God's Design for Work
God’s Design for Work
Genesis 1:26-28:
26 Then God said, “Let us make man[a]in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
28And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Genesis 2:5-8, 15:
5When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground,
6and a mistwas going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground— 7then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.
8And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. 15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.
Colossians 3:22-25:
22 Bondservants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as peo ple-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord.
23Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,
24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.
25 For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality.
In the “Harmony of the Evangelists,” John Calvin wrote:
“We know that people were created for the express purpose of being employed in labor of various kinds, and that no sacrifice is more pleasing to God than when every person applies diligently to his or her own calling, and endeavors to live in such a manner as to contribute to the general advantage.”
Can we find fulfillment at work? Is it possible to find satisfaction in our labor?
Unless we see the intrinsic value or significance of our work, we will never find satisfaction in doing it. Unless we understand God’s intention for work, we will never find fulfillment in doing it.
I. In the beginning, there was work (Genesis 1-2)
⇒ God created (Gen. 1:1, 27)
⇒ God blessed (1:28)
⇒ God formed the man (2:7)
⇒ God planted a garden and there put the man whom he had formed (2:8)
The first two chapters of Genesis describe God at “work.” Genesis 2:2-3 used the word ( הָאכָל ְמmlkh), which is the common term for human “occupation” or “work,” to describe God’s divine activity.
“And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the sev enth day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it ho ly, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.”
This shows that “in the beginning,” God worked. God inaugurated work before the fall. Work, then, should not be viewed as a “necessary evil that came into the picture later” (Tim Keller). God not only pio neered it, but he was also pleased with it. After God saw all that he had made, he exclaimed, “it was very good” (Gen.31). Like all great work, God’s creation clearly and adequately shows the character of its Creator.
Application: The same thing with our work. Ted Key said, “Every job is a self-portrait of the person who did it. Autograph your work with excellence.” Just to clarify, our identity and self-worth are not deter mined by our work. Our identity as believers rest secure in who God says we are - We are his children (John 1:12); We are co-heirs with Christ (Rom. 8:17); We are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession” (1 Pet. 2:9). We are not our work but we show who we are through our work. The quality of our work reveals our understanding of who we are and who God is. Your work does not define you. But you show your worth as a believer through your work.
Success in this area begins by remembering your Creator and your divine design. Our work in God’s image begins with faithfully representing God.
Theological rationale for work:
1. God created and cares for all that he has made – Work has dignity because it is something that God does and because we do it in God’s. “No task is too small a vessel to hold the immense dignity of work given by God” (Tim Keller)
2. God calls work a blessing – “Work of all kinds whether with the hands or the mind, evidences our dignity as human beings – because it reflects the image of God in us” (Timothy Keller)
3. God commands/commissions his people to carry on his work – Only man is set apart and given a job de scription
* “The material creation was made by God to be developed, cultivated, and cared for in an endless number of ways through human labor.”
* Genesis 1:28 – “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over animals.”
* God soon charges Adam to “work” and “keep” (tend and watch over) the garden of Eden (2:15). Genesis teaches mankind to be stewards, rulers, and guardians of the garden.
You were created in God’s image, and because your Creator worked, he designed and equipped you to work. “If we fail to work, we wither” (Dan Doriani). Through our work, we can become the hands/ instruments of God to meet human needs for his glory.
II. God works through us (Genesis 1:28; 2:15; Colossians 3:22-25)
⇒ Can you say, “I was made for this!”? (Illustration: Sef)
⇒ What do you do? Why are you doing what you are doing? Some work to retire debts, to survive, etc. Have you ever seen a bumper sticker like this, “I owe, I
owe so off to work I go.”
⇒ Work is not an end in itself but a means to an end.
In Colossians 3, the Apostle Paul sets forth principles for the rule of God in our work. The word “obey” reminds me of God’s intention for work in Genesis 1-2. We know that Christ came to redeem us, even our work. Colossians 3 shows how the gospel (the life and work of Christ) affects/impacts our work. How do we exhibit the lordship of Christ in our workplace?
