The order and purpose of creation
By Ivan Ho 3 Jan 2017
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Genesis 1:1
God created the heavens, then He created the angels. God created the earth, then He created Adam and Eve. The order was the creation of a place of abode before God created living creatures, not the other way round. God knows exactly what He is doing and He always does things in order.
Can you imagine God created mankind first but they had no place where they could call home, and no fruits nor vegetables for food, nor natural lights to bring light to darkness? Just visualise ourselves being homeless and without all the basic necessities of life if God did not do things in order.
God has prepared the heavens and the earth first before He created Adam, then Eve was created as his companion and helper. Everything was perfect and in order because God is a God of perfection and order, not the author of chaos.
Chaos, conflicts and disorder only came because of sin, because of disobedience. Satan and his cohorts rebelled against the authority of God and were cast out of heaven. Satan and his demons are the chief orchestrators of destruction and disorder throughout history, and they continue to cause all kinds of havoc, disharmony, divisions and destructions today.
When God created man, he was charged with the mandate to bring dominion, to be fruitful and fill the earth.
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Genesis 1:26-28 NKJV
Despite sin and the fall of mankind due to disobedience, we are charged with the same mandate from God today.
Christ came not only to redeem us from our sins, but also to bring government and order to earth. “Of the increase of His government and peace there is no end“. (Isaiah 9:7). The government of Christ will be increased and implemented in our personal lives, in our homes, in our cities and nations!
The devil’s schemes, by contrast, is to decrease and eliminate God’s government in people’s lives so that those who rebel against God’s final authority will join satan to kill, steal and destroy on earth. The devil can’t do what he does without the help of mankind. Men and women who live in lawlessness, rebellion and disobedience of the word of God are the ones who cause all kinds of chaos, hardships and heartbreaks on planet earth today.
Don’t blame God for the evils on earth for He is not the author of evil and chaos.
Don’t blame the devil either for he can’t possibly do what he wants to do without the help of man.
Government is not about dictatorship, domination and control. The purpose of government is to let God bring law and order in our lives through His living Word working in us.
When God, through Jesus Christ, redeems us from our sins, His primary purpose is not just so we can feel good about ourselves, go to church and survive earth until we go to heaven. Rather, Christ redeems us so we will, through the power of the Holy Spirit who dwells in the believers, destroy the works of darkness and bring back law and order, and God’s government on earth.
The primary purpose of redemption is not “all about love” either. Love is the motivation and driving force of redemption: for God so loved the world He sent His only begotten Son! Love caused God to take action to bring redemption and governance back to your life and mine.
God will not fill us with the Holy Spirit and use us to implement His plans and purposes if we are continually living in rebellion and sins. Christ redeems us from our sins, restores us, brings His government in our lives and fills us with His Spirit so we can continue the works He started on earth 2000 years ago.
And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
Genesis 2:7 NKJV
Today, God is still in the business of forming man according to the image of Christ, just as when God first created Adam. When we live in His love and are subject to the government of the word of Christ, we are being formed according to His image.
That also is the primary purpose of the churches to the communities where they connect.