6-10-2016   The Master Builder Part IV

 

  

  

 Sixth, he adds ‘finishing’ touches, paint, trim, etc.  Things that help the house look nice

            God adds the finishing touches to His creation (including man) (Gen. 1:24-31)

And God said “Let the earth bring forth the living creature after its kind, cattle, creeping things, beasts of the earth, each after its own kind.  And it was so.  God made the beast of the earth after his kind, the cattle after their kind, everything that creeps upon the earth after its kind and God saw that it was good.  And God said “Le us make man in our image and our likeness and let him have dominion over the fish of the sea, the fowl of the air and over the cattle and over all the earth and every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.”

So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him and He created male and female.  And God blessed them and said to them “Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth, subdue it for I have given you dominion over the fish of the sea, the fowl of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.”  And God said “Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth and every tree which bears fruit with its own seed and it shall be meat for you.  And to every beast of the earth and fowl of the air and everything which creeps upon the earth in which there is life, I have given every green herb for meat.  And it was so.  And God saw everything that He had made and saw that it was very good.  And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. 

God adds the finished touches to His creation.  He created all the animals and determined what they should look like and how they should act and finally He created man.  All the finishing touches that would make His ‘house’ look how He wanted and function how He desired is complete.  His ‘coup de tat’, of course, was man, whom He made in His image.  The word used for ‘image here’ is the Hebrew word ‘tselem which means phantom, resemblance or a representative figure ‘of’.  Man is God’s representative here on earth and is a reflection, or should be, of who God is and that’s why He gave man dominion over the earth.  God’s house, the planet earth, is complete, even with someone to take care of it, man. 

Now don’t confuse house with temple.  Believers in Jesus, as in the New Covenant church, are God’s temple here on earth because the Holy Ghosts dwells within us.  The Greek word used for temple is ‘naos’ which means temple or shrine but its root word is ‘naio’ which means to dwell.  God came down go visit Adam and Eve on planet earth, but He did not dwell here on planet earth.  He came down and visited with man.  After Jesus’ ascension, through the Holy Ghost Father comes down, not to just visit with us, but to live within us, His temple here on planet earth.  Consider that when God gave Moses the Ten Commandments upon Mt. Sinai, Moses was up on the mount speaking with God but the people were at the foot hearing thunderings and the sound of trumpets and saw lightnings and smoke upon the mountain.  God spoke to the people, even Moses from outside our body. Today He speaks to us from our hearts because the Holy Ghost dwells within us.

Okay, at this point, everything is now in place in God’s house and ready for use.  Everything is ready for Him to enjoy.  Ready, even though what man is yet to do (disobey).

At this stage, a man finishes the interior walls and trim.  He does what he desires to make the outside of the house look nice, grass, trees, shrubs and flowers, etc.  He brings in his furniture, appliances, puts pictures and other wall décor on the walls to satisfy his likes. His house is now habitable on the inside and looks nice on the outside, too.  His house is now finished and ready to move in.  He has what he wants so he does – moves in and kicks his heels up.

I have found that my life has been a little more involved.  I find that I grow from infancy, through childhood, my teen years and into ‘adulthood’.  Physically, in adulthood, my house (my body) is complete but I still have to consider upkeep and maintenance.  As I desire, to keep my body working right I might add exercise to my regimen, running, lifting weight, swimming, whatever, taking vitamins and eating right.  I might read to exercise my mind and learn new skills that will help me earn a livable income.  My body is mature (adult) and should be capable of doing that which I require.  I’m ready to push on through life.     

I find that I have another house to build now, my spiritual house or my relationship with God, the Father.  I’ve given my heart to Jesus, I’ve received some ‘basic’ training, Father has honed out some rough edges and (initially) it would seem that things are in place for me to sit back and enjoy my relationship with God because my ‘salvation’ is secure.  BUT, spiritually I’m just an infant.  Even though I may know God’s law (the Ten Commandments) I now need to learn how to apply them to my life and grow so I can live a reasonable life in service to my God, abiding in His love – and exactly what that really means (but that’s another lesson – a life-long lesson).

So, just as a man, with his family growing, may want to make a new addition to his house, I find that as I grow spiritually, Father wants me to grow and expand my horizons.  I find Him making spiritual additions to my life as He sheds some things from my life and/or shows me new areas in which He wants me to venture.  New additions to my house which means learning some new things, doing things in a new way in my life.  Laying more foundation to my existing one and building thereon.  But then, that’s why the seventh day has no end. 

Seventh, he sits back and enjoys the fruits of his labor

            God enjoyed His creation (Gen. 2:1-3)

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished and the host of them.  And on the seventh day, God ended His work which He had made and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made.  And He blessed the seventh day and sanctified it because in that day He had rested from all His work which God created and made.

