God's Mission is to glorify himself. With any mission there has to be a plan to accomplish the task. In war, a commander in chief might define the mission as, "defeat our enemy," but a country can't win a war just by thoughts and intentions. The country must make a plan of action to accomplish that mission. They must create a strategy: mobilize our troops, attack the west coast, etc. It is similar to God's plan. His mission is to glorify himself through creation. For this to happen, God must carry out a certain plan. This plan is found in Eph 1:3-14 (The scripture portion of the pervious section). To complete God's Mission, he will create a people who will worship him. God already points out that he will "bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ (vs. 10)." God made man a central focus in creation. For man to exist, God created a universe and world for him to live in. God created a wonderful earth full of diversity and beauty for man to enjoy. God could have made the earth a perfect sphere, with no mountains or seas. He could have created the plants and animals with no diversity, just clones of one another in shades of gray. He could have placed no stars in the sky, or flowers in the ground and put man on a barren colorless wasteland. But God creatively puts his Mission into effect by illustrating a wondrous and beautiful world that both he and humans could enjoy. We know that no two snowflakes are ever alike. We see hundreds of different breeds of dogs and cats. We understand that billions of people are different in millions of ways. God's creativity in his creation is endless.
How did God put his Mission into effect? By deciding on a plan and deciding to carry it out though creating a diverse and beautiful universe
Interact with Scripture/QuestionsRead Gen. 1:1-27. Read how God starts to puts his Mission into effect. Read Psalms 148. List the things in creation that praise God.
How is our diverse creation a reflection of God?
What is God teaching about himself in Psalm 148?
Prayer: Along with your normal prayer, praise God for specific characteristics.
Scripture ReferencesGE 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. [2] 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.
GE 1:3 And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. [4] God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. [5] God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning--the first day.
GE 1:6 And God said, "Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water." [7] So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so. [8] God called the expanse "sky." And there was evening, and there was morning--the second day.
GE 1:9 And God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear." And it was so. [10] God called the dry ground "land," and the gathered waters he called "seas." And God saw that it was good.
GE 1:11 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. [12] 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. [13] And there was evening, and there was morning--the third day.
GE 1:14 And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, [15] and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth." And it was so. [16] 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. [17] God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, [18] to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. [19] And there was evening, and there was morning--the fourth day.
GE 1:20 And God said, "Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky." [21] So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. [22] 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." [23] And there was evening, and there was morning--the fifth day.
GE 1:24 And God said, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind." And it was so. [25] 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.
GE 1:26 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth,* and over all the creatures that move along the ground."
GE 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
PS 148:1 Praise the LORD.
Praise the LORD from the heavens, praise him in the heights above.
PS 148:2 Praise him, all his angels, praise him, all his heavenly hosts.
PS 148:3 Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars.
PS 148:4 Praise him, you highest heavens and you waters above the skies.
PS 148:5 Let them praise the name of the LORD, for he commanded and they were created.
PS 148:6 He set them in place for ever and ever; he gave a decree that will never pass away.
PS 148:7 Praise the LORD from the earth, you great sea creatures and all ocean depths,
PS 148:8 lightning and hail, snow and clouds, stormy winds that do his bidding,
PS 148:9 you mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars,
PS 148:10 wild animals and all cattle, small creatures and flying birds,
PS 148:11 kings of the earth and all nations, you princes and all rulers on earth,
PS 148:12 young men and maidens, old men and children.
PS 148:13 Let them praise the name of the LORD, for his name alone is exalted; his splendor is above the earth and the heavens.
PS 148:14 He has raised up for his people a horn, the praise of all his saints, of Israel, the people close to his heart.
Praise the LORD.
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