The Attributes Of God 'C' for Creator

All right. Well tonight we're going to get back into the Bible and we are back into the attributes of God. Series on Sunday night. A different attribute for every letter of the alphabet. So far we've got A for all-knowing God is all-knowing and B God is what?

He's beautiful. And we talked about both of those in length. And tonight we're going to look at C. I could have picked compassionate. I could have picked caring. But I did something. That's not even an attribute per se but it's a work of God stemming from his character.

Certainly. But God is creator. God is the creator of the universe in a day and age with evolution and its proponents running wild and an offspring of Darwin and the origin of species. I wanted to talk a little bit about God creates.

Why Studying the Attributes of God Matters

But before I do I want to remind you why it's important to study the attributes of God. I don't have to tell you. It's important because you're here on a Sunday night. But it is important to study the attributes of God for many reasons.

Who could just tell me one Sunday morning. I don't really. We have too many people for you know. Open questions. But on Sunday night is fine. Why would it be important to study the attributes of God. You don't have to raise your hand.

You can just tell me to know him better. Okay. Good. Couldn't tell where that voice is coming from so we can praise him rightly. Okay good. Yes. Puts us in our place. Okay. Excellent. Anybody else. All right.

It could instill in us a holy fear a holy awe of God. Good. Anyone else shows how sinful we are when you see the majestic holiness of God we realize how who we are. In comparison. Because we like to compare ourselves to other people.

Don't we. We can always find somebody who's a little worse than we are are not quite as smart and matter fact. I used to love it that there would be those kind of people when I was in high school and college.

Because you know when it comes to the bell curve you could finally graduate because there had to be a few people in your class that weren't quite as sharp. And you could make it when you compare yourself to God we know that we're undone and we need a Savior.

Okay anyone else. I had a few. One was that it is essential for Christian living. Colossians 1 says. For this reason since the day we heard of it we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord to please Him in all respects bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God that we are to increase in the knowledge of God it helps us grow.

2nd Peter chapter 1. Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. Speaking about what these men have said I like to study the attributes of God because it gives me no more reason to boast.

We are prideful people. We like to brag and we like to talk about ourselves. But when it comes to studying God we immediately see who we are and who God is. And I think of Jeremiah 929 thus says the Lord let not a wise man boast of his wisdom and let not the mighty man boast of his might.

Let not a rich man boast of his riches. But what. Let him who boasts boast of this that he understands and knows me that I am the Lord who exercises loving kindness justice and righteousness on earth.

For I delight in these things declares the Lord. So there's lots of reasons why to study the attributes of God. But it helps us to get to know the object of our faith better. And tonight it will be see God is creator.

Physical Creation in Genesis 1

You'll turn your Bibles to our main passage tonight to 2nd Corinthians chapter 4. We're going to look at this God the creator who not only creates physically but he also creates spiritually. God is a God who creates physical things but he also is the creator of our spiritual life.

And this verse really ties both of these vital aspects of creation together physical creation and spiritual creation. And we're going to see how these can even be linked together. In my premise tonight really is I want to show you that God is a creator spiritually physically.

And if he is a creator then in the physical realm there's no room for evolution. And in the spiritual realm there is no room for evolution spiritually. God alone creates. And that should make us be in awe of him and praise him.

2nd Corinthians chapter 4 verse 6. We'll look at context later but I just want to show you how this verse links these two ideas of physical and spiritual creation. For God who said light shall shine out of darkness.

There's your physical creation is the one who has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. You see both creations there he's linking the two together.

Many similarities but the same God physically and spiritually creating. So here's what we're going to do tonight. We're going to look at Genesis 1 first physical creation. Then we're going to look at 2nd Corinthians chapter 4 1 -6 spiritual creation.

Then we're going to look at similarities and and up see how there's the similar God's similarly, is that a word? In a similar fashion God creates the world Genesis 1. And also God creates new creatures in Christ.

So Genesis 1 2nd Corinthians chapter 4 1 -6. And then the similarities about this God who creates. Let's do the first one Genesis chapter 1. Let's take a look at physical creation. And this could be a whole sermon series on creation but I want to just give you a broad overview so we can understand 2nd Corinthians 4 verse 6 a little bit better.

