Text: Psalm 33:1-9:1 Shout for joy in the LORD, O you righteous! Praise befits the upright. 2 Give thanks to the LORD with the lyre; make melody to him with the harp of ten strings! 3 Sing to him a new song; play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts. 4 For the word of the LORD is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness.
5 He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the LORD. 6 By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host. 7 He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap; he puts the deeps in storehouses. 8 Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him! 9 For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.
Sermon text: Genesis 1:1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. 3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. 6 And God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” 7 And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so. 8 And God called the expanse Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day. 9 And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. 11 And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so. 12 The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening and there was morning, the third day. 14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. 16 And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. 17 And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18 to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.
20 And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.” 21 So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” 23 And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day. 24 And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. 25 And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29 And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. 30 And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. 31 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
Introduction
Silence: The unknown element in creation.
The first verses of Genesis tell us that chaos and confusion reigned after the initial creation. Anyone who has heard the roaring of the oceans or the crash of a storm knows the unsettling feeling of almost unlimited power unleashed. However, the pandemonium of Genesis 1:2 gives us no feeling of comfort, no sense that anything useful will happen.
Then, we hear the first words of Creation: “And God said.” God speaks, and things happen. God speaks, and Creation begins to order itself.
Not only do we often underestimate the importance of the action — Almighty God spoke — but we also tend to underestimate the power of the words. God’s words brought order to chaos, brought life from nothing. God’s words also continue to bring comfort and joy to His people and those who would be His people. What does it mean that God broke the silence? What does it mean that God spoke in His creation?
Sermon
God’s words demonstrate His power to bring order. Verse 2 tells us of chaos; the Hebrew words refer to “waste and void.” God began His creation in verse 3 by doing a momentous action: He spoke.
In the verses to come, God simply spoke, and things happened: Light came, the waters separated from the land, the heavenly bodies appeared, and living beings simply sprung from water and land. Plants sprouted and grew instantly. All of this occurred when God spoke.
Can you imagine this kind of power? Ancient despots tried to exercise this power. Ancient conquerers commanded that entire cities be razed and their inhabitants slaughtered. Ancient emperors commanded that tribes be wiped out; forests fell at their words. It is said that the President of the United States is the one man in the world with the power to destroy the world, simply by giving the order to unleash our nuclear arsenal. All these men may have the power to destroy with their words, but only God has the power to create with His words.
This power continues to work in people’s lives today. God’s words change lives with His power. Regardless of the powerlessness you feel in trying to change your life, our God can transform your life with His words of life.
God’s words demonstrate His trustworthiness. Notice every instance Moses records the words, “And God said.” Whenever God spoke, the exact events followed His words. Nothing happened except what God commanded. Light? God said, “let there be light.” Light appeared. Everything happened exactly as God’s words commanded.
Chapter 1 of Genesis introduces God’s words and God’s trustworthiness, but this continues throughout every book of the Bible. Look at all the prophecies that came true; all the promises made and kept; all the blessings pronounced that changed the world. When God speaks, His words are fulfilled.
What has God told us in this chapter? He has told us that He loves us! He loved humanity enough to create a perfect world for us, a world with everything we would need.
God also told us in this chapter that we are created in His image. This doesn’t mean that God has 2 arms, 2 legs, and so on. Instead, as one author put it,
The term must therefore figuratively describe human life as a reflection of God’s spiritual nature; that is, human life has the communicated attributes that came with the inbreathing (Genesis 2:7). Consequently, humans have spiritual life, ethical and moral sensitivities, conscience, and the capacity to represent God....
Human life, male and female, thus has great capacity and responsibility by virtue of being the image of God. First, humans may produce life — their own, spiritual-physical life.... Second, humans are to have dominion over the world. The terms used suggest putting down opposition and were perhaps used in anticipation of the conflict with evil. (Allen P. Ross, Creation and Blessing: A Guide to the Study and Exposition of Genesis. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1998, pp. 112-113)
If God created us in His image, He will also help us to live up to the responsibilities of that image. For one thing, God gave us His words in the Bible so we can know His commands and His expectations for us. Secondly, when humanity failed to live up to His expectations, we find that God sent His Son — whom St. John the Apostle called “The Word” — to live among us, showing us the love of God and then dying to pay the price for our sins against Him.
Lastly, we know that the God who created everything we see created the “heavens” as well as the “earth.” This refers to more than merely the sky we see and the stars that light the night. God created a perfect place for His saints to spend eternity in His presence. Even better, if God can create everything we know from chaos “in the beginning,” He will see everything to its completion for a glorious eternity.
Conclusion
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” With these words, the book of Genesis magnificently introduces humanity to a deity worthy of worship; a God worth praising. This God is trustworthy, reliable, and powerful. This God loves us as the pinnacle of His creation. If He can bring order to primeval chaos, He can bring order to your life. Ask Him to help you! He has already sent His Son Jesus to bring life to your spirit; He will bring order to the broken pieces of your life.