There was evening and there was morning, the third day has arrived in the formation of you as a new creation.
It is only the third day. You are just a baby as a new man, so to speak.
Because of what God says, however, you are going to grow into a completely new heaven and new earth.
By what God says you are going to grow into the fullness of Christ.
1 Peter 2:2 (NKJ)
Therefore, as newborn babes,
desire the pure milk of the word,
that you may grow thereby.
Therefore, God also speaks on the third day of creation.
Genesis 1:11-12 (NAS)
God said, Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed,
and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit according to their kind with seed in them!
And it was so.
The earth produced vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their kind,
and trees bearing fruit with seed in them, according to their kind.
And God saw that it was good.
When I tried to imagine what this would have looked like, I pictured a landscape with large trees full of green leaves and with magnificent flowers and plants fully in bloom in the most beautiful colors.
However, this image is not correct at all!
Because…
Genesis 2:4-6 (NAS)
No shrub of the field was yet on the earth,
and no plant of the field had yet sprouted,
for the LORD God had not sent rain upon the earth,
and there was no man to cultivate the ground.
But a mist used to rise from the earth and water the whole surface of the ground.
When God said in Genesis 1:26 “Let Us make men in Our image, after Our likeness” He was not talking about Adam how he was at the time he was created.
For although Adam was probably made with a mature body, like the trees and plants, he was made as a seed to grow into the image and likeness of God.
God declared at the very beginning what Adam would be.
With the trees and all the crops and all of creation, it was exactly the same.
God declared the end from the beginning.
It says that the earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit according to their kind with seed in them.
But according to chapter 2 verse 4, nothing at all had yet sprung up from the ground before man was created.
Genesis 1:11-12 (NKJ)
God said, Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed,
and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit according to their kind with seed in them!
And it was so.
The earth produced vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their kind,
and trees bearing fruit with seed in them, according to their kind.
And God saw that it was good.
Genesis 2:4-6 (NAS)
No shrub of the field was yet on the earth,
and no plant of the field had yet sprouted,
for the LORD God had not sent rain upon the earth,
and there was no man to cultivate the ground.
But a mist used to rise from the earth and water the whole surface of the ground.
When God planted the seeds, however, He declared that those would become trees.
Everything was already in the seed to grow into a tree.
It was already a tree, so to speak; it just had to grow into it.
The same is also true for man.
We are made in the image and likeness of God.
That has always been in you.
Everything is in you to grow into the fullness of Christ.
You are already in the image and likeness of God, you just need to grow into it.
In the second video of this series, we had already learned that the earth is a picture of our heart.
God speaks so that the seed of His Word is sown in our hearts.
This seed can only germinate and begin to grow when it is fed with the water from above the firmament.
This water is the wisdom of God.
That is why no shrub was growing on the earth yet, and no plant had sprouted,
for God, the LORD, had not yet made it rain on the earth.
Through the water from under the firmament, the wisdom of men, the seed of the Word of God cannot grow.
Because of this earthly wisdom, only thorns and thistles can sprout in the soil of our hearts, as we can read in Genesis 3.
Genesis 2:4-6 (NAS)
No shrub of the field was yet on the earth,
and no plant of the field had yet sprouted,
for the LORD God had not sent rain upon the earth,
and there was no man to cultivate the ground.
But a mist used to rise from the earth and water the whole surface of the ground.
It takes the wisdom of God Himself for our hearts to bear fruit.
It takes the wisdom of God Himself for the earth to bring forth forth vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit according to their kind with seed in them.
That wisdom is depicted in the water from above the firmament.
When this water rains on the soil of your heart, you gain insight into the love of God and into your true identity.
Knowledge of the Word of God alone is not enough.
The Spirit of God hovers over the waters of your heart.
In a deep relationship with Him, your heart will be irrigated with wisdom and insight, allowing the Word of God to germinate and grow in your heart.
Ephesians 3:19 (BSB)
Then you, being rooted and grounded in love, will have power,
to comprehend the length and width and height and depth of the love of Christ,
and to know this love that surpasses knowledge,
that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
You can read about the change from the old creation to the new creation, which is the growth from the old man to the new man, throughout the Bible.
Different objects and events are mentioned in those stories, but the same language as in Genesis 1 is used.
The journey from Egypt to the promised land is a good example of this.
Deuteronomy 11:10-11 (BSB)
For the land that you are entering to possess,
➡️ your new heart / the new creation
is not like the land of Egypt, from which you have come,
➡️ your old heart / the old creation
where you sowed your seed and irrigated on foot, like a vegetable garden.
➡️ water from under the firmament / earthly wisdom
But the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess is a land of mountains and valleys
that drinks in the rain from heaven.
➡️ water from above the firmament / the wisdom of God
Beautiful isn’t it!
The whole Bible is full of who you really are.
It shows the way from your old identity to your true identity, your identity in Christ.
And…
WHOEVER IS CHRIST IS A NEW CREATION!
Whoever is in Christ has come to know God as He really is; not an angry God who destroys you when you make a wrong decision, but a Father, who loves you tremendously.
He knows what is good for you.
That is why He says:
Leviticus 26:3-4 (BSB)
If you follow My statutes and carefully keep My commandments,
I will give you rains in their season, and the land will yield its produce,
and the trees of the field will bear their fruit.
Isaiah 55:10-13 (BSB)
For just as rain and snow fall from heaven
and do not return without watering the earth,
making it bud and sprout, and providing seed to sow and food to eat,
so My word that proceeds from My mouth will not return to Me empty,
but it will accomplish what I please, and it will prosper where I send it.
Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree,
and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree!
And it shall be to the Lord for a name,
for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.
Would you like to discover how your growth continues into the fullness of the new creation?
In the next video, we explore the fourth day of creation.
On this day, God places the sun, moon and stars in the sky.
This again gives us amazing insights into the process of our growth into the fullness of Christ.
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