جارٍ تحميل الأرشيف الحي.
God's Creation Project Series
واصِل الاستكشاف
مرتبطة بالمقطع الكتابي أو بموضوعات مشتركة.
Brother Mann begins by celebrating the shared cultural characteristics of the congregation—their enthusiasm, appreciation for vibrant worship, and communal spirit. He introduces himself as a team leader with London City Mission, sharing that he and his wife recently celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary, and asks for prayers as they serve the Lord together as a family.
London City Mission has served the city for over 190 years, bringing the gospel to people on the margins. The partnership between the mission and Dominion Chapel aims to ignite a movement of mission within local churches, equipping them to share the gospel with their communities—despite challenges like unfamiliar cultural contexts and uncertainty about how people will respond to an invitation to follow Jesus.
لم تُترجم هذه الصفحة بالكامل بعد. يظهر بعض النص أدناه أو كله بلغة English، وهي لغته الأصلية.
Over the coming six months, the church will work through a series called God's Creation Project, exploring six acts that help us understand the Bible's overarching narrative. This is not a formal biblical outline, but rather a framework to see God's complete story clearly.
The series will include training sessions on understanding different worldviews—Hindu, secular, and Islamic perspectives—and how to address common objections to the gospel. But first, the congregation needs to understand the foundational story of the Bible itself, because proper understanding of God's mission depends on understanding God's creation.
"Our goal is to help the church become more missional. Our goal is to go out and preach the gospel to the neighbors and disciple them. So why are we talking about creation? I can guarantee you after these six lessons, our understanding is going to open a lot more about the mission and sharing of the gospel and making disciples once we understand God's creation project."
The Christian world faces two significant issues:
The sermon will answer these two questions throughout the series.
Many Christians have reduced the Biblical story to the redemption of an immaterial world. This distorted thinking affects how we approach the gospel and discipleship. When we think salvation means escaping our bodies and this world to live in heaven forever, we fundamentally misunderstand God's mission.
"When we think about redemption or salvation means I'm going to leave this body and live in heaven forever or when our understanding is this world is evil and redemption means we are going to get out of this world somewhere in heaven that distorts our approach to mission altogether."
This creates a false goal: redemption from creation rather than of creation. These are small words, but they represent worldviews apart.
"Bible talks about God is in the business of redeeming the creation not just us out of this creation."
The goal of salvation is not escape, but renewal—of our bodies, just as Jesus received his glorious body, and of this world, as revealed in Revelation.
"The true message of the biblical story has an ending that is directly connected to the beginning."
That is why Genesis 1–2 and Revelation 21–22 must be read together. The beginning and end illuminate each other.
Act 1: Creation God creates the world as his temple (Genesis 1–2).
Act 2: The Fall Adam and Eve commit sin; the Christlessness of creation enters the world (Genesis 3–11).
Act 3: The Interim Adam God works through his covenant people, using the physical temple and mission with Abraham and Israel (Genesis 12–Malachi 4).
Act 4: Jesus, the Last Adam Also called the second Adam, Jesus reveals the goal of creation (the Gospels).
Act 5: The Church The church is the new humanity, the beginning of new creation (Acts and the Epistles).
Act 6: The New Creation The garden becomes a garden city; creation reaches its fulfillment (Revelation).
"Creation is not a completed project. It is an ongoing project of God because the renewal is coming."
English theologian Colin Gunton explains: Creation is a project and it is God's project. God is still working on creation as part of his plan. Through Jesus's life, death, and resurrection, God shows how he will save the world and where everything is heading—our destination and destiny in Christ. The Holy Spirit guides creation toward that final goal.
"We do not believe in the big bang theory. We don't believe that something came out of nothing just by itself. We believe God Almighty Yahweh Adoni who we worship this morning is the creator of everything."
If God is the creator, he is also the sustainer of everything and will accomplish everything.
Creation is not random. Everything has purpose and is designed to progress toward its final destination.
When the Spirit of God hovers over the waters in Genesis 1:2, he is establishing ownership: "I am the owner of this creation." This covenantal claim means God's people cannot belong to him without his ownership over them—as Jesus taught: "Unless you are born of water and spirit."
The whole creation was designed as God's temple.
Because creation was created to be a temple, human beings were designed to serve as prophets, priests, and kings in that creation. This pattern appears throughout Scripture.
The seventh day is crucial. God showed us the end right in the beginning.
God ensures that all his purposes are fulfilled.
God created in a seven-day pattern. On each of the first six days, Scripture says "evening and morning." But on the seventh day—Genesis 2:1–3—something changes. We do not read "evening and morning." Instead:
"On the seventh day God finished all his work and he rested."
This was meant to be the end: perfect creation, perfect humanity, perfect relationship, entering into perfect rest with the Creator. God showed us the end right in the beginning.
