Telos: Overflow - Genesis 1:1-3

Risen Church NC

Welcome to our brand new, pre-Easter series that's centered around a question we've all asked at some point or another: “Why?” We’ve all asked this simple, yet broad question before. No matter to whom we may be directing the question, or even if we’re just asking it rhetorically, we’ve all questioned the reason and purpose for any given thing. As Christians, we believe that God is sovereign and is the Creator of life and all its details. We can rest assured that everything happens under His watch, but that doesn’t mean that we still don’t have questions. Filtering and funneling everything beneath God’s sovereign canopy does help produce a better question to ask though: Why did God create the world? More specifically, why did God create this world? Often times we ask “why” in exasperation and doubt that there is an attainable answer. However, the Bible gives us a pretty clear answer as to why God created this world. We often turn to Genesis 1 to learn "how" things came to be, but a deeper look at the text actually reveals "why" God spoke those words, "Let there be...". God’s loving-passion for His own glory overflowed and resulted in Creation as we know it. He had only the best in mind for humanity, made in His image, and created a perfect world for us to dwell in. Yet, Adam and Eve rebelled, and creation disgraced God rather than glorified Him. However, God’s plans for Creation were not thwarted and time persisted towards a surprising goal. This would not only explain why God created in general, but why He created a world that would reject Him (and permitted it to persist). Ultimately, it’s all about the Cross. God’s “Telos”, His grand plan, was always to reveal and magnify His glorious grace through the death of Jesus Christ. Beginning with this message and in the week's to come, we'll unpack just how every detail of Creation was meant to glorify God and how this is finally achievable through Christ.