creation

Creation
In the Beginning
Was Shalom

Session 3
 worship and prayer

• Sing 2-3 Worship Songs (project songs on PowerPoint)

• Pray out loud for the course and for God to reveal himself through it
and have each student pray for his or her neighbor at the same time that
10 God may reveal himself and his purposes in a deeper way, give vision
minutes and renewed passion for his work on earth to be done.

review of previous session

Ask students to summarize the most important points of the last session.

5
minutes

group activity: homework review1

In your application exercise for this week I asked you to read various
quotes from men and women of God from different cultures, to reflect on
them and then to respond to the questions asked (see PowerPoint). I also
15 asked you to do at least six interviews with random people you did not
minutes know; people you assumed were not Christians and/or whose responses
you could not predict.

At this point I’d like you to go into the same groups of 4-5 people and
share with those in your group your reflections on the quotes and your
interviews. If the class is small, do not divide.

Ask students to summarize their reflections on the quotes they were to

read, as their thoughts on the interviews they did— two minutes each.
Do not make comments until all students’ experiences have been shared.
Walk around and listen to groups. Select one or two student to report to the
entire class.

introduction
Have you ever seen the movie trilogy – e Lord of the Rings? Next to
the Bible, e Lord of the Rings is the best selling literary work of all
10 time. And now it has become one of the most popular film series ever. It
minutes
is a beautiful Story of beauty and intimacy and friendship and adventure, a
Story of danger and loss and heroism and betrayal! Some time during the

The Integral Mission of the Church 2 Living the Story Series

 second movie Sam asks this very important question: “I wonder what sort
of tale we’ve fallen into?” It’s been quite a journey for Frodo and Sam
when the little gardener wonders this. Ever since they left home they’ve
encountered more wonders and more dangers than they could have
possibly imagined. e battle on Weathertop. e flight to the ford. e
beauty of Rivendell. e dark mines of Moria, where they lost their
beloved Gandalf. eir fellowship has fallen apart; their friends are now
far away on another part of the journey. Into the shadow of Mordor
they’ve come, two little hobbits and their cooking gear on a journey to save
the world. It’s at this point Sam says, “I wonder what sort of tale we’ve
fallen into?” Sam could not have asked a better question. He assumes that
there is a story; there is something larger going on. He also assumes they
have somehow tumbled into it, been swept up into it.2 Sam, at that time
didn’t know all the details of the story that led to Frodo’s and his
adventure. However, with time, he understood much more as he heard the
stories of the long since past that helped him understand his place and role
in history. To make sense of our stories, we need to know the bigger story
we’re a part of. I’d like us to watch the prologue to the Film Trilogy e
Lord of the Rings to allow us to better appreciate this insight:
 
video clip: the story we find ourselves in - lord of the
rings intro
Having seen this prologue, do you feel you understand more of the
danger of the ring, of why things went wrong and of possible dangers for
the future of Middle Earth? If you hadn’t seen this prologue, would the
rest make sense?
Allow participants time to respond.

Sam’s question, then, just might be the most important question we ever
ask.3 Indeed, we need to know the big story we’ve fallen into if we want to
understand just about anything about our mission and purpose in life.
is is the journey we want to embark on together. What happened
before our time, in the ancient past?

We believe that the Bible gives us clues into this question, as it tells us
about the overarching story we’ve fallen into. ere is a larger story! And
we can discover the Story!4 Indeed, as we saw at the end of our last
session, the Bible is principally an Epic, which tells us of God’s creative
and redemptive work in the world. His story is at heart a simple one. In a
nutshell it tells us how things started, lost their way, can be redirected, and
how the human story comes out in the end. But it is also a very unusual
story. We are told the beginning, the middle and the final chapter of the
story. But the piece between Jesus and the final chapter is still being
written. God’s story is not just about what God has done, but also about

The Integral Mission of the Church 3 Living the Story Series

 what God is doing now. God is still writing the story, and incredibly, God
has invited us to participate in that writing.5 So – if we are to intelligently
participate with him in writing this story – we need to understand what
the whole story and our role in it is. Katherine Bushnell, advocate against
forced prostitution, once said: “We are mistaken if we think that we can
get along with slovenly and incomplete knowledge of the Bible. No
amount of spiritual experience, or even the Spirit’s help and instruction,
will take the place of the study God requires us to put upon his word.”6
So over the next eight sessions we’re going to take a panoramic flight
through the ages to discover the basic outline of the Story of God’s
Transforming Mission. As we do so, I am certain that you’ll see that there
is a lot more to God’s Story than what we’ve often heard. As a
consequence, I hope it will become clearer to you in what ways he wants
us to participate with him in writing his story. Indeed, I hope that after
this course you will have a much fuller understanding of how God wants
us as a church, and you personally, to participate with him in writing his
story. Indeed, I believe we need to understand the Bible in its holistic
dimension, for if we don’t we may not really understand what’s happening
around us and what we’re here for.

Because God is still doing things in our world, we must begin our Story
with the storyteller. e storyteller of the biblical story is a unique
storyteller, because the storyteller is also the main actor in the story. at’s
why we have to begin with God, because he is the storyteller, the author
and the main actor. Here are five guiding questions, then, that we need to
answer, in order to better understand God’s Story that begins with the
words, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth’, and
ends with ‘Behold, I make all things new’. (see PowerPoint)

1. ‘Who is God and what is God doing?’ must be the first question.
2. Secondly: ‘Who is Humankind and what is Humankind’s Role in
Creation?’
3. irdly: ‘What did God intend with his Creation?’
4. Fourthly: ‘What went Wrong?’
5. And finally: ‘How does God address this Wrong and What Part can
we play in His Unfolding Story of Fighting Evil and Restoring
Creation?’ is fifth question, by the way, will be with us until the end
of our time together.

In this session, we’ll seek to answer the first three questions, in the session
next week the fourth. e fifth question we’ll address during the
remainder of our course.

