Stewards of God’s Creation

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AStudying God’s Word

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Studying God’s Word

Introduction

In our last lesson, we looked at a biblical, yet typically unpopular and controversial, view of the age of the earth and the universe. We also looked at the popular view of the age of the earth and universe from a secular perspective.

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• • Write on the board, “Can recycling become idolatry?”
  Who can describe the biblical age of the earth and how it is calculated? The biblical age of the earth is about 6,000 years. Using the genealogies from Genesis and other information, we know there were about 2,000 years between Adam and Abraham, about 2,000 years between Abraham and Christ, and 2,000 years since the time of Christ, for a total of about 6,000 years.
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  What about the secular view? How old are the earth and the universe, according to this view, and how are those ages calculated? For the age of the earth, secular scientists look to the dates calculated from radiometric dating methods on meteorites. The current age is around 4.5 billion years. For the universe’s age, the calculations and assumptions about the big bang are the source of the 13.7 billion year age.

  It is important for us to remember that this is not a battle over science—there are no scientific proofs for an earth that is 6,000 years old, nor are there scientific proofs for a very old age for the earth. It is by looking to Scripture that we come to an age of roughly 6,000 years. Many scientific evidences limit the age of the earth and universe and confirm a much younger earth than is popularly taught, but the true history revealed in the Bible is where we should begin reasoning from. The earth looks only as old as the assumptions we start with.

Dominion

Today we are going to look at man’s role on the earth. We have read this passage several times, but we are going to draw out another point today.

Let’s read Genesis 1:26–31 together. Have someone read the passage aloud.

• Who is speaking in this passage? God.
• What is the relationship between man and the animals in this passage? Man is to have dominion over the animals.
• What part of the creation does man have dominion over? Over the entire creation, including the earth and the animals.
• What commands does God give to mankind in verse 28? Be fruitful and multiply, subdue the earth, and have dominion over the creatures on the earth. There are three distinct commands.
• How does God describe the created order he has just established? Very good.

Discover the Truth

Previously, we talked about how God had created man in his image. As an extension of that, God passes responsibility for the earth on to Adam and Eve and all of their descendants who would fill the earth. We need to make sure we understand a few key terms from this passage.

• This passage speaks of man having dominion over the earth. What does it mean to have dominion over something? It means to have the authority to rule over it as a king might rule over his subjects. Our word “dominate” would be the most common word with the same root, though it typically has a negative connotation.

  While God has the ultimate authority over his creation, he has delegated his authority over creation to mankind. This command is discussed within the Trinity in verse 26, but in verse 28 God speaks directly to the man and woman he has just created; he calls them to subdue the earth.

• What does it mean to subdue the earth? To subdue means to conquer or to make something subject to you. To subdue the earth would include taking command over the plants and animals. This would also include studying the creation to know how to exercise control over it.

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  What is Adam called to do in Genesis 2:15? To work and keep the garden.

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  What task does God call Adam to in Genesis 2:19–20? Naming the animals that the Lord brought before him.

  In order to have dominion over and to subdue the earth and all of its creatures, we must study the creation. As Adam was naming the animals, he was likely looking at them and assigning names based on their characteristics. We might think of Adam as the first taxonomist (a scientist who classifies living things).

  To name something also shows authority. Adam was exercising dominion by assigning names to the animals. In the same sense, when he named Woman, he was exercising his authority over her. The ordering of authority within the creation is part of God’s plan for the earth. Just as God exercises his absolute authority over his creation, mankind is acting in the image of God when we exercise our authority over the creation.

  • Show the Dominion video if you have time.
  Let’s watch a video clip that reinforces some of these ideas. Look for some specific ways that man exercises dominion over the earth and the animals. Show the Dominion video.
• Keeping the video in mind, what are some ways that we exercise dominion over the earth? Using the resources God has given us by developing technologies and products from plants and mineral resources, extracting energy from oil and the sun and wind, using animals for food and labor, and many other endeavors.

  From a biblical perspective, all of these activities are God-honoring reflections of the command to have dominion over the earth. But just like any activity in this fallen world, we can abuse the good things God has called us to use. When we perform this task of dominion well, we bring him glory.

Stewards of God’s Creation Activity

Have the students read over the scenarios on the Steward of God’s Creation worksheet and use the four Scripture passages to present a biblically informed response to each situation.

