05/31/2026
CREATIVITY, ORDER, AND UNITY COMMISSIONED
GENESIS 1:1-2:4a, MATTHEW 28:16-20, 2 CORINTHIANS 13:11-13
MAY 31, 2026
PASTOR HOWIE MAXSON
Genesis 1:1-2:4a “The Beginning
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light ‘day,’ and the darkness he called ‘night.’ And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.
And God said, ‘Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.’ So, God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. God called the vault ‘sky.’ And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.
And God said, ‘Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.’ And it was so. God called the dry ground ‘land,’ and the gathered waters he called ‘seas.’ And God saw that it was good.
Then God said, ‘Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.’ And it was so. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.
And God said, ‘Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.’ And it was so. God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.
And God said, ‘Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.’ So, God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed them and said, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas and let the birds increase on the earth.’ And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.
And God said, ‘Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.’ And it was so. God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
Then God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’
So, God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.’
Then God said, ‘I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.’ And it was so.
God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.
Thus, the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.
By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so, on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created…”
Genesis shows the universe to be God’s Creation, with Order and Unity; and He commissioned it all! An interesting definition of the word “universe” is found here; “The term universe first appeared in English in the 1580s, borrowed from Old French univers, which itself came from Latin universum, meaning ‘all things, everybody, the whole world’. The Latin universum is the neuter noun form of the adjective universus, which literally means "all together, whole, entire". This word is formed from unus (‘one’) and the past participle of vertere (‘to turn, convert, transform’), conveying the idea of ‘turned into one’ or ‘combined into a single whole.’" (Online Etymology Dictionary)
God is still in the process of turning, converting and transforming us as He leads us into the New Heavens and New Earth.
“Matthew 28:16-20, “The Great Commission
Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’”
Genesis tells us that “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day. Thus, the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so, on the seventh day he rested from all his work.
Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.”
A new day dawned, featuring the beginning of the history of Mankind. Our history began in innocence and paradise. Paradise didn’t last long. The adversary, using a serpent whispered lies, which mankind listened to, and turned to. Eve listened, considered, and turned to the forbidden fruit and ate. She turned to her husband and he ate the fruit, forbidden by God. Paradise lost. God’s work of redemption began, the work of “turning, converting and transforming us” back to wholeness in a renewed universe of wholeness and eternal communion with God.
God so loved the universe (he pronounced it good seven times in Genesis 1) that He sent His one and only Son (Jesus) that whoever (in the universe) believes in Him may not perish but have eternal life. The universe, which includes all of mankind, was whole and good and a perfect paradise for humans to live in …forever. The first humans, living in innocence, listened to a liar, and smashed paradise on floor.
God sent His sinless Son into the midst of mans mess, with the glue of Gods grace, carrying the label of faith to apply to the broken pieces, to put the universe back together again. And Jesus has commissioned disciples like us to tell everybody everywhere about this good news! Think about these things as we read II Corinthians 13:11-13, “Final Greetings
“Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. (embrace one another) All God’s people here send the greetings of the Gospel everywhere. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” (II Corinthians 13:11-13, NIV)
Be creative, be turned, converted and transformed, that the broken people we meet in this broken world may be whole in Christ, due to our witness.
