STUDY THEME: ADOPTING A BIBLICAL WORLDVIEW 6-15-00
UNIT 2: "CONTOURS OF A BIBLICAL WORDVIEW: GOD'S GOOD CREATION." GENESIS
1:1-3, 11-12, 14-19, 20-22, 24-25, 29-31
PLEASE 0PEN YOUR BIBLE TO GENESIS 1.
I suppose at some time each of us have asked, "Where did this world come
from?" "How did everything get started?" Today two competing answers are
offered: (1) God said...and there was." OR (2) A big bang occurred and
gradually everything came to be.
Gen. 1:1 says "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."
Richard Hanson has written: "The first thing was God; not nothing but
God. Had there been but nothing that's all there ever would have been."
"In the beginning" could quite correctly be understood as introducing a
temporal clause, "When God began to create."
This is God's first and final answer to the curiosity of man concerning
the origin of the universe. "In the beginning God". No other book could
open with that statement, except the Bible. The only one who can tell us
about "the beginning" must be the One who was there. The attitude that
one has toward creation will color all his thinking about God. This first
verse denies atheism; for it assumes the being of God. If you can believe
the first four words in the Bible, all else becomes both clear and
credible.
"Creation" is the first word that usually comes to mind when we approach
the first chapter of Genesis. But is it the real theme of the material? A
slower and more thoughtful reading of these verses calls attention to the
fact that the word "God" occurs twenty-five times in Vs. 1-25. The
central theme appears to be God. He is the primary figure of the creation
account, even as He is the first and central figure of the entire Bible.
Our attitude toward this opening statement of the Bible is a true test of
our faith in the rest of the Scriptures. Now man would prefer that the
earth be and then God would evolve. But the Bible begins with God and
then all else comes from Him. The Bible simply states that God started
with emptiness and filled it up.
When you accept the truth that God created the universe, everything about
the world begins to make sense. When you reject the truth that God
created the world, nothing about the world makes sense. People who are
willing to study and trust God's Word will discover the truth: God
created the world as a good place to supply the needs of people. He
placed humanity in the world to care for it because He loves and cares
for people.
Today's lesson focuses on the universe as God originally created it.
Obviously, sin marred God's creation. That defacement affected the
physical world, but it did not repeal God's appraisal of His
handiwork--that it is good. In today's lesson we will look at what the
original creation was like so that we might appreciate its Creator.
Hebrews 3:4 says "For every house is builded by some man; but He that
built all things is God" "In the beginning God: an all wise, all powerful
God, created."
1. PLEASE READ GENESIS 1: 3, 14-19.
Hebrews 11:3 says "Throught faith we understand that the worlds were
framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of
things which do appear." The question arises: Is this a literal account
of the creation or is it merely an allegory? Is the Biblical record of
creation an actual statement of fact, or fiction and fable? This is the
question upon which rest all other answers to the problems of death, sin,
redemption, Heaven and Hell. And right here the Bible and the modern
theories of evolution come into direct conflict. Teaching the theory of
evolution has today replaced Biblical creation in most of our schools.
Ps. 33:6 says, "For He spoke, and it came to be; He commanded, and it
stood firm."
Creation occurred at the command of God. As He spoke, the world came into
existence. " The heavens and the earth" refer to the entire universe. The
universe and every thing in it originated from God's creative work. Just
imagine what it would be like to attend a play that had only one
character and where the only action of this lone character consisted of
speaking words. This is essentially what one encounters in the creation
narrative in Genesis 1. God was the only actor in this drama of creation;
and when He spoke, worlds were created. His words exploded into colossal
acts.
Vs. 2 says in the beginning the earth was formless, empty, and dark. Or
to state it another way, Vs. 2 describes the state of primeval chaos out
of which creation arose. "Create" is never used in the
Bible of a work of man, only of God. Man cannot create. Only God can
create. It is an exclusive activity of God. God's spirit brooded over
the
waters, and He formed it into a universe of marvelous orderliness. God
created an orderly universe, starting with light, for wherever God is
there is light. Created light on earth is but a reflection of the eternal
light of God's own person.
God simply spoke light into being. He said, "Let there be light." In
response to God's bidding, light came into existence. God created this
light prior to the creation of the moon, sun, and other stars. Later, on
the fourth day these were created. They were to separate day from night
and to provide order in the seasons and the years. The Sun and other
stars produce light and the moon reflects it because God created them to
do so. Therefore, light, whether it comes from the heavenly bodies or
some other source, is God's creation. He called the light day and he
darkness he called night, and we haven't improved on that. Many ancient
religions worshipped the sun, the moon, or the stars. One service of this
passage is to show that these celestial luminaries are not gods to be
worshipped. Rather, they bear witness of their Creator. Ps. 19: 1 says
"The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth His
handiywork."
The creation of the heavenly luminaries also marked the creation of time.
All aspects of human life and the continuation of the earth depend on
this order in creation. An orderly creation implies that the universe was
created by a powerful and intelligent Creator. The existence of such
order helps support the position of those who believe in a divine Creator
instead of random chance. Note again that God said "It is good."
In Genesis 1: 9-10 God commanded the waters to be gathered into seas in
order to let the dry land or earth to appear.
2. PLEASE READ GENESIS 1: 11-13.
Plants grow because the earth is productive. The earth is productive
because it obey's God's command. This was another factor in an orderly
creation. On the third day God created living things; both plants and
animals to populate the land and sea described in Vs. 9-10. In writing
Genesis Moses emphasized that God made a vast variety of plants. He made
small grasses and towering trees. Some plants produce their seeds in
pods. Other plants produce their seeds in edible fruits. Each plant
produces seeds that will develop the same type of plant as the parent.