The Integral Mission of the Church 4 Living the Story Series

 introduction to the biblical understanding of god: who is
god and what is god doing?
Ask students: Who is God? What pictures come to your mind when you
think of God? What are your personal images of God?
15 Allow Students Time to Respond.
minutes

Show a few slides of God pictures and how he has been depicted
throughout the centuries (see PowerPoint). Each image has a number.
Have students choose which 1-2 numbers most represent how they have
had God represented to them.

I believe that Christianity would be much more attractive to so many

people if we had a right image of God. But unfortunately, in so many
Christian circles – not just ‘in the world’ – Christians have a warped
understanding of God. I’ve counseled numerous people and have heard of
many others who have become blocked in their Christian journeys and
lost their passion for God, because of a wrong image of God. Let me just
tell you of Maria. She used to be a fired-up Christian, with a great passion
for God and excitement for the work of the church. She loved to pray and
read the Bible. But now, everything was dull, God seemed distant, church
bored her to death and her relationship to her husband had deteriorated
significantly. What had happened? Four years earlier she lost a baby in
childbirth. As long as she could remember, Maria had wanted to mother
children. She didn’t marry until her mid-thirties, so to beat the biological
clock she and her husband immediately began trying to have a baby. After
three years with no success they discovered that because of a medical
condition, it was unlikely they would ever be able to conceive a child.
Maria’s extreme disappointment was short-lived, however, for quite
remarkably Maria conceived. ‘We thought it was a miracle’, she said. Her
pregnancy went forward without incident. But her delivery had tragic
complication. e umbilical cord was wrapped around her baby’s neck
chocking the child to death during the delivery. eir miracle had turned
into a nightmare, and their life turned into one tormenting ‘why-question’.
Why would God miraculously give them a child, only to take the baby
away while coming into the world? Even more tormenting, why was God
preventing them from conceiving again? e answers they received from
well-meaning fellow Christians did not help. ey were told: ‘ere are
no accidents in God’s providence.’ ‘e Lord gives and the Lord takes
away.’ ‘God perhaps wants to teach you something through this.’ ‘God’s
timing is always right.’ ‘Don’t doubt God; he knows what’s best for you.’
Instead of reassuring Maria, these answers estranged her from God,
herself and her husband. She tried very hard to believe but lost all passion
for a God who gave her a strong desire to mother a child, then
miraculously set her up to believe he was going to fulfill this desire, only to

The Integral Mission of the Church 5 Living the Story Series

 kill the baby he gave her. A God who did all of this just to teach her a
lesson.7 e question is: Is the image of God she was taught really the
God of the Bible?

ere are many cases like Maria’s. Guadalupe believes she cannot
approach God because she’s not worth it. A Christian friend told her, she
first needed to straighten out her life before she could approach God, since
God doesn’t accept people who lived in sin. Hernando has a hard time
getting close to God, whom his Pastor says is like a Father. e problem is
that Hernando’s father was very abusive and strict. So every time
Hernando tries to approach God, he sees him as a strict, distant Father.
We even teach our children to see God as a punisher, when we tell them:
“Don’t do this, or God will punish you!” Unfortunately such warped
images of God hinder us from really understanding who God is and what
he is doing. It is crucial therefore, that we recover a biblical understanding
of God – the Storyteller, the One who invites us to continue writing His
Story together with him.

So let’s begin by answering the first question: Who is God? Who is the
author and main actor of this Story? And what is he doing?8 (see
PowerPoint).

scripture study 1: who is god?

Divide students into the same groups of four to six. If the class is small,
do not divide. Have participants turn to “Group Study: Who Is God and
25
What Is God Doing?” and have students read through Bible verses of
minutes Group Study 1 and discuss their answers to the questions.

Walk around and listen to groups. Select two or three student to report their
findings to the entire class. (Affirm students' efforts. Point out strengths.
Provide gentle correction if needed.)

Make sure that the following points are addressed. If necessary, add the
following insights after having 2-3 students report their findings, and asking a
couple of follow-up questions to draw out the following answers:

God created everything out of nothing! But He himself is not created. So

before the beginning of Creation, there was nothing other than God
Himself. is means that God always existed. He had no beginning.9 In
the ancient past – before the beginning of time – there was only God.
is means he is infinite.

All these verses talking about the beginning – before time began – say that
there was God, the Word – Jesus, and the Spirit of God. All of them were
God, yet they were distinct entities of God. A Fellowship, hence!

The Integral Mission of the Church 6 Living the Story Series

 I have a confession to make. Often I have pictured God as…. alone.
Sovereign, powerful, all that. But by himself. Perhaps it comes from
religious images of God seated on a great throne way up there …
somewhere. But if we look at Genesis and John it seems that that God
actually has never been alone. He has always been in relationship. Since
the ancient past, God has always been a fellowship, a heroic intimacy –
One in ree!10

You may remember the verse in Genesis 2:24. It says there: “For this
reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife,
and they will become one flesh.” eir love for one another will make
them become one flesh. In the same way it is with God – since we are
created in his image. e love between the Father, the Son and the Holy
Spirit were so deep and all-encompassing that they are One.

ough this is a very non-exact explanation of God’s nature – as ree in

One or One in ree – we could picture an egg to gain a glimpse of an
understanding into God’s nature. Now, let me assure you that God is
NOT an egg. However, the egg provides a nice explanation. Here you see
one egg. (Give a real egg to a participant and have them crack the egg and
separate the egg white from the yoke). How many parts does this egg
have? It has three parts though it is one egg. e yellow, the white and
the shell. All of these parts make up one egg. It is not two, or three or
more eggs. It is one egg. Yet, the one egg has three distinct parts. In fact,
we can separate the three parts from one another. We can peal off the
shell; we can even separate the yellow from the white. is doesn’t mean
that we’ve created three eggs. It still remains one egg. So this is how we
can explain God in some way. God is One but revealed in three distinct
ways. So there is unity in God as well as trinity.

Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Something called the Trinity. is means
our whole story began with something relational.11 at’s why Martin
Buber, a Jewish philosopher of the early 20th century said: “In the
beginning was the relationship!” So in the beginning there was not a
lonely universe, but there was a fellowship. A fellowship born out of love.
It took the Church centuries to “finalize” their understanding of who God
was. Many debates were fought with respect to the divinity of Jesus and
the Holy Spirit and correspondingly also concerning the relation in which
the three persons of the Trinity stood. Eventually, in the Council of
Chalcedon in 451 AD, the Church interpreted the “relation of the three
persons in terms of their mutual fellowship”. is model of explanation is
called perichoresis (mutual interpenetration), and views God as “a
community of being”, “in which each person, while maintaining its
distinctive identity penetrates the others and is penetrated by them…. It
allows for the individuality of the persons to be maintained, while insisting
that each person shares in the life of the other two”. God’s oneness as well

The Integral Mission of the Church 7 Living the Story Series

 as God’s diversity is affirmed. And, God is seen as a highly relational
being!

what does the relational being of god look like?

Definition of Shalom:
ere are many names of God in the Bible. From Yahweh, to El Ohim, to
El Shaddai, to El Elyon, to Adonai, to Yahweh Jireh, to Yahweh Zebaoth
15 etc. Indeed, it’s a very interesting endeavor to study all the names of God
minutes
that appear in the Bible… but that’s for another day. For today, we do
know that God is a highly relational being. It would be good to know,
thus: What is that relationship like? How does it look like? So today,
we’ll concentrate on one name of God that seems to capture a lot of the
meaning of who God is, and how he is relational.

Read Judges 6:24.

Gideon, in Judges 6:24, proclaims: “Yahweh is Shalom!” What does this

mean? Before we can answer that question we need to answer first of all:
What does ‘Shalom’ mean? What do you think?
Allow students time to respond.

A few more words about Shalom are warranted. For if God is Shalom it is
important that we understand it. So what does Shalom really mean?
e word Shalom is a comprehensive word not easily translated into
English, because our word ‘peace’ is inadequate. It is used more than 350
times in the Old Testament. e fundamental meaning of shalom is
captured by such words as ‘totality’, ‘wholeness’, well-being’ and ‘harmony’:
It covers a wide range of other meanings though too: being without injury,
undivided, a satisfactory condition, bodily health, prosperity and
abundance, successful completion of an enterprise, justice, deep spiritual
contentment12 (see PowerPoint). All that is covered by the word Shalom.
e concept is positive and proactive: Shalom is not just absence of
hostility, but enjoyment in one’s relationships. To dwell in Shalom is to
enjoy living before God, to enjoy living in one’s physical surroundings, to
enjoy living with one’s fellows, to enjoy life with oneself.13 It literally
means salvation in its Old Testament usage. If a person or nation has
Shalom, no lack exists in any direction, whether personal or national. It
has to do with community and means total harmony within the
community. It is founded upon order and permeated by God’s blessing.
Shalom makes it possible for people to develop and blossom, to be free
and unhindered in becoming what God meant them to be. Shalom is the
gift of Yahweh. Indeed, there is no Shalom apart from God. Because
God is the supreme ruler of the universe, all true peace originates with
him. What’s more, God himself is Shalom, as Gideon proclaims! (see
PowerPoint)

The Integral Mission of the Church 8 Living the Story Series

 So if God is Shalom, as Gideon proclaims, how then can we imagine
this relational God to be?
Allow students time to respond.

In other words, then, God is an eternal relationship capturing the true and
fullest meaning of Shalom. A relationship in which love, care, justice,
passion, care, understanding, respect, kindness, giving of self, seeking the
best for the other etc. abound. A relationship so deep and encompassing –
it defies any description. God is one in essence but a community of being,
in which each person, while maintaining their distinctive identity, shares in
the life of the other two. e love of these three “persons” for each other is
so endless that they are one and three at the same time. is is what it
means: Yahweh is Shalom! is understanding of God has serious
implications for our understanding of ourselves, and for our Story, as we
will soon see! Indeed, one of the threads that makes the Bible one book
by tying the plots of the sixty-six books into an overarching grand plot is
God’s promise to Abraham that through his offspring, He plans to
establish Shalom and bless all the nations of the earth. In reality, Shalom
holds together Scripture and acts as primary integrating principle of the
story of God’s transformative mission – from Genesis through the
prophets to Jesus and finally to the Return of the King as described in
Revelation – where the Shalom community is called the New Jerusalem.

Now that we have established that God is a relational being in whom

Shalom abounds, we can turn to the second part of the first question:
What is God doing and what more does this tell us about who God is?

scripture study 2: what is god doing?

Divide students into the same groups of four to six. If the class is small,
do not divide. Have students read through Bible verses of Group Study 2
and discuss their answers to the questions.
25
minutes
Walk around and listen to groups. Select three to four students to report their
findings to the entire class. (Affirm students' efforts. Point out strengths.
Provide gentle correction if needed.)

Make sure that the following points are addressed. If necessary, add the
following insights after having 3-4 students report their findings, and asking a
couple of follow-up questions to draw out the following answers:

God created a universe too vast to imagine with worlds beyond this earth.
Already in Genesis 3:24 we hear of the Cherubim – Angelic beings –
fantastic, powerful beings. ese must have been created when God
created the heavens. So God created angelic beings, brilliant, shining and
awe-inspiring, myriads standing before their Creator in adoration – to

The Integral Mission of the Church 9 Living the Story Series

 serve him. Why is it, in nearly every record of angelic visitation, their first
words to us mortals are, “Fear not… Be not afraid!”? Real angels are
mighty, glorious, dreadful beings, more powerful than you can imagine.
While Genesis doesn’t say much about this part of creation, but goes on to
talk about the creation of the earth and humankind, this first verse let’s us
know that God, the Creator, created more things than we can ever
imagine, wrap our heads around, will ever know about. All these unseen,
invisible creations are summed up in the words: When God created the
heavens!14 So something happened before our moment on this stage.
Before humankind came the angels. We are not alone. e universe is
inhabited by other beings; we share the stage with other players.15

(Project first part of graphic ‘God’s Creation of the Heavens’ on PowerPoint.)

