Sermon #241 Series: Isaiah

Title: Four Great Creations

Text: Isaiah 65:17-19

Reading: Office: Larry Criss Auditorium: Rex Bartley

Subject: God’s Four Great Works of Creation

Date: Sunday Evening - June 2, 1996

Tape # S-59

Introduction:

Isaiah 65:17-19 "For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. (18) But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. (19) And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying."

This prophecy, like most of what is written in these last chapters of Isaiah, will have its ultimate and complete fulfillment when Christ comes again in the end of the world. There is a day coming when the Son of God shall step forth from his mighty throne, lift his hand to heaven, and declare that time shall be no more. He who sits upon the throne of glory shall declare, once he has finished all that he agreed to do as our Surety in the covenant of grace, “It is done...Behold, I make all things new!”

I recognize that the Lord Jesus Christ, in his great work of redemption, atoned for the sins of God’s elect specifically. There is no sense in which it can be said that the Son of God shed his blood and died to redeem, save, and justify all men. Those for whom Christ made atonement must and shall be saved. The very justice of God demands it. Salvation without satisfaction, or satisfaction without salvation, either would be a violation of God’s law and justice. The gospel proclaims salvation to all who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as the sure result of the satisfaction he has made.

Yet, the Word of God does plainly teach us that Christ came not only to save God’s elect by blood atonement and almighty grace, but also to restore God’s creation from the ruin it incurred as a result of Adam’s transgression. It is a part of our Savior’s purpose as our Mediator to restore creation to the glory of God and the everlasting benefit of his people. There is a day coming when our God shall indeed make all things new. But, as I have told you many times, the work of the new creation has already begun. What Isaiah describes shall be the climactic conclusion to God’s unfolding drama of redemption. There will be, literally, a new creation; but that new creation has begun already. In fact, God began to make all things new as soon as the slime of the serpent defiled his original creation.

The title of my message tonight is Four Great Creations. I want to show you four great works of creation ascribed to our God in Holy Scripture.

Proposition: Creation is God’s work.

Creation is making something out of nothing. Strictly speaking, for something to be called a creation it must have been formed out of nothing. That is exactly what God does. He makes that which will praise him and show forth his great glory out of nothing.

I. Let’s begin at the beginning. Genesis 1:1-2 "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. (2) And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters."

· The Original Creation

· The Gap Between Verses 1 and 2 (“The earth was,” became, “without form and void.”)

· The Restored Creation

The restored creation was so fair that when the Lord looked upon all that he had made, with man as the crown of his handiwork, he said, “It is very good.” But it did not remain that way for very long. Man, who should have been the glory of the creation fell and by his fall our father Adam brought the curse of God upon the very earth from which he had been formed (Gen. 3:17-19).

A. Yet, even in this sin cursed earth, the finger of God is so evident that the unbelieving are without excuse before him.

Romans 1:18-20 "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; (19) Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath showed it unto them. (20) For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:"

B. Even now, it is altogether proper for us to rejoice in the beauty, splendor, and grandeur of God’s creation.

Let no one misunderstand me. I have no use for the frog kissing, tree hugging ozone protectors of the modern infidelity, who have returned to the ancient religion of barbarians - the worship of mother earth! Yet, this earth is God’s creation. He created it for the benefit and service of his people. And the only thing wrong with it is what sin has done to it. One day soon, as we shall see, God will remove from his creation both sin and its consequences. We simply cannot imagine what the earth will be like then. It will be the total restoration of paradise.

God’s creation in the beginning was very good, and it still is. It is immeasurably superior to anything man has made in his pigmy efforts to rival the Almighty. This world was created by our God to be the stage upon which he would work out the redemption of his people.

II. Next, I want you to turn to Jeremiah 31:22 "How long wilt thou go about, O thou backsliding daughter? for the LORD hath created a new thing in the earth, A woman shall compass a man."

In Jeremiah’s day the Jews greatly ignored the Word and ordinances of God. They roamed about from country to country and from kingdom to kingdom. They were compared to a backsliding heifer. They would not return to the Lord. In this passage the Lord God makes a prophecy by which he would entice them to return to their land and to him. He says, “The LORD hath created a new thing in the earth, A woman shall compass a man."

The incarnation of Christ is here described as a new thing created by God in the earth.

A. The Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Messiah, our Redeemer is here described as a man.

1. He must be a man, else he could not suffer for the sins of men.

2. He must be the God-man, a man of infinite worth and merit, else he could never satisfy the law and justice of God for the sins of his people.