1. Obey God’s command wholeheartedly!
♦ What we do matters – “whatever you do…”
♦ How we do it matters – “work heartily/do it from the heart”
♦ Why we do it matters – “as for the Lord and not for men”
Working hard at our tasks from the heart brings glory to God. It is both hardwork and heart-work. We are to work with sincerity and singularity of heart. We are warned here against “eye ser vice” (performing tasks superficially and just going through the motions of service). Let us do what is ex pected not what is inspected (Illustration).
2. Realize that your work will be rewarded (“knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inher itance as your reward,” Col. 3:24a).
Paul speaks of the same thing in 2 Corinthians 5:10, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.” The point is that, all believers, though forgiven and saved, will have their works judged. God rewards our well-doing. For first-century bondservants, this is good news, because under the Roman law there is no inheritance that awaits them. “Your labor in the Lord is not in vain…” (1 Cor. 15:58). This ought to inspire and encourage us.
3. Know the real taskmaster (“as for the Lord,” Col. 3:23)
♦ Tremper Longmann III and David Garland stated, “It appears you are working for an earthly master; truth be told, you are serving your heavenly Lord.”
♦ Remember the one that you are ultimately to give an account to about your work. J. Ligon Duncan said, “All work done for the Master in heaven has dignity. It doesn't matter whether you are a member of a learned profession or do what is in the eyes of some, menial labor. Whether you are a street sweeper, a university professor, a member of one of the profes
sions. No matter what you do, it has dignity in the eyes of the Lord as it is done well.”
♦ Remember the example of Christ – Jesus completed his work. Jesus is both our model and motivation. We need to be aware of those things that contaminate our efforts and seek the Lord’s forgiveness for our poor, dishonest and shoddy work.
4. Worship God through your work (“You are serving the Lord Christ,” Col. 3:24).
In 3:24, Paul seeks to shape the perspective of bondservants to view their work as service “for the Lord” and as an avenue “to worship the Lord.” Christians should do all his work as if he were doing it for the Lord. Our Lord deserves nothing less but our best. We work to glorify him.
Do your work in such a way that you magnify the one who has set you apart to work for Him,
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through Him and FOR HIM.
I close with this interesting quote from John Coltrane, an American jazz saxopho nist (From Tim Keller’s “Every Good Endeavor,” 239-241):
“During the year 1957, I experienced, by the grace of God, a spiritual awakening which was to lead me to a richer, fuller, more productive life. At that time, in grati tude, I humbly asked to be given the means and privilege to make others happy through music . .. to inspire them to realize more and more of their capacities for living meaningful lives. Because there certainly is meaning to life. I feel this has been granted through His grace. ALL PRAISE TO GOD.”
Keller said, “Coltrane was once like everyone else. He had said deep in his heart, ‘If I get really good, if I’m successful, if people applaud and appreciate me, then I’ll know I'm significant; I’ll know my life is worth something.’”
After a meaningful encounter with Christ through the preaching of the Gospel, Coltrane was trans formed from the inside out. One night, after a particularly brilliant performance of A Love Supreme (a thirty two-minute outpouring of praise to God), Coltrane left the stage saying “Nunc dimittis” meaning “I could die happy now” (See Simeon’s narrative in Luke 2). Coltrane felt a mission accomplished (a calling found and fulfilled). After Coltrane experienced the power of the Gospel, he “had stopped making music for his own sake. He did it for the music’s sake, the listener’s sake, and primarily for God’s sake.”
Notice that if we rearrange our subpoints we would come up with an acrostic for WORK. • Work as our worship to God
• Obey God’s command wholeheartedly
• Realize that our work will be rewarded
• Know the real taskmaster (Jesus)
May God bless you by grace to do well in your work and so honor the Lord Jesus Christ. SDG!
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