- what is this?

Creation unfolds like a great work of art, a masterpiece in the making.

Notice how creating builds and swells toward a climax. It begins with
uncut stone or a mass of clay or a rough sketch, “formless and empty” as
Genesis 1:2 has it. en it starts to take shape – light and dark, heavens
and earth, land and sea. Large, sweeping movements on a grand scale.
Next come the realms of forest and meadow. Tulips and pine trees and
moss-covered stones. Color, detail, finer lines. en follows the animal
kingdom in its vast array. Camels, penguins, your dog. Creation is
growing in precision and intricacy of form and movement and color.
Personality is woven through it all. And it is building to a crescendo.
en something truly astonishing takes place: God creates humankind.16
e God who created the entire universe also thought of – and created –
us. In his image he created us! e culmination of his creation!

(Project second part of graphic ‘God’s Creation of the Earth’ on PowerPoint,

excluding systems.)17 - what is this?

So as of now, we know that God created the heavens – including invisible

beings and creations beyond our imagination. He also created the earth –
all that we can see, examine, touch, study, hear, feel etc. Is that all though?
Unfortunately most theologians, churches, pastors and Bible teachers stop
here. And by doing so they miss an important part of God’s creation, and
in turn, of God’s intended role for humankind on earth.

Colossians 1:16 asserts that Christ was instrumental in the creation of

“thrones,” “dominions,” “principalities” and “powers”; along with “all things
in heaven and earth, visible and invisible,” they were created “in”,
“through” and “for” him. e powers were originally a divine creation and
were to find their goal in Christ. e powers did not just mean spiritual
powers – but as we see they included thrones and dominions – political,

The Integral Mission of the Church 10 Living the Story Series

 economic, religious, cultural, educational powers and systems. In other
words, social institutions are God’s creations and not simply human
artifacts. is is very crucial to understand!18

Indeed, if we read John 1:3 we see that ALL things were made through
God. It means that without God nothing was made that has been made.
So God didn’t just create the visible world as we see it, plus the invisible
world of angelic beings. He created ALL things. In heaven and on earth!
He even created the thrones, powers, principalities and dominions –
including the political, economic, religious, cultural, educational etc.
systems! Indeed, human institutions and social structures are part of
creation, since we cannot separate people from the social systems in which
they live. So ALL of these were created by God to bring glory to God!
ey were created by God because they are necessary to a human life in
community. ey were created to enable humanity to structure their life
together, to thereby create a paradise for all, and thus bring glory to God.
For instance: (Project graphic of triangle plus explanations on PowerPoint.)

• e economic system was created to steward responsibly and justly the

natural and human resources of the world, and to encourage men and
women to be productive, using the gifts God has given to create wealth.
• e political system was created by God to encourage kingdom ethics
and to bring a creation order into the management of human affairs, an
order based on justice and peace.
• Finally, the religious system was created to bring the nations and their
institutions and peoples into relationship with God.19

So all of Creation, including the visible, the invisible and the systems and
structures were created to make God joyful. To bring him joy by seeing
his creation living joyfully. Like a parent who is joyful, when s/he sees her
child happily enjoying life!

(Project the whole graphic ‘God’s Creation of the Heavens and the Earth’ on
PowerPoint, including systems) - what is this?

group discussion and summary: who is god and what is

he doing?
Bring students together to engage in the following summary discussion:
So what does all of this say about God?
15-20 Have people share insights and write them on the whiteboard. Add the
minutes
following three insights to the discussion, if it is not mentioned:

God is powerful! He speaks – and things happen! He speaks and things

that never were before now are! rough his words, inexistent things

The Integral Mission of the Church 11 Living the Story Series

 become existent! So God acts in the world through His word. His word is
a powerful way of indicating the outward expression of God who speaks,
an extension of the speaker’s self!20 Later in the Story we will see how his
Word becomes flesh and dwells among us!

God is creative! e universe testifies to the great creative power of God.

He is like a master artist who is thrilled to create works of art. Works that
inspire. Works that take on a life of their own.

God is a loving fellowship filled with Shalom! A being who likes to share!
God didn’t need to create the Creation. He was doing fine in his
Fellowship of One-ness. He was fulfilled. He didn’t need anything beside
himself! Shalom abounded! Yet, the creation of humankind demonstrates
the great love of God. e Trinity always experienced loving relationships
among themselves and created the world out of the overflow – the desire
to share the grace and love of its Shalom community with Adam and
creation.21

Having heard all that we saw in Genesis about who God is:

Do you believe that God cares just about one part of his creation?

Is he concerned exclusively with individual salvation; the souls of

human beings?

Or does God have a social conscience and care about all of his creation,
the visible, the invisible and even the systems and structures he created
to keep his creation functioning well?

Allow students to respond.

It is important to see, that God – the Creator of all things visible and
invisible, of the systems and structures – has a deep love and concern for
his entire creation. Not just for one part of it. In other words then, God’s
agenda is enormously vast, as vast as creation itself – the visible, the
invisible and the systems and structures created to uphold his intentions.

lecture: the biblical understanding of humankind: who

are humans and what is their role in creation?
One of the deepest of all human longings is the longing to belong, to be a
part of things, to be invited in. We want to be part of a fellowship. Aren’t
5
the greatest joys and memories of your life associated with family,
minutes
friendship, or falling in love? Aren’t your deepest wounds somehow
connected to someone also, to a failure of relationship? Loneliness might

The Integral Mission of the Church 12 Living the Story Series

 be the hardest cross we bear. Why else would we have come up with
solitary confinement as a form of punishment? Beyond a doubt, to be
human means to be relational. We are relational to the core! Where did
that come from? It seems to me that it comes from the fact that we are
made, as it says in Genesis, in the image of God, or better, in the image of
the Trinity: “Let us make man in our image” (Genesis 1:26; Genesis 3:2222

Let’s look at a few of the key ideas that Genesis gives us regarding who
humankind is and what our role is in Creation. Like with God, this is not
an exhaustive analysis of humankind’s identity and our role. Nonetheless,
Genesis gives us some crucial insights into who we are and what God has
called us to do, that are foundational if we are to understand the whole
Story and our part in it – i.e. in what ways God wants us to participate
with him in writing his story.

scripture study 3: who are humans?