3. This mighty Man, Jesus Christ, is Jehovah’s own fellow, his equal, one with him; for this Man is himself God.

Colossians 2:9 "For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily."

B. This great, almighty God-man, our Savior, was born of a virgin.

He was conceived, contained, and encompassed in the womb of a virgin by the power of God the Holy Spirit.

· Isaiah 7:14

· Isaiah 9:6-9

· Luke 1:26-35

Our Savior must be a Man who is the seed of woman. He must have no taint of Adam’s sin and corruption upon him. Otherwise, he would not be fit to be our Redeemer.

· Genesis 3:15

· Galatians 6:4-5

C. This is said to be a new, unheard of, extraordinary thing, a creation, a work of almighty power.

The human body and soul of our Lord Jesus Christ were prepared and created by God the Holy Spirit in the virgin’s womb to be a sin-offering acceptable to God for us.

· Hebrews 10:1-10

Christ’s human body was created by God to be a sin-atoning sacrifice for his elect.

III. Thirdly, I want you to turn with me to 2 Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."

This is the sure and inevitable consequence of our Savior’s incarnation, obedience, and death as our Substitute. All for whom he lived and died are made new creatures by grace in him.

A. All believers are “IN CHRIST.”

· In His Hands as our Surety.

· In His Loins as our Representative.

· In His Heart as our great High Priest.

· In His Body as our Mediator.

· Accepted in Him.

· Justified in Him.

· Sanctified in Him.

· Ascended in Him.

· Glorified in Him.

B. If we are in Christ by grace, we are “NEW CREATURES” in Christ.

Without question, there is a reference to this spiritual new creation in Isaiah 65:24-25 "And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. (25) The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD."

1. When a person is born again by the power and grace of God the Holy Spirit, he is given a new nature, a new heart, a new will - Christ is formed in him!

Note: Compare Genesis 1:2 to the new birth.

2. However, the strict interpretation of 2 Corinthians 5:17 must make it to refer to our perfect redemption by Christ.

Note: Our old nature has not yet passed away; but our old record has! We now have a new record before God. In Christ all things have become new for us!

· A New Covenant

· A New Name

· A New Record

· A New Relationship

Note: God created the world to be the stage upon which he would accomplish our redemption. He created the human nature of Christ so that he could be our Redeemer. He created us new in Christ because he has redeemed us by his blood. But the work is not over yet. As I said at the beginning of this message, in the last day, at God’s appointed time, he will destroy this present earth and create all things new.

IV. This is the message of our text: Isaiah 65:17-19 "For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. (18) But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. (19) And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying."

What a great and glorious prospect this is! Our God declares that when he has finished with us, when he has created new heavens and a new earth, when our salvation is complete and consummate, we will enter into an everlasting joy that will eclipse all the joys we have known in this world. He bids us to rejoice now in the anticipation of the joy awaiting us in eternity.

A. The former things shall not be remembered or come to mind.

· Our sins will not be remembered against us.

· Our sorrows will not be remembered as sorrows.

B. In that great and glorious day, our God will both make us perfectly joyful and he will rejoice over us.

Isaiah 62:5 "For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee."

Zephaniah 3:17 "The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing."

C. In that great and glorious new creation, our God will wipe all tears from the eyes of his people forever!

Revelation 21:1-4 "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. (2) And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. (3) And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. (4) And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away."

There will be no tears in heaven, no tears to mar God’s new creation!

· Over Past Sins!

· Over Failures!

· Over Past Sorrows!

· Over Past Experiences!

· Over Lost Loved Ones Who Are Damned!

Application:

Let’s look at one more passage relating to this new creation, and I will wrap this message up.

2 Peter 3:9-14 "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. (10) But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. (11) Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, (12) Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? (13) Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. (14) Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless."

After I finished typing out this message today, I spent some time mulling over what I planned to preach to you tonight. I am simply overwhelmed with the hope and expectation of this new creation. I wrote this hymn in joyful anticipation of that great and glorious day.

Behold, what glory shall appear

To our awak’ning eyes!

The earth and sea shall pass away,

And God divides the skies!

The Church descends from heav’n above,

Adorned, all white with grace,

The New Jerusalem comes down,

Bride to the Prince of Peace!

Heaven and earth shall pass away.

All former things shall cease.

Omnipotence creates for us

A world of righteousness.

Tenderly, God shall dry our tears

And we shall weep no more,

For sins, and pains, and griefs, and fears,

And death shall be no more!