The Seventh Day of Creation
Chapter One concluded after first 6 days of creation, culminating with the arrival of “Man.” God forms out of the dirt, which some people consider literal. The Church doesn’t advise us one way or the other on this, just as long as we understand the truths behind the words. Certainly, being formed of the dirt of the earth represents our physical nature, which we share with the rest of creation, such as the animals that came before us.
Q: What other meaning might anyone see in our “dirt” origins?
Humble beginnings. We are not gods and we don’t rule the universe. We are finite and limited.
Equality before God. All humans are made from the same dirt, so we have no right to elevate ourselves above others.
Good. Every day of creation in Chapter 1 ends with “God saw that it was good.” This means we are not demons and we are not evil. We were created good, and to be good.
After forming us out of the earth, “Elohim” breathes the spirit of life into us. Elohim is the plural version of Yahweh, God the Trinity, which is important for later discussions. This “spirit of life” granted us is what we might call our “spiritual natures” but is also referred to as our soul. Our soul is ‘who we are,’ or what we call ‘me.’ Our soul, our “me,” never dies.
Q: What are the attributes of this “God-likeness” spiritual nature/soul we have?
Our minds. Our intellectual capacity for abstraction; our awareness of truth, self, God, right, wrong, and justice. Our minds include our conscience, the arena where we do battle with evil (or our egos), and where we pray and meet God.
Our wills. The capacity and freedom to choose. The capacity and freedom to love. The choice to love God and others.
Q: How are our minds and wills like the Trinity?
A: Christ is the Mind/Word of the Father. The Holy Spirit is the Love/Will of the Trinity.
Q: How do we choose to love God and Others?
We choose to love God by loving truth and goodness, by getting to know Him, and by making Him our primary sounding board instead of our self (ego).
Q: What is the difference between our image and likeness to God.
Image. “Images” of things point somewhere else. If we have a photograph on the wall of someone we love, it isn’t the photograph on paper itself that has value but rather the image of who the photograph points to. In all God’s physical creation, we are the image of him that points to the Creator, the Trinity. This image of God we carry in us is the image of perfect goodness we seek to give justice to the rest of the world. This image of God – which includes our perfect images of love, happiness, and heaven – is what draws us to God and what we aspire to attain.
Likeness. Notice it doesn’t say “exactness.” There was only one human who was an exact reflection of the Trinity – Jesus Christ. Being created in his likeness accepts that we are not God and not perfect. But God does call us to become more and more like him, even coming here personally to show us what perfect love is. All God expects is that we use our relationship with Him to make progress in His direction, not perfection.
In Chapter Two, we covered the Second Creation Story, which included a) the Garden of Eden, b) God creating two people out of one (who have not yet been named), c) how they were called into marriage, and d) how marriage emulates the love, unity, and oneness of the Trinity.
We skipped over the first three verses in Chap 2 because they were unrelated to the rest of that chapter. These three verses are about the 7th Day of Creation, which should either be at the end of Chapter 1 or Chapter 2, since each of those chapters ends after the 6th Day (humans).
In any event, now is the proper time to discuss the 7th Day.
One reason the 7th Day is important is because the other six days ascend to it, making it the exclamation point of His work. Up till now we have considered the creation of humans the apex of Creation, and that still stands because the fact is, the 7th Day has nothing to do with the Creation. It comes after Creation!
Here are verses 1-3:
Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.
By the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on the seventh day
He rested from the work He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy,
because on it he rested from all the work of creating that He had done.
So, we see that God blesses the 7th Day and makes it holy (whole, perfect, set apart). Although he says it is to rest, surely He cannot mean for Himself, for we know God is perfect and needs nothing! But if he didn’t do it for Himself, was it for us?
Q: If He made the 7th Day for us, how do we know this since it doesn’t state that explicitly?
A: The following three clues will help us connect the dots.
