Genesis 4 - Firmament

God's word, Genesis chapter 1, verses 6 through 8. Please listen attentively to the Word of God.

 

"And God said, 'Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.' So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. God called the vault 'sky.' And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day." Amen.  

 

First Day - Light and Time

Until last time, we examined one by one how God performed amazing reversals starting from the chaos, void, darkness, surface of the waters, water, etc., of verse 2 in God's creation process. Regarding darkness, light appeared on the first day. And He called the light Day. Time for humans and creatures began. And now He shone the light where life could exist. So this creation shows God building this entire universe for God's people—in Genesis, this would mean Adam, right?—for Adam and God's people, that is, He is creating. Now, by shining light on darkness, there is evening, but finally, morning comes. And that came to be called the first day.

 

Repetitive Nature of the 6-Day Creation Structure: Thematic Arrangement

Light and darkness, and day and night, appear once again on the fourth day of Genesis chapter 1. So what we can know is, seeing that this first day and fourth day are not separate events but are related and repeated once again, this creation was not intended to show a simple chronological order like first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, as we might think. Rather, through the structure of God's creation, it is showing something much deeper within it, and what the theme of that creation is, and through this, what purpose God intends to achieve—we learn that it is a very intentional revelation.

 

Second Day: Water and the Vault

And now the second day is the event of the passage we read today. That day also is an event that started from verse 2. Today, it's about water. "Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water." This was God's word on the second day. Here the word vault (firmament, expanse) appears.

 

Meaning of the Vault: Blue Sky, Solid Plate, Vast Space

This word 'vault' (Korean: 궁창 - gungchang) is extremely tricky to translate. Although it appears a few times in the Old Testament, it's not a frequently used word. When translating it into the Korean word "gungchang," the "gung" means sky, and "chang" means blue, so it was used as a word meaning "blue sky." So, what we can recall from the word gungchang is precisely the 'blue sky.' The kind of blue sky seen on a fine autumn day. However, the meaning of the word for vault in Hebrew does not solely signify the blue sky we see with our eyes, making it difficult to understand well. Not only in Korean but also in English Bibles, it's a word for which finding a suitable term is difficult. Because the word vault contains many different meanings.

 

First, separating water from water is called the 'vault,' but after separating the water from water, what came into being? Water on the earth came into being, and water above the sky came into being. Then what eventually was created? Space was created. Who came to live there? It became the space where we live. So, this event is not simply about dividing water from water, but God creating a space between the divided waters where all creatures could live. You can think of a house. After laying the foundation of a house, if you put a roof on it, what is created between the roof and the floor? The space where we live is created. Similar to this, this vault is a concept very similar to the roof of a house.

 

Since there is no suitable English word to express this, the King James Version (KJV) we know well used the word "Firmament." The word "Firm" intends to indicate something solid, something tangible. In Hebrew, the verb form of this word 'vault' means the act of beating a piece of metal with a hammer to spread it thin. So, because it's a word that includes the meaning of containing solid material, it was translated as "Firmament." However, another important meaning is that it also includes the sense of spreading this solid material thinly. That's why Bibles like the NIV or ESV sometimes translate it with the word 'Expanse.' It emphasizes the meaning of "spreading" something out. However, neither of these two interpretations fully encompasses the meaning of the vault. Ultimately, this 'vault' is a word that signifies building some structure, like creating a boundary above the sky, after making something materially. Since it actually looks similar to the process of making a ceiling, some translations used the word 'Dome' as the closest term. Like the Dome of a large sports stadium you often see, it describes the meaning that God made a huge Dome in the sky, placed water above it, and also placed water on this earth, allowing humans to live in the space created within.

 

Ancient Cosmology and the Vault

Even just hearing this explanation, the expression is so fresh that we can immediately tell it's quite poetic. Ancient Near Eastern peoples, including the Israelites, when thinking about this vault, always thought of something like a roof supporting this water. What this means is that when God created the vault, they didn't think of it in the concept of the blue sky we commonly think of in the modern era, but they were thinking of the meaning that He was establishing some kind of boundary. The Israelites of that time thought, 'When God made the vault, that big roof meaning a boundary was built above the sky, and finally we could live stably within it.'

