Lesson 1 God’s Originating Work: Creation
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Gen 1:1)
A. God created the universe out of nothing
1. Biblical Evidence for Creation out of Nothing
(Gen 1:1) The phrase “the heavens and the earth “ includes the entire universe.
(Ps 33:6,9) The heavens came into existence by the word of God. God spoke and it came to be.
(John 1:3) The phrase “all things” means the entire universe.
(Col 1:16) All parts of the universe, both visible and invisible things, were created by God.
(Acts 4:24) God “made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.”
(Rom 4:17) God calls things into being out of nothing by his word.
(Heb 11:3) God created the universe by his word out of nothing.
2. The Creation of the Spiritual Universe
The creation of the entire universe includes the creation of an unseen spiritual realm of existence.
(Neh 9:6) The multitudes of heaven refers to angels and other heavenly creatures.
(Col 1:16) The creation of invisible heavenly beings is explicitly affirmed.
(Rev !0:6) God created “the heavens and all that is in them.”
3. The Direct Creation of Adam and Eve
God created Adam and Eve in a direct, personal way.
(Gen 2:7) God “formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life…”.
(Gen 2:22) “Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man….”.
4. The Creation of Time
When God created the universe He also created time. Before the creation of the world, God has an existence without the passage of time. God’s eternity refers to an altogether different kind of existence from ours.
(Job 36:26) We cannot comprehend God’s timelessness
(Ps 90:2) God has existed “from everlasting to everlasting…”.
(John 8;58) “I am” expresses the eternity of his being
(Rev 1:8) God is the beginning and the end. He is timeless and eternal.
5. Creation is the work of the Triune God
God the Father spoke the creative words to bring the universe into being. God the Son, he eternal Word of God, carried out the decrees. The Holy Spirit completes and gives life to God’s creation.
(Gen 1:1) God created the “…the heavens and the earth….”.
(1 Cor 8:6) Paul is including both the Father and the Son in the act of creation
(John 1:3) It is through the Son that all things were made
(Gen 1:2) The Holy Spirit was active in creation
(Ps 104:30) The Holy Spirit is mentioned in creation
B. Creation is distinct from God yet always dependent on God
God is distinct from his creation. He is not part of it, for he has made it and rules over it. At the same time God is also very much involved in his creation, for it is continually dependent on him for its existence.
(Job 12:10) The life of every living thing, including man depends on God
(Acts 17:25,28) God “….gives all men life and breath and everything else…”.
(Heb 1:3) Christ is continually ”…..sustaining all things by his powerful word.”
C. God created the universe to show his glory
The entire creation is intended to show God’s glory.
(Is 43:7) God created his people for his glory
(Ps 19:1-2) “The heavens declare the glory of God….’. The inanimate objects of creation, the stars and sun and moon and sky testify to God’s greatness.
D. The universe God created was very good
The fact that the universe created by God is good is affirmed by God at the end of each stage of creation as recorded in Gen 1 (v. 4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31)
E. Summary of the creation account in Genesis 1
(v. 2-5) The first stage of creation: the formation of light. This must be primarily the light of the sun and the other heavenly bodies. Sunlight is generally a requirement for the development of plant life and animal life.
(v.6-8) The second stage of creation; The formation of an “expanse’ that separated between moisture in suspension in the sky and moisture condensed enough to remain on the earth’s surface.
(v.9-13) The third stage of creation: the receding of the waters of the oceans, seas and lakes to a lower altitude than the masses of land that emerged above them and thus were allowed to become dry. Once dry land appeared, it became possible for plant life and trees to spring up from the earth’s surface.
(v.14-19) The fourth stage of creation; God parted the cloud cover enough for direct sunlight to fall on the earth and for accurate observation of the movements of the sun, moon and stars to take place. V.16 should not be understood as indicating the creation of the heavenly bodies for the first time during this fourth stage, rather it informs us that the sun, moon and stars created on the first stage of creation as the source of light had been placed in their appointed places by God to function as indicators of time (signs, seasons, days, years) to observers on earth.
(v.20-23) The fifth stage of creation: God fully developed marine life, freshwater life and introduced flying creatures(insects, lizards or winged birds).
(v.24-26) The sixth stage of creation: God brought forth all the land animals “according to its kind” culminating in the creation of man.
Conclusion
God is the Creator of everything that exist.
Review questions
- How would you answer someone who tells you that man descended from ape-like ancestors through a process of macro-evolution?
- “The Genesis account in the Bible states that God created the universe in six days. However, scientific data shows that the universe is billions of years old.” Discuss this statement.
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