Your life's story is connected to God whether you acknowledge it or not. You see, God is at work all around you and has been orchestrating a plan since the beginning of time. You can deny this but you can never get away from it! Why? God's plan is constantly intersecting with your life. And He wants you to find your purpose in it! So if you want to truly understand your life's purpose then you need to understand God's plan (that is, the BIG story that God is working out that explains everything). So what is God's plan? Well you don't have to go far in the Bible to find it. The Bible begins by framing it up in the book of beginnings...Genesis. But to fully grasp God's plan, you need to first understand the PROBLEM that serves as its backdrop. This is told in Genesis 1-3. So let's take a look...
GOD'S REST: CREATION AS GOD INTENDED
Genesis 1 makes it abundantly clear that everything God created in the beginning was GOOD (in fact, this is emphasized SEVEN times over; 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31). But this GOOD creation didn't always exist. NO. This GOOD creation emerged from disorder and emptiness (hb: tohu va-bohu; formlessness and emptiness) as described in vs. 2. And so God spent the first three days of creation FORMING the earth by separating and ordering the universe. He then spent the last three days FILLING creation with animals of the land, sea, and sky, which ultimately culminated in the creation of humans. God crafted this perfect creation solely with His words spoken TEN times ("and God said"; 1:3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 24, 26, 28, 29). After God FORMED and FILLED the FORMLESS and EMPTY earth, He rested on the SEVENTH day. So what does this tell us? God's original creation was perfectly designed and ordered and was therefore a place of peace and rest!
HUMANITY'S ROLE
So what was humanity's original purpose in God's creation? The author makes it clear that humanity's role in God's creation was to rule over the earth (the land, sea, and sky) and multiply God's GOOD creation order (1:26-28). Part of the task of ruling over God's creation involved GUARDING (2:15; hb: shamar; also used in 3:24 when angels guarded the tree of life) the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and NOT EATING its fruit (2:15-17). This is how humanity was to PROTECT God's creation order. Humanity was also given the task of WORKING (2:15; hb: av'da; also used in Num. 3:7-8 for the priestly service in the tabernacle) the garden. In this way, humanity was to PRESERVE God's creation order.
HUMANITY'S REBELLION
But Adam and Eve rebelled against God and ate from the tree. This changed everything...and I mean everything! But how are we to understand the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? Did the fruit from this tree, if ingested, give people the knowledge to discern moral right from moral wrong? Did Adam and Eve not know right from wrong before they ate the fruit? Some people think so. But I'm not sure this is the best explanation. Why? Adam and Eve experienced a bunch of BAD stuff like shame, pain, separation, and curses after they ate from the tree. But are all of these BAD things morally EVIL? Think about it. Are 'birthing pains' (3:16) morally EVIL? NO. They're just plain BAD. Is 'painful toil' (3:17-19) morally EVIL? NO. It's just BAD.
And in fact, to remove any confusion about the nature of the BADNESS that came from this tree, the author uses a play on words in the Hebrew language between the words 'tree' in Genesis 2:17 and 'pain' in 3:16-17. How so? The author indicates that from the ETZ (tree) came ETZev (pain). And so by eating from the tree, BAD things were mixed into God's GOOD creation. Death, disease, violence, hatred, jealousy, slander, gossip, natural disasters, poverty, and spiritual warfare now became a part of humanity's everyday experiences. And so maybe the tree is better referred to as 'the tree of the knowledge of good and BAD.'
But not only this, in the Hebrew language, 'knowledge' (hb: da'at) does not just refer to book smarts but it refers more specifically to street smarts, i.e. knowledge gained through EXPERIENCE. And so from the Hebrew perspective you don't really 'know' something unless you've EXPERIENCED it. And after Adam and Eve ate the fruit, they EXPERIENCED pain. So maybe the tree is best referred to as 'the tree of the EXPERIENCE of good and bad'.
