CHAPEL MESSAGE DR. JOHN C. BOWLING, PRESIDENT, OLIVET NAZARENE UNIVERSITY • JANUARY 11, 2006 ‘God’s Divine Design’ Genesis 1–3 INTRODUCTION want to talk with you this morning on the subject “God’s Divine Design.” human history and the story of salva­ Our theme for chapel this semester is “relationships.” We start today with tion through the birth, life, death and this thought: All relationships begin and find their ultimate fulfillment resurrection of Jesus Christ.” That is with God. true of course. But the fact of the mat­ I ter is there is no way we can understand This means that you cannot fully natural world and to others if God is the rest of the story if we miss the truth understand how to relate to others if not the sole sovereign Creator. embedded in this chapter. Here lies the you leave God out of the equation. You So, I say it once more, all relation- key, for here we find the roots of under­ will not get the most from dating, or ships begin and find their ultimate standing for marriage, or sex or friendship. fulfillment with God. everything You see, our understanding of iden­ Our understanding of this principle else in the If you asked tity and life and relationships does not begins with a proper understanding of Book and in spring from within us; it does not leap this book; and this book rests upon and life itself. me to pick from a movie screen or a Web page or a flows from its opening chapters. The Without out the most textbook. We will not, we cannot, come opening book of the Bible, the Book of this chapter, to know who we are and how we are to Genesis, the book of beginnings, begins we would be significant relate to others simply by looking in the with God and ends fifty chapters later left rudderless mirror or looking around at the world with God having created humankind to navigate chapter in the or even by looking within. The source and fashioned a people — with whom our under­ entire Bible, if for this knowledge is of another order, He has established a covenant relation­ standings of another world if you will. ship and through whom all people will the rest of I could choose So this morning, come with me as be blessed. life. Our con­ only one, we step back across time to the very This story of Genesis begins with cept of God dawn of creation. The Bible begins with creation, but then almost immedi­ would be dif­ I would be these familiar words, “In the beginning ately comes the idea of relationships. ferent if we honor bound God created the heavens and the earth.” All relationships begin and find their did not grasp Then comes the Biblical account of ultimate fulfillment with Godinclud ­ the truth of to choose creation, the first day, the second day, ing one’s relationship with God, with these verses. Genesis 1. the third day and so on until we come him/herself and with all others. Our percep­ to Genesis chapter 1, verse 26 and fol­ Here in Genesis we learn of mar­ tion of our­ lowing: riage and family and neighbors and selves and of Then God said, “Let us make man friends and enemies — it is all here in humanity would be altered without in our image, in our likeness, and the Book. And running through this this revelation of who we are, and from let them rule over the fish of the sea marvelous story is the truth that God’s where we came, and what our role and and the birds of the air, over the design is for a vertical and horizontal purpose in life is. livestock, over all the earth, and set of relationships that reflect His All of that is here. over all the creatures that move character and His will. Unfortunately, however, too of­ along the ground.” So God created There are 66 books in the Bible; ten when we come to these opening man in His own image, in the im- those books contain 1,189 chapters. verses of Genesis, we come not to find age of God He created him; male If you asked me to pick out the most the answers to those questions (who and female He created them. significant chapter in the entire Bible, we are and from where we came and Here and in Genesis chapters two if I could choose only one, I would be what is our role and purpose in life), and three that follow, we find the honor bound to choose Genesis 1. but rather we come seeing these verses source and pattern for living. We can­ Some may say, “Now wait a minute. only against the backdrop of modern not fully grasp our relationship to the That leaves out the incredible story of science. CHAPEL MESSAGE I think that is unfortunate. Do not turn here to learn Where do you find the clue to understanding human about science; rather come here to learn about God. history and what it’s all about? I think it is a mistake to seek to reconcile these verses with If we could gather the wisest folks among us as humans, science or science with these verses; and I think it is one of and ask them: Where did we come from? Where is it going to the places where we are too quick to let the enemy pick the end? What stands beyond the created order which science so battle for us. well describes? They would begin by saying, “We think …” It is not the purpose of Genesis to reconcile God to sci­ The Bible, on the other hand, is a clear witness that says ence or science to God. You see, science is a methodology and there is One outside of creation who is responsible for it all only a methodology whereby certain kinds of truth can be and the key to it all is in this One who is on the outside. discovered, verified, classified and integrated into our under­ The key to my research paper is not in my paper, it is in standings of the world. And science is very important; but it the mind in me that produced that paper. Just so, the key to is beyond the realm of science to address what came before you and the key to your life and your relationships is not in creation or what stands beyond the created world. That is you or in the created world itself, it is in the One who created the realm of Genesis and the realm of faith. you and everything else in the entire universe. Science deals with the creation. These chapters, on the • The ultimate understanding of human history is not other hand, deal with the Creator. found within human history. Genesis one, two and three are given to us to let us know, • The key to science is not found ultimately in science not the nature of the creation primarily, but the origin of the alone. creation. And so these chapters move you back behind (if you • The explanation of human personality is not to be will), before (if you like), the creation itself. found in personality theories only. Genesis speaks to us concerning the realm beyond sci­ • The key to humanity does not reside within us as ence. When science has said its last word about the world humans. around us, Genesis one still speaks. The key is on the outside. Now if we did not have the Book of Genesis, what could How do we learn about the outside? How do we come to we know about God? know this God who stands apart? We would have the religious literature of the world; we We learn by revelation. would have human reasoning (philosophy) and human Reason, alone, can’t build that bridge. Experience can’t get experience, including natural science. Those things might us there. If I experience God in a particular way, you may not convince us that there is a God — but those avenues cannot experience what I have experienced and say to me, “I know tell “who” that God is. So science or reason or experience are nothing of that in my world.” not enough — there must also be revelation. If we are to know the Creator God, it will come by revela­ One of the first things we learn from Genesis is that God tion — God making Himself known. stands apart from this physical world. He existed before any­ I do think that some level of revelation comes through the thing was created. There was a time when He alone existed. natural world. The philosopher Goethe said, “Nature is the living visible garment of God.” I like that, but that is revelation In the beginning God — period! only in a “general” sense. Greek philosophy never grasped that. Revelation through the Scripture, on the other hand, is The ancient Babylonian religions never got it. the place in human history when God pulls the curtain back, Roman thought missed that concept. shows His face, lifts His voice, speaks and tells us who He is Eastern religions did not discern one God. and what He desires. The truth that there is one all­sufficient, eternal, sovereign That is the reason these verses are here. God behind and beyond all things who was fully confident They give us an understanding of God and give us an and fully capable of speaking all things into existence is re­ understanding of ourselves and of life, of history, of truth vealed to us here in Genesis.