READ: PROVERBS 3:13-26 TEXT: v19 WISDOM IN CREATION
The LORD by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens.
Our starting point in this/other studies lies firmly rooted in Genesis 1:1
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
This for us is a cardinal article of our faith and is not open/negotiation
In many theology books (including the best) there are various and often
intricate arguments for the existence/God - ontological argument etc.,
Perhaps this is necessary for Christian apologists to cover in such books
After all, we are required to give reason of the hope that lies within
us and the better equipped among us can meet the atheists at the very
sharp end of things and give a goodly account of themselves
So I've no problem with Dabney and Hodge and others/school engaging in this method of apologetics
But God does not condescend to do this
He just steps unannounced into His own Book
He says boldly that they that come to God must believe that He is
It is taken for granted and any man who says otherwise is regarded as a
fool and rules Himself out of the discussion as far as God is concerned
Maybe someone says: To call a man "a fool" is an insult
Only an insult if it isn't true!
But if it is true, then it must be allowed to stand, not as an insult,
but as an indictment and we hope that the seriousness of the indictment
might serve to jolt its receiver into some good old common sense
again
God has many attributes - many parts to His character which may be
separated one from another for the sake/examination but which in
reality cannot work independently one from another
All these attributes come into play in whatever He does and certainly
whenever in the beginning, when He created the heaven and the earth
(We want to examine some of them)
Today: Must think of how the God used His great Wisdom when He created the heavens/earth
4 evidences apparent to us upon our study of this subject:
1) IN HIS WISDOM, GOD CREATED THE WORLD WITHOUT SIN:
A/ That God did so create this world without sin is seen in the number of times, He pronounced the words "It was good" in Genesis 1, and then accumulating in the last act/creation: "It was very good"
There is a very strong implication here of a sinless world created
because something that has sin lurking in it cannot be so called
An apple cannot be called good, if a worm be found in it
The camp/Israel had an Achan in its midst - a rebel against God -
and that was enough to bring the whole camp into disrepute before God
So the implication in the words "very good" along with behold is strong
B/ We need, not however, rely on strong implications, but look to actual statements:
Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions. (Ecclesiastes 7:29)
Upright is translated by a different word in Proverbs 4:25:
Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.
There would be no diversions - no turning to the left/right etc.,
No quirks in the original creation, but a straight sinless line
C/ We say that this was wise on God's part because all folly and its subsequent misery all flows from sin
The wise man wrote:
I applied mine heart to know, and to
search, and to seek out wisdom, and the reason of things, and to know
the wickedness of folly, even of foolishness and madness: (Ecclesiastes
7:25)
When God created this world, he made it upright /straight and when Adam
and Eve came into the Garden/Eden…it was a place without sin
D/ You say: it is not true that although God originally made man
upright, yet He made him with the capacity to sin? Further: Was this
wise?
The answer to both questions is in the affirmative
It is not so easy to explain "why" the
only wise God (As He is described in the NT) saw fit to give man the
capacity to sin when He could have easily withheld that capacity -
let's put the answer on hold and wait until the last God ordained
scenario is played out before we answer
Just as we accept: Through faith we
understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that
things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. (Hebrews
11:3)
So too, we accept on faith, that God created this same world without sin and in wisdom
E/ This fact means that when something goes wrong because of sin, that God can never be held responsible for it
You can stand your ground in any debate with anyone on this matter
Atrocities etc., are always traceable back to sin and in His great and
unparalleled wisdom, God created a perfect world without sin
Ecclesiastes 7:29 shifts the blame to where it belongs
It is man (Adam) who sought out many inventions and is responsible
2) IN HIS WISDOM, GOD CREATED THE WORLD IN A VERY SHORT PERIOD OF TIME:
A/ We believe in a 6 day x24 hours creation as literally taught: Genesis
We do not subscribe to the idea that these days stand for prolonged and
indefinite periods of time: We do not read that into the account
We do not believe that Genesis 1 is poetical or a legendary account
Genesis 1 is written in the manner of a historian - it explains its days by the term: "the evening and the morning" etc., and is historical fact
B/ Again, God very wisely ordained that this should be the case
Among other reasons is this: that the old creation/world is a NT
acknowledged picture of the new creation/grace in the heart:
For God, who commanded the light to
shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of
the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2
Corinthians 4:6)
A reference to Genesis 1:3 where God said; "Let there be light…"
Just as the old creation was a relatively quick affair, so too is the new creation in Christ Jesus: 2 Corinthians 5:17
God did not create and adorn the whole world on Day One
Whilst we are justified in a moment of time, yet there was a work going
on before hand (conviction of sin etc.,) and afterwards
(sanctification)
While justification is a one off act of God's free grace (perfect and
eternal once it happens) yet sanctification is an ongoing work
It is all pictured in the original creation
Think of how beautiful the whole of creation was when God finished it
Everything had been carefully thought out and perfectly executed by the Master's hand - again: Behold it was very good
Likewise in the church that is redeemed by the blood/God's Son:
That he might present it to himself a
glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but
that it should be holy and without blemish. (Ephesians 5:27)
Consider what you will be for all eternity…10,000 years from now etc.,
Consider how that God since the moment of your new creation spent only
a very short time (what is 70 years in light/eternity?) moulding you
towards that place whereby on your death, He will glorify you?