Now, probably the worst experience of pain (and BADNESS) that came from the tree was DEATH (2:17). Sure Adam and Eve experienced physical death. But they experienced another type of death that was far worse. They were expelled from the garden of Eden, the very place where God's presence resided (3:23). And so now humanity's relational connection with God was lost! In this way, humanity suffered a spiritual DEATH... something Adam and Eve had never EXPERIENCED before! And so in all, creation had reverted back to a state of unrest, disorder, and alienation from this single act of rebellion!
GOD'S RESTORATION
But all hope is not lost! We learn in Genesis 3:15 that one of the woman's offspring will strike a death blow to the serpent (Satan) but only after he is bruised and injured. Who do you think the woman's offspring is referring to? JESUS, of course. It's no wonder that this passage is often spoken of as the proto-evangalion or the first gospel.
Jesus' life was all about the business of reestablishing His Father's rule in this world (a.k.a. God's kingdom) by restoring the GOOD order back to creation. How do we know this? Through Jesus' miracles! He healed the sick. He tamed out-of-control storms. He cast out demons. He raised the dead. By doing these things Jesus showed that he was THE offspring who could reverse the curses of Genesis. So why has the curse not been completely reversed? Might it be that Jesus wanted to get humanity back into the garden (that is, God's presence) before completely restoring creation? If so, He accomplished this through His death and resurrection.
And so while Jesus was initially bruised and injured on the cross, this does NOT mean that He failed in His mission. NO. Jesus will ultimately strike a final death blow to the BAD in this world and RESTORE and redeem creation. But this final RESTORATION is yet to come. We read about this in Revelation 21-22 where Jesus defeats evil (21:27) and brings in a new heaven and a new earth. In this RESTORED creation, all pain is removed (21:4) and the curse from the tree of the experience of good and bad is reversed (22:3)! And mankind is once again allowed into God's presence (22:3) thus RESTORING the garden of Eden EXPERIENCE!
LIVING TO RESTORE
So, in the meantime, what are Christ followers to do? What is God's purpose for their lives? SIMPLE. Follow Jesus by wrapping your life around His mission to RESTORE a broken world. After all, REST-oration is the GOAL of God's plan. And Jesus didn't give his followers the power source of the Holy Spirit and bring them back into God's presence so that they would sit around and wait for Him to return while eating a potluck dinner! NO! He gave us Holy Spirit power so that we could join Him in restoring a broken world! But what does it specifically look like to live to restore? This is what God's restoration PLAN given in Genesis 12 will reveal to us. And that is what we will investigate next time.
GOD'S REST: CREATION AS GOD INTENDED
Genesis 1 makes it abundantly clear that everything God created in the beginning was GOOD (in fact, this is emphasized SEVEN times over; 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31). But this GOOD creation didn't always exist. NO. This GOOD creation emerged from disorder and emptiness (hb: tohu va-bohu; formlessness and emptiness) as described in vs. 2. And so God spent the first three days of creation FORMING the earth by separating and ordering the universe. He then spent the last three days FILLING creation with animals of the land, sea, and sky, which ultimately culminated in the creation of humans. God crafted this perfect creation solely with His words spoken TEN times ("and God said"; 1:3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 24, 26, 28, 29). After God FORMED and FILLED the FORMLESS and EMPTY earth, He rested on the SEVENTH day. So what does this tell us? God's original creation was perfectly designed and ordered and was therefore a place of peace and rest!
HUMANITY'S ROLE
So what was humanity's original purpose in God's creation? The author makes it clear that humanity's role in God's creation was to rule over the earth (the land, sea, and sky) and multiply God's GOOD creation order (1:26-28). Part of the task of ruling over God's creation involved GUARDING (2:15; hb: shamar; also used in 3:24 when angels guarded the tree of life) the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and NOT EATING its fruit (2:15-17). This is how humanity was to PROTECT God's creation order. Humanity was also given the task of WORKING (2:15; hb: av'da; also used in Num. 3:7-8 for the priestly service in the tabernacle) the garden. In this way, humanity was to PRESERVE God's creation order.