 

Imagery of Creation and Architecture - Psalms, Amos

Then, listening to this explanation, you too will likely think that this vault of the second day is describing the process of building a house. Let's look at Psalm 104. "Praise the Lord, my soul. Lord my God, you are very great; you are clothed with splendor and majesty. The Lord wraps himself in light as with a garment; he stretches out the heavens like a tent and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters. He makes the clouds his chariot and rides on the wings of the wind." This passage is very literary, and some quite important expressive words appear here. For example, words like tent (canopy), or laying the beams of his upper chambers. Isn't it expressing the image of building a house? In the Bible, God's creation is described very similarly to the process of construction like this. He is building this universe as a single structure.  

 

The prophet Amos expresses it like this. "he builds his lofty palace in the heavens and sets its foundation on the earth; he calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out over the face of the land— the Lord is his name." Like this, many parts of the Bible explain God's creation as if building a house. Similarly, Genesis also explains it this way. God is using the word 'vault' in Genesis with the concept ancient people thought of, explaining the creation of this second day as establishing boundaries and constructing a house.  

 

Intelligent Design Theory and Its Limitations

Historically, when explaining this creation, one among numerous claims is "Intelligent Design theory." This theory asserts that creation was designed by some intelligent entity. To explain simply, it's like this. Let's say there are numerous paint cans of many colors. And you squeeze out all the paints and throw them up towards the sky. What is the probability that those paints mix in the sky and fall onto a canvas creating the Mona Lisa painting? It would be almost zero. Doesn't make sense, right? Just like that, the claim of Intelligent Design theory is that this universe was not created by chance, and this complex Earth, or the diverse existence called human beings, could not have arisen accidentally or naturally. This theory, that creation must be completed through excellent planning and design, sounds very persuasive to us as well. However, there are also many points difficult to explain here. For example, the most important concept in the theory of evolution, as you well know, is based on the same "chance" and "probability." That is, the core of evolutionism is recognizing probabilistically whether there is a chance for mutation, the factor of change, to occur in organisms, and that this change is not accidental. The fact that Intelligent Design also explains using a similar concept of probability shows that both theories are essentially arguments debating which has a higher probability of occurring, meaning Intelligent Design theory itself ultimately shows weaknesses. And a bigger weakness is that there is no proof the subject of intelligent design is God. To Christians, the subject of this intelligent design can naturally be said to be God, but to non-believers, one can firmly believe that superior aliens created this world. Therefore, Intelligent Design theory alone has limitations in explaining this creation.

 

The Bible's Focus: Purpose, Meaning, Relationship

In fact, what the Bible intends to say does not seem to be proving God's divine existence through the fact that an intelligent being named God exists and created these complex things. While the logic of this Intelligent Design theory can be one method of argument for us to confirm God's existence, it differs greatly from the method of argument the Bible fundamentally adopts. As revealed even when God speaks to Job, the Bible does not explain the specific reasons in detail. 'Do you know this? Could you possibly know such things?' God, the Bible, responds like this. He doesn't explain probability or how such things are possible. Rather, the way the Bible expresses it might be similar to this. It's not explaining how the Mona Lisa came into being as paints fell from the air, but explaining that there exists a being who can look at the created Mona Lisa and marvel. That is, no matter how well-made the Mona Lisa painting is, if there is no being who can look at it and be moved, that Mona Lisa has no meaning. In other words, the Mona Lisa painting itself is not important; what's important is that even if it's an abstract-like painting carelessly drawn by children with paint, He created beings who can look at it, feel something tremendous, and be moved.

 

Therefore, what I am trying to say here is not that we should be amazed because this entire universe is truly complex and precisely made, but that the Bible intends to say this universe was built with a certain meaning and purpose. It doesn't mean creation is amazing because it's intelligent or harmonious. These many stars are scattered across the night sky like that, but it's not about being amazed by the sheer number of those stars. Rather, if, looking at them, we cannot realize that the creation of this vast universe is related to us, and if there is no person who can feel that amazement and give thanks, what being would use it to give glory to God? Would ants look at the stars in the sky and give glory to God? Would beasts look at the sky and give glory, thinking, 'The God who made this is great'?

 

We still cannot know everything about how the Earth came to have its current form, how the Grand Canyon was made, even with astonishingly developed modern science. However, the Bible is not trying to answer our curiosity about how this amazing world came into being. Genesis already finished providing such an answer in 1:1. "God created the heavens and the earth." The end. What the Bible, this Genesis, says is that this visible world is not simply a visible world, but a world that moves us. Because God's glory is revealed in this created world. It's not just about feeling simply amazed or impressed; it's because God's love is earnestly revealed within it.

