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©2021 Ken Miller Momentum – a Ministry of Christ Chapel Bible Church

Both day and night belong to you; you made the starlight and the sun. You set the boundaries of the earth, and you made both summer and winter. – Psalm 74:12, 16-17 NLT § They got their concept of God as king from the creation story

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. – Genesis 1:1-3 ESV

“Creation, Scripture tells us, is God’s handiwork, God’s art…When God (Yahweh) is first introduced in Scripture, he is introduced as one who creates sovereignly. The act of creation is a completely autonomous act.” – Nicholas Perrin, The Kingdom of God: A Biblical Theology

§ And God said…

“Let there be light,” and there was light. – vs 3 “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.”…And it was so. – vs 6, 7 “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. – vs 9 “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed….” And it was so. – vs 11 “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens.…” And it was so. – vs 14-15 “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth.…Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds.” And it was so. – vs 20, 24

§ And it was so… - God exercised sovereign authority

sovereign …the quality of state of being sovereign, or of having supreme power or authority …rightful status, independence, or prerogative

©2021 Ken Miller Momentum – a Ministry of Christ Chapel Bible Church

“The divine word is spoken and immediately fulfilled; God speaks (“Let there be light…”), and it is done.…in speaking creation into existence, God is acting like a king, God isn’t just a king, but the king of the cosmos.” – Nicholas Perrin, The Kingdom of God: A Biblical Theology

- We see this same trait modeled by King Nebuchadnezzar

At the end of twelve months he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, and the king answered and said, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?” – Daniel 4:29-30 ESV While the words were still in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, “O King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: The kingdom has departed from you, and you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. And you shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.” – Daniel 4:31-32 ESV

• Not MY kingdom come - It has always been about God’s kingdom, not ours - Man was created to care for God’s kingdom

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” – Genesis 1:26-28 NLT

dominion – rāḏâ (raw-daw)

o to rule o to have dominion o to bring under subjugation o to reign over

- But what does that mean? - What does it mean for man to be made in God’s image?

©2021 Ken Miller Momentum – a Ministry of Christ Chapel Bible Church

To be the image of God is to be the Son of God

- Think about Jesus The Son [Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in Him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things were created through Him and for Him. – Colossians 1:15-16 BSB “…we know from Near Eastern backgrounds that kings would regularly leave 2-D or 3-D ‘images’ and/or ‘likenesses’ of themselves in territories and cities where they sought to establish their reign…” – Nicholas Perrin, The Kingdom of God: A Biblical Theology “By creating Adam and Eve in the divine image, God intended to stake out legal territory, establishing his jurisdiction through their image-bearing presence, wherever humanity mighty be found…we must think of Adam as a kind of living, sacred projection of Yahweh.” – Nicholas Perrin, The Kingdom of God: A Biblical Theology

- God commanded Adam and Eve: o To be fruitful and multiply

SPREAD THE IMAGE OF GOD o To fill the earth and subdue it

EXTEND THE DIVINE PRESENCE o To have dominion

RULE OVER CREATION AS GOD’S PROXIES

And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. – Genesis 1:29-30 ESV

- God was King and they were His viceroys

“Where God rules as king, there are no evil powers. I often dream of such a society, a society without evil, a society ruled by God. I imagine what the world would be like if everyone did good all the time, if every individual always did what God wanted us to do…If all people always did the will of God, the world would be a happy place. If God would rule as king and everyone would do as he says, our planet would be a paradise.” – Sigurd Grindheim, Living in the Kingdom of God

- They were to live as if God was their King

©2021 Ken Miller Momentum – a Ministry of Christ Chapel Bible Church

The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all. – Psalm 103:19 ESV For the Lord, the Most High, is to be feared, a great king over all the earth. – Psalm 47:2 ESV For God is the King of all the earth… God reigns over the nations; God sits on his holy throne. – Psalm 47:7, 8 ESV

• Kingdom - Understanding this word is essential

Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations. – Psalm 145:13 ESV

- When we see this word, we think “territory” o Kingdom of Denmark o United Kingdom

- But in the Bible, it carries a different meaning

malḵûṯ – Hebrew (mal-kooth’) basileia – Greek (bah-see-lie’-ah) o royal power, reign, kingly rule o the authority or sovereignty exercised by a king o the kingdom of God = the kingly rule of God

§ Biblically, kingdom refers to the authority to rule § It is the sovereignty of a king § It is less about a realm than the right to reign

“When the word [malḵûṯ] refers to God’s Kingdom, it always refers to His reign, His rule, His sovereignty, and not to the realm in which it is exercised.” – George Eldon Ladd, The Gospel of the Kingdom o God’s kingdom is His power o It refers to His universal authority over all o God was King before He created the earth o The earth was evidence of His kingly power o He sovereignly spoke it into existence o The Kingdom of God is…

…His kingship, rule, and authority …His reign, and not a realm or a people

- Our highest priority “…seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness…” – Matthew 6:33 ESV

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©2021 Ken Miller Momentum – a Ministry of Christ Chapel Bible Church

For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.…they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. – Romans 1:20-23, 25 ESV

Next Week: Creation as King

For Further Discussion - Why does humanity has such a difficult time accepting God as King? And do we exhibit the

same tendency? - Discuss the following quote and implications for us: “…we must think of Adam as a kind of

living, sacred projection of Yahweh.” - In what ways can we “seek first the kingdom of God?”

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©2021 Ken Miller Momentum – a Ministry of Christ Chapel Bible Church

• Read Genesis 6:1-13. What evidence do you see that humanity was continuing to pursue its independence or freedom from God? How do they display their desire for self-rule?

• Read Genesis 7. What does this chapter reveal about God’s view of mankind?

• Read Genesis 8:13-22. How do these verses reveal that God was once again handing over

dominion to mankind?

What does verse 21 tell us about God’s view of humanity?

• Now read Genesis 9:1-17. Once again, how do these verses reveal that God was handing over dominion to Noah and his descendants? Read verses 18-28. Describe what happened to Noah and how this event reveals Ham’s desire for autonomy or self-rule? In what way was he doing what was right in his own eye?

• Finally, read Genesis 11:1-9. How does the story of Babel illustrate humanity’s insatiable

desire to rule and reign in place of God, rather than on behalf of God?

What are some ways we see that same predisposition lived out in our day?