God Repented... But God Had a Plan
“God Repented… and Made a Way”
(From the Flood to the Cross – God’s Heart to Redeem His Creation)
Introduction
I believe in the God Who is The Father.
I believe in the God Who is The Word of God.
I believe in the God Who is The Spirit of God.
These three are One — in the same way a husband and wife become one in marriage, in the same way believers are made one by faith, and in the same way we are made one with God through the adoption of sons. They are three in total and utter unity. Tri-Unity.
Because of Who He is, I believe in God’s Kingdom.
Because of Who He is, I believe in God’s Plan.
And here’s the question I want to settle in our hearts this morning:
Does God have a plan?
Can God’s plan fail?
Is God committed to victory?
The answer is found all the way from Genesis to the Cross… and it might surprise you when we look at what happened after the flood.
I. The Triune God Is the Creator God
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.” (Genesis 1:1–5, NKJV)
Elohim — the plural name of God — created everything. The Father, the Word, and the Spirit were all present and active in creation. When God finished, He looked at everything He had made and said it was very good.
He created the heavens and the earth… and He created a family.
Do you believe this is merely an allegory of creation, or do you believe it is the actual account of creation?
What did God create? The heavens and the earth.
“Then God said, ‘Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind’; and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’ And God said, ‘See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food’; and it was so. Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.” (Genesis 1:24–31, NKJV)
When God created it all, He said it was very good. God gave man dominion over the earth and all animals and all growing things.
But man sinned. The ground was cursed. Death entered. And the imagination of man’s heart became evil from his youth.
But God had a plan.
II. The Flood and the Grieved Heart of God
“Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And the Lord smelled a soothing aroma. Then the Lord said in His heart, ‘I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done. While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, Cold and heat, Winter and summer, And day and night Shall not cease.’” (Genesis 8:20–21, NKJV)
By the time we get to Genesis 6, things had become so dark that God was grieved in His heart. The Bible says He repented that He had made man on the earth. It broke His heart.
So He sent judgment — a flood that destroyed the world that then was.
But watch what happens after the flood.
Noah builds an altar. He offers burnt offerings. And the Bible says the Lord smelled a soothing aroma. Then the Lord said in His heart:
“I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake… nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done.”
God repented.
He changed His mind about total destruction. He made a decision in His heart: “I will never again destroy every living thing.”
This is huge.
God could have said, “Man is too wicked. I’m done.” But instead, He chose mercy. He chose to preserve the earth and humanity so that His redemptive plan could continue.
The flood was judgment… but what came after the flood was mercy that opened the door for redemption.
This is the heart of God on display. He is not looking for reasons to destroy. He is looking for a way to redeem.
Because God had a plan.
III. The Noahic Covenant – God’s Unbreakable Promise
Out of that moment, God established a covenant — first with all creation, and then with Noah and every living creature.
This covenant was unilateral. God didn’t ask Noah to do anything to earn it. He simply declared:
- While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, day and night shall not cease.
- Never again will I destroy the earth with a flood.
This covenant still stands today. Every time you see a rainbow, God is reminding Himself and us of His promise.
Noah was not Jewish. There was no law yet. This was a covenant of common grace — God preserving the earth and all humanity so that the plan of redemption could unfold.
Who are Noah’s descendants? Everyone on the earth.
God blessed Noah and all of his descendants forever. You can eat meat. Just don’t eat blood. You can eat what you grow. Don’t shed innocent blood of other people. If someone murders, judge and slay them. For man was made in the image of God. Be fruitful and multiply.
God made a covenant — an unchangeable promise — because God had a plan.
IV. From Preservation to Redemption – Abraham to Christ
God then moved to Abraham and made another covenant:
“I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:2–3, NKJV)
God made a covenant with Abraham because God had a plan.
Hundreds of years later, He gave the law to Moses. But the law was never the final plan. It was a tutor to bring us to Christ.
“No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved…” (John 3:13–17, NKJV)
Then, in the fullness of time, God sent His Son.
“For God so loved the kosmos…” (John 3:16)
This word means order, world, orderly arrangement. For God so loved His plan and what He created. For God so loved the covenant and the earth and the people and the heavens. For God so loved what He had made — His creation.
What did God create? He created the heavens and the earth and He created a family.
Through Christ Jesus, the family was set for expansion again. Be fruitful and multiply. Be blessed and not cursed. Love one another. Don’t kill or steal or be violent with each other. Be kind and patient to each other. Give and it shall be given to you. Plant and harvest. Whatever you plant, you will harvest. Christ Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil and save the world.
V. New Creation – The Fulfillment of God’s Heart
This is where it gets glorious:
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:17–21, NKJV)
Because God chose not to destroy after the flood… because He preserved the earth… because He made a way through Abraham… because He sent Jesus…
We can now be new creations.
The same God who said after the flood, “I will never again destroy,” is the same God who now says to everyone who believes in Jesus:
“Old things have passed away. All things have become new.”
He didn’t just preserve the old creation — He is recreating through Christ.
God has a plan. And that plan is moving forward right now through everyone who has been made new in Jesus Christ. The question is no longer just “Does God have a plan?” The question is: Will you walk in it?
Will you choose the best route? Will you walk the narrow road that leads to abundant life? God’s way is narrow because, it means choosing God’s way and God’s ways.
Will you live as a new creation?
Will you take your place as an ambassador of reconciliation?
The same God who refused to give up on His creation after the flood has not given up on you. He made a way through Christ — and that way is still open today.