HUMANITY'S REBELLION
But Adam and Eve rebelled against God and ate from the tree. This changed everything...and I mean everything! But how are we to understand the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? Did the fruit from this tree, if ingested, give people the knowledge to discern moral right from moral wrong? Did Adam and Eve not know right from wrong before they ate the fruit? Some people think so. But I'm not sure this is the best explanation. Why? Adam and Eve experienced a bunch of BAD stuff like shame, pain, separation, and curses after they ate from the tree. But are all of these BAD things morally EVIL? Think about it. Are 'birthing pains' (3:16) morally EVIL? NO. They're just plain BAD. Is 'painful toil' (3:17-19) morally EVIL? NO. It's just BAD.
And in fact, to remove any confusion about the nature of the BADNESS that came from this tree, the author uses a play on words in the Hebrew language between the words 'tree' in Genesis 2:17 and 'pain' in 3:16-17. How so? The author indicates that from the ETZ (tree) came ETZev (pain). And so by eating from the tree, BAD things were mixed into God's GOOD creation. Death, disease, violence, hatred, jealousy, slander, gossip, natural disasters, poverty, and spiritual warfare now became a part of humanity's everyday experiences. And so maybe the tree is better referred to as 'the tree of the knowledge of good and BAD.'
But not only this, in the Hebrew language, 'knowledge' (hb: da'at) does not just refer to book smarts but it refers more specifically to street smarts, i.e. knowledge gained through EXPERIENCE. And so from the Hebrew perspective you don't really 'know' something unless you've EXPERIENCED it. And after Adam and Eve ate the fruit, they EXPERIENCED pain. So maybe the tree is best referred to as 'the tree of the EXPERIENCE of good and bad'.
Now, probably the worst experience of pain (and BADNESS) that came from the tree was DEATH (2:17). Sure Adam and Eve experienced physical death. But they experienced another type of death that was far worse. They were expelled from the garden of Eden, the very place where God's presence resided (3:23). And so now humanity's relational connection with God was lost! In this way, humanity suffered a spiritual DEATH... something Adam and Eve had never EXPERIENCED before! And so in all, creation had reverted back to a state of unrest, disorder, and alienation from this single act of rebellion!
GOD'S RESTORATION
But all hope is not lost! We learn in Genesis 3:15 that one of the woman's offspring will strike a death blow to the serpent (Satan) but only after he is bruised and injured. Who do you think the woman's offspring is referring to? JESUS, of course. It's no wonder that this passage is often spoken of as the proto-evangalion or the first gospel.
Jesus' life was all about the business of reestablishing His Father's rule in this world (a.k.a. God's kingdom) by restoring the GOOD order back to creation. How do we know this? Through Jesus' miracles! He healed the sick. He tamed out-of-control storms. He cast out demons. He raised the dead. By doing these things Jesus showed that he was THE offspring who could reverse the curses of Genesis. So why has the curse not been completely reversed? Might it be that Jesus wanted to get humanity back into the garden (that is, God's presence) before completely restoring creation? If so, He accomplished this through His death and resurrection.
And so while Jesus was initially bruised and injured on the cross, this does NOT mean that He failed in His mission. NO. Jesus will ultimately strike a final death blow to the BAD in this world and RESTORE and redeem creation. But this final RESTORATION is yet to come. We read about this in Revelation 21-22 where Jesus defeats evil (21:27) and brings in a new heaven and a new earth. In this RESTORED creation, all pain is removed (21:4) and the curse from the tree of the experience of good and bad is reversed (22:3)! And mankind is once again allowed into God's presence (22:3) thus RESTORING the garden of Eden EXPERIENCE!
LIVING TO RESTORE
So, in the meantime, what are Christ followers to do? What is God's purpose for their lives? SIMPLE. Follow Jesus by wrapping your life around His mission to RESTORE a broken world. After all, REST-oration is the GOAL of God's plan. And Jesus didn't give his followers the power source of the Holy Spirit and bring them back into God's presence so that they would sit around and wait for Him to return while eating a potluck dinner! NO! He gave us Holy Spirit power so that we could join Him in restoring a broken world! But what does it specifically look like to live to restore? This is what God's restoration PLAN given in Genesis 12 will reveal to us. And that is what we will investigate next time.
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