Divide students into the same groups of four to six. If the class is small,
do not divide. Have students read through Bible verses of Group Study 3
and discuss their answers to the questions.
xx
minutes
Walk around and listen to groups. Select three to four students to report their
findings to the entire class. (Affirm students' efforts. Point out strengths.
Provide gentle correction if needed.)

Make sure that the following points are addressed. If necessary, add the
following insights after having 3-4 students report their findings, and asking a
couple of follow-up questions to draw out the following answers:

God himself was the pattern, the model. ough other parts of creation
reflected his glory, it was only in humankind that God placed such a rich
reflection of himself!23 is means that humans have a special value. e
Psalmist even says that we are the crown of God’s creation. at means
we are of immense value to God. What’s more, it is the divine image in
humankind which gives us and intrinsic dignity or worth, a worth which
belongs to all human beings.24

Both men and women are created in God’s image and both are of equal
value! Neither men, nor women are of greater value.25 is is very
important to understand. According to Genesis, no hierarchy exists
between men and women. Both are equal before God. Interestingly,
Genesis is the only creation account of ancient literature that gives women
such a prominent role. In other words, the Bible contradicts any macho
bearings. Machismo is not rooted in the Biblical text; it is not part of
God’s intention for his Creation. In fact, it contradicts God’s intentions,
who created a world meant for Shalom. Machismo – as we will see in a bit

The Integral Mission of the Church 13 Living the Story Series

 – is the result of sin! What’s more, we cannot conclude from Genesis that
the woman was inferior, either by nature or by function. at she was
created to be man’s ‘helper’ (Gen 2:20) does not mean that she must be
‘subject’ to him. e word ‘helper’ is used elsewhere for God, describing
him as Israel’s ‘help and shield’ in time of trouble.26 In other words, the
woman was called to stand side by side with the man as they co-ruled
creation. She was not to be used, exploited, hated, or feared: she is Adam’s
God-given companion.27

Created in the image of God, people were given attributes of God’s image
at a much higher level than he gave the rest of creation, including these:

• Human Dignity and Worth: e fact that we’re created in the image of
God defines our value. Our value is not found in our abilities,
appearance, intelligence, or wealth.28 It means that all humans are
created with dignity and as equals. is means that torture, abuse, rape,
exclusion, and grinding poverty, which dehumanize human beings, are
also an insult to the God who made them.29 All racism, discrimination,
exploitation, oppression, abuse are thus contrary to God’s intention for
humankind. It follows that we are to take a stance against racism,
sexism, class-ism and all other forms of discriminating and corruptive
behaviors.

• Relationships & Servanthood: ability to form intentional, purposeful

interaction with people, nature, and work; and act in loving,
compassionate selflessness toward others:30 It implies that as image-
bearers of the triune God we are to reflect and act out God’s character as
his covenant partners; we were created to be in loving, self-giving, just,
caring, passionate, understanding, respectful, kind relationships with
God, others, creation and ourselves. e purpose of our being is thus not
just of individualistic nature, but has a strong corporate dimension. Like
God, we are defined by and through relationship. In fact, we cannot
reveal God’s image and likeness apart from a relationship with him.
And so we are intentionally placed in a system of relationships: with
God, with self, with community, with those perceived as “other”, and
with our environment. is is our identity. Community is rooted in the
order of creation itself. What’s more, humans were created out of the
essence of God, yet are always dependent on God as their Source. As
human beings, we are not self-sufficient, even though we would like to
think we are. We cannot reveal God’s image and likeness apart from a
relationship with Him. We were intended to reflect God’s nature in the
context of being continually connected to Him in fellowship.31

• Creativity: ability to make something new and to work: Creativity is

part of God’s own image that He put in us. We cannot make something
from nothing, as God can, but we can make beautiful, useful things from

The Integral Mission of the Church 14 Living the Story Series

 what he has made. Our minds are great resources, which we can
creatively put to action to use what God has given us for the good of all.
It is interesting to note that when God said – Everything is very good! –
the Hebrew doesn’t use the word “perfect”. e world was created was
good, even very good. But it didn’t say perfect. Perfect is more of a
Greek concept. Perfect has the baggage of Greek idealism: ideal,
unchanging, complete, fully formed. But that’s not the universe that
God creates. In other words, there’s room for further creative works.
Indeed, since God is a Worker, work is part of our calling to be fruitful.
God is productive and thus it is in our nature to be productive. Work
then is a responsibility. It also follows that we have a responsibility to
enable or allow others to work so that they can fulfill their purpose.32

• Language, Knowledge and Discernment: ability to communicate ideas

and abstractions through words and discriminate between constructive
and destructive alternatives: We can have a true knowledge of God – a
knowledge that transcends mere information about God to actually
knowing Him and relating to Him as a Person – the essence of all
Good. We can communicate with God, because both God and us have
personality. Since we can do that, we also have the ability to discern
beauty and discriminate the Good from the Bad.

scripture study 4: what has god called humankind to

do?
Divide students into the same groups of four to six. If the class is small,
do not divide. Have students read through Bible verses of Group Study 2
xx and discuss their answers to the questions.
minutes

Walk around and listen to groups. Select three to four students to report their
findings to the entire class. (Affirm students' efforts. Point out strengths.
Provide gentle correction if needed.)