And as you know Genesis is the book of beginnings or the book of generations has beginnings about creation man and women. Sabbath, marriage, work, sin, murder sacrifice all kinds of things redemption.

And Genesis is really built around 11 units separated by these are the generations of so that's why we call the book of generations. And Genesis has lots of purposes to it. It tells us how time began and how the Israelites were brought into Egypt.

It tells us how God deals with men and women. How he chooses to work through special men and women through Seth, through Noah, through Shem through Abraham. It talks about God is the hero of the Bible.

He's the one who should be praised. But we don't want to forget that it mainly shows here initially at least God is creator. How many chapters in Genesis. Just a little background. It's been 10 years since I preached Genesis from this pulpit.

How many chapters in Genesis? 50. How would you kind of outline Genesis if we're just thinking about the book for a minute what would be a good outline for the book of Genesis. And I'll give you a hint.

Four, four, how would you outline Genesis? Four, four events, what are the four events in Genesis? You've got Genesis 1 to 11, four events. You've got Genesis 12 to 50, four people, so you have four events.

And four people is a good way to try to think about it. And what were the four events. Let's make it easy. They all start with a C so now we have four and C. Yes, what's the first C Luke? Creation, okay good.

What's the second C? Well corruption. That would be excellent. I have curse. But hey you're an Avendross. So that's fine. Corruption would do, the fall, okay next, four events. We've got creation. We've got the curse we've got.

What? Flood, can we think of a C word for that? Catastrophe, okay good. And then lastly confusion, the Tower of Babel, right? Chapter 11. So we've got four events. And then four people. And who might those four people be when we think about Israel in particular kind of a family tree for the Jewish people.

Who would those four be? Abraham Isaac, Jacob, Joseph. Okay good. So when you think of Genesis I like to think of the big picture. And then zero in. And now we're gonna zero in on Genesis 1 -1 one of my favorite verses in all the Bible.

A verse that doesn't try to prove God's existence. It doesn't have some kind of polemic for God's existence. It just simply says with the first few words of the Bible. Here's who God is. And here's what he's done in the beginning.

God created the heavens and the earth, statement of declaration. It's an announcement. And here we have the break between eternity past and now. Time. And that word in the beginning always is referred to time.

Did you know that there was a time before Genesis 1 -1. My notes I say there was a time before time began. And let's look at several words here look at the word God. This is the word Elohim. It's a masculine plural word.

It just shows majesty. It shows how supreme God is. Shows how mighty he is. It's not his personal name. But when you think of how God creates things it would be natural and normal for the writer Moses to use the word that talks about God's mighty creative power.

Wouldn't it. Because God is mighty he creates. Which word are you gonna use his personal name or his mighty creation name. He's using Elohim. Here's this active God. He speaks, he's personal he sees. And here he creates a word never used for anyone else except for God.

And it's used very sparingly. This is not a word that's all over scripture. It's just sprinkled here and there. We might make things or form things or fashion things. But God alone makes out of nothing.

God alone makes by divine fiat. What's fiat mean. I can still hear my father about a fiat car. It's a fiat. See it. I can hear him to this day say that about fiat. But what's fiat. F-i-a-t actually mean in Latin.

Well you're gonna have to hold on because I've got the answer right here in my notes. But it's gonna be better placed later in the sermon. Bob's close God creates always used for God in this subject he creates wind clean hearts new earth.

I like Isaiah 45 for this is what the Lord says. He who created the heavens he is God. He creates out of nothing with a word. I like John 1 3 talking about Jesus through him all things were made without him nothing was made that has been made.

Psalm 90 verse 2 before the mountains were born. Are you brought forth the earth and the world from everlasting to everlasting. You are God. God existing eternity past and then in time he enters in and creates the world.

But people don't like it if God's creator because if he's greater he's the second thing that we talked about in the twelve words to preach the gospel. And he's not just creator. He's also what then he's a judge.

