BEYOND THE SERMON

It's Hell, But Heaven's Coming

Message 4: Created for Heaven

Pastor Rod Meyers  •  Covington Community Church  •  Key texts: Genesis 1:1; Colossians 1:16 (NIV)

 

Message Overview

When you look up at the night sky — on the rare clear night in Seattle — how do you feel? Awe and wonder? Small, the way you did as a kid camping under a canopy of stars when you could practically see the Milky Way? That sense of wonder is not random. It is a holy reminder that you were created for heaven. God has set eternity in the human heart (Ecclesiastes 3:11), and our physical existence does not explain that piece of us at all.

With Part One on hell behind us, this message begins the four-part look at heaven at the very beginning: Genesis 1:1. Heaven is steeped in mythology; this series aims to answer where we are going, what we will do there, and what it is about. Today we look at how God created the heavens and the earth as sacred spaces, why He made us in His image, how Christ holds all things together, and what it means to come home to the One who made us for Himself. We were not created just to live on the earth, but to reflect heaven's glory right here, right now.

Key Scripture

 

 

Word Study: The First Seven Words

Genesis 1:1 is not just the opening line of Scripture; it is the foundation of reality itself. In Hebrew it is seven words — bereshit bara Elohim et hashamayim ve'et ha'aretz — and they form a kind of menorah, with God (Elohim) at the center of the lampstand. The Jewish community is about to begin the annual reading of the Torah all over again at this verse; what a place to start our journey into heaven.

 

Heaven and Earth: Two Spaces, One Story

God did not just create matter; He created meaning. He did not just create stuff; He created spaces — sacred spaces where His glory would dwell and where His creation would thrive in relationship with Him. Matter, space, time, existence, life: all of it in the beginning.

 

Here is the key thought: heaven and earth were meant to overlap. They are not rival territories, and they were never meant to be separate. They are two sides of one sacred design — a cosmic temple where the divine and the human meet. In the Garden of Eden the two spaces were perfectly aligned; God walked with His creation, and worship was direct (Genesis 3:8). When sin entered, the harmony was broken and heaven and earth were separated. Yet God's plan never changed: to bring us back, to bring us home, through Christ Jesus. That is why Jesus is the door (John 10:9).

"In my Father's house are many rooms… I am going there to prepare a place for you" (John 14:2-3). We cannot even picture our own place in the universe; imagine a multi-dimensional creation where God has built many spaces — and when God builds a space, He spares nothing. He calls the materials into existence, and He builds heaven for you. "What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard" — God has prepared it in advance for those who love Him (1 Corinthians 2:9).

Formed to Be Inhabited

 

God does not make anything meaningless. He creates for habitation: the heavens for His glory and the earth for His people. The whole universe is God's dwelling place, not a random laboratory of chaos; He brings order to everything between heaven and earth. Genesis 1 is the story of God preparing a home — a sacred living space filled with purpose. A builder does not construct a house to leave it empty, and we do not build churches to be admired from the sidewalk with a "don't touch the doily" note on the door. God formed creation and filled it with purpose: His presence, and the presence of His people. Heaven is a place people are going to live. We are not there yet — but we have met the bridge.

Made in His Image: Where Heaven and Earth Shake Hands

 

This is where heaven and earth shake hands. God made humanity as a bridge between both spaces; you were designed to live in both — and originally we did. Theologians call it the imago Dei, the image of God: a reflection of heaven within creation. That is you. Adam and Eve were a mirror image of God — and, we might think, of Jesus, the second Person of the Trinity. When our image was marred by sin, He was made in ours to be our kinsman-redeemer (Philippians 2:6-8; Hebrews 2:14-17).

• When you love, forgive, create beauty, seek justice, and show mercy, heaven's light shines through you.
• When sin and rebellion happen, the mirror cracks and heaven's reflection on earth goes blurry.
• But God is able to restore. The story does not end there; it begins there. His plan was to rejoin heaven and earth through His Son.

Hell was not created for you (Matthew 25:41). Heaven was. It is no mystery — you were created to inhabit that space.

The Heavens Declare

 

If creation has a voice, it shouts 24/7. Every sunrise preaches, every raindrop testifies (and Seattle has plenty of testimonies), every star is a sermon — and God knows them by name (Psalm 147:4). While we ask, "God, are You speaking?" the heavens answer that He never stopped. Creation is God's billboard. Only He can affect the cosmos the way He does; we can launch rockets, send men to the moon, and drink Tang, but it is His domain and His control. Unlike the stars, we sometimes miss a worship service. All creation worships, and as image-bearers we join the choir of the cosmos (Psalm 148:1-6).