Father got to enjoy His new creation for a season.  He gave man authority to take care of His creation.  He would take walks in the garden in the cool of the day with Adam and Eve and fellowship with them.  Heaven on earth?  For a season. 

But, when Satan approached, Eve was deceived and Adam made a willful choice to follow suit and the relationship the Father was broken.  And as they say, the rest of the story (the bible) is Father’s attempts to bring man back into His fellowship. 

A man can relax and enjoy his house just doing maintenance and upkeep for a season.  Then the man decides to add a game room (or something) to his house or they have more children than bedrooms.  He has to build a new addition to his house which means laying an extended foundation (for new additions) and building some more onto that new, extended foundation.  Growth means work.

I find that I can enjoy my ‘salvation experience’ for a season, then we (Father and I) start building again.  He starts showing me more things that He wants me to know and that means expanding my foundation with new learning.  It means that I can’t just sit back, kick up my heels and sip tea all afternoon.  These growing experiences are good and rewarding but it also means I have to do more work.  My house isn’t really ‘finished’ it isn’t really complete. 

I find myself realizing what the bible says by “the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2).  I discover the reality of perfecting of the saints, edifying the body of Christ, coming into the unity of faith, coming into the knowledge of the Son, coming into a perfect man as measured by the qualities of Jesus Christ so we are not tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine (Ephesians 4:12-14) and what that involves.

My Conclusion 

As Father has given me this example for my understanding of how His creation correlates to a man building his ‘home’ and our spiritual establishment and growth in Jesus Christ I pass this on to you in the hopes that those of you who may have been wrestling with some of the same things that I have might have come to a better understanding of our relationship with our heavenly Father.  And be mindful, there’s much more than can be written about these areas of life, but I didn’t want to go into a lot of detail.  Just enough to give you something to think about.

Father had to decide, or create a place, where to build His house by establishing light and darkness in an empty space. 

He cleared the ‘land’ by separating the ‘waters’ (nothingness) with firmament setting the dimensions for outer space, atmosphere and water.  In other words He cleared or prepared the land upon which He could build. 

He brought dryland forth and established parameters by which His creation would operate and abide thus creating a foundation for his house. 

He established roles for His creation thus putting up a ‘structure’ in which His creation could exist.  Father creates purpose (how it should function) for the things in His creation, the job of each part of creation. 

He then brings in everything that the house will need to function properly, supplying all needs and making it look ‘good’.

He then adds the final trim with the final touch being man to take care of His creation, His house.

After all this, He ‘kicks back’ and catches His breath to enjoy His creation/house.  But as we know,  a man’s (nor God’s) work is never done for it wasn’t long before the man He created got off track and our Father had to establish the format in which to bring man back into alignment.

The man has to decide where he wants to build so he finds the plot that suits his fancy.  Then he clears the land, and that means removing the trees, shrubs rocks and so forth that aren’t desired so the land is clear and free to build upon.  Then he lays foundation so his house will set on solid ground.  He begins to build the frame, walls, roof, flooring, etc. so his house will have the shape and look he wants.  Then he adds the finishing touches so his house will look good and be comfortable by painting his house with colors he likes, the appropriate ‘trim and making sure his yard looks the way he wants.  Then He moves in and catches his breath enjoying that lounge chair in the back yard or the recliner in the living room sipping iced tea (or whatever).  He relaxes, that is until he decides to make some changes or additions to his house.

I find that in My life I gave my heart to Jesus, then I discovered that I needed to acquire a better understanding of the rules and regulations by which I should live.   God’s guidelines.  Even though I was saved, I still had excess baggage to unload (yield to Father via Jesus as the Holy Ghost prompted).  I had to start learning what my relationship with Father really meant and to start developing a relationship with those around me. After all, what we do the least in the kingdom of God, we do to Jesus (Matt. 25:40).  New experiences mean new growth and a fuller understanding of my relationship with Father.  I found my thinking being rearranged and discovered I might have to do things a little differently than what I’ve grown accustomed to in order to have a closer walk with Father.  I’ve had to learn new skills so that I could expand my ‘house’.  And even today, though I’ve learned a lot, I realize I still have a long way to go.  I find that if I had a hundred mile journey to travel, I feel that I’ve only travelled twenty or so miles (if I’m lucky) and I thought I was taking giant steps in so doing.  BUT as I look back I discover that I’ve only been taking itty bitty baby steps as I’ve travelled along.  But Father continues to expose me to deeper truths so I can have a closer walk with Him.  And even though I feel like I have done a lot of work with this ole house, I definitely appreciate what Father has already done and even though I can see the goal for which I’m striving, I still have quite a way to go.  But I take courage for I know that as long as I stay focused on my Lord Jesus, He will guide me as the Holy Ghost leads me to the completion of this house.  And this house will be complete when I enter into eternity with my Lord and Savior.