In 1954 the seed of a North American artic lupine was found buried in
frozen silt in Canada. Scientists estimated the seed was 10,000 years
old. When the seed was planted it produced a lupine that was identical to
the modern plant.
3. PLEASE READ GENESIS 1: 20-25.
Following inanimate creation came the creation of that which was animate.
Both the Bible and Biology hold that life began in the water. The whale
is the largest sea creature of which we know. Underwater photography
reveals that the seas teem with life. My bird feeder in the back yard
teems with sparrows and other birds. God stocked the seas and sky with
living creatures. Each creature was designed for the atmosphere where it
would spend the majority of its life. The lightweight bones of birds
enable them to fly. The gills of fish allow them to breath in water.
God blessed His creation. He commanded the creatures to multiply and to
fill the earth. He gave them the ability to pass life on to the next
generation. The orderliness of the plant kingdom was duplicated in the
animal realm. Each species produces offspring of the same species. Bears
produce bears, not moose. Wolves produce wolves, not antelope. This
capacity for orderly reproduction is a blessing of God. Otherwise, nature
would be chaotic. The animals were not given dominion over the earth.
That was reserved for a later creation, humans.
The Genesis account of the sixth day of creation in Vs. 24-25 describes
the addition of animal life to the dry land. Once more the results spring
from God's command. This creative act maintained the same orderliness of
previous creative acts. Like life in the sea and in the sky, life on land
was given the power to reproduce and to continue from generation to
generation.
The expression living creatures is a generic term for life. The types of
life are descried in more specific terms, but even these terms still are
general classifications and were not intended to be scientific
categories. Together, however, these categories include all dry land
animal life. Livestock or cattle includes all domesticated animals.
Creatures that move along the ground refers to all small animals. Wild
animals presumably denote the larger animals that have not been
domesticated. Elk, deer, and tigers are a few examples. All animal life
arose from God's creative will and activity. Having filled the woods and
fields with wildlife, God concluded that His work was good.
God's creation is filled with an abundant variety of vegetation and
wildlife. Such variety is evidence of God's power, creativity, and
generosity. We need to appreciate the abundance of this variety and
worship the God who provides it. Notice that as the Holy Spirit led and
inspired the author, Moses interwove an important message. That message
was, "Do not worship these things. Worship the God who created them, not
the creatures but the Creator.
Yes, we do live in the midst of "God's Good Creation." Everything that
God does is good. Truly "the heavens declare the glory of God, and the
firmament shows His handiwork." The earth and all that is in it is
evidence of His power, love, and benevolent purpose. Believing hearts see
the eternal God before and beyond the universe. He is in His universe,
but not contained by it. Before it existed He always was. Beyond it, He
always will be. By faith we look to a new heaven and a new earth wherein
dwells righteousness where we will love and praise Him in the ages of the
ages, Emily Bronte wrote of God eternal existence like this:
Though earth and man were gone
And suns and universes ceased to be,
And Thou wert left alone,
Every existence would exist in Thee.
Let's be sure to remember that as persons we are responsible for God's
creation. We have (or should have) learned from bitter experience that to
ignore or abuse God's purposes, we pay a terrible price.
God's creation of human beings is found in Vs. 26-28 which we will
examine next Sunday.
4. PLEASE READ GENESIS 1: 29-30.
The last creatures God placed on earth were human. With their appearance
on the earth, creation was complete. God turned from His creative
activity to sustaining His creation. Both people and animals require food
to live. Therefore, God provided both animals and people with an abundant
supply of food. He gave them every seed-bearing plant on the face of the
whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. All the
earth's vegetation would serve as food to sustain animal and human life.
The central truth is, God provided food for every creature.
The implication of the text suggests that originally all animals,
including humans, ate only plants. Not until the time of Noah in Gen. 9:
3 do the Scriptures record God's permission for eating meat.
The primary importance of Vs. 29 is not the entrees on the menu; it is
God's providential care of His creation. God designed each form of life
to eat. He supplies food for the smallest and largest creatures.
If God can provide for these creatures, He certainly will take care of
His ultimate creation, human beings. You should find assurance for your
future in knowing that God's creation is ample to sustain you.
Despite all of God's mighty creative work, the universe was incomplete
without man. This thought is implied in Vs. 31.
5. PLEASE READ GENESIS 1: 31.
After the creation of the first humans, God's creation was complete. Once
more God viewed all of His creative work. Once more He issued His verdict
on His accomplishment. However, God no longer found it merely "good." Now
He judged His creation to be "VERY GOOD." "Very Good" refers to the
purpose and harmony of the universe. In the cycle of nature each plant
and animal has a specific function. Together they fulfill the purpose and
harmony of God's master design. The presence of humanity improved the
quality of creation.
Man's space exploration, even though it is very limited in terms of our
solar system--to say nothing about the universe--has failed to discover
any where else conditions similar to those on earth. One astronaut, after
walking on the barren waste of the moon, viewed the earth from far out in
space. As he looked at the varied colors depicting greenery and seas on
earth, he said, "God did something special on earth!"
Look around you. Everything you see came from God. We should express
gratitude to Him for His good creation. It is orderly, abundant, and
sustaining; a very good place in which to live. Evil does exist in the
physical world, but creation is not inherently evil. The world really is
a good place to live. God provides every need we have. He remains in firm
control of His creative work. His creation is orderly, abundant,
sustaining, and good.
>From Page 46 in our Baptist Hymnal we used to sing:
All things bright and beautiful,
All things great and small,
All things wise and wonderful;
Our Father made them all.
He gave us eyes to see them,
And lips that we might tell
How good is God our Father
Who doeth all things well.
NEXT SUNDAY LET'S SEE "WHAT IS SO SIGNIFICANT ABOUT BEING HUMAN?"
A.V. DAUGHERTY
6-25-00