"The seventh day. The seventh day is very important. The seventh day is very important. That's the goal. But we know something happened in Genesis 3."
The meaning and purpose of creation is central to the Biblical narrative. God's purpose is to rest with his people and for his people to enjoy his presence on the seventh day.
When we interpret Scripture, our questions must come from Scripture itself. We cannot read into Scripture; we must find our answers from Scripture, shaped by Scripture's own intentions.
"I think too many people have been trying to answer the question how that's not the right question to ask. How did God create this? How? How can this happen? The right question to ask is why did God create this? What is the purpose of this? That's when our understanding will open about the scripture."
The church must expand its treatment of Genesis 1–2. Creation's story begins there and finds its fulfillment in Revelation 21–22. To understand creation fully, we must see where it is going, and then the mission will begin to make sense.
These passages form perfect bookends, showing us God's whole picture:
Genesis 1–2: Heaven and earth are separated. Revelation 21–22: Heaven and earth are united; New Jerusalem comes down.
Genesis 1–2: God walks with humans in the garden. Revelation 21–22: God now fully dwells with his people.
Genesis 1–2: Man and woman united. Revelation: God and his bride are united.
Genesis 1–2: A garden. Revelation: A fully developed garden city, New Jerusalem.
Genesis 1–2: Tree of life. Revelation: Tree of life in the city.
Genesis 1–2: River flowing from Eden. Revelation: River of life flowing from God's throne.
Genesis 1–2: God provides the light. Revelation: God himself is the light; sun and moon are not needed.
Genesis 1–2: Humans rule over creation. Revelation: They reign with the Lamb forever.
Genesis 1–2: No temple building—creation itself is God's temple. Revelation 21: No temple building; God now dwells with his people, and the temple extends to the whole creation.
"Why? Because creation itself was designed to be God's temple. What happens in a temple building? There's usually an image of God. What do we find in the temple of Solomon? The ark of the covenant represented God's presence. Priests offered service and worship. They offered sacrifices. What happens in the garden temple? Man, human beings are asked to serve God. Take care of my creation. That's an act of worship."
Genesis 1–2: Humanity works and keeps the garden; they are innocent. Revelation: God's servants serve him; humanity is perfect; redemption is complete.
Genesis 1–2: Commanded to go and fill the earth. Revelation: A fully developed city fills the whole creation.
1. God Himself God is creating everything with purpose and mission. God's mission did not start after Adam and Eve sinned, nor when Jesus was born in Bethlehem—it began when God created everything.
2. The Earth Earth is the central focal point for all creation. While other galaxies exist, Scripture focuses on one particular object—the earth—as the centerpiece of this entire drama.
3. Humanity We are the agents of God's mission.
In Genesis 1–2, creation is presented as the cosmic temple of God. God made creation for himself, and one of the most important truths in Scripture is that God created the world to be a sanctuary in which he is present.
"God's intention from the very beginning was to dwell with his creation. It was his purpose."
He revealed this desire through a series of symbols and events:
"Creation was always meant to be his temple, the dwelling place of God. And this is what the beginning of the story announces and promises. And this is what the end of the creation story declares as fulfilled in Revelation 21:3: 'Behold, God's dwelling place is now among his people.'"
Brother Mann expresses his longing for that day:
"When we don't need air conditions, when we don't need the drummer, when we don't need these LEDs, when we will not have the barriers of language and culture, when we will not have the barriers of keeping time because we will dwell with him forever. That has always been God's intention."
If creation was to be the temple of God, then humanity was designed to be prophets, priests, and kings. God made humanity for himself. According to God's design, both male and female were created in his image to love and to be loved.
"At the heart of this is the highest expression of love: offering God the worship that he rightly deserves. And that worship also includes work."
In Genesis 2:15, humanity is given work to do. As God's image-bearers, we represent our Creator and Lord, and humanity shares in his authority over creation.
In relation to God's word and covenant, humanity serves as prophets. Brother Mann clarifies that all believers are prophets of God in this sense:
"I personally don't like the titles prophet so and so or apostle so and so. Because the Bible says all of us are prophets of God. What did the prophets do in the Old Testament? They brought God's word to his people. That's what we are doing. We are bringing God's word to his people. We are telling people about his covenant."
When it comes to God's kingdom, we all serve as kings and queens, as seen in Revelation. We see this in Genesis: subdue the earth, rule over it, have dominion over it. That is what we are created to do. In Revelation, we see that we are the kingdom of priests.
In relation to God's temple, we serve as priests. All these roles are meant to serve and direct our worship toward God.
"Humanity, you and I, the church is not passive in this story. You cannot sit passively and say God will take care of his work. The church has a role to play just like Adam and Eve had a role to play in Eden. Humanity is called to be the agents of God's mission to serve as prophets, priests, and kings."
This is where Jesus comes in. As the second Adam, Jesus not only shows the destiny of human beings but also restores our story so that the project and perfection of all things can be completed.
