Thursday, January 25, 2007

It is finished

I enjoy reading the story of creation in the Book of Genesis. There is so much creativity and awesomeness in what God was doing on the Earth. From the dividing of night and day to the creation of creatures and ultimately the creation of man, the Book of Genesis is so majestic in nature. It says that for 6 days God created and then He looked at everything He had made and said, ahh yes it is all good!

Genesis 1:31 "Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day."

As you know God had put Adam and Eve in the Garden to be stewards of everything He had created. They had a perfect relationship between each other until the fall of man through the eating of the apple. This then set into motion centuries of attempts at the complete restoration of man's relationship with God. None of which totally worked until of course Jesus' arrival. At this point I want to explain to you an idea of the resurrection you may not have thought about.

For us to reach the point where we understand our place in the world today, as a church and/or a body of believers we need to grasp the full significance of the resurrection.

John 20:1"Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb."John is telling us here that Easter day is in fact the first day of the week. John tells us twice Easter is the first day of the week. V19"then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, "Peace be with you." John wouldnt waste words so there is significance here in what he is saying.

Remember this, if Jesus rose from the dead on Sunday then Friday was the 6th day and Saturday the 7th or Sabbath (day of rest) and Sunday the 1st.Look back to Genesis and notice on theh 6th day God said he saw everything was good and finished creating. John 19:30 "So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished!" And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit." On that Friday Jesus looks all the way back to Genesis 1 when God saw everything as good, then announces once again to humanity "It is finished"! Through the offering up of His life Jesus once again finished the creation of man. And as this wasnt enough to prove to humanity the authenticity of this restoration of humanity God shows us another thing.

John 20:15 Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, "Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away."

Where did God put Adam and Eve? In the garden! Who did Mary mistake Jesus for? A gardener. Once again God had put humanity back in Eden! God has put you and I back in the garden to be stewards of His creation and once again to be in a perfect relationship with Him! Easter means much more than life after death. Easter is about us living this life here on Earth as stewards of everything God has given us operating in right relatioship with Him as Adam once did!

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