There’s someone in charge

The first chapter of our Bible is telling us about God creating the world we know, and about what makes it good. He’s established light, and the spaces in which creatures of all kinds will be able to flourish.

And now, God populates these spaces with sun and moon, fish and birds and then animals and ourselves. And all this, he also calls good. And we who enjoy his creation can agree. It’s a wonderful world.

But in doing this, a new element is introduced. There is the need for something or someone to be in charge. And when he appoints his authorities, he calls it good or very good.

It’s counter cultural in the West these days to call authority a good thing. We prize liberty, and cherish the freedom to be and do anything we want. And leadership is often demonized as no more than a grasp for power.

This, of course, is far from the whole story because we still expect our leaders to use their authority to meet our expectations and to keep us prosperous and safe.

So, it’s very helpful to see what God has in mind—not just in the creation story but in the way his purpose is fulfilled as the story proceeds.

The first authorities mentioned are the sun and moon. One rules the day and the other the night.[i]

The authority of the sun is fairly obvious. It determines our night and day and enables life of many kinds. And the more we discover, the more we know that our existence is dependent on the many roles it plays. In other words, it’s in charge of a lot of what happens on earth.

It may sound strange to call it an authority—given that it’s just doing what it always does. But here are three ways the Bible talks about the sun being in charge—not just over the natural world, but over ourselves.

One of Israel’s psalms celebrates the journey of the sun across the sky.[ii] It rises like a strong man engaging his day with joy. It crosses from East to West, encompasses everything with its light and heat, missing nothing. It speaks to us about the God who put it there—telling us about his glory. Without saying a word, it addresses the globe every day and teaches us to worship. How great God is!

Then, in quite a different way, when difficult days come and our security is threatened, God calls us to consider the sun he appointed to rule the day.[iii] Did it rise this-morning? It’s God’s witness that he is still looking after his creation and is faithful to his promises.

And third, Jesus tells us to notice that the sun shines on everyone—good and bad alike.[iv] God is not discriminating with his creational favours. The sun he’s created to rule the day teaches us to imitate our Father God by loving and praying for friends and foes alike.

In these and other ways, the sun still rules.

The second authority appointed is ourselves—not just certain leaders but all of us. And it’s only when God creates us and gives us our task that he says his creation is very good.

Again, this is somewhat counter-cultural at present. We are aware of how much damage we can create by the control we exercise over the natural world. We are fascinated by pristine areas untouched by humans and consider them the preferable parts of our planet.

God disagrees. He wants our world to be populated and cared for by us. This is a vital step in his plan.

The key to understanding this role lies in how God makes us. In some way, we are like himself—not in the sense that we can create a world or guarantee its outcomes. But we can share his thinking and his goals. And we can help to bring them about.

Effectively, God is creating us to be his sons and daughters. This is suggested when our writer describes Adam as also having a son ‘like himself’.[v] We could say that the whole creation is going to be a family affair.

So, what are we given to do? We need to subdue and rule the animal world. These creatures are not made to be like God as we have been. They are ruled by instinct. And, with no choice in the matter, they remain true to what they have been created to be. And we are responsible for them.

But unlike the animal kingdom, we can listen to God. We can know what he wants. We know we are significant, and accountable for how we live—accountable to God. We can love. We can pray. We can praise our Maker. And we can hope.

But the scope of our authority is not just over the animals. As the Bible story opens up, it’s clear that our authority extends to the whole created world—vegetation is mentioned,[vi] and then basically, everything.

God himself observes that, left to ourselves, there will be nothing we can’t do. He has a very high view of what we can accomplish.[vii]

A later writer ponders this. What kind of a creature are we, to have such a remarkable role?  We’re like kings, crowned with glory and honour. We’re little less than God![viii]  This doesn’t make the writer proud. It humbles him.

Some time ago, I was talking with a group of young teenagers and explained that they were approaching adulthood and that this involved being responsible for themselves and things around them and making the necessary decisions associated with this. I asked them how they felt about this. One honest young fellow said, ‘Scary!’

Perhaps so! But we need to know that we have responsibilities. And, that God holds us responsible for what we do.

Being created male and female is also part of being like God.[ix] The distinction between a man and a woman is important. The differences and the collaboration between the two are all part of us being like God, and important for us in being able to care for his world. Good authority begins with good relating.

Having authority in this world includes being responsible for the means we have discovered to help us with our work—our science, technology, social management and much more.

For example, the idea that AI might take us over is something we should rule out categorically. God has placed us here to be in charge, not to be mastered by what we make. That’s what God calls idolatry. We’re in charge. What we make is something we’re responsible for.

And we’re responsible to share with God in making this world a home for everyone. We’re not designed to be just looking after ourselves. We’re here, like God, to care for others.

It must be obvious that we don’t do a very good job of being human—that is, of taking God’s project forward to its goal. In fact, one prophet says the earth groans under its inhabitants.[x] Or, as Paul says, we’ve ‘fallen short of the glory of God’. We’ve sinned.[xi]

The only way to be truly human, and to fulfil our calling, is to be hearing what God says, and to be receiving his blessing. If we only live by what we can see, our authority loses its usefulness. We actually become obedient to other lords.

But God doesn’t have a plan B if the first one fails. From the beginning, he purposed to send us his Son—as a human being. The Bible is the story of him preparing for this, of it happening, and of its results.

So, Jesus, God’s Son, is presented to us as the one proper human being. Reading a Gospel account of his life shows what this looks like. He’s God’s image—totally[xii]. And he’s in charge.

Jesus doesn’t waste his time complaining that things are not what they should be, or urging us to lift our game. He tells us to trust in him. He’s going to fix what really needs fixing. Us! He’s come—effectively—to be us. To die for us—because that’s what needs to happen to us. He needs to get rid of our sins and all that hinders us from being real.[xiii] And he needs to be raised from the dead for us. This is so we can start again—in him. It’s that serious.

Now, we are told that God has created everything through this Son.[xiv] This is significant because we can now see that he’s come to recreate us.[xv] We are remade so we can really live and operate as God’s image.

This is how God enables us, his creation, to truly exercise authority—without the egotism that otherwise gets in the way. It’s not our cleverness or virtue that saves the world. Everything is held together by Jesus Christ.[xvi]

Now, we can live truly as God’s image in his world. Never perfectly, never apart from Christ, but working as partners with God in his project.

And, our faithful Creator looks at this proper Man and what he has done, and at all those who trust in him and what they do, and he says, it’s very good!

And it has a future, which we will look at next time.

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[i] Gen. 1:16

[ii] Psa. 19:1-6

[iii] Jer. 31:35-36

[iv] Matt. 5:43-48

[v] Gen. 5:1-3. Adam in made in the likeness of God, and then, Adam has a son in his likeness.

[vi] Gen. 9:2-3

[vii] Gen. 11:6

[viii] Psa. 8:5-9

[ix] Gen. 1:27-28; 2:19-22

[x] Isa. 24:4; Rom. 1:28-32

[xi] Rom. 3:23

[xii] Heb. 1:3

[xiii] Heb. 1:3

[xiv] John 1:3; Col. 1:15-17; Heb. 1:1-3

[xv] 2 Cor. 5:17

[xvi] Eph 1:22; 1 Cor. 15:27

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