So people attack Genesis 1 1 all the time they attack Genesis 1. A lot atheists I believe attack Genesis 1 because they have to then realize that the world and the universe is created by God. Pantheists hate Genesis 1 because this verse shows Genesis 1 1 that God is transcendent.

He's over all that he's created. He's not part of creation. He is over it. Polytheists hate Genesis 1 by the way if you think of the word theist it means a believer in God. If you put an a in front of it it does what to that word.

It's an alpha privative. It just negates it. If something's typical and you put an a in front of it it is atypical. It's no longer typical. So theists believe in God. Atheists don't believe in God. Pantheists what's pan mean?

It means all right. They're everything's God. All's God. I don't know how that fits into pan pizza but I think it's a different pan right. All God. Polytheists what's poly? Many polytheists hate Genesis 1 because it shows one God creates all things.

Idolaters especially hate Genesis 1 because frankly this is what Genesis 1 1 is attacking. No one ever thought. I can still hear Dr. Block's words echoing in my mind that no one who ever read the Bible in those days would think somehow evolution happened.

And we all came out of goo. He said. That's not even the polemic. That's not even the argument against things in Genesis 1 1. It's against idolatry. I like Jeremiah 10 -11 these gods who did not make the heavens and the earth will perish from the earth and from under the heavens.

Did you get that? Tell them this. These gods who did not make the heavens and the earth will perish from the earth and from under the heavens. Psalm 96 5 for all the gods of the nations are idols but Yahweh made the heavens.

This wipes away idolatry because there's only one God. Evolutionists despise Genesis 1 for lots of reasons. But it shows the Creator. I'll have more to say about that in a minute. Materialist hate Genesis 1 1 because matter has a beginning.

Humanist hate Genesis 1 because God not man is the ultimate reality. And Henry Morris sums all these false philosophies up by saying quote. Actually all such philosophies are merely different ways of expressing the same unbelief.

Each one proposes there is no personal transcendent God that ultimate reality is to be found in the eternal cosmos itself. Who does that sound like by the way? That's exactly right. And that the development of the universe into its present form is contingent solely on the innate properties of its own components.

All are arrayed in opposition to the great truth. Marvelously simple and understandable to a child yet inexhaustibly profound that in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth as one man says in the beginning time God created heaven space and the earth matter.

And now if you go to verse 2 we've got force with the Spirit of God and motion as he moves. Verse 2 of Genesis 1 the earth was formless and void and darkness was over the surface of the deep and the Spirit of God was moving or hovering.

A participating kind of word, a protecting kind of word a creative force kind of word hovering over the surface of the deep. And the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. And Moses is not trying to be a scientist.

He's just saying there's a supernatural God who supernaturally creates everything. And now we move in to the first day of the week. Genesis chapter 1 verses 3 through 5. And there's kind of a five-part deal he always uses.

He gives the creative word. He says this is what it does. Here's what's God's evaluation of it. Good. Here's the naming sovereignly of it. And here's the numbering. And see if you can spot the first one here in Genesis chapter 1 3 to 5 because this is where Paul plays off of in 2 Corinthians 4.

Genesis 1 3. Then God said let there be light. And there was light. God saw the light was good. God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light day and the darkness he called night. There was evening.

There was morning. One day I like this word just says. And God said this is not some kind of verbal thing where God verbalized it and made it happen. This is this is a word that's got the words decree and will and appointment and determination.

And it makes it happen. He says this. And then it happens nine times in Genesis 1. Here he says the plan. No accident no kind of springing up. God says something. And immediately there's a result. Psalm 39 33 9.

For God spoke and it came to be. He commanded and it stood firm. Verse 4 says he saw that the light was good and the light God separated the light from the darkness. When it says God saw the light was good.

He's not trying to make you think that somehow God peered over looked at it and wanna know if he made with something good. I made something. I wonder if it was good. No it doesn't suggest that separates the light from the darkness.

And I've got a question for the congregation tonight. Where's the Sun. Better question. When was the Sun made. Here we've got light. There's no Sun. There's no stars. What is there. There's light. Where's it coming from.

