Come to Order
Study Guide, January 12, 2025
Pastor Clay Olsen
So, do you feel like you are tilting just a bit to the right? Well, you aren’t, but our planet is! In fact, the Earth is tilted on its axis 23.44 degrees. And why is that important? How about, because a planet with no axial tilt would not support human life as we know it. Yup, it’s that important! And how did the Earth come to be tilted at that precise order of 23.44 degrees? And how would a Big Bang explosion create a planet that was not only a precise 93.4 million miles from the Sun, so as to be…yes, Goldilocks, ‘not too hot or not too cold, but just right’ to support life, but also leave it tilted at that precise angle of 23.44 degrees so as to not only support life, but to also, as the Earth orbits the Sun…to allow for the seasons of the Earth to exist? How about this…How can anyone have enough blind faith to believe such precise design could occur from blind chance?
As we have pointed out before, the Bible does not state the order of creation of the Universe in terms of a ‘Big Bang’. The Bible states it in terms of the ‘Big Breath!’ Ps 33:6- “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, And by the breath of His mouth all their host.” NASU The Lord ‘spoke’ His creation into existence! God not only ‘spoke’ our Earth into existence, He even created fixed laws that would order our world in such a way as to not only support life, but to also permit life to ‘flourish’ on Earth. He also created an order for our own personal world that would not only support spiritual life for us, but to also permit our spiritual life to flourish. And we’ll come back to that.
Then, there is this…how did the Planet Earth know how to spin at a speed of 1,000 miles per hour? What if the Earth didn’t spin at all? If this Earth did not spin, there would be no night and day for the people and the places of Earth. If the Earth did not spin, it would be the opposite of the Goldilocks finding, for one side of the Earth would always be too hot and the other side too cold to support life!
And what if the Earth’s spin was erratic…not constant at 1,000 miles per hour? What if it sped up or slowed down, or even stopped once in a while? If the Earth were to stop spinning for even one minute, everything on the surface of the Earth would be destroyed! For everything that was spinning would still be in motion, the atmosphere, the oceans, and such would sweep across the face of the Earth with the force of a thousand hurricanes, along with worldwide earthquakes and tsunamis!1
But that doesn’t happen. The Earth doesn’t stop and start, nor does it speed up and slow down. We never have to worry that the Earth is going to slam on its breaks or veer off from its track in its orbit around the Sun, or ever stop rotating every 24 hours. Why, it’s just like Someone made it with such astronomically amazing order that the Earth does exactly what it’s supposed to do and does it exactly when it’s supposed to do it. And, it’s just like Someone is watching over it, too, holding all things together and holding them in place in order for the Earth to not only have life, but to have that life abundantly!
Again, how could random chances ever create such precise order and maintain this precise order? How could ‘chance’ be so powerful as to ‘Lord’ its ways and its will over an entire planet, let alone an entire Universe, like a ‘god’? Would you call it the ‘God of Chance’? Would you give thanks to ‘Chance’, and worship ‘Chance’, as the maker and God of our Earth? Strangely enough, many do! And how utterly foolish, of course! It is so clear to see, for any who have eyes to see, that our Earth and the entire Universe was designed and created by our benevolent and gracious God, who is the Lord Jesus Christ!
It is exactly as the Apostle Paul reveals it in Col 1:15-17 “Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through Him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see—such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through Him and for Him. He existed before anything else, and He holds all creation together.” NLT Scientists repeatedly state that there is some force, unnamed, as yet, that is holding all things together. Oh, the ‘force’ does have a name. It’s the name above all names, the Lord Jesus Christ! Oh Yes, absolutely, our Lord Jesus Christ is our God and our Creator. And it is by His power and through His constant working that all creation continues and is held together.
Now then, since God created the Earth and the Stars and the Galaxies with such precision and order, can you imagine that He would create His masterpiece, Human beings, who are made in the very image of God…that He would create them without a precise design for their lives, without any order for their lives? Could there be any reasonable postulate that God would not have designed any created order for His ultimate creation, human beings, for them to follow, in order for them to not only to have life, but to have that life abundantly? Would the God of precision and design leave those created in His image to just live out their lives by chance, or as though life was a self-guided tour? Again, how foolish could anyone be to think that God does not have an even more precise plan and an even more precise order for His created masterpieces to follow in living out their lives on this planet Earth, and then on into His New Earth and New Heavens, which are in His plans to next create?
What did Jesus say about why He came to our Earth and why He became Human…why He became one of His own ‘creation’? Col 1:13-14- “For He has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of His dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.” NLT We just celebrated the wonder of the Incarnation of Christ. Christmas is our annual festival of Jesus’ becoming one of us so that He could save any of us who would come to Him in repentance and faith for our salvation and new life in union with our God and Messiah. Through Jesus’ death, we have forgiveness of our sins…we are declared ‘pardoned’ through Jesus’ payment of our debt of sin. And through Jesus’ sinless life, we have right standing with God…we are declared ‘righteous’ through Christ’s gift of His ‘righteousness’.
But Jesus also said this about why He came: John 10:10- “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” NASU And the Amplified Version unpacks it further like this: “I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).” Now think about it: Jesus said to people who were already living, that He came that they might have ‘life’. How about that? Well, again, how about this? Jesus said to people who were already ‘physically’ living, but were already ‘spiritually’ dead, that He came to give them ‘spiritual life’, and to have that new spiritual life in abundance…to have it in full…to have it flourishing in their lives!