Make sure that the following points are addressed. If necessary, add the
following insights after having 3-4 students report their findings, and asking a
couple of follow-up questions to draw out the following answers:

According to Genesis, we’re called to: Be fruitful; Increase in number; Fill

the earth; Subdue it; have dominion over it; Rule over every creature, over
all the earth; Work the earth; Take care of Creation; Name all creatures.
ese verses are generally referred to as the Cultural Mandate.33

God created humanity to carry out His purposes on earth. is is

humankind’s primary vocation. When God created humans in his image,
he gave them a free will. In this way, humans were given the ability to

The Integral Mission of the Church 15 Living the Story Series

 plan and make decisions, and then to take action to fulfil those plans, just
as God did in creating the world. Humans were meant to carry out God’s
purposes for the earth using their own will and initiative. ey were to
reflect the God who plans in advance and carries out his plans through
creative acts… Amazingly, then, humans were created not only to have a
relationship with God, but also to share God’s authority (see also Psalm
8:6; 115:16).34 ey were created as active, not passive, participants in the
creation because they are its co-creators, co-redeemers, and co-sustainers.
e creation is not finished until humankind accepts the divine gift of
exercising stewardship over it.35 We are here to be God’s junior partners
in creation. It’s as if God is the master artist and the world is a studio, and
God creates us in it to be God’s young apprentices, God’s students,
learning to create too.36 is brings us to an interesting fact that many
believers overlook today. God didn’t originally create humans for heaven;
he created humans for the earth. God is the ruler of heaven, and he made
humans to express his authority in this world. He said, in effect, “I want
what’s happening in heaven to happen in the created world; I want my
rule to extend to another realm, but I don’t want to do it directly. I want
humans to share my rule.37 God’s plan for creation was this: as God ruled
the unseen realm in heaven, humans would rule the visible realm on earth,
with God and humans enjoying continual communion through their
spiritual natures. In summary, God has committed himself, ever since
creation, to working through his creatures – in particular, through his
image-bearing human beings.38 He placed the legal authority on earth is
in the hands of humankind, and because of his integrity, he will not violate
the law of his word. Nothing will happen in the earth realm without the
active or passive permission of humans, who are its legal authority. e
Creator and the heavenly beings cannot interfere in the earth realm
without the cooperation or permission of humankind. Indeed, even God
must obtain the agreement and cooperation of a person for whatever
reason he desires to do in the earth.39

Since God is the owner of everything, the whole world, and all that live in
it, we are stewards. Called to take care of God’s creation. “God has
entrusted the earth to human beings to be responsible for it on God’s
behalf. ey should work as God’s stewards in the creative, faithful
management of the world, recognizing that they are responsible to God
for all they do with the world and to the world.”40 Indeed, God’s placing
Adam “in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it” (Gen. 2:15)
takes on significance when we realize that the Hebrew word for
“keep” (samara) is a military term. is indicates that since Creation the
powers have sought to usurp God’s rule over the earth and that God’s
intent in Creation was to call forth a people who would participate with
him in its reclamation. is world needs to be guarded lest its rivers and
air be polluted, its forests and minerals depleted, and its living creatures
ruthlessly destroyed by destructive powers. Ecological responsibility

The Integral Mission of the Church 16 Living the Story Series

 comes within the cultural mandate.41 As God’s stewards on earth, then,
we are not to exploit the creation, but care for it and tend it like a gardener
tends his garden and works it so it can bear more fruit and be even more
beautiful and productive. Our calling or vocation is to be fruitful,
productive governors of God’s creation. To administer it justly. We are to
make a contribution that adds value; to participate in the work of
civilization. e biblical understanding of ‘ruling’ is very different than
the selfish ruling we often observe in humankind today. When we look at
Jesus we see how God intends humankind to rule the earth. Biblical rule is
not motivated by self-interest but by service and sacrifice.42

God didn’t go ahead and name the animals himself. No, he waited on
Adam to name them; and whatever the man called each living creature,
that was its name. Naming someone in that cultural context meant having
authority over them. So it seems that God gave humankind real authority.
Not just token authority. But real authority to govern and administer.
Humans are not mere marionettes that simply carry out the moves of the
puppet master. ey have been bestowed with creativity and have been
given dominion over the earth and all that is in it – including its systems
and structures.

If God truly gave humankind dominion over the earth – to take care of it,
to guard it, to administer it, to govern it, to protect it, to work it – if he
truly gave humankind authority and power, then it means that the world
stands and falls according to the way in which humankind administers
God’s creation. If humankind does as God proposes, things will go well.
However, humankind has also the capacity to govern the world in a way
that opposes God’s intentions – since God has given humankind real and
not just token power. e result is destruction and chaos. It seems, then,
that God has set his sight on humans; that he has decided to govern and
administer his world through humans; and that he will tend to work
through humans to accomplish his goals.

God’s plan is that humans be his representatives on earth. e first

humans were created as priests – to serve as God’s intermediary for the
earth. All of Adam’s descendants were meant to be priests. God wanted
Adam and his descendants to spread his will and his nature throughout
the earth, to administrate his kingdom by filling the whole world with a
single ‘nation’ of Spirit-led people.43

lecture: what did god intend with his creation?

So let’s summarize our findings about who humankind is and what we’re
called to do:
xx
minutes

The Integral Mission of the Church 17 Living the Story Series

 Humans are created in God’s image; to reflect and act out God’s character
as his covenant partners. Like God, we were created to be in loving, self-
giving, just, caring, passionate, understanding, respectful, kind relationships
with God, self, others and creation. Like God we are called to Shalom!