How can there be light without a Sun. It's amazing thing. Where is the Sun. Sun is made on day for there's light. There's no Sun. John Whitcomb a great Genesis scholar said it was a created light localized somewhere in the universe possibly incorporated into the stellar universe.

On the fourth day of creation week after its unique and temporary function was accomplished. Talking about where's light before the Sun. Perhaps this was to speak out against future pagan worship of the Creator's Son.

The false religious science of astrology and the evolutionary idea of the earth's coming from the Sun. God gives him new names day and night. And by the way it's very Eastern. We start with darkness in the morning and you know dark midnight.

We start with it's dark this light that is dark. We kind of split it up. But the Eastern culture would be what very biblical culture. It starts off sunset new day. Alright if I notice here just a few comments.

God makes supernaturally by his own will by his own design. Light was passive. God was active. God alone creates. He creates out of nothing. And now let's go to 2nd Corinthians chapter 2. As we say in the business here of preaching that's all introduction.

Spiritual Creation in 2 Corinthians 4

2nd Corinthians chapter 4. Because Paul uses Genesis 1 verses 3, 4, and 5. And if you don't get that it's hard to understand 2nd Corinthians chapter 4 verse 6. Alright let's go to 2nd Corinthians chapter 4.

Every time you go to a new book in the Bible you should say what's the background here. Paul has had difficulties at Corinth. There are these apostles that say they're right. Therefore they have to say Paul's wrong because it's a different message.

Paul has spent 18 months there. Remember Acts chapter 18. We looked at that earlier a couple weeks ago Paul writes his personal letter. It's almost like the fourth pastoral epistle. And he writes to these people that they're all messed up.

And he's going to to tell them how why. He has credibility. He doesn't like to stand up for himself. But sometimes he has to do it. And he goes to 2nd Corinthians chapter 4 verses 1 to 6. And Paul is going to tell us something about his ministry and how he's commended himself to the gospel.

2nd Corinthians 4 verse 1. You'll see how it all unfolds. Therefore since we have this ministry what ministry is that. The gospel ministry. The new covenant ministry. The ministry that Jesus Christ is the sacrifice the risen sacrifice.

As we have received mercy we do not lose heart. Some people might be cowardly. Some people might surrender. Some people might despair. Some people might get tired. Some people might do all that. But Paul says that's not what I do.

Verse 2. He's kind of expanding his self-defense. But we have renounced the hidden things because of shame not walking in craftiness or adulterating the Word of God but by the manifestation of truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.

They do those things. I do something completely different. And what do they do. He tells us three things that these false apostles do in verse 2. What's the first thing they do. He says we've renounced the things hidden because of shame.

Paul says I'm bold. These people like to cover up their true intentions. They're trying to do secret things. I'm just telling you I'm being transparent. Here's what I do. And they are doing hidden things because of their shame.

It's shameful. It's sinful. It's immoral. They're hypocrites. And that's not noble at all. What else do they do. This is an interesting one. Not walking in craftiness. MacArthur says people who were dishonest in business used to dilute wine with water tamper with things.

Paul says I didn't do that. I wasn't sly and crafty and tricky and deceitful or anything else sometimes used for a word that people will stoop to any level to deceive someone. He said I didn't do that.

And also the worst you want to pray for your pastors pray that we don't do this. Or adulterating the Word of God adulterating the Word. Paul says I'm bold. I'm straightforward coming right at you with the gospel.

You say you know what. Some people reject. What you say Paul. Therefore your bad Paul. You preach. People reject it. Ad hominem attack. Attack the person. You're the one with the problem. So Paul addresses that verse 3.

And even if our gospel is veiled it is veiled to those who are perishing. The message can be great. The messenger can be godly. What's the third component. The hearer. There could be something wrong with the hearer.

It doesn't mean that the speaker's wrong or the message is wrong. It could be the hearer who has the problem. It's not Paul's doing the gospel that says the Messiah is going to die. A ignoble death on the cross is a rock of stumbling.

It's a rock of offense. But something more. Verse 4. You think depravity is bad. How about blind depravity. Verse 4. In whose case the God of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ.

