Covenant Presbyterian Church

Sunday morning Foundations Classes
God's Positioning System (GPS)

Lesson #11

--the most current lesson is always on top
followed by earlier lessons posted below in descending order-- 

Point of information, you can magnify a slide by clicking on it.
And close it by clicking on the X in the upper right corner

How can something so tiny disrupt the entire world order including how we worship? Yes, even viruses are included in Gen.1:1. Considering COVID-19 why did God create viruses? Most likely COVID-19 is a mutation that creates harm, a consequence of sin and the Fall. Nevertheless, there are benefits associated with viruses including controlling pollution, pests, disease like cancer, for vaccination, gene therapy (which is transplantation of normal genes into cells in place of defective ones in order to correct genetic disorders), drought resistant crops, high nutrition cereals; which are only possible because of viruses. Surprised? All of creation comes from God, and His plan in every case will prevail (Romans 8:28).

President Donald J. Trump stated with his announcement, “American needs more prayer, not less”.

How does all the information play together? The intent is to know who God is as Creator and what that entails via insight into creation. All of which will give us a better perspective on not only who God is, but the depth of creation and His awesome power as Creator. All of which is in preparation for, and insight into, the New Heaven and New Earth yet to come. In other words, God isn’t finished with us yet. 

How does all the information play together? The intent is to know who God is as Creator via insight into creation. All of which will give us a better perspective on who God is, not only as Lord and Savior, but also as the awesome Creator of all things and what that entails. 

Most tend to focus on life around us, and everyday living, even more so with the COVID-19 pandemic, but how often do we pause to focus on creation and its Creator? Or give thought to the new creation yet to come, which is what triggered my focus for this study. 

In Genesis, God first created the heavens, then the earth, and then man. But, sin changed everything. We live in a dynamic ever-changing universe. No part of creation is permanent; everything has an end date, even the sun and planets. Yet it is all part of God’s Plan. As marvelous as it is, something even better lies ahead, as we’ll explore further, as we approach the end of our study. In regard to God’s creation, in our last lesson, we looked at the largest aspects of creation, the world, solar system, the galaxy and the universe. God’s amazing creation even goes to the tiniest aspects of creation. This is the God we worship, who holds us in His hands. 

The Apostle John begins his Gospel with this essential message that Jesus is God (v.1) and existed at the very beginning of all things.

John also tells us in v.3 that Jesus is the Creator of all things and nothing in creation was made without Him. John also wrote Revelation—regarding the end times including the New Heaven and New Earth in Revelation 21! Embedded in this image is a DNA, which symbolizes all living things. 

From the moment of conception, we inherited Adam’s DNA and fallen nature. DNA are building blocks that define us as individuals. We are all descendants of Adam and Eve, created distinctly and individually, and not as part of an assembly line. Even in our fallen state we were wonderfully made (Psalm 139:13-14).

It’s easy to miss all the wonders of this verse. Every living creature on planet earth is a descendant of the ones noted in Gen.1:20-21, each with a unique DNA. They like us, suffered the consequences of Adam’s sin and Fall, thought they are innocent of sin themselves. What plan does God have for them? He always has a plan.

Everything on earth was created according to its kind (v.21). I believe God’s Plan will be unveiled in the New Earth. I don’t believe the new earth will be void of` life, just as this one was “teeming with life” from the beginning (Gen. 1:20-21). God saw creation as something good (v.21) and I’m confident it will be equally true for the New Earth in Revelation 21. There’s no reason to believe otherwise. 

God not only created all things as noted in Genesis, He also established the proper place of each species, even before He created Adam (Gen. 1:27, 2:7), and then gave him dominion over it all (Gen. 1:26, next slide). That was the intended order of things, which may very well be equally true of the New Earth in Revelation 21, except Jesus will have dominion rather than Adam. 

Who is the “us” in v.26? The “us” is the Triune God—Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The “in our image” in the creation of Adam is an immortal soul and a moral and rational awareness; as such, Adam’s sin was deliberate disobedience. The verse also tells us that Adam had been given dominion over the earth and every creature. Those who have a pet, know what a blessing they are, and it would seem that Adam enjoyed a similar relationship.  Is this a reflection of what lies ahead in the New Earth? Will we be given responsibility over certain animals, or gardens? Certainly, not all of us will be in the choir loft.

We imagine songbirds and various animals when we think of the Garden of Eden. Yet creation went a lot deeper even though the Bible doesn’t give us specific details. Will the New Earth be equally filled with such animals? Why not? If God loved them the first time, would He only populate the New Earth with people? If yes, why would there even be a New Earth? Why not just a New Heaven? But He created both, where both men and angels can interact and even learn from each other. Yes, learn from each other, and there’s a lot to learn. 

Since we inherited Adam’s DNA, what exactly is DNA? It’s the reason children inherit hair and eye color from their parents and grandparents. But also woven into it is Adam’s fallen nature and propensity to sin, inherited by every human that walked the earth, except One, Who most likely had Adam’s pre-Fall DNA the way God originally created it. That is the reason Jesus was born of a virgin, He did not inherit Adam’s sin guilt. Yet He was the second Adam (1 Cor. 15:45-49) to represent us and make restitution for our sins to satisfy God’s perfect justice, and at the same time demonstrate His unabiding merciful love for us as His people.

The Apostle Paul describes the two Adams, the first being formed from the dust of the earth. The second descending from heaven to take his place for our redemption. 

We borne the likeness of the first Adam inheriting his fallen nature and propensity to sin. As Jesus tells us in John 3:7, being “born again” is a transition from spiritual death to spiritual life. It is also “who we are” in Christ Jesus. The final chapter of mankind is the New Heaven and New Earth, when we will have a glorified, resurrected body, as did Jesus when He rose from the grave. 

Barnes is only one of a number of commentaries that provide further insight into Paul’s words on two critical verses: 48 & 49 (on next slide).

COVID-19: Even the smallest things can turn the world upside down. Think of the impact the coronavirus has had on almost every aspect of our lives, even disrupting our ability to worship together, and for many, earn a living to provide for their family. The coronavirus was not unleased by God, but cultured and unleased by sinful man, for their own purposes, which time may unveil. Nevertheless, God can work it for good, which is what we should be praying for that God will use it for good. Maybe as a way to introduce others to the Gospel message via live streaming of worship services. 

Isaiah says it all. God is both creator AND LORD!  There is no other, yet man down through history has found a lot of substitutes, and each time led to disaster both individually and as a distinct culture. He did not create the world to be empty. I believe it applies equally to the New Earth. 

Why is this relevant to our study? For no other purpose than to point out the complexity of creation, even down to a fly’s eye. Look at the detail. How can we not be in awe of God’s creation? Did you every wonder why a fly was so hard to swat?  The bottom line is everything was carefully designed and crafted by God, and everything has a reason. We can only wonder what lies ahead in the New Heaven and New Earth. But we can be certain, it is far better than what we see now. 

Every detail was carefully designed by God…… every detail! 

Some members of humanity may act like monkeys, but even though, we are not descendants of monkeys. My apologies to the monkeys for the analogy.

This slide speaks for itself. 

The bottom line, we have a promise in John 14:19, applies equally to “who we are” and “where we’re going” all of which rest in Jesus’ words in John 14:19. We will explore His promise further in our next lesson. 

The COVID-19 pandemic as painful as it might be to us individually and as a Nation, will come to an end. Where we go from here is a matter of turning to the Lord for guidance. We need to put our trust in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We also need to pray for our President, our Nation, our Pastor and our Church. Until next time, God bless. 

END OF LESSON #11