TITLE: The Work Ethic in Perspective

TITLE: The Work Ethic in Perspective

TEXT: Genesis 2:1-2THEME: Your Work has intrinsic value in that it models the nature of God.

How does work model and reveal the nature of God?

I. God’s work reveals something of who He is God works and we see it.


A. God works and we see it.

Genesis 2:1-2

Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. 2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.


A. God works and we see it.1. It is evident in creation. (Psalm 19:1-4)

Psalm 19:1-4

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.2 Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge.3 They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them.4 Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.


A. God works and we see it.1. It is evident in creation. (Psalm 19:1-4)2. It is evident in scriptures


A. God works and we see it.1. It is evident in creation. (Psalm 19:1-4)2. It is evident in scriptures3. It is evident in Jesus (Col 3:15-17)

Colossians 3:15-17

15. The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.



B. God values the work of man.



B. God values the work of man.

1. Because it reflects His image.

Genesis 1:26

“Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.


A. God works and we see it.B. God values the work of man.

1. Because it reflects His image.2. He assigns man the role of Steward.

Genesis 2:28

God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

” On Philosophy.” Aristotle

“When thus they would suddenly gain sight of the earth, seas, and the sky; when they should come to know the grandeur of the clouds and the might of the winds; when they should behold the sun and should learn its grandeur and beauty as well as its power to cause the day by shedding light over the sky; and again, when the night had darkened the lands and they should behold the whole of the sky spangled and adorned with stars

” On Philosophy.” Aristotle

and when they should see the changing lights of the moon as it waxes and wanes, and the risings and settings of all these celestial bodies, their courses fixed and changeless throughout all eternity-when they should behold all these things, most certainly they would have judged both that there exist gods and that all these marvelous works are the handiwork of the gods.

“Metaphysics”, Aristotle

Aristotle went on to argue that there must be a First Uncaused Cause, which is God-a living, intelligent, immaterial, eternal, and most good being who is the source of order in the cosmos.

Romans 1:20

Ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature, namely, his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made"

Gary Habermas “Did the Resurrection Happen”

Flew argues that he went were the evidence lead him and that was to the belief in a God like that which Aristotle concluded.


II. Our work reveals something of who He is


A. Our work helps us discover God attributes.


A. Our work helps us discover God attributes. 1. The naming of the animals.

Genesis 2:19-20

“Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals.”

I. Our work reveals something of who He is

A. Our work helps us discover God attributes.1. The naming of the animals. Genesis 2:19-202. Work of a Scientist:


A. Our work helps us discover God attributes.1. The naming of the animals. Genesis 2:19-202. Work of a Scientist: 3. It taught Adam something was lacking- where was his equivalent?


A. Our work helps us discover God attributes.B. In our work we interact with God’s nature.

1. It shows God provides

John 1:3

“Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” Our work depends on God because the resources we work with were created by Him. He ultimately is the provider for everything we have.



1. It shows God provides2. It shows God is faithful



1. It shows God provides2. It shows God is faithful3. It shows God is powerful

Romans 8:19

For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. 22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.

“You get your own dirt."

“The Grand Design” Stephen Hawkins

Hawkings has said that because of the discoveries of science we no longer need theology or philosophy. Science, he argues, can explain the origin of the universe.


III. Man was created to glorify God and make Him known

The Westminster Confession

“The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.”


A. It is the primary objective of God’s work. (Isaiah 43:6-7)

Isaiah 43:6-7

“I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth—7 everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”


A. It is the primary objective of God’s work. (Isaiah 43:6-7)B. It should be the primary objective of our work. (1 Corinthians 10:31)

I Corinthians 10:32

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

The bigger our sense of entitlement, the smaller our sense of gratitude

• For example, the San Francisco Giants were once sued for passing out Father's Day gifts to men only.



• A psychology professor sued for sexual harassment because of the presence of mistletoe at a Christmas party.



• A psychology professor sued for sexual harassment because of the presence of mistletoe at a Christmas party.

• A psychic was awarded $986,000 when a doctor's CAT scan impaired her psychic abilities. You have to wonder about this third one:

APPLI CATION

• Because of His sovereignty God can use our blunders to paint a prettier picture.

APPLI CATION


• Recognize your work has value because we are fulfilling our role as God’s stewards.

APPLI CATION


• Recognize your work has value because we are fulfilling our role as God’s stewards.

• Know that God will ultimately redeem his creation just as he has redeemed us.

Randy Alcorn: A new heaven and a new earth.

All along God promises that we will live on a new earth in a new universe, reigning to His glory. Things to do, places to go, people to see, to God’s glory and our good… So, brother, may you use the platform God has given you to help the body of Christ see that the purpose-driven life lasts forever, and the central purpose doesn’t change. God’s purpose for us and the Earth itself will not end but will be always going deeper and always spreading broader to the glory of God

Randy Alcorn: A new heaven and a new earth.

We will behold wonders of God’s new creation beyond our wildest dreams. As his image-bearers we will shape Christ-centered civilization with astounding and delightful features. Forever delivered from the sin and death that once plagued us and our relationships, we will worship and work and rest and serve and laugh and feast and celebrate to God’s glory and our good.

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TITLE: The Work Ethic in Perspective