Who is the image of God. Who's this God. Who's the God of this age. I thought there weren't any other gods that there's only one. What's Paul doing calling this a God. I thought all gods are just like some kinda demonic manifestation.

What's Paul trying to see here. The God of this world is certainly Satan. And Satan is blinding the minds of the unbelieving. They can't see the light of the gospel. They have no spiritual vision no insight.

They can't see it. Paul says you know what the influence that is is around these people is making them blind. I preach the right gospel and I'm a godly man. The people have the problem. But there's another problem.

Satan is influencing them. The God of this age. And by the way just to throw it out so you could study sometime. The God of this age has made so many people write so many weird things. I don't know what has happened to him.

But it was you know they had too much curry before they went to bed to come up with these weird things. Marcion said the God of this age makes him think that there's an inferior creator God and a supreme Savior God.

There's two gods. Tertullian said that this God of this age is really capital G God the God who creates things. How can there be two gods? Arians say Satan is called the God of this world. Therefore since Jesus is called a God he can't be divine.

What's Paul trying to say. Here's a God who basically quote-unquote. God has dominion and influence and he influences people. Paul says you're going to attack my credibility. You're going to attack my message.

Well you shouldn't do that because the people are the ones who are rejecting and they're rejecting because of themselves. And they're rejecting because Satan is after them. Satan is blinding their what? minds.

That's where Satan targets his assault. So Paul says what do I do? You don't like me. You don't like my message. You don't like who I am. People have problems. They're depraved. They're having a veiled mind.

And Satan is also blind in their minds. So what do I do? What are my options? Paul says here's what I do. I preach Jesus Christ. That's what I do verse 5. For we do not preach ourselves like those false apostles do.

But Christ Jesus as Lord and ourselves as your bond servants. For Jesus sake. You think I'm in this for my own good. I'm not the gospels. Not about me. It's not about my selfishness. It's not about my personality cult following.

It's not about anything else. It's about Jesus Christ. That's who I preach. And didn't Paul do that? That's who Paul preached. You could just wake up Paul in the middle the night give him an elbow to the ribs.

And it would be Jesus Christ and him crucified. That's who we would preach. Working our way. Now to verse 6 we've arrived. Why does Paul just preach Jesus. Why is Paul only preaching the Messiah. Why is he only preaching him as Lord.

The Corinthians are all messed up. I mean some kind of behavior modification some kind of moralism. We want the society to be a little bit better. Why does Paul only preach Jesus. Verse 6. This is the reason for God said for God.

Excuse me. Who said light shall shine out of darkness is the one who is shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. Now look at how he compares if you look at verse 4 and verse 6.

Look at the comparison between Satan and God. The God verse 4. God verse 6 of this age of creation has blinded has made the light shine minds of the unbelievers in our hearts. So they cannot see to give us the light of the gospel.

The light of knowledge of the glory of Christ the glory of God who is in the image of God in the face of Christ. Paul says you know what I was. That man on the Damascus Road. Did Paul have a little experience with light.

Paul's mind was a manifestation of his ungodliness. And Paul was blinded physically. So his spiritual blinders could be taken off. You know Paul's thinking about what's going on in Acts. The light of the gospel of the glory of Christ.

And here this light comes out of darkness. It beams out. Paul says you know what. The same God that creates the physical universe is the same God that has to be recreating your mind and soul. That's why I preach Jesus.

Why do I act like I do. Because that's your only hope. Warren Worsby said this. I thought this was good. Like the earth of Genesis 1 -2. The lost sinner is formless and empty. But when he trusts Christ he becomes a new creation.

God's let there be light makes everything new. And here God sends a supernatural light to the gospel. And it's like when the light bulb goes on. You ever see those little commercials or little comics.

Oh the light goes on. And that's exactly what happens. And Paul says that's what I know. You need you need the light of the gospel to dispel your dark heart. Okay I have a lot more to say. But I'm just going to stop there now let me show you a few physical and spiritual creation comparisons.

I'm gonna ask you for some before we stop. Because I'm I can tell I'm losing some you. So here's what we're gonna do. Physical creation by God. Spiritual creation by God creating the heavens and the earth creating a new heart in a person.