 

Design of Love

He didn't just create it; He designed it so that we could live, so that in this place of only chaos and void, He could let us live there. Design by an intelligent being, that's fine too. Such things might have come about because an intelligent being designed them. This complexity. However, I believe what Genesis intends to say is about the design imbued with God's love for us, rather than a detailed explanation of such an intellectual creator. Because of that, this Genesis comes across as truly moving to us. This creation is not just a simple event. It's not something God made after thinking about it alone for a moment. God clearly shows how much He loves us in every small part of that creation. From the creation of this light, that love is already revealed.

 

Second Meaning of the Vault: Water Separation and Preparation for Rain

If we have examined God's architecture as the first meaning of the event of separating water from water until now, the love of God seen in that event becomes even more certain when we understand the second meaning. That can be found precisely in the vault separating water from water. Humans just need water. If they can drink this water, they can live. But the Bible divides this water again into two. And this divided water is called sky. Let's think about water once more. Water already appeared in verse 2. What was over the water then? The Holy Spirit God was hovering. What did that word 'hovering' mean? It means "to flutter." This word is not frequently used in the Bible. In Deuteronomy, what meaning was it used for? It means an eagle protecting its young. So we can see the Holy Spirit fluttering over the waters, appearing as the One who protects and keeps all the created world, and the One who rules over it.

 

Then what is the reason for dividing the water into two? It is precisely to make that water into the form that can best protect it, best keep it, and best govern it. Do you understand what I mean? God is shaping this water into the best possible form, and that is precisely dividing it into two. What did ancient people think the phrase "water above the sky" meant? If you think they simply thought all the water was gathered there because rain falls from the sky, you are mistaken. If you read the Bible, you can see that people in ancient times also knew that rain falls from clouds. No one thought water suddenly fell from the sky. They all saw and realized it. Rain falls only after clouds appear. Therefore, the statement that there is water in the sky is a much more interesting expression than that.

 

Proverbs expresses it like this. It's the part where the wise one, that is, wisdom, appears during the creation of heaven and earth. "When he established the heavens, I was there; when he drew a circle on the face of the deep," wisdom, meaning Jesus Christ, the Creator. "when he made firm the skies above," meaning He calls the water in the sky the cloud-sky. So what does the water of the sky mean? It actually means clouds. "when he established the fountains of the deep," meaning the form of the water above the sky separated by the vault, expressed in our terms, is like rain clouds. "Rain Cloud," clouds that bring rain. For you and me, this expression doesn't actually carry much feeling. However, this holds a very important meaning. If this analogy were told in a central region where many farmers farm, those people would be able to feel much more. Because rain is extremely important for farming. For you and me, too accustomed to the city, rain coming might be annoying. Because we only remember getting wet, traffic jams on commutes, etc., when it rains. But if you grow tomatoes or peppers in your backyard, you quickly realize how much these plants love it when it rains.

 

Importance of Rain: Israel and Baal Worship

Let's go back to Moses' time. Moses is traveling through the wilderness with the Israelites. Finally, when they spied out Canaan to enter, that Canaan was a land flowing with milk and honey, and a rich land bearing grape clusters of enormous size. Why could that land be so rich? Because they farmed. The Israelites, who came from the rich land of Egypt, also knew well what a state of abundance was. Because they came from the Nile delta area, Egypt's granary. These very Israelites were people who had been doing large-scale farming in Egypt's granary. But now they came out into the wilderness. The wilderness is a land where nomadic peoples live, so they became a people who could not settle somewhere, farm, and harvest grain. But looking at Canaan, the people living there were living so well. What did these Israelites live on? They couldn't have lived without manna. Because they couldn't farm. The only edible things were the livestock brought out of Egypt, and slaughtering these livestock all at once could not satisfy the daily meals of this large population. Due to this, when the Israelites poured out complaints due to hunger, God sent quail. Try to imagine how they must have lived in that wilderness. How envious they must have been of those Canaanites who seemed to have everything in abundance. So, as soon as the Israelites entered Canaan, they couldn't drive out the inhabitants of the land, and instead, problems began to arise as they lived together with them. What was that? It was Baal. This Baal is precisely the god of rain.