What wisdom lies in a short 7 literal day creation
3) IN HIS WISDOM, GOD CREATED THE WORLD SO THAT IT COULD BE WORKED, AND YET BE DEPENDENT UPON HIM:
A/ Even in the Garden/Eden, Adam was required to work
Wan't all cosy hammocks and lazy days with ice drinks!
And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. (Genesis 2:15)
The word for dress is actually translated (x2) by the word labour
So hard work and paradise are not incompatible terms
We know that Adam never sweated in hard toil to the point of being
uncomfortable much less backbreaking stuff, but the work could be hard
if by this, we mean challenging and yet enjoyable
It was only after the Fall, that we read of this punitive measure:
In the sweat of thy face shalt thou
eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou
taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. (Genesis
3:19)
B/ Certainly, ever since, man has needed to work the ground etc., to
survive - and the world is an oyster to any man prepared to work it
Recognised maxim even among unsaved:
For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat. (2 Thessalonians 3:10)
Think of all what Book/Proverbs has to say about the sluggard etc.,
How workable is the created earth for this purpose
Think of the large crop fields with their golden grain etc.,
Think of the rich oil fields and coal fields etc.,
All within reach, even from the earliest days:
And Zillah, she also bare Tubalcain, an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron: (Genesis 4:22)
Man is still working the earth for his own advantage even in this day
Every new medical/technological discovery is drawn from this world which God wisely created about 6-7,000 years ago
C/ And yet, although extremely workable, it is still dependent upon the goodness/God that it continues so
Consider the harvest: We know that the ground is to be ploughed, the
seed sown, if possible fertilised and at the appropriate moment, the
crop reaped before it rots in the field
An ungodly man can do all that - no prior piety required to drive a plough
But all these things might be done and there be no harvest
The ungodly man cannot bring the rain or the sunshine at any tome, never mind when required and in the correct quantities
God can blast the seed and send great frosts and droughts etc.,
Think of the Dust Bowl conditions of the 1930's in the USA/Canada
While man must do what he can, he must also remember that he cannot
forget God and that he needs God to send the harvest blessing:
Neither say they in their heart, Let
us now fear the LORD our God, that giveth rain, both the former and the
latter, in his season: he reserveth unto us the appointed weeks of the
harvest. (Jeremiah 5:24)
Herein is great wisdom: It reminds us that we are dependent upon the
Lord for even the basics. Never good to forget God at any time.
4) IN HIS WISDOM, GOD CREATED THE WORLD SO THAT THE GOSPEL COULD WITH SUSTAINABLE EFFORT BE TAKEN TO IT:
A/ Think of just where man is found on this vast globe - even in the darkest jungles and up the highest mountains etc.,
If man can get there/live there - then the missionary can do likewise
B/ No one said: it is easy, but it can be done and there are people doing it even now:
And this gospel of the kingdom shall
be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then
shall the end come. (Matthew 24:14)
C/ Lets go back to when the gospel was coming to places for the very time by merely by word of mouth:
Did the seas not provide a means of transport - great ships taking men far/wide?
Think of the use/Danes and later the English made of the sea
What of the rivers inland that often meandered through the thick forests?
This is one reason why many great cities are built on rivers
Think of the great highways which were built by men with the materials
readily at hand - many of them utilised when the Pentecost converts
returned home with the good news of Christ to their own communities
D/ Think of Printing: We get paper from sustainable forests etc.,
E/ What of this day/age? - That we can make use of the laws/universe and are able to launch satellites into space etc., -
Thanks: All wise God
THE END
Cork Free Presbyterian Church, 10 Briarscourt
(Annex) Shanakiel, Cork, Ireland