First, this ‘life’ that Jesus came to give is referring to the ‘New Birth’ that He told Nicodemus about…that each person needs to be reborn in their spirit due to the fact that all have sinned and that, without the new birth, each person remains spiritually dead in trespasses and sin. Jesus came to give us this gift of His own spiritual life, His own eternal life! But this ‘new birth’ of our spirit is not automatic, of course. In order to have new life in Christ, this ‘new life’ must be individually and personally received. Then, Jesus also said that He came to enable everyone who had received this new spiritual life in union with Him to also then make their new life to be an abundant life…to have it flourish, be fruitful, be impactful, be rewarding, both in this life and especially throughout their eternal life in His eternal Kingdom!
Again, and do you think Jesus had a plan…had in mind some ‘order’ for you and for me to follow in order to experience this ‘abundant, flourishing, fruitful, and rewarding’ life that He revealed here? Of course He did! And we are to know that, even more than the precise order throughout creation in the physical realms, there is a ‘precise order’ throughout the spiritual realms which we are to follow as we follow Jesus as our Lord and Savior! Again, all of life is about ‘order’…it’s about God’s order in both creation itself and in people themselves! And as we start another year, what better resolution to make than to resolve to live our own lives according to this precise order…according to God’s order for our lives! So let’s explore…
First, how about some more ‘how abouts’ here…How about we start at the beginning…as in: Why are we even here? Not ‘here’, as in here…but as in “Why are we here, in this world, at all?” Why did God create human beings in the first place? Think long and hard about that. And we first need to start with God Himself! At the very heart of God is a Parent’s Heart! Why does God want us to call Him our ‘Heavenly Father?’ Mark it down: The deepest reason we exist at all is because God wanted a family…wanted children He could call ‘His own children’…wanted ‘sons’ and ‘daughters’ to live with Him forever in His eternal world…in a physical world that He created to be the ‘home’ of His physical and spiritual family! The Earth, the Planets, the Stars, and the Galaxies are essentially God’s gifts that He created for His children…for us! When you look at the Stars you need to think: “God made these for me…and for all His children!” That fact, alone, will make you think differently about all creation!
But, again, as to the ‘Parent heart of God’, do you remember what God said to the children of Israel? Listen to how God speaks to the Israelites in a time of their rebellion and unbelief. It’s one of the most remarkable statements in the Scriptures that reveals the emotions and intentions of our Creator God. God said: “I thought to Myself, ‘I would love to treat you as My own children!’ I wanted nothing more than to give you this beautiful land—the finest possession in the world. I looked forward to your calling Me ‘Father’, and I wanted you never to turn from Me.” Jer 3:19 NLT
If you ever wonder “why do I even exist?” Foremost, it’s because God created you to have a personal relationship with Him, as Him being your benevolent Heavenly Father, and you as being His beloved son or daughter. In fact, God had His apostle write this to us: “And because we are His children, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.” Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are His child, God has made you, His heir. Gal 4:6-7 NLT
Have you ever thought about what God thought about you before you were even born? This is what He thought about you… “I looked forward to your calling Me ‘Father’!” The Creator of planets and stars and galaxies delights most in having you and me calling Him – ‘Father!’ And when, through the New Birth…when you were ‘Born Again’, or when you gave your life to Christ and received Jesus’ forgiveness and His life into yours, God becomes our Father, and we become His child. So then God the Holy Spirit reveals that He also wants you and me to call Him “Abba, Father.” ‘Abba’ is an Arabic word. Do you know what the English equivalent of Abba is? It’s ‘Papa’, as in ‘Papa Father’. And, once again, how about that? It seems almost too intimate, too personal to think of the Sovereign, the All-Mighty Lord, and the Creator of the Universe and Redeemer of the world in terms of also being our ‘Abba Father…our Papa Father’. But that’s exactly what God said He wants us to call Him…to call out to Him as our ‘Abba Father’.
Are you looking for a new resolution to this New Year? J.I. Packer once said that what comes into your mind when you think of God as your Father is the most important thing about you. So, what do you think about when you think of God as your Father? Do you think of God as God wants you to think of Him? Do you know God as God wants you to know Him? Do you need to adjust your thinking in any way here, or ways…from maybe projecting your own image upon what your Heavenly Father is like, either in terms of, maybe being too harsh…or maybe being too lenient…or maybe not really understanding what God is really like, character-wise or emotional-wise?
No doubt, we each need to adjust our understanding of our God…to get to better know what our Abba Father is really like…what His heart is really like, and what His character is really like, and what His plans really are for us, in how to think and how to act and what to do and what not to do, and so on. How fascinating, that what God really wants most from us is for us to really understand Him…to really understand ‘Who’ our Heavenly Father really is…what He is really like…and what He really wants in our relationship with Him. Jer 9:23-24- Thus says the Lord, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the Lord.” NASU
Our God wants us to better know Him, to better understand Him, so that we can better relate to Him in fellowship and in the services that He designed for our lives. But remember, we only find that out by spending time with our Abba Father in learning more about what He has revealed to us about Himself in His Word…and then put His Word into our practice, as we walk closer in fellowship and prayer…and as we then seek to ‘order’ our lives according to ‘His precise order’ that He has for us to follow as we follow Him. It’s pretty much a continual adjustment in better understanding our God and in better worshipping our God and in better serving our God…or as God wants us to call Him…our ‘Abba Father’.
In our next study we’re going to further explore some essential steps and principles in this ‘precise order’ that God has for lives. For, again, life is all about ‘order’, and the more that we follow God’s order for our lives, the more our lives will then ‘flourish’, just as our Heavenly Father intends for His children.
- Space.com, What would happen if the Earth stopped spinning?