Have you ever talked to someone who is confused about the responsibility we have to worship the Creator rather than the creation? It seems that pagan ideas of the nature of the world have crept into Western culture. Pass out the worksheets.

On this worksheet, you will find four scenarios and four Bible passages. Read each scenario and decide which of the biblical principles from the four passages you could use to correct the thinking of these individuals, and to point them to the truths of Scripture and the gospel. You can work in small groups if you’d like; we’ll discuss your responses in a few minutes.

While the students are working, draw a line across the board. Label the left side “Worshipping the creation” and the right side “Exploiting and neglecting the creation.”

Connect to the Truth

God has called us to subdue and have dominion over his creation. But we need to be careful how we fulfill that command. We can think about these scenarios as lying somewhere on this spectrum. Refer to the diagram on the board.

• How did you respond to scenario 1 with the man praying to the creatures? Which Bible verse did you choose? You could use Romans 1:18–23 to show him that he is worshipping the creation rather than the Creator. We can work to restore habitats and enjoy the creation, but not at the expense of focusing on the Creator who is due all praise.
• Scenario 2 deals with recycling and worshipping Mother Earth. What biblical truth could you use to frame the conversation? Exodus 20:1–7 talks about replacing the true God and Creator with idols. The idea of Mother Earth is blasphemous and idolatrous. It is not sins against the planet that we need forgiveness for, but sins against God. The good news we have to share with this woman is the hope we have in Christ to forgive our sins, not planting trees.
• Scenario 3 is on the other end of the spectrum—neglecting to take proper care of the creation. What biblical truth could you apply to this situation? As Christians, we are called to esteem others as better than ourselves. To litter or to use resources wastefully is to not be respectful of others, as Philippians 2 speaks of. We do not know how long the Lord will tarry, so we must use the resources we have in a responsible way. We must be careful to avoid either ditch—exploiting the environment with no eye to the future or being wasteful and refusing to subdue the earth and use the good resources God has given us.
• Scenario 4 is on the right side of the spectrum, as well. How would you respond . . . without getting yourself kicked out of the boat? Romans 13:1–7 talks about submitting to the rules of the government. Fishing and hunting quotas are put in place by people seeking to manage the resources for everyone’s use. First, it is illegal to keep more fish that is allowed, and a follower of Christ should not be involved in such sinful acts. Secondly, it is selfish and would leave fewer fish for others to enjoy.

  We should seek to honor God and others by managing the wonderful resources he has given us to benefit not just ourselves, but those who are yet to be born.

Climate Change

Today, many people are concerned with the idea of global warming or, as it is now known, climate change. There has been much hype about the impending doom of sea levels rising or the polar bears dying off, but we need to make sure we look at such ideas through our biblical glasses and not through the glasses of the evolutionists.

Let’s read Genesis 8:20–9:3 together. Have someone read the passage aloud.

• What is the time frame we are looking at in this passage? Just after the flood, about 1,700 years after the creation of the world.
• Who is speaking to whom in this passage? God is speaking to Noah and his family.
• What are the promises God makes in this passage? He promises to never curse the ground again and promises to uphold the cycles of nature, including seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night.
• Is this promise based on any conditions? No, in fact it is made despite the sinfulness of mankind, which brought the flood judgment in the first place.
• What command from earlier in Genesis is repeated? Noah and his family are instructed to multiply and fill the earth just as Adam and Eve were commanded earlier.
• What idea from our earlier passage is reflected in Genesis 9:2–3? Noah and his family are told that the animals are in their hands—a figure of speech for “under their control.” God now gives permission for mankind to eat meat, just as he gave them permission to eat plants in Genesis 1:29–30. This expands the type of dominion man has over the animals.
• What attributes of God are represented in this passage? His mercy is shown in withholding future judgment despite man’s sinfulness; his sovereignty and omniscience are shown in his control over the future; his faithfulness is shown in making a promise that he intends to keep. Refer to these attributes on the Attributes of God poster.

Discover the Truth

No matter what the media and scientists say about the future of the earth and its climate, we know that we can cling to this promise from God: the seasons and cycles of the earth will continue as God sustains them.