The Cosmic Christ

Colossians 1:16 puts everything together. For in Him all things were created — in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible — through Him and for Him. Heaven, earth, creation, and purpose all find their center in Jesus Christ.

When Jesus was crucified, the Creator of the cosmos died. The second Person of the Trinity perished — momentarily, but truly — so that He could realign all of reality. One Man bridged the gap and restructured the whole cosmos, and His name is salvation. He is the architect, the glue, and the goal. He holds the galaxies in His hand and our hearts in His care (Colossians 1:17; Hebrews 1:3). He is thinking about the big picture and about every single person in the room, including those who have not yet come to Him.

 

Remember the time before you were a believer? Something seemed off — a connection missing, like you had spun out of orbit. Your soul's gravity was destined to revolve around the Son. From Genesis to Revelation the story has been heaven meeting earth, and that is what Jesus came to do: a Man from heaven who lived and died as a man to rejoin the two spaces. Jesus is the bridge, the new Eden, the living temple where God and humanity meet (John 1:14; John 2:19-21). When you walk with Him, heaven has already begun in you. You do not just have a ticket to heaven — you have a piece of it right now, and people see it when they meet you.

How Should We Then Live?

If heaven and earth were created as sacred spaces, and we are made in God's image, and Jesus is the bridge — how should we live? Francis Schaeffer asked the same question in a book by that title. Three simple callings:

Enjoy creation

"My church is nature" holds a lot of truth — He created it. Even the wood overhead in this building came from something God made. When you admire a sunset, laugh with a friend, or savor a good meal, say amen to God's goodness. He made it for us, and there are pieces of it we have yet to enjoy (1 Timothy 6:17; James 1:17).

Steward creation

We are caretakers of the world and of one another. Not just ecology, though we should — God calls us to tend, heal, and protect because His creation is sacred (Genesis 2:15). How we treat this space is how we will treat the space ahead of us. Human life is sacred because we bear the very image of God (Genesis 9:6).

Reflect heaven

When people encounter your goodness, generosity, compassion, and forgiveness, they get a glimpse of God's realm — a glimpse of God, who dwells in you (Matthew 5:14-16; 2 Corinthians 3:18).

Application: Come Home

• You were created for heaven and for Him. From Genesis 1:1 to Colossians 1:16, the circle closes: God created the spaces not to remain empty but to fill them with you.
• The same God who set the stars in motion formed you with intent. You are not an accident. You are a piece of art.
• The pictures of hell get your attention, but that is not what you were made for. Not your goals, your career, your comfort, or your retirement either — though comfort will be there. (Pastor Rod plans to visit your mansion through the back door for the best cup of coffee on the planet.)
• Maybe you have been trying to orbit on your own. God is calling you back into alignment — not angry, not far away, not calling from the edge of heaven, but up close and whispering in love. Come home. Heaven was created for you — for a purpose, for a reason, and not for a season but for eternity.

 

 

Reflection Questions

1. When was the last time you felt genuine awe looking at the night sky, the mountains, or the sea? Read Psalm 19:1-4 and Ecclesiastes 3:11. What was that wonder pointing you toward?

 

 

 

 

 

2. Genesis 1:1 begins with a house, places God at the center, and hides the Alpha and Omega — the cross — in an untranslated word. Which of these details speaks most to you about the God who created you, and why?

 

 

 

 

 

3. "Heaven and earth were meant to overlap." How does thinking of earth as sacred space — the outer court of a cosmic temple — change the way you see an ordinary Tuesday, your workplace, or your kitchen table?

 

 

 

 

 

4. Read Genesis 1:26-27. You were designed to live in both spaces and to reflect heaven on earth. Where is heaven's light shining through your life right now? Where has the mirror cracked?

 

 

 

 

 

5. Read Colossians 1:15-20. "When Jesus was crucified, the Creator of the cosmos died to realign all of reality." What does it mean to you that the One who holds the galaxies also holds your heart?

 

 

 

 

 

6. Enjoy, steward, reflect. Pick one of the three callings and name one concrete thing you will do this week to live it out — and one person who will get a glimpse of heaven because you did.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Further Study

• Genesis 1:1-2:3 — the whole creation account: forming and filling, order out of chaos, a home prepared.
• Psalm 8:1-9 — "What is mankind that you are mindful of them?" — crowned with glory, made a little lower than the angels.
• Isaiah 45:12-25 and Isaiah 66:1-2 — heaven as God's throne, earth as His footstool.
• Colossians 1:15-23 — the supremacy of Christ over creation and the church; reconciling all things through the cross.
• Ephesians 1:9-10 — God's plan "to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ."
• Revelation 21:1-5 — where the story is headed: heaven and earth made new, and God dwelling with His people.

Next in Part Two: more of what Scripture — not mythology — tells us about the place Jesus is preparing.