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Session Three – Dimensions United
In this third session we are going to explore the beginning of God’s good creation.
In the next few sessions, we are going to trace the story of heaven and earth through the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. First, we are going to explore the beginning of God’s good creation.
As with all stories it’s important to start at the beginning; and more important to get the beginning right or else the rest of the story does not make sense. The book of Genesis tells the story of how God created the universe out of nothing. Having made the universe God then fills it with the sun, moon, stars, living things and finally humans – Adam and Eve. They lived in a perfect world, the garden of Eden – a perfect place as God intended it to be. Adam and Eve were to work the garden and take care of it. Importantly, this creation that God had made was meant to be good – we know this because the author of Genesis tells us seven times! If all created things were good then this means matter, sky, sea, land, birds, fish, animals, and humans are good.
Genesis 1:28 says:
God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
Another translation for the word rule in this scripture is order or form. God created, ordered, and formed creation for six days. He then rests, and in this passage, we see him handing over the reigns of creation to humanity. God wants us to continue to fill and form His creation.
How then does heaven fit into this story?
Heaven is the dimension of reality where God’s will is done. Eden is the place on earth where God’s good and perfect will is done so could be seen as heaven on earth. Adam and Eve were placed on earth to do God will, and lived in a place created by God to fulfil his will, so are therefore pieces of heaven and earth in the dimension of Gods will.
Eden is just one geographical place on earth; the whole earth is not yet as God intended it to be. The mandate God has given us, set out in Genesis 1:28, was given to Adam and Eve, to humanity and thus to us now to fulfil. We should be trying to make the earth a heavenly place where Gods good and loving will is done.
In the book, the example of the Eden Project in Cornwall is given to reflect what he is discussing. When you visit the Eden Project you fid biospheres or domes which reflect the microclimate of a certain living species. In one dome you can experience the climate and plants of the Amazon jungle, and, in another, the fantastic flora of the west coast of Australia. Inside each dome there is the perfect environment for the plant and animal life of that biome to flourish and grow together in harmony. Outside the dome those plants and animals wouldn’t flourish because the environment is not right for them. (Page 37)
The earth and all it contains is not a temporary backdrop to a more ‘important’ spiritual journey of a human soul to heaven, as the dualistic worldview would have us believe. Caring for the earth is the spiritual mission God set out for us. God wants us to join with him, bringing heaven to earth until the whole earth is a heavenly place.
On p.37 I describe the Garden of Eden as “Where the dimension of heaven touched the dimensions of earth.”
The writer of Genesis tells us six times in the creation story that when God looked at what he had made he “… saw that it was good.” (Genesis 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25). A seventh time, after God made humankind in his image, we are told that; “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.” (Genesis 1:31)
Genesis 1:28 is often called the ‘creation commission’ and is central to the Bible’s understanding of the place of humanity in God’s creation.
“God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.’” (Genesis 1:28)
On p.39 I write that, ‘In the biblical worldview, the earth and all that it contains is not just a temporary backdrop for the more important spiritual journey of the human soul to heaven. Caring for creation is the spiritual quest that God gave humanity.’
On p.42 I quote the theologian Al Wolters who writes that the vast array of human civilisation was intended as ‘… a display of the marvellous wisdom of God in creation and the profound meaningfulness of our task in the world.’
Take time to name all the truly good things of God’s creation that you enjoy in ordinary everyday life, and give thanks to God for these things.
Pray that God would continue to open your eyes to the goodness of ordinary things and give you a heart of gratitude.