In Hebrews 1:3 we read that Jesus, as part of the Godhead, “upholds the universe by the word of his power.” Because God is omnipotent, he can sustain the cycles of cold and heat, day and night, and winter and summer.

Throughout Scripture, we see God making promises to people and fulfilling those promises. God has been sustaining the earth through its various cycles since its creation. We have 6,000 years of God’s faithfulness to draw hope from—and he has never broken a promise he has made.

Rather than being concerned about claims of global warming that are based on evolutionary thinking from the perspective that the earth is billions of years old, we can look to Scripture for answers. It appears that the earth’s temperature has been changing over the last several hundred years, but just before that, there is evidence of an extremely cold period in earth’s history. Since we live in a world that is impacted by the consequences of the fall of man, we expect catastrophes as a result of the weather. Climates change and the cycles continue, but God is faithful to his promises.

A long ice age likely followed the flood (an idea we will explore when we discuss the Catastrophe in Genesis 6–9), and the earth has been warming since then. We still don’t know how much greenhouse gases, solar cycles, and many other factors influence the climate. If we seek to manage the resources God has given us in a balanced way, we have no reason to think we will throw the earth’s systems out of balance.

It is God who has promised that these cycles will continue, and we can trust that they will continue to do so until he brings about the end of the world at the Consummation—an event that the Apostle Peter indeed describes as a global warming event when God will judge mankind and create a new heavens and earth (2 Peter 3:1–10).

We should warn others about that coming judgment and point them to the mercy God demonstrates toward our sinful race through what Christ has accomplished on the cross.

Application

Let us remember that God has placed us on this planet as stewards of his creation. We can subdue it and take dominion over it by studying how it works and applying those ideas to develop technologies and to manage the resources with the benefit of our generation and the next in mind.

As we care for the animals, use and develop natural resources, preserve habitats, and learn more about the creation, we should use the knowledge we gain to glorify the Creator. Rather than looking to Mother Nature, the spirits of the forest, or the blind forces of evolutionary thinking to understand the creation, we must base our thinking firmly on God’s Word.

God has created this earth to fulfill the purposes that he has for it and he sustains it by his mighty power. We have no reason to doubt that he is faithful to fulfill those promises and that the world will not be destroyed due to mankind’s actions. But this does not give us excuse to exploit and neglect God’s creation. We should seek to honor him and point to our amazing Creator as we steward what he has given us.

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  There seems to be an increase in the number of people who are interested in honoring Mother Nature as some sort of deity. How can we reach out to these people with the hope of Christ? We must point them to the truths of Scripture—that God is the Creator and Sustainer of the planet we live on. As we explain the original perfect creation and the corruption that entered as a result of sin, we can point them to the hope of forgiveness in Christ.
• Christians are often seen as anti-environmentalists. Why is this the case, and how can we make the biblical case for using the earth’s resources for our benefit? Exactly why this attitude exists is based on many factors, but we can use the biblical principles discussed in the lesson today to communicate the stewardship of the resources the Creator has given us. Responsible use of resources and care for the creation are marks of biblical stewardship, not exploitation or selfish gain at the expense of others and future generations.
• Many evangelical Christians have taken up the green movement as a major cause that the church should embrace. What are the dangers of becoming too involved as a church in environmental causes? One of the most significant dangers is the replacement of the gospel of the forgiveness of sins through Christ with a gospel of saving the planet. While we should be good stewards, the church is not called to champion environmental causes, but rather the cause of Christ.
• As we encounter people who have genuine fears about the threats of global warming, how can we use Scripture to share the truth of the matter with them? The faithfulness of God and his absolute power over his creation are two great truths to point them to. God will sustain his creation until he chooses to renew it at the Consummation of all things. It is that future judgment that those who are not children of God should fear (Hebrews 9:27). Those who are in Christ have nothing to fear at that time since they abide in the love of God (1 John 4:17–18).
• The media is constantly presenting messages that promote worship of the creation rather than the Creator. How do we guard ourselves against those false influences? We need to make sure that we are constantly studying and meditating on God’s Word and testing all things against the truths we find there.

Group Prayer

Be sure to pray with your class and take requests if time allows.

• Praise God for his faithful character.
• Ask God for opportunities to communicate the truth to those who worship the creation rather than the Creator.
• Thank God for allowing us to be stewards of his creation.