Humans have been given the task to administer and govern the earth as
God’s stewards – bestowed with creativity and real power. As we realize
our role, we are to freely exercise our gifts and use them as caring,
productive and responsible stewards, in order to create wealth and well-
being so that the common good is served for all of creation. As governors
we are also to create institutions and governing structures that give glory
to God and prove us to be true image-bearers of God. Indeed as any good
artist’s goal is to create a piece of art that in turn will create new things in
the imagination and mind of the spectator and even lead to actions, so it is
with God – the master artist. He created human beings with the
intention that they could expand and build on his creation, by creating
wealth and well-being as well as institutions and governing structures, that
would help bring about a quality of life for all; enable loving, self-giving,
just, caring, passionate, understanding, respectful and kind interactions; so
that all creation can enjoy life to its fullest. In short, humankind has been
given an impressive task!

After having looked at who God is and what he is doing; who humankind
is and what God’s intended role for us is – we can now begin to answer
the question: What did God intend with his Creation?

So what do you think? What did God intend with his Creation? (Use
this as rhetorical or real question). Let’s answer this question by listing
the givens:

If God is a Fellowship characterized by Shalom

+ Humans are created in God’s image
+ Humans are called to live, to administer and to govern this world in a
way that reflects God’s character
= We can deduce that God intended his Creation to reflect Shalom and
live according to Shalom Principles

Project graphic equation on corresponding PowerPoint.

So God’s intent for Creation was for it to experience Shalom and live by
Shalom principles. So as God’s stewards we humans are called to Shalom.
(See graph on PowerPoint.)

1. Shalom, hence is about a right, harmonious relationship with God, in

which one delights in his service.

The Integral Mission of the Church 18 Living the Story Series

 2. Secondly, it is about a right, harmonious relationship with self, in which
one delights in one's identity in God,
3. irdly, it is about right and just, harmonious relationships with other
human beings, in which one delights in human fellowship.
4. Fourthly, it is about right and just, harmonious relationships with
nature, in which one delights in one’s physical surroundings.44
5. Finally, it is about a right, harmonious relationship with human
institutions and systems, in which one delights in an order that affirms
God’s intentions.

is then is who God is, who we are, what we are called to, and what
God’s intention for the world is, according to Genesis, which tells us about
the beginning of our Story. In the following session we will address the
question: What went wrong? Because it’s obvious that things are not as
God intended them to be – beginning in our own lives, in our families, our
communities, our cities, our nations, our world. Yet, from what we have
seen today – God created a good heaven and earth – a good creation to
share the Shalom that was overflowing from him with. And God saw all
that he had made and it was very good! (Genesis 1:31).

homework assignment and application

Ask students to meet with their group of 4-5 people. In that small group
have them do the following:
xx
minutes
• Take a few moments to pray together and ask: “Lord, how would you
like me to apply what I have learned today?”
• After prayerful reflection, Brainstorm! Where do we identify evangelical
Gnosticism in our own lives and churches? What are specific ways that
we as individuals could begin addressing it and put this lesson into
practice this week?45
• Choose a personal application and share it with other members of your
group that helps advance God’s will being done “on earth as it is in
heaven” is is a “personal application”— but it may affect your family,
church, community, nation, or any sphere of society.46 Be prepared to
share what you’ve done next week in your group.
• Pray for each other that God may use this course to help you become
somebody who can influence others and help your church become an
agent of transformation in your community. Jesus said that he wants us
to bring much fruit, IF we remain in him. So remain in him and pray
for one another that God can use this course to help you grow in him.

The Integral Mission of the Church 19 Living the Story Series

 closing prayer
Ask a participant to close in prayer.

5
minutes

total time:
xx
minutes

personal notes

The Integral Mission of the Church 20 Living the Story Series

 endnotes
1 Adapted from e Harvest Foundation, Leadership Development Training Program,
Level I, 19
2 John Eldredge, Epic, 1-2
3 John Eldredge, Epic, 1-3
4 Maybe not with perfect clarity, maybe not in the detail that you would like, but in

greater clarity than most of us now have! We can discover the story – a story filled with
messages of hope and comfort, but also of pain, difficulties, and mistakes! True, it’s not
the only story that tries to explain where we are, who we are, and why. ere are other
stories, similar in many ways, but profoundly different too. However, if you get a feel for
this story we find ourselves in, I think you’ll come to realize that it has room for all the
other stories too. It doesn’t exclude them, or mock them, or despise them. It’s a story,
indeed, in which all other stories can find themselves too.( John Eldredge, 11; Brian
McLaren, e Story We Find Ourselves In, 24-25)
5 Bryant L. Myers, Walking With e Poor, 23
6 Quoted in Gary A. Haugen, Good News About Injustice, 69
7 Adapted from Gregory A. Boyd, Is God To Blame, 11-13
8 As with any story, we need to begin at the beginning. So let’s look at a few of the key

ideas that Genesis gives us regarding who God is and what God is doing. Genesis in fact
means “e Beginning”. Just a few words to Genesis. Genesis was written to a Hebrew
people who were trying to live as monotheists in a polytheistic milieu. eir neighbors all
around — the Egyptians, the Canaanites, the Babylonians and others — had their own
tales about the origin of the world, tales in which their gods were the star players. e
story of creation in Genesis 1 affirms that one God, the Lord God, created everything.
None of these pagan gods were involved in creation. So Genesis was not written to
answer the question, "How was the universe created?" It was written to answer the
question, "Who created everything?" is is its purpose. It implies that we should not
read Genesis with modern questions in mind, but ancient. It does not really talk about
science, which began in the 17th century. In other words, approaching Genesis with a
literalist scientific focus may actually distract from Genesis’ main message, which is: Who
is God, who are we, where are we, what went wrong, and how is God trying to address
this wrong? is is not an exhaustive analysis of God and God’s doing, however. Yet,
Genesis gives us some crucial insights into who God is and what God is doing, that are
foundational if we are to understand the whole Story. Online available at http://
www.postmodernpreaching.net/metanarrative.htm
9 BASICS Wholistic Discipleship: e Image of God
10 John Eldridge, Epic, 20
11 John Eldridge, Epic, 20
12 Arthur F. Glasser, Announcing the Kingdom, 130
13 Bryant Myers, Walking with the Poor, ?
14 John Eldridge, Epic, 43
15 John Eldridge, Epic, 30
16 John Eldridge, Epic, 42