1) Connecting the 7th Day to “Sabbath.” The next time God refers to the 7th Day of Creation was when He is giving Moses the Ten Commandments at Mt. Sinai, specifically the 3rd Commandment, to “Keep holy the Sabbath Day.” In explaining it to Moses, God specifically ties the Sabbath to the 7th Day of Creation (Ex 20:10-11).
What does “Sabbath” mean? It means “rest”! But, rest from what? Rest from creation! Rest from this world and this life. This translation of rest is not sleep but the cessation of mental and physical work – referring to 6th day activities. God is telling Moses that once a week, on the 7th day, people were to put a hard stop on their lives and spend it with God, reflection, family, and thanksgiving. This was so important that God also extended to their animals and any strangers visiting their lands.
God knew that this was necessary if humans were to remain in relationship with Him; and if their relationship would continue to shape their priorities, decisions, and behaviors for each subsequent 6 days. (Is this any less true today?)
2) Connecting Sabbath’s purpose to Man. We can further make a connection to the 7th Day after Jesus comes, when he explains how he came to fulfill all the Old Testament covenant events (including the Sabbath) eternally, not temporally. As regards the Sabbath, Jesus explains to the perplexed religious leaders at the time:
“Man was not made for the Sabbath; the Sabbath was made (created) for man!” (Mk 2:27)
3) The Number Seven. The last connection has to do with the meaning of SEVEN. Does anyone recall what the number 7 represents in Hebrew numerology?
It means completion, fulfillment which we now know now is referring to us. Human completion and fulfillment means our destiny, which lies in the 7th Day. It is what humans were created for. Said differently, this is not our home. Our home is in the 7th Day. Everything we do here is preparation for getting home.
Has everyone here always felt 100% at home here in this life? How about 50%? Did anyone happen to notice that out of 8+ million species on earth, we are the only ones who are not very satisfied with our nature, or with who we are? By chance did anyone notice that no human being has ever been content? Interestingly, the birds and fish and bears and trees, the sun, the moon and the stars – they are all perfectly content, doing exactly what they are supposed to be doing. They are all fulfilling their nature! So, what’s wrong with our nature? If you asked, “What is it that we are “supposed to be doing?” I would venture that most people have no idea. What we do know is that we want things to be better than they are. Anybody here tonight want to stay exactly as they are for the rest of your lives? We have problems we don’t want or need, and we want to be better, or different, taller, faster, smarter, healthier, better looking, and more hilarious than everyone else. No other species has this problem. Why is that?
Because we were made in the image of God’s nature, not the image of this world; which suggests that we’ve already got one foot in 7th Day. We have God’s attributes imprinted all over us. Do you recall the other Hebrew meaning of Seven? It's perfection. Yet, only God has perfection; butis it any surprise that we understand the idea of perfection even though no such thing exists in human history? Some examples: we want perfect justice, do we not? Has anyone ever seen it? No! And we not only want it, we will protest over it and maybe even kill for it. Similarly, do we not all aspire to have perfect love? And perfect bodies? And live forever? However, perfection isn’t here. These are not rational worldly desires - they are 7th Day desires; yet humans are endlessly searching for them in the 6th Day. Now, if we learn to manage our 6th Day desires and experiences by the light of the 7th Day, then things will begin to look a whole lot different.
Some have ventured to say that all these perfect things we seek are God ‘calling cards,’ because seeking the truth of them can only lead us to God. Fulfillment and perfection come in the 7th Day.
Q: I’m not sure if you recall the “Baltimore Catechism” we were taught many years ago, but when asked the question: “Why are you here?” do you recall the answer we were supposed to memorize?
A: We are here to know, love, and serve God in this life so we can spend enter the 7th Day (heaven) with Him for all eternity.
Know – to use our minds to learn, study, and understand God to help us gain 7th Day wisdom that can be applied here.
Love (agape) – to use our will to love God and love our neighbor, so that may we enter into a growing relationship with Him.
Serve – to implement God’s love and wisdom into our lives, by which we learn to act more like God, recognize God in others, and help our true family, particularly those in need of our help.
Next week: Chapter 3, The Fall of Man
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