-one, a divine, eternal community, who acts with singular uniformity according to his own set purpose. Elohim is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Yet Elohim is one! Deuteronomy 6:4 (NIV) says, "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one."
In Genesis 2, when God creates man in his own image, he creates them male and female! He creates them to relate and to become "one" with one another just as Elohim himself relates within the godhead and is himself, "one".
God is intensely relational within the Godhead and with us.
One way we can say this is that God is intensely relational within the Godhead. In the Bible, God's act of creation is done in community with himself. The Father is creator, the Son is creator, and the Holy Spirit is creator. They co-create the heavens and earth. In scripture, creation is attributed to the Father in Acts 4:24 and to the Son in John 1:1–3 and to the Holy Spirit in Psalm 104:30.
But friends, there is one more important detail. God isn't just intensely relational within the Godhead. He is intensely relational with his creation, with us. The story of God is about an intensely relational God who intensely relates to his creation-- even to the extent of becoming like us, and dwelling among us, and becoming obedient unto death, even death on a cross!
There is a new book out called America's Four Gods. This book explores what people believe about God. The authors, Paul Forese and Christopher Bader, draw on a Baylor study that explores the extent to which people believe that God loves the world, judges the world, and engages the world. They concluded that the American public can be split into four theological camps in terms of their belief about the nature of God.
Of those who believe in God...
15 percent believe in a distant God. So, yes, God exists! But no, God doesn't love, he is impersonal, he doesn't relate, he doesn't intervene, he doesn't judge, he doesn't work miracles, and he is disengaged from creation. He wound up the clock long ago, but he's left the clock ticking away according to natural laws. They think he created, he abandoned creation, and he watches from a distance.
The authors refer to this as "functional atheism". A functional atheist is someone who believes that God exists, but doesn't believe God answers prayer, desires our worship, or delights in our obedience.
24 percent believe in a critical God. So, yes God exists! But no, God doesn't love, he doesn't forgive, and he isn't gracious and compassionate and slow to anger and abounding in love. God is full of wrath. He is the lawgiver and judge, he wants to punish me, and he must be appeased with offerings and sacrifices.
This is how a lot of Catholics view God. Their Christianity isn't about relating to God. It's about guilt, confession, then penance for their wrongs. Those who view God in this manner often subscribe to works-based religion. "If only I try harder..."
24 percent believe in a benevolent God. So, yes God exists! And yes, God loves me so much, and he forgives me, and he's my best friend, and he wants to be your best friend too. And God wants me to be the best me, and find my purpose, and be happy. And no, God would never judge me and you shouldn't either. God is always smiling down on us like a heavenly grandfather.
The benevolent God is the God of Rick Warren's Purpose-Driven Life or Joel Olsteen's Your Best Life Now! Always smiling, warm, loving, kind, and never outraged, offended, angry, judging, or disciplining. This is a doormat God who dispenses cheap grace.
Only 31percent believe in an authoritative God. The God of Genesis is an authoritative God. So yes, God exists. And yes, God loves us intensely. He creates everything good, and when he creates man he declares him "very good." And yes, God is passionately engaged in every detail of his good creation. And yet God desires real authority in our lives. He is the perfect lawgiver and judge. And when we sin, God doesn't abandon us, but he pursues us to the extent of the cross.
Adapted from James Emery White. Sources: Froese, Paul and Bader, Christopher. America's Four Gods: What We Say About God – and What That Says About Us. (Oxford University Press, 2010).
Genesis forces us to reconsider our view of God.
Genesis is about an intensely relational God, who in community with himself, creates the world, orders the world, loves the world, sustains the world, engages the world, exercises authority over the world, judges what's good and evil in the world, and ultimately redeems the world from the curse of sin, and blesses the world for all eternity.
I like what Henry Morris says about Genesis 1:1. "If we believe these words, and accept them by faith, nothing in all Scripture is too amazing to believe. Genesis begins the tale of God creator and his relationship with man, his special creation."
In Genesis 2:4 Elohim would reveal his personal name. He is the "Lord" Elohim. Yahweh. Our intensely personal, yet authoritative, creator and redeemer.