Redeemer Evangelical Lutheran Church

2021 Trinity 21 Sermon

God’s Word Alone

Genesis 1:1-2:3

October 24, 2021 anno Domini

In the beginning God. That’s how the Holy Spirit inspired Moses to write the first words of the Bible. The Bible is not a book about you. Dave Ramsey has good advice, but the Bible isn’t a financial plan. Joel Osteen is easy on the ears, but the Bible is not God’s instruction for your best life now. You are not the subject of the Bible. God is. God is the one who speaks, creates, blesses. He is the one who gives and takes life. God runs the verbs. You don’t. The moment man decided to run the verbs, the world returned to the chaos and darkness that God alone dispels.

God is the subject of the Bible, but you, and this is the greatest good news, you are the object of God’s work, love, and gifts. This becomes clear, well, from the beginning. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Right after Moses writes that what should we hear about? The creation of the heavens and the earth, but we hear nothing of the heavens. How did God create the angels? How many did He create? On which day did He create them? How did He determine that some would be Seraphim and others Cherubim and how many Archangels are there? Do they all have names or only a few like Michael, Gabriel, and Lucifer? We get no information on the creation of heavens, because the heavens are not for us, but for the spiritual beings. We get a thorough account of the creation of the world because the world is created for man. We need light to see and work. We need air to breath and water to drink. We need the sun, moon, and stars for the seasons. We need ground to plow and plant. We need fruits and vegetables to eat.

All that there is, all that we have comes from the Father through the Son by the Holy Spirit. Once again, listen to Moses, (read vs. 2b and 3). Now listen to Saint John (Read John 1:1-5). The Word by which God created all things is His Son. This is what God’s Word teaches and therefore this is what faith confesses. Belief in God will not save you. Belief in the Father through the Son by the Holy Spirit saves you. Belief that the Father spoke, and His Word, His Son went forth, and the Spirit worked and “there was light.” Everything that has been made is made by God through His Son. That also ought to tell you the central subject of God’s Word – His Son. The Bible is about the Son of God, who became flesh, who is Jesus of Nazareth.

Each day of creation deserves its own sermon, but since some of you work tomorrow, I’m not going to do that today. We’re going to jump over the amazing creation of light (where would be without that), and water, and the atmosphere, and the sun, moon, and stars, the crappies and the pheasants, and indoor plumbing, gas furnaces, and the iPhone 13. This is what we believe, everything, yes, even an iPhone is a gift from God. Everything necessary for its creation was there from the moment God spoke the world into existence through His Son. Every new creation of man is no creation of man. Man doesn’t make something out of nothing. He simply takes what God gives through His Son and orders it into something useful for man.

We’re jumping to the sixth day, because if there is a word we need to hear, a word that is good, right, and healthy for us, it is God’s Words at the end of the sixth day. (Read 26-28)

You should notice many things unique about the creation of man. First God doesn’t just say, “Let there be man.” For the first and only time He says, “Let us make… Let us make man.” Let us – that’s the Trinity, that’s the plurality of three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, in the One God. “Let us make man in our image.” Only for man did God get down in the dirt. He formed Adam from the dust of the ground. Then He got into the flesh of Adam and took out a rib to craft Adam’s wife Eve.

Only humans are made in the image of God – no other creature, not your cuddly cat or your gorgeous German Shorthair, not the soaring bald eagle or the roaring lion, only humans. What does that mean? Humans have a conscience. They know right from wrong. They were created for holy conversation with God. In their original created condition humans knew God, loved what He said, and gladly did it.

Male and female He created them. If you mess with male and female, you mess with the God who created all things. You mess with the image of God. God is three persons in one God. Humans are two who become one flesh and from that one flesh union a third person comes – a child. Two women or two men cannot be one flesh or fruitful. A man who thinks he is a woman cannot and will not bear a child. Heather cannot have two mommies. If your doctor doesn’t not know this I would not trust him or her with your health. If an elected official cannot identify the only two genders, I would not trust them in any other matter. They are not only lying against science they are lying against God.

I’m going to jump from the creation of man to the re-creation of man, from Genesis 1 to John 19. We haven’t had a lot of Jesus this morning we need Jesus. The only reason God gave us His Word was so that we could have His Word made flesh – Jesus. In John 19:34 we read (read).

What does John 19:34 have to do with the creation of humanity? Well, in case you haven’t noticed – God’s creation is sort of messed up. Male and female are messed up. You’re messed up. Your family is messed up. You’ve got anxiety or depression or cancer or or addiction. Your kids won’t talk to you or your husband, the love of your life, is dead or dying.

I hope you have noticed by now, from hearing the creation story, that God is good, and He desires to give you His goodness. Even after humans messed up His creation by going against God’s Word God remained good. He made a promise, in His Word, in the hearing of our first parents, to send a serpent crusher.

Of course, that serpent crusher is Jesus. And in John 19:34 we hear how He crushed Satan. He gave up His life. He loved us to death. He shed His blood (and water) to save us. Here’s the link – the soldier shoved the spear into Jesus’ side. From that side we have life. By the waters of baptism we are forgiven and born again into God’s family, the church. By the blood of Christ under the wine we drink in forgiveness and with forgiveness comes life and salvation. Adam’s bride comes from Adam’s side. Everything that is Eve is from Adam. Christ’s bride comes from Christ’s side. Everything we have is of Christ. We have been recreated, made anew in Christ. We have a new life to live – a forgiven life, an eternal life, a righteous life of obedience and sacrifice and service.

Here’s the serious connection if you mess with marriage (and we have) you mess with Jesus because all of God’s Word, all of God’s Word proclaims Jesus. I dare you to find a church that blesses homosexuality and still preaches the cross of Christ.

You see it’s all of God’s Word or nothing. It’s only God’s Word or nothing. You might wonder why we preachers are so willing to offend, so willing to push back, so careful to examine every new idea that comes along. There is one reason – you. God’s Word brings you Jesus. He is the only way back to paradise. He is your salvation. He is the subject of God’s Word and you are the object of God’s work, mercy, and love, in the name of Jesus. Amen.