 

God's Love: Creating Rain

From the time of creation, God knew that humans would live by cultivating this land, and because He planned it that way, He knew rain was important. Therefore, the Holy Spirit God, in the most amazing way of loving humans, creates the "water above." Not just living by drawing water that is only below and drinking it, but the Holy Spirit God created the very rain that allowed all the plants and vegetables, which enable us to live by the water coming down from above, to grow. He created it, following that word. Therefore, the Holy Spirit God came to give us humans what is most necessary. God is not a god who makes rain fall, but the God who created rain. And He is not a god who controls humans with it or demands offerings. Rather, it was the opposite. God created rain and sends rain so that we can live.

 

God's Grace Comes First

It was the same back then, but this is the point we easily misunderstand. We tend to think we serve God first, we think we must offer something to God, and I must devote everything I have to God. Of course, this is not bad. But because of the thought that such devotion and service must come from us first, our faith easily gets tired. Because you keep trying to burn what you have, it runs out quickly. Because the fuel we possess is so limited. The gods we create are all the same. They survive through war and struggle, then control humans, enslave them, and are beings who receive everything from them. Because they are gods created by humans after the fall, those gods are all objects of fear. Humans fear them greatly. So they are gods who might inflict harm anytime humans don't offer something. But the Bible begins by declaring that God rules, protects, and keeps everything for us. God calls that God's glory. When God says, "I created all this for myself," it's not talking about God's simple selfishness, but that God created this world for all creatures, and through all that was created, the creatures fulfill the purpose of God's creation—that is precisely God's glory. He gave the water of heaven for us. Therefore, God becomes the Father of Adam and us. That's why the Psalmist asked the rhetorical question, "What god is like you, Lord?" It is perfectly natural that gods other than God cannot even be called gods. Because the God of love truly did this work for you and me.

 

New Creation: Based on Love, Not Fear

This also becomes the correct meaning of creation happening to us today. For you and me too, a new creation is happening through Christ. This creation is not one meant to make us fearful, to make us offer something to God. It is not a creation for us to make something for God. It is the creation God gave for us. Therefore, the statement 'I am loyal to the Lord with all I have' does not mean that if I serve God by offering everything I have, God will look upon me and bless me. It's the opposite. God gave everything He had, even the life of His Son, to us. But if we worry that something bad will happen if we do something wrong to God, and believe in Jesus out of that fear, we are thinking quite wrongly. We believe in the God who did not spare even His Son, yet if we think we are punished and cannot enjoy blessings because we fail to offer something to that God, it would be the sin of treating what God has given us too contemptuously.

 

Loyalty and Faithfulness: Response to God's Love

Therefore, we must realize that God gave us everything, and God loved us. When the expression "I love God" flows out from us due to this, this is precisely called "loyalty." And such a state is called being "faithful before God." It is sincerely confessing, "I love that God!" God gave Himself and His kingdom to us. God speaks to us like this: "I am your inheritance. You possess Me." So we also say this: "I too am the Lord's!". The Lord speaks again: "I am in you, and you are in me."

 

God's Confession of Love: The Language of Creation

Don't you feel a slight emotion even when you hear similar dialogues in dramas you commonly watch? Don't those cheesy lines appear in dramas? For example, 'You are in me.' Such cringe-worthy lines. How do you feel when you hear such words? But similar cringe-worthy expressions appear so often in the Bible. You often pass them by without knowing. However, the Bible is a book filled from beginning to end with those cringe-worthy expressions. God speaks, right? "I am in you, and you are in me!"

 

Let's recall a drama or movie. Let's say the lead actress had a big fight with the male lead and left home. The regretful woman calls the man. "Can't I come back to you?". The man who hears this replies, "Don't come back!". As the woman hangs her head powerlessly, the man speaks again. "Idiot, don't come back, just come straight here!" Makes you cringe, right? Watching such dramas, one sometimes wonders what kind of writer created such cheesy lines. I'm saying that such cringe-worthy expressions appear first and very often in the Bible. Read the expressions God uses towards you, which seem half-revealing, half-concealing His inner thoughts. "I made the vault!" Then what should you read? You should hear God's confession of love: "I will send down upon you boundless rain of grace, rain of love." Creation is God's confession of love. And because He wants us to know that, He left it as a record.

 

Third Meaning of the Vault: Sky and the Third Heaven

If you have confirmed God's love in the separation of water from water, the part we examine now is even more amazing. The vault was called sky, but this sky is not the third heaven we often speak of. It is the first and second heavens. Expressing the first and second heavens similarly using today's terms, the atmosphere where birds, airplanes, etc., fly is the first heaven, and the second heaven can be said to refer to the universe where the sun, moon, and stars exist. What is outside the atmosphere is precisely the second heaven.

