31 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. 1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2 And on the seventh day God finished
his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. (Genesis 1:31-2:2–ESV)
So, long, long ago God built the heavens and the earth and then he rested. The place was built and the people were built. The people, though, were untested and untried. Would they accept God’s pattern and live forever? Well, we know how that turned out. Oddly enough, it turns out that God knew what we would decide, counted the cost to himself and did it anyway. If you are a mystery lover there you have the mother of all mysteries.
That mystery is not the trajectory of this lesson though. The arc of this lesson will launch up out of the concluding words of Ephesians 2.
19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In
him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:19-22–ESV)
God builds with people, not stuff.
If you look back at the 10th verse you will see that Paul said people are God’s workmanship. He concluded that sentence with a thorough infusion of purpose. God purposed to make a group of people who would do good things, things God prepared in advance to be done. That section addressed the split between God and man.
The next section addressed the split between the Jews and the Gentiles. In the widest reality, God had been working with Gentiles from the outset. Adam and Eve were not Jews, just the first in God’s image. It was midway through history where God launched the Jewish nation carving out a people whom he would set on a path to be his very own, eager to do good.
Richard A. Ulrich, MD says
This passage is an excellent reminder that as unique (albeit small) members of God’s Kingdom, we each have an essential part proportional to our faithfulness and obedience. Romans 12 emphasizes this perspective. In the current “Explore the Bible” series, Joseph’s brothers abused and rejected him. It took years before Joseph understood that his brothers meant it for evil, but God for good. Even in conflict, we best exhibit our contribution and importance in serving Christ by “not being weary in well doing.” [Gal 6:9] After all, “patience is the queen of virtues.” RAU