Christian Living

Bringing in the Us

by Thomas Kirkpatrick
07/09/21
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“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1)

I would ask that you walk through the progression of this verse with me. In the beginning, God created the heavens and then the earth. Then in verse 11 of the first chapter of Genesis, God created the vegetation on the earth. Then, in verse 20, God created living animals in the sea, air, and earth. Then in verses 26, God got His hands dirty and formed man from the dust of the earth and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils. I think the order of God’s creative work carries a lot of significance. God created the universes and then the earth. That is a logical way in my mind, but the significance is that the universe was created to support this tiny speck of earth in the universe. For example, because of Jupiter’s size, it has a great gravitational pull, and I have heard that it is the vacuum cleaner of our solar system. If it were not for Jupiter, the earth would be subject to bombardments of asteroids and the like on all too often bases. Speaking of gravitational fields in the universe, it only makes sense that they must work together to hold everything in their proper course. I have heard that even if the earth tilted off its axes by one degree, the effect would be devastating. The universe is necessary for the existence of this tiny speck called earth.

Then God created the earth, the world we live in. in Genesis 2, we read, “The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.” The earth was just a watery rock spinning around in the heavens. Then came vegetation and living creatures. The vegetation came first to support the creatures. It was created in a mature state. You cannot argue what came first, the chicken or the egg, as both depend on the other. So God did not lay eggs or plant seeds. He created living things in a mature state. The life God created depended on the earth to support it, just as the earth depended on the universes to support it. As we look at the universe, the world, and nature, we see that they are interdependent upon each other for their survival.

Then God got His hands dirty and formed man from the dust of the earth. “Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” (Genesis 2:7) The important thing here is that what separates us from the animals is the expression of the love of God in that He formed us by His hand and breathed the breath of life into us. By that breath, His Spirit, we can reason, and we have eternal life. No other created being on earth has that gift from a loving Father God. The man was given authority over all other life, all other of God’s creation on earth. It was a great blessing and as just as a great responsibility. “God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” (Genesis 1:27-28)

Let’s review again. Humanity is dependent upon all other life that is on the planet earth. Man is dependent upon all of God’s handiwork on planet earth. Earth is dependent upon God’s creation of the universe. All that there is, which is all of God’s creation, depends on all that there is. And all that there is, is dependent upon God’s Son Jesus His Christ. “For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” (Colossians 1:16-17) All creation is woven together according to one plan and purpose, the will of God the Most High.

There is one more piece to this picture, the U’s. That is you and me, as I am also a U. You and I as a U are dependent upon humanity for our survival. Humanity is dependent upon the creation of all that there is on earth for their survival. The earth is dependent upon the universe for its survival. Therefore, all God’s creation depends on all God’s creation for survival according to His plan and purpose within His will.

In the Garden of Eden, a prototype of the Kingdom of Heaven, the first man rebelled by choice against God’s Word. God made it clear to Adam, “The LORD God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.” (Genesis 2:16-17) With his free will, man chose to disobey God’s Word and ate the forbidden fruit. The man fell that day, and the world has ever been cursed with death. It was not God’s will, it was man’s choice, and since that day, the world has been filled with trials and tribulations and the greatest fear of man, death.

It was not a problem for God and but a tremendous problem for man. God’s Word is the law, and the law of God must be obeyed. From that day on, a man was destined to die. “By the sweat of your face You will eat bread, Till you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return.” (Genesis 3:19) As God had warned before the fall, he will die if He ate the forbidden fruit. It was not the fruit, but the disobedience to God’s Word, that man would die. God is love, and God is just because love demands justice. “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)

Out of God’s love for the crown of His creation, man, the U’s, He exercised His plan of redemption for man. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) God sent His Son Jesus to be the sacrificial lamb to die in place of man because of his sin. (John 1:29) God sent Jesus to fulfill the Father’s purpose to reconcile man unto Him through Jesus. God wants a personal relationship with His creation humanity, the U’s of this world. Jesus completed His work on the cross of Calvary that we, through Him, could approach God the Father in fellowship and one glorious day be with Him in His Kingdom. “For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son” (Colossians 1:13)

The work of Jesus on the cross of Calvary is the very key to our survival in the spiritual world to come. The choice is simple as there are only two options, accept the work of Jesus on the cross and follow Him or reject Him and die without an advocate at the Great White Throne Judgment. Through the work of Jesus all, we U’s have the Gospel message of Jesus to find our eternal hope. But Jesus didn’t just come down to the world for a day, sacrifice Himself on the cross, rise three days later from the grave and return to the Father’s right hand. What good would this greatest act of love have if there was none to carry the message? Who would know of Jesus, the Son of God, the Lamb of God, the Savior of humanity, the lover of the souls of the U’s? “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” (John 14:6). What U’s today would know that?

Jesus spent three years in the ministry training His chosen disciples to build His Church. The plan is the only plan, and He chose the twelve after a night of prayer with the Father. (Luke 6:12) They were the most unlikely to fulfill the purpose, but in power given to them, we U’s who are followers of Jesus prove that they turned the world right-side up. “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.” (Matthew 16:18) If they had preached the gospel message until the day they went home to be with their Lord and Savior, still the U’s today would be lost and shepherdless.

At the end of Jesus’ ministry of training His disciples, He gave them what we know as the Great Commission. This Commission was given to the disciples, as the founders of His Church; it is the Great Commission of the Church of Jesus Christ. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 28:19) It is the same command given to humanity in the Garden of Eden, “Be fruitful and multiply.” It is the command given to each of us U’s that are followers of Jesus Christ.

Not all of us U’s are evangelists, not all are teachers of the Word, but whatever our function in the Body of Christ is, our focus is to fulfill this Commission. It is our purpose in the Kingdom of God. The Church’s mission is to equip the body of Christ to “Go and make disciples.” But we are not alone as we have the very creative power of God dwelling within us by His Spirit sitting on the throne of our hearts. “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) From the day of Pentecost to this very moment that we U’s are in, we have this promise from the Word of God.

To quote FDR, we as Christians have nothing to fear but fear itself. Fear is the direct enemy of our faith in Jesus Christ. Fear is a tool of the Devil. If we pray without a doubt and believe in our hearts, He is faithful and true to His word. God is the power of the universe, and there is none greater. The fight is coming to our doorstep, and it is coming quickly. It will not be won by the sword but by the Sword of His Word handed in the Love that God has given us freely. I love those bumper stickers that read “no fear.” “You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4)

Then there is the last piece, the U’s. There are two kinds of U’s, the haves and the have not’s. Those of us U’s who have the peace of God and faith thriving in our hearts know that the love given to us by the Father demands justice. With this knowledge, we should have great compassion for the U’s who have no truth and are slaves to their sin. Compassion to the U’s that face an eternity without the presence of a loving Father God to tuck them beneath His wing for eternity. We who follow Jesus shall always be Disciples of Christ, ever learning the truths of an infinite God. But let us U’s be not slackers in the Kingdom and “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 28:19)

Thomas N Kirkpatrick

Durant Bible College April 21, 2015