Creation: God's Plan for Work

Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done…The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of eden to work it and keep it.

Genesis 2:1-3, 15

In the beginning God worked. He looked at all that he made and said it was good. The focal point here is that sin does not impact all of creation until Chapter 3. Do not overlook this critical fact, work pre-dates sin. Work was intended to be good.

Genesis 1:27 states, "So God created mankind in his own image." This means we are made in the very image of the creator God (imago dei) who asks us to take part in his creation.

Let us review real quick the forms of God's work and his commands in work.

1. God Creates - God Saw all that he had made, and it was very good - Gen. 1:31
2. God Cultivates - You Make Springs Gush & water the mountains - Psalm 104:10-22
3. God Commands - Fill the Earth and Subdue it - Genesis 1:28

Sabbath

If work is so God, why does God take a day of rest and command us to follow his pattern? This is a natural question that has a multivariate of answers.

1. Why did God rest? Let us be very clear, God did NOT need a day off. God cultivates if you recall. He sustains His creation daily. But God did take some time to take joy in his creation. When you do something great, it is okay to sit back and take it all in for a day.

The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things;

Acts 17:24, 25

2. Why does God command us to take Sabbath?

• As image bearers, we rest from work to enjoy the goodness of our work.
• Sabbath protects us from total absorption by the task of subduing the earth,
• Sabbath protects us from putting our work as the point of our lives. Only God can fill this role.
• Sabbath informs us that we will not achieve all our hearts intent to do. This is in part due to sin and in part due to our humanity.
• Sabbath calls us to worship God

You will not have a meaningful life without work, but you cannot say that your work is the meaning of your life. If the purpose of your life is any form of work, it becomes an idol before god.

Tim Keller

The image above is a visual depiction of the Bible. We start out in the goodness of creation in the garden on a continuum toward the heavenly city depicted in Revelation and Isaiah. It is important to understand that sin has greatly impacted our route to the city. However, God's plan for creation has not changed. We are called to fill the earth and subdue it. Tim Keller states, "to subdue indicates that even in its original, unfilled form, god made the world to need work. " This is telling us God made the world to be taken from a garden to a city. This is God's plan.

The next step in this plan is to understand the role of humanity in the process. Simply put, our role is to help create sustainable opportunities to help people thrive and flourish. Another way to say this would be: Our role is to help people improve their path to the city and to see their need for the city.

Read the following passages and reflect on what they say about the following:

• What does Genesis say about our role in helping people thrive and flourish?
• What does Revelation inform us of regarding the heavenly city and God's plan?

God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” 

Genesis 1:28

And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west. The wall of the city had twelve foundations,and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

Revelation 21: 10-14

Our work on earth matters a great deal. The value of this work cannot be determined by the pay or the form by which it takes. Let me be clear, you cannot determine the value of work by what it enables you to buy or who it enables you to meet.

Why does our work on Earth matter? The Renewal of All Things

Jesus said to them, "Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

Matthew 19:28

The material world matters a great deal. Why? Because we were and are working from the Garden to the City.

What does this mean beyond the obvious? It means the value of work is not correlated to the monetary return of the work. In our society, we tend to value work based on how much it pays. This is why people want to be engineers, not tradesmen. We strive to be doctors, not biology teachers. Maybe we want to start a lucrative business, as opposed to running a non-profit.

Here is the point: God values the work of fabricating solar panels, installing solar panels, and designing solar panels. He isn't looking down on someone for simply producing the fasteners to hold the panels to the roof.

And if God sees dignity in this work, we should too.

Nevertheless, each person should live as a believer in whatever situation the Lord has assigned to them, just as god has called them. This is the rule I lay down in all the churches.

1 Corinthians 7:17

Understanding "In whatever situation the Lord has assigned to them" is critical to a reformed perspective on life and work. We read this passage to remind our living that God is divinely in control of creation. God is divinely in control of our lives and the place we find ourselves for a reason. In chapter 3, we learned that we have a role to help creation in the process from the Garden to the City. Now, we are going to learn that our work towards the city truly is ministry.

Our broadening of the the definition of ministry beyond priests, preacher and pastor is not meant to devalue these roles. Rather, we are placing increased value on the role of work and profession within the created order.

All Christians are truly of the spiritual estate, and there is no difference among them except that of office…We are all consecrated priests by baptism, as St. Peter says: “But you are a chosen people, a Royal Priesthood, a holy nation, God’s Special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” (1 Peter 2:9).

Martin Luther

Why is work as ministry critical to understand?

1. If religious works are crucial to good standing with god, then “church ministry” would be MORE important.
2. This would lead to the common man not being able to maintain a proper relationship with God.

Student Activity

• Complete the guide and notes for the Creation Section.