God Is An Artist

The Bible tells us God created the heavens and the earth and every creature on the earth. When He finished with His creation, He took the time to admire the works of His hands. He declared, “It is very good.”

What higher authority could God have gone to, to confirm His belief about His creation? No one! God is the highest authority. A jeweler doesn’t go to a rock enthusiast to confirm the value of a diamond. The jeweler is the higher authority. When God says something is good, it is good. End of story.

Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:17 that those in Christ are new creatures or creations. Jesus tells Nicodemus in John 3:3 we must be “born again.” That denotes newness. Hebrews 12:2 says Jesus is the author and perfecter of our faith. Isaiah 64:8 says we are the work of His hands. Ephesians 2:10 says, “We are His workmanship…” Worth is derived from God.

If you are an artist, how would you feel if someone came to you and said, “You are an awesome artist, but your art is horrible!” You will probably feel offended and confused because your artistry and your art are inseparable. If you are a great artist, that means your art is great; if your art is horrible, then you are a poor artist.

God is an artist. He has made us and the creation around us. Why is it we tell God and others that we are nothing? We grovel before God and act as if we are not worthy of His love and attention, but we are grateful He is giving us something we don’t deserve.

Before you think I have lost my mind, let me explain. If you are a believer, you are a new creation. You are re-born as a new creature who is different from the old creature. You are the work of God’s hands. As a new creation, you have the very character of God written on your heart and you are indwelt with His very presence. The Bible says you are in Christ and that Christ is in you. Does that sound like a creature who is unworthy? Your worth is not based on your works, but on Christ’s.

For you to say you are nothing is to say Christ is nothing. For you to say you are not worthy is to say Christ is not worthy. Do you understand that you, as a new creation, are the co-union of you and Jesus? There is a saying, “Apart from Christ, I am nothing.” Even though that is true for the unbeliever, when we say that as believers, we are focusing on ourselves as separate from Christ. There is an implication that I must somehow disappear into the background. That is like going to an art exhibition and only seeing the artist and not the art.

God made us new creations to display us to the world. When we walk (behave) in the Spirit, people around us see the co-union of Christ in us. Jesus looks at us and says, “Take a bow,” and we look at Him and say, “Jesus, take a bow.” God smiles and says, “I love My new creation. It is very good!”

--> Nail this truth down: You are worthy because you and Christ are one. (1 Cor. 6:17) You will never fully experience the abundant life until this truth becomes the breath in your lungs and the song in your heart.

The Two Trees

As a student of the written Word, I cherish the moments I hear the Living Word in my mind. Recently as I was sharing with a counselee, God illuminated more clearly for me the two trees in the garden of Eden – the tree of life and tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Most of my life I have seen those trees as, well . . . trees! Every detail in the Bible is there for a purpose, even those trees.

When I remind folks there were two trees in the garden of Eden, everyone remembers the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but they forget about the tree of life. Even though those trees were real, they were also symbolic of two distinct systems of “living.”

Before I explain the two systems, let me remind us that God created us as beings who can choose. We usually call it “free will.” When Adam and Eve were first created they made choices every day, but their choices did not lead to life. In other words, their choices did not determine whether they would be fulfilled thereby feeling worthwhile. Because they were full of God’s life, all of their needs were met. Having all their needs met, they felt worthwhile. That means that every choice they made came out of a life that was already fulfilled.

The tree of the knowledge of good and evil is eternal death. When Adam and Eve ate from its fruit (one time), they spiritually died and all of their offspring (all of humanity) died before their offspring had a chance to live. This tree possessed the power to give eternal death!

This tree of death represents a broken system of living. In this broken system choices are made in an attempt to get life, that is, to find fulfillment and satisfaction. Because this system is broken, there are no choices that can be made in the flesh that will lead to life.

The tree of life represented eternal life. According to Genesis 3:22 the tree itself possessed the power to give eternal life. As a system of living, this tree represents living out of an eternal source of life. That is, life is not generated from the creature making choices, but life comes from the eternal source within the creature. Does this sound familiar?

These two systems can be illustrated by two different kinds of restaurants. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil is like going to a sit-down restaurant when you are extremely hungry and your funds are very limited. The waiter comes and gives you a menu. As you study the menu, you look at all the items and their prices and you try to decide what item or items are going to fulfill you and give you satisfaction. There is a lot of weight on your choice. That choice ultimately has to bring you fulfillment. Even after you finally decide and place your order, you sit there and wander if you made the right decision. Oh the futility! This is what happens when we try to gain satisfaction and fulfillment from our choices.

The tree of life can be compared to going to a buffet restaurant when you are not starving, but you just simply want to eat and enjoy food. When you go to a buffet you can eat as much or as little as you want. You can choose anything being served. This analogy even works better if you go to the buffet without any concern for calories! Pretend like there is no such thing as weight gain and heart disease. The point is, you can enjoy your choices simply because you are already fulfilled.

Jesus is eternal life. He did the work of the cross so that He could be an eternal source of life in us. That means we can now make choices because we are alive. Our choices do not give us life, but reflect that we are alive. Out of Christ’s life in us we have the privilege of making choices daily simply because we are free.

"So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36)

Rest

When God created this world, the Bible says He rested on the seventh day. When God rested, it was because He was done; He completed His work, it was finished, 100%! The Bible doesn’t say anything about God continuing to create after that seventh day. At this point you may be thinking, “So!?” The point is, when God does something, He finishes. He completes what He starts.

How many times have you had an ominous feeling that you have forgotten something? And of course, that feeling leads you to wonder if your efforts were good enough. “Did I do my best?” I’ve heard people say, “I feel guilty when I relax!” Why is it we have a problem with completely resting? There always seems to be a soul-deep sense that something is unfinished. This is even true of our spiritual lives. We keep plugging away at our spiritual task, because if we don’t, we won’t measure up to our idea of what a Christian looks like.

Under the old covenant the blood of innocent animals atoned for sin. However, after the sacrifice was made, sin began to accumulate again. Those sacrifices were only good enough in the moment, but they did not last. This must have been frustrating for the Jewish people.  Their efforts were never good enough. 

Since God’s original creation was broken, He planned for a new creation to emerge from the darkness that had covered the world. God sent His only begotten Son into the darkness to do a new work. This work would plant His kingdom in the middle of the darkness – Light invading the darkness! In His work, Jesus accomplished two amazing feats. First, Jesus had to become sin on our behalf so we could become the righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5:21). The power of sin had to be destroyed and the penalty for sin had to be paid. Christ accomplished this task on the cross. Paul says, “…knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, that our body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin.” (Rom. 6:6-7, NASB) 

Second, Jesus had to impart life to us because we could not gain life on our own. Those under the old covenant could never find life through keeping the law. God designed the old covenant to lead man to frustration with his own works. Man’s works or self-effort was never good enough! Our life is now found in a person, not in a system of works. Paul again says, “Therefore, we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.” (Rom. 6:4, NASB)

Hebrews 4:10 says, “For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His.” (NASB) So what kind of works is the Bible talking about? It is speaking of the works that attempts to make oneself good enough to be accepted. You don’t have to do anything to measure up to God’s standards; Christ did that for you. You and I can now enjoy the very presence of God through Christ. We can truly rest from our works to gain approval. We are now free to enjoy the work God has for us; “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Eph. 2:10, NASB) Rest brothers and sisters! Enjoy your relationship with God as He leads you into His life.