The Sabbath is the memorial of creation. The Sabbath was made for the reason that in “six days the Lord made heaven and earth and all that in them is.” Exodus 20:11. And from the fact that every day man may see something of the works of the Creator, the Sabbath is given for the especial purpose of keeping God in mind as the great Creator. But for the Sabbath rest, men would forget God. And forgetting God, they fail to avail themselves of his power, in overcoming sin. So we have the words of the Lord as to why the Sabbath was given: “Moreover also, I gave them my Sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them.” Ezekiel 20:12. God sanctified the Sabbath for man that man might know that he is the One that sanctifies from sin.
It was Christ that blessed the Sabbath, and sanctified it, so that the seventh day is the Lord’s Day. The blessing of the Sabbath is the blessing of Christ, and that is sanctification, for Christ is “of God made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.” 1 Corinthians 1:30. Here again we see that the Sabbath means sanctification.
The Sabbath is the memorial of creation, but redemption is creation. David prayed, “Create in me a clean heart.” Psalm 51:1. “If any man is in Christ, he is a new creature.” 2 Corinthians 5:17. The gospel “is the power of God unto salvation,” (Romans 1:16), and the power of God is seen only in the things that he has made. Verse 29. So the power of the gospel is the power that created the worlds. Therefore, the Sabbath, in commemoration of creation, makes known to man the power of God to save from sin. As it calls to remembrance the power of God as shown in the works of his hands, it reminds us of the words of the apostle: “By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained, that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:8-10
This, and this alone, is the object of the Sabbath. This object can be gained only by the keeping of the Sabbath in just the way that God designed from the beginning that it should be kept.