Reflections on the process of creation from Genesis 1

God's Creative Process

• God is always prior
• Creation is potential
• God is intimately present by His Spirit alongside creation
• God speaks a good word that reflects His good nature, calls forth sthg that is not yet (sometimes its purpose is explicit, sometimes hidden)
• That new reality comes into being (sometimes it springs into being instantly; other times it requires further fashioning) Rom 4:17 "the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist."
• God sees that it is good (n.b. Hebrew tov does not mean 'perfected', far from it, it means packed with further creative potential)
• God distinguishes and separates it from that which it is not (calls it out)
• God names it, endowing it with the dignity of its own being
• It inaugurates/fulfils its purpose 

Our Creative Process

• Sons and Daughters of God are God's image-bearers and partners in bringing in His New Creation, He has chosen to work through them
• They see the hidden Kingdom potential in the wilderness and people around them
• Their personal presence wherever God has placed them, as bearers of the divine image and presence, makes a real difference
• They declare in faith new realities as yet unseen that reflect the goodness and generosity of God
• That new reality is initiated/uncovered in the heavenlies and is inaugurated in the earth
• They and God look on it with faith, encouragement and approval
• They acknowledge and give it its own unique new place in the new creation order
• They name it. In Ge 2:19 we see God's excitement as He shows Adam the creatures He has lovingly made, to see what he will call them. "And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name." God deliberately leaves aspects of His good creation open to be completed by us, then confirms our free choice. This is our high calling and our deep privilege as His creative image-bearers.
• It inaugurates/fulfils its purpose
• Rest, and repeat with new variations! :)

Key differences

We are not the Creator, so our speech-acts of sub-creation are acts of uncovering what is already potential in God's good creation; but until we unlock them, they are not fully real, not yet "created". Invention is discovery, both of the incredible potentials God has built into His good creation, and of our own genuine creative potential as His image-bearers restored through the grace of His Son. Our Father trusts us to exercise real power and authority in His New Creation, and is excited to see what His children will make of the world He has gifted to them.

Note

As we meditate on all of this, it is vital for God's Word to dwell in us richly, and to keep in close step with His Spirit so as to grow in wisdom, maturity and discernment, and so avoid the errors and excesses of parts of the Word-Faith Movement. We do not merely speak into being whatever we fancy, naming it and claiming it, but, just as we are being remade into the image of Christ, praying and suffering with Him in the wilderness of this world, so we also share in His glory, the joy of beholding in faith a New Creation unfolding, speaking it into being with Him who has called us out of darkness into His wonderful light :)

Bezalel ben-Uri ben-Hur (repost) Ex 31:1–6

Called by name into My shadow,
Son of Uri, Son of Hur,
From the royal tribe of Judah,
You will undertake the work.

Flowing with My Spirit’s wisdom,
Knowing tricks from every trade,
Understanding things unfathomed,
Shadow Me, My protégé.

There is nothing you can’t tackle,
Son of Fire, my brightest spark:
You will build My Tabernacle,
You will make My Holy Ark.

Son of White, uncharted canvas,
Craftsman of the Tribe of Praise,
In your hands My Spirit dances,
Virtuosity ablaze.

As you prise My pure Menorah
From a solid, gleaming block,
I’ll delight in your bravura,
Scent the worship in your work.

Cherubim and almond blossom,
Might and beauty wrought in gold;
Universe in microcosm,
Body of My Word foretold.

With you I’ve equipped another,
Made to serve the Father’s Tent,
Son of a Supportive Brother,
Lo, Oholiab I’ve sent –

You’re the gaffer, he’s the gopher,
You’re his mentor, he’s your man;
You’re conductor, I’m composer,
He’s the leader of the band.

Not for pedigree I picked him,
From the doubtful Tribe of Dan: 
All whose hearts I’ve given wisdom
Lend their talents to My plan.

Wisdom laid the Earth’s foundations,
Understanding raised the skies,
Knowledge loosed the hidden oceans,
Coaxed the evening dew to rise.

Wisdom oversees the building,
Understanding girds the roof,
Knowledge furnishes it, gilding
All its treasure-store with truth.

Children of My inspiration,
Made as makers, take your part,
Spell the letters of creation,
Test your tools and make a start.

Carpenters and curtain-weavers,
Artists, seamstresses and smiths,
Joiners, jewellers and engravers,
Come and harmonise your gifts. 

Hallow Me in your profession,
Saw and dovetail, Spirit-led,
Carve the furniture of Heaven,
Hammer gold to shining thread.

Weave the pattern I have chosen,
As you strain with every strand,
You will find your lives are woven,
Twined together by My hand. 

I am making you My People,
Wield My colours, let them sing;
White and scarlet, blue and purple,
Wholeness flows from Heaven’s King.

You will build My holy dwelling,
Not in Egypt, slaves oppressed,
But as workers, wise and willing,
Rising from your Sabbath rest.

You will pitch My Tent of Meeting,
Not in Canaan, honey-fed,
But as desert drifters seeking,
Daily humbled, Heaven’s bread.

Year by year, I’ll teach you freedom,
Hone your hearts with patient care,
I the artist, you the medium,
For the Promised Land prepared.

Not for forging senseless idols 
Did I fashion you from clay;
You’re My images designed to
Riff, proliferate and play!

Masterpieces of My Glory,
Shadows of the One to come,
Tell the world another story,
Something new beneath the sun.

Spring 2020

A winter long and dark, a cheerless time has passed,
With sighs the earth awakes, the buds unfurl their blooms.

Yet anxious eyes are blind, and tears blur the mind

And many hearts lie stone-cold in their tombs.

The gentle April sun may raise a weary smile,

But frozen souls won’t heed a thaw they can’t conceive.

The signs of life are near, creation’s goodness clear,

But even the believers need to grieve.

And yet, and yet – the Spring! No social distancing

Can disallow the trees, the blossom-scented breeze,

A hint of something new, a hope that won’t defuse,

A sense the world was somehow made for peace.

To cynics Easter’s just a metaphor for Spring,

A way of saying “Life survives another day”

But we whose eyes have glimpsed the glory of the King

Suspect that they have got it the wrong way.

  

The Earth’s no accident, its birth was deeply meant

By One who shaped with care this well-appointed sphere;

The wisdom of His Word is built into His world:

Each season speaks to those with ears to hear.

For long before His planet felt its first green shoot

He saw the twisted path His children would pursue;

Before the Christ was born, He knew he’d wear the thorns,

But it was the only way to make us new.

The Tree of Death stood tall, its fruit a woman’s seed,

He drew our poisons in, the virus of our sin,

Then plucked by Winter’s hand, lay deep beneath the land;

In mystery a new world would begin.

And countless springs would dawn before that Easter morn

The Tree of Life regrew and spread His seed,

But they were metaphors for something so much more:

And now He stands and beckons, “Come and eat.”