 

Imagery of the Vault and the Tabernacle/Temple

But this vault has a very important role. It's not just the role created by the first and second heavens. Isaiah 40:22 has these words: "He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in." There is a very noteworthy expression here. The statement that God sits enthroned on the vault. And He said He spread it out like a tent to live in. Then, if it's a tent where God sits and dwells, what comes to mind? A tent, and the place where God dwells and sits! Where would that be? The tabernacle. Yes, precisely the tabernacle. He is thinking of this universe like the tabernacle now. Meaning, this creation God is making is like constructing a building like the temple where God dwells. Then what role does the vault play within that? He says it plays a role like a curtain. He says it plays a role like a curtain, spread out like a canopy.

 

Now, some of you might have already gotten the sense. Let's examine just a little more. It's a passage from the book of Ezekiel. "Spread out above the heads of the living creatures," referring to the four living creatures mentioned in the preceding verse. "was what looked something like a vault, sparkling like crystal, and awesome. Spread out over their heads." Above the heads of these four creatures, it says, a vault like crystal is spread out. And it expresses it again like this: "Above the vault over their heads was what looked like a throne," In this passage, it expresses that right above that vault is God's throne. "of lapis lazuli, and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man." So it speaks of God, expressing Jesus Christ, like a son of man, being upon it.

 

The Vault and God's Throne

Hearing these words, there might be one book that comes to mind. Precisely the New Testament's Book of Revelation. There are similar words in Revelation too. Four living creatures appear, a throne appears, and there is a sea of glass, like crystal, and in the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, covered with eyes, in front and in back. "Sea of glass, like crystal," "throne"—these all show the same content. All related to God's throne. Right now, the heaven above the sky, and above that is God's dwelling place, the throne is there, and God's presence is together upon it. Speaking in terms of the tabernacle, this precisely refers to the Most Holy Place. The place where God's throne is! It means this presence of God was together at the time of creation. Isn't there a vault? He made the vault. Then where is the throne meant to be? Right above that vault. God's dwelling place is together upon it. Meaning, even when God created the universe, God was present upon the vault He created, and He is saying God was together even at creation.

 

Role of the Vault: Separation and Delay of Completion

However, there is something more important than this. Nevertheless, the sky indicated by the first and second levels and the heaven of the third heaven, the heaven above the heavens, are not yet united as one. What is between them? The vault is there. There is a gate of heaven. The vault exists. It shows that this creation is not yet complete.

 

Tearing of the Veil and Christ's Ascension

When humans disobeyed God and pursued their own greed instead of holiness, a huge curtain appeared in the tabernacle. Thus, the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place were divided, and the priest could only enter the Most Holy Place once a year. And there, blood had to be sprinkled on the mercy seat, signifying the throne, for atonement. But the eternal High Priest came. And He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, forever. We know well the meaning of that ascension. As you well know, when Jesus died on the cross, that curtain was torn from top to bottom. Because the Lord entered before God's throne with all our sins. The writer of Hebrews says it like this. "Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin." Now, listen carefully from here. "Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." How is this possible?  

 

New Creation: Opened Heavens and New Space

As examined, it's because Jesus pierced through that vault, tore that curtain, ripped open the heavens, and ascended into the Most Holy Place once for all. With whom did He go? He went with us. That's why we too approach the throne of grace with confidence. The vault opened, and the gate of heaven opened. The curtain of the Most Holy Place was completely torn from top to bottom. Now heaven has come upon us. I hope you will think a little more deeply about what this means. When God first began building the house, He first made the vault, and naturally, space came into being. That was precisely the space for us to live. But as that vault was completed, this sky, meaning the heaven above the heavens and the other heaven, began to integrate as if they became one.

 

Eternal Time (Eternal Life) and Eternal Space (Kingdom of God)

Meaning, the space we live in has changed. You and I are no longer people who live only in the space belonging to this world. Don't think complicatedly. We live in this world for 100 years at most, or a much shorter life than that. Like this, we have limited life. Because when God created the world, He also created our time together. But when we are called to completion through the new creation by Jesus Christ, eternal time, that is, eternal life, comes upon us. So from then on, we began to live not only the time of this earth but eternal time. That's why we came to understand the meaning, as Jesus said in the Bible, "though they die, yet shall they live." However, not only time changed like that, but the Bible says space was also created like that. Therefore, you and I exist not only in the space belonging to this earth, but we have come to dwell in the eternal space called the Kingdom of God. That's why the Kingdom of God came to be within us. You and I have now become people living not only in the space created by the vault but also in God's eternal space. We are no longer bound only to the space existing on this earth. Because the space within this world is not our end. We have come to live in the space of the Kingdom of God, the territory of the Kingdom of God. Not only that, but because we ourselves became the space where God dwells, we are called the temple.