Give me some similarities between those two. And then you I'll give you my similarities. What is similar about physical creation and spiritual creation. I have eight. Gladden. Okay it's through God's Word.

Excellent. Here God's Word was used both times. Yes. They're both what. The both involved. Light. Okay. Yes. Can you with the mouth like that. Or they both. Creation. Okay. Good. What else. Yes. Something out of nothing.

Good. I like that they're both monergistic. All these big words. I mean I like simple stuff. Me. They're both monergistic. Okay we'll talk about that in a minute. They're both good. Both last for eternity.

Well in a sense it's true. Because God will create the new heavens in the new earth. And the word new in 2nd Peter chapter 3 is not new from nothing. It is new revamping something. So God will revamp.

He will actually flood this world again. True or false. He will flood this world with fire next time. And he will wipe it all out. And this earth will. This earth will contain I it will. It will have heaven.

Heaven will come down in glory will fill our souls. Just kidding by the way thank you for this morning Fred for singing. I really was blessed by the special music this morning. And I was I was blessed.

Thank you alright. We'll get to the we'll get to the eternal creation. But it'll be in just a little bit different form. But certainly with our new creation. We will last forever. Okay. Anybody else before I give you my 8 Brian.

Okay man's in his image created with that somehow translate into physical creation. Okay. Well that would be. That would be good. That would be voice college discussion sometime.

Anybody else. Yes. Okay good and see what Paul's doing is he's saying.

When it comes to the gospel and he's thinking of his Damascus Road experience and also all the other believers that the light of the gospel shines into their heart Paul saw it externally and he felt it in his heart as it were we only receive the second.

But Paul's comparing saying here's how God creates physical light and here's how God creates spiritual life and their similarities. And it has to be God who does it. And therefore I preach this God who can do it.

I don't have to do with these other false teachers do. And so there's a lot of similarities. Okay we'll keep going for a minute both life giving. Okay alright let me give you mine. And these are some similarities.

And we're talking about God as creator both physically and spiritually. Number one. My first similarity is they're both created instantly. God creates them both instantly. There is no no process to be found in Scripture.

It is an instant and immediate work of God. This gradual build-up of evolution whether it's creation or in salvation is not to be found. Genesis chapter 2. If you have your Bibles if you want to flip back over there you can see that there's not a process of evolution billions and billions of years.

No the process is done. I think the process is done when you say let there be light and there's light. But if you don't want to buy that how about Genesis chapter 2 verse 1. Thus the heavens and the earth were what completed in all their vast array.

By the seventh day God had what finished the work he had been doing. So on the seventh day he rested from all his work in the physical area. He creates instantly. And that's why people when they start doing this whole day age thing.

I don't think you can find that in the text. You're taking modern science and trying to layer it on Genesis chapter 1 and 2 similarly the I say that word again in a similar fashion. The pictorial day theory.

Who knows about that. We can't let the Bible just ride and take it for face value. You have to come up with all kinds of funky things. In the funkiest one that I can come up with was the pictorial day theory.

God created the universe. It took a really really long long long time billions of years. But he had to explain it to Moses in seven days. So it took him one day. It was day one. That was just God telling Moses how he did it.

Day two day three. I mean how bad can you get the gap theory etc etc. It is instantaneously that God creates. And it's the same thing when it comes to our salvation. God changes us immediately when he declares us righteous.

It is immediate when he makes us new it is immediate. There is no gradually getting to be more like God with some kind of infused grace. No I like what Spurgeon said. He just zoomed in and said to sanctify a man is the work of a whole life.

But to give a man a new heart is the work of an instant in one solitary second swifter than the lightning flash. God can put a new heart into a man and make him a new creature in Christ Jesus born-again.

Number two. God not only creates instantly but he creates supernaturally. Creation was supernatural. So too is new creation. It is supernatural. It is not by natural processes. Number three. Some of these I'll just go quickly.

Number three. Both physical and spiritual creation require an omnipotent God requires an powerful God. I mean how do you create the universe. I was thinking about God's omnipotence this week while I was shoveling snow were you?