In the Biblical story, the cultivation of creation commanded to Adam and Eve was meant to spread outward from Eden's center. When God said "multiply and fill the earth," he was not simply commanding large families. He was saying:
"What you are experiencing here in my presence in Eden, take it and multiply and take it out. Let the whole earth be turned into Eden."
We see this happen in Revelation. We see it happening now through the church. This is Eden—a picture of Eden where we are worshiping God.
The original commission—"Go and fill the earth, be fruitful and multiply, have dominion"—finds its ultimate fulfillment in Revelation 21–22. The crucial bridge between is the Great Commission: "Go and make disciples."
"Go and fill the earth. Jesus comes and redefines it for us. Go and make disciples. That's what we are doing. We are filling the earth with his disciples. And in Revelation, we are going to see it coming to its final fulfillment."
This raises an essential question:
"How should the original commission 'Go and fill the earth, subdue it' shape our understanding of the great commission 'Go and make disciples'? The mission of God has always been about filling the earth with his presence."
The Old Testament reveals God's desire:
"Isaiah, Habakkuk—a day is coming when as the water covers the sea, so shall the earth be filled with the knowledge of the glory of God. That has been God's desire all the time."
This continues until the Gardener returns to his garden.
We see a glimpse of this: Where was Jesus buried? In a garden. Where did he reveal himself in his resurrected body for the first time? To Mary—as the Gardener.
"The gardener came back. And the gardener is coming back again."
In the meantime, Jesus commands: "Go and make disciples." The gardener will return to his garden, but for now, we have work to do.
Biblical understanding of the future is shaped by the belief that history is moving somewhere under the guidance of God. History is his story, moving toward his guided direction.
The destination is God's new world—a world of justice, healing, and hope. The movement from this present world to the new one is not about destruction, but about God's justice and ordering.
"We read a lot about destruction in the Bible, especially in the Book of Revelation. But the actual judgment, the meaning of judgment is not destruction. We have judges today. What do judges do? They don't destroy everything; they bring justice. They make sure everything is put right. When there is a dispute, you go to court. The judge looks at the evidence and puts everything in order. In order. So that's what God's judgment is going to do: put everything in order."
Genesis 1–2 shows a growing garden. Revelation 21–22 shows a fully developed garden city. In that city, people live in peace and productivity in the presence of God.
"The end of the story completes the beginning. It is the garden of Eden fully cultivated and brought to fulfillment. The new creation is the culmination of God's purpose and provision, the moment when the full capacity of creation reaches complete perfection."
At that moment, God declares in Revelation, as he declared at the cross: "It is finished."
"Do you know that it's only written twice in the Bible? It is finished. Once at the cross: 'Your punishment is over. I paid the price.' But in Revelation it says again, 'It is finished.' The creation project of God comes to an end in Revelation."
"Genesis 1 and 2 and Revelation 21 and 22 stands like bookends. What God promises at the beginning he declares fulfilled at the end."
The new creation is described as the development of what was first announced: a garden city in the form of a temple.
In Revelation 21–22, humanity has become a community—a city full of order where culture flourishes and the earth is filled, shining with God's glory. This city has no need of a temple building, because God dwells with his people and they reign with him.
The garden city shows that Adam's cultivation has been completed as God commanded. The temple imagery shows us that creation has now fully become the dwelling place of God.
"In Revelation 21, what was once a limited and sacred place—the Holy of Holies in the Old Testament—and right now your heart and my heart, has in Revelation fully expanded to fill the whole earth. No more barriers. No more barriers. All creation now has full access to God and God has full access to his creation."
All creation responds in worship, celebrating God's goodness and glory, just as the congregation sang that morning.
"And that's when the gospel—the good news—is fully realized. It accomplishes its full purpose. And the seventh day we saw in Genesis, the eternal Sabbath rest in Genesis chapter 2 verse 2, is now fully established in Revelation."
"The opening of the Bible reveals something very important: it shows that God's creation project is driven by his desire—and the desire is to dwell with his people personally in this creation. The Bible's introduction is not merely the process of creation. It is about the purpose of creation."
That is why the "how" question is not the right question. The "what" question is the right question. It is pointing creation back to the Creator in both word and action.
The Bible also shows that the end flows from the beginning. The future is rooted in the first things. Even before sin entered the world, God's plan already included a future goal.
In Scripture's story, the first Adam pointed to the last Adam.
"Creation is not just one part of the story. It is the story. It is not just the beginning of the story. Creation is the story that the Bible tells because the truth about creation includes all the purposes for which God made the world."
This understanding must shape how we preach the gospel and make disciples.
The series will continue to unwrap these truths gradually across the six acts, revealing how God's creation project stands as the central narrative driving everything Scripture teaches about mission, redemption, and our calling as believers.