 

Unification Begun Within Us and the Kingdom of God

Earth and heaven began to meet within us. Now, on the day Jesus Christ returns, true cosmic unification will be achieved. But where does that unification begin? It begins right within us. Are you living now enjoying this graceful thrill? If you believe in Jesus, you should feel this fact and live enjoying it. Because a new space has been created for us. Living this eternal time is called eternal life, and living in that eternal space is called living the Kingdom of God. What happened to us who believe? We have gained a space within this new space that enables us to overcome sin. You and I have come to dwell in the space of victory where God has proclaimed victory. We have simultaneously gained time and space that death cannot invade. Speaking more proactively: we have finally come to live in a space where we can love. We have come to live in a space where we can forgive. The space of life lived solely for my success is not everything; the space where failure is impossible, where God's victory can be enjoyed, has been given to us, and we have begun to live within it. That is precisely the Kingdom of God. In the Kingdom of God, failure cannot exist. In that kingdom, death cannot exist. Hatred and envy cannot exist either. That very kingdom, that space, has begun within us.

 

Life of the People of God's Kingdom

Because the amazing space begun within us is such a place, the way we live cannot help but change. Now it is not my own space within this world, that space of sin, but God's space. Eating and drinking are also done in God's space, and therefore, now everything is done for the glory of God. If you live in America and pay a lot of taxes, does Korea become rich? Doesn't make sense. If we pay taxes in this country where we live, America becomes rich. Likewise, if you live in God's space in God's grace, that Kingdom of God becomes abundant within you. It becomes a perfectly natural thing. Every time you eat and drink, it becomes God's glory.

 

When Korea was poor in the old days, American food obtained from places like the goblin market (black market) was so precious and delicious. There were times when people tried really hard just to get one of those. But even if you eat the cheapest food in the Kingdom of God, it is something God made. Everyone! Do you know how tremendous it is to believe in Jesus? Because after believing in Jesus, Jesus' time and Jesus' space began, even if you eat the most miserable things on this earth and live in harsh places, you achieve God's amazing grace and God's goodness. How amazing is this! This is the life of a believer.

 

Live the Kingdom of God Even Amidst Difficulties

Therefore, even if our day is tiring, it's the Kingdom of God; even if we fall, it's God's embrace. So please live with your heart at ease. We all know that this is a very difficult time. But no matter how difficult, precisely at that moment when all worldly affairs seem unbearable, that very place is our God's embrace. Therefore, we must compose ourselves in that place. Because we must show the world that we are living that Kingdom of God. Because this space is where you must fight. You are now fighting in God's embrace. You are advancing towards victory in God's embrace. In God's embrace, in the Kingdom of God, rely on the cross; in the Kingdom of God, forgive your neighbor; in God's space, love your neighbor. Therefore, the spaces and times of this world cannot bind us. Material possessions cannot bind me either. Because you are people living in a different space. Health cannot make me collapse either. Any events that hurt my heart and my pride cannot shake me in this space of God. No matter how many people hurt my pride, because God praises and acknowledges us in God's space, we have no need to despair in that space. No matter who picks a fight, there's no need to be upset. That's why forgiveness can begin from us. Although the Kingdom of God began on this earth rife with conflict, we all know. This kingdom will eventually be completed. We know too clearly through the cross and ascension of Jesus Christ that the One who began this creation for you will bring about this completion.

 

Conclusion and Exhortation

Dear friends, where do you live? What time are you living in? Live the Kingdom of God, just as the Lord said.

 

Closing Prayer

Let us pray! Loving Lord, today through the meaning of the water separated by the vault, we examined how greatly You loved us, and we confirmed from the scriptures what the Lord is achieving through this kingdom, and through Jesus Christ despite our fall. If the cross of Christ is this tremendous, Lord, help us remember a little more that we are not beings belonging to the space of this world, but are now living as those belonging to the Kingdom of God. Let that be our joy, and let it become true comfort and delight. At the same time, as those living in that kingdom, worthy of the people of that kingdom, let us remember the life of true God's people who always remember God's pleasure and God's glory, and walk alertly. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.