e first three days of the week are the days of forming; the last three days are the days of
filling what had been formed. Together they describe creation as a reversal of the
"formless and empty" chaos described in Genesis 1:2. us, the description emphasizes
how the Lord God created the entire universe and everything in it: the sun and the moon
and the sea and the bulls (Online available at http://www.postmodernpreaching.net/
metanarrative.htm)
17 e biblical myth in Genesis 1 is diametrically opposed to other ancient creations

myths. In contrast to the Babylonian Gilgamesh Epos, for example, where the supreme
God, Marduk, murders and dismembers his mother, Tiamat, and from her cadaver creates

The Integral Mission of the Church 21 Living the Story Series

 the world, the Bible portrays a good God who creates a good creation. Chaos does not
resist order. Good is prior to evil. Neither evil nor violence is part of the creation, but
enter later, as a result of the first couple’s sin and the connivance of the serpent (Gen. 3)
Genesis 1, it should be noted, was given is final edit in Babylon during the Jewish
captivity there as a direct rebuttal to the Babylonian creation myth, where order is
established by means of disorder. Chaos (symbolized by Tiamat) is prior to order
(represented by Marduk, high god of Babylon). Evil precedes good. e gods themselves
are violent. (See Walter Wink, e Powers at Be, 46-48 for more)
18 “rones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers” – this it the formula Paul uses

over and over gain to describe the forces of evil throughout the universe. Evangelical
Christianity has automatically placed an “other-worldly” interpretation on this formula,
consigning what it describes to the supernatural world. But is that an adequate
understanding of Paul’s intentions? Consider what these words actually mean:
• rone: e throne is simply the institution of power in a state, city, or economic body.
Although today the “throne” of a country is found in its legislative, judicial, and
executive systems, the “throne” of Paul’s day was a literal chair of authority on a raised
podium, symbolizing the “seat” of authority.
• Dominion: A dominion is the territory influenced or ruled by the throne; it is the
sphere of formal influence of that structure of power. us the dominion of Mexico is
its 31 states and possessions and territories
• Principality: e principality or prince is the specific person who currently occupies the
throne. It can be the mayor of a city, president of a country, or chairman of an economic
institution’s board. e “prince”, or specific person, can and will change, but the throne
continues as long as that institution continues. is reality is captured in the British
ritual at the death of the monarch, when the people cry: “e king [i.e. the specific
person or ‘principality’] is dead; long live the king [i.e. the throne or office or state,
about to be filled by another person].”
• Power: e power of a throne comprises the rules, legalities, traditions, and sanctions
that legitimize the throne’s rule over that dominion and provides authority by which
the principality occupies that throne. us the “powers” that legitimize a company such
as the Mexican oil company PEMEX include its papers of incorporation, the bylaws
according to which it structures its activities, its products, and maintaining a
relationship of satisfaction with its customers. Removal of any of these powers would
seriously curtail the capacity of PEMEX to continue business. (Based on Robert
Linthicum, City of God City of Satan, 67-68)
19 Bryant Myers, Walking with the Poor, ?

e religious system has been created by God to bring the nation, city, religious
institution or family into relationship with God. For this is why corporate life – as well as
individual – was created: so that humanity might glorify God and enjoy God forever. e
political system was created by God to bring a Godly order to the institution – an order
based upon equitable justice for all as the inevitable outworking of a corporate deepening
of relationship with God. Finally, the economic system was created by God to steward
responsively the resources of the nation, city, business, church or family. God was
perceived as the owner of everything and the people as God’s trustees, caring for God’s
wealth by using that wealth to maintain economic equality and justice for all citizens.
(Robert Linthicum, Empowering the Poor, 106)
20 Donald McKim, eological Turning Points, 6
21 Bakke, A eology as Big as the City, 34-36
22 John Eldridge, Epic, 23
23 Bob Moffit, If Jesus Were Mayor, 75
24 Jayakumar Christian, God of the Empty-Handed, 67
25 BASICS Wholistic Discipleship: e Image of God
26 Arthur F. Glasser, Announcing the Kingdom, 35
27 Brian McLaren, e Story We Find Ourselves In, 36

The Integral Mission of the Church 22 Living the Story Series

 28 BASICS Wholistic Discipleship: e Image of God
29 Gary A. Haugen, Good News About Injustice, 10
30 Bob Moffit, If Jesus Were Mayor, 76
31 Myles Munroe, Understanding the Purpose and Power of Prayer, 30
32 Bryant Myers, Walking with the Poor, 27
33 e cultural mandate means embracing the basic concepts and directives for an ordered

and progressive society based on principles of sound morality and ethical monotheism.
(George W. Peters, A Biblical eology of Missions, 166-67)
34 Myles Munroe, Understanding the Purpose and Power of Prayer, 31
35 Bruce Bradshaw, Change Across Cultures, 108-109
36 Brian McLaren, e Story We Find Ourselves In, 40
37 Myles Munroe, Understanding the Purpose and Power of Prayer, 33
38 N.T. Wright, Simply Christian, 196
39 Myles Munroe, Understanding the Purpose and Power of Prayer, 14
40 Oxford Declaration
41 Arthur F. Glasser, Announcing the Kingdom, 38
42 Bob Moffit, If Jesus Were Mayor, 54
43 Myles Munroe, Understanding the Purpose and Power of Prayer, 72
44 Bryant Myers, Walking with the Poor, ?
45 Darrow Miller & Bob Moffitt, On Earth as it is in Heaven, 84
46 Darrow Miller & Bob Moffitt, On Earth as it is in Heaven, 6

The Integral Mission of the Church 23 Living the Story Series