Oakwood Church
The Goodness of Creation - Genesis 1
Locations & Times
Oakwood Community Church
11209 Casey Rd, Tampa, FL 33618, USA
Sunday 8:00 AM
What is most clear in Genesis 1 is the affirmation of the goodness of creation.
“God saw that it was good.”
“God saw that it was good.”
CREATION IS...
1. Reflective of God
2. Conducive to life
3. Permeated with purpose
4. Enriched by beauty
5. Clarified in Christ
1. Reflective of God
2. Conducive to life
3. Permeated with purpose
4. Enriched by beauty
5. Clarified in Christ
1. Creation is reflective of God.
“And God said, ‘Let there be…’”
“And God said, ‘Let there be…’”
Creation compels us to confess the Creator behind it.
Romans 1:20
“For His invisible attributes, namely his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world in the things that have been made.”
“For His invisible attributes, namely his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world in the things that have been made.”
“If created things are seen and handled as gifts of God and as mirrors of His glory, they need not be occasions of idolatry - if our delight in them is always also a delight in their Maker.”
~ John Piper
~ John Piper
2. Creation is conducive to life.
Genesis 2:1
"Thus the heavens and the earth were finished [i.e., the habitation of days one to three] and all the host of them [i.e., the inhabitants of days four to six]."
Genesis 2:1
"Thus the heavens and the earth were finished [i.e., the habitation of days one to three] and all the host of them [i.e., the inhabitants of days four to six]."
Isaiah 49:15
“Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.”
“Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.”
2 Peter 1:3
“His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to LIFE and godliness.”
“His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to LIFE and godliness.”
3. Creation is permeated with purpose.
Genesis 1
•God has designed all things to function instinctively towards a purposeful end.
•God is ordering the world and forming it for a purpose, for life, for humanity.
Genesis 1
•God has designed all things to function instinctively towards a purposeful end.
•God is ordering the world and forming it for a purpose, for life, for humanity.
He created His good creation to be permeated with purpose, and since we are created in His image, He calls us to also be people who are permeated with purpose.
4. Creation is enriched by beauty.
Genesis 1
"And God saw that it was good."
Genesis 1
"And God saw that it was good."
5. Creation is clarified in Christ.
John 1:1-3
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made."
John 1:1-3
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made."
5. Creation is clarified in Christ.
Colossians 1:15-16
"The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him."
Colossians 1:15-16
"The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him."
Hebrews 11:1
"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."
"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."
We as believers need to come back to Genesis 1 to recall and celebrate the innate purity, innocence, beauty, and goodness of what God has created.