Basic Bible Doctrine
Lesson Four
"Creation"

The beginning began with God. "In the beginning God…" (Gen. 1: 1).  The truth is,  life begets life and design implies a designer. It is unthinkable to even ponder the thought that man and the universe just happened! "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth" (Gen. 1:1) The Bible purports to be of God (2 Tim. 3: 16, 17, 2 Pet. 1: 21). The Bible has stood the test of time, being subjected to every internal and external test to determine its authenticity. The Bible says God created the heaven and the earth, and that is exactly what happened.

"By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.   He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap: he layeth up the depth in storehouses.   Let all the earth fear the Lord: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast" (Ps. 33: 6-9).

Creation is divided into six days, (Gen. 1: 3-31), and these days are evidently twenty-four hour periods (vs. 5, "evening and the morning were the first day").  On the first day of creation "light" was created and divided from darkness. Notice, "God divided the light from the darkness" (vs. 3, 4). God made the firmament and divided the waters…and God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day" (vs. 7, 8). Separation of water and land, grass, herb yielding seed, etc. occurred on the third day (vs. 9-13). The perfection of God's creation is seen in the expression: "God saw that it was good" (vs. 12). The sun, moon, and stars were created by God on the fourth day (vs. 19).   Fish, fowl, etc. were created by God on the fifth day (vs. 20-23). On the sixth day, cattle, creeping things, etc. were created (vs. 24, 25).

"And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day." (Gen. 1: 31).

The climax of God's creation is seen in verses 26-28: "And God said, let us make man in our image…." To man God assigned dominion over creation (vs. 26).  God created man "male and female created he them " (vs. 27). As in the other cases of creation, God decreed that man should multiply (vs. 28). All of this - creation of formless heaven and earth to man - was created by God in the six day period (vs. 31). Regarding the totality of His creation God said, "it is very good" (vs. 31).

"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth" (Gen. 1: 26).

The Genesis' account of creation is not isolated or independent from the remainder of the Bible. Many other writers, inspired men, including Jesus allude to and affirm the Genesis' account (Matt. 19: 4-6, 1 Cor. 11: 7-12).

Some observations regarding the Genesis' account of creation. The material universe was created from nothingness. God was in "the beginning." God did not put certain laws into motion and inject certain basic substances and chemicals and allow a natural process to develop the world. God "spoke it into actual existence (vs. 3, etc.). All of God's creation was created mature. By this I mean the living things had reproductive capabilities and man and woman were physically mature. In this vein, God also created the two essential genders in order for there to be reproduction. Man did not simply evolve and "thousands" of years later woman happened to evolve! After God's initial and miraculous creation (no natural laws or evolutionary processes), God then put into place natural laws, such as reproduction, etc. It is also apparent that man, as created by God, is different from all the rest of creation. Only to man did God say, "let us make man in our image, after our likeness…" (vs. 26, "man" is inclusive of "woman," vs. 27). Woman was expressly made by God for man (2: 18 ff) and is "the glory of the man" (1 Cor. 11: 7). Therefore, man and woman are vastly different anatomically, emotionally, and psychologically.

 We need to also appreciate God made woman for man - not another man! (See Leviticus 18: 22).

"And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him" (Gen. 2: 18).

"And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, and said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?" (Matt. 19: 4, 5).

Upon still closer examination of the Genesis' account of creation we learn that God, Spirit, and Jesus, all refer to the same creator. First, "In the beginning God created... (V.1). This is a reference to Jehovah God, God the Father. Secondly, "The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters," (vs. 2). In the original language, this verse actually reads, "Spirit God moved on face of waters".  In John 4:24 we are told that God is a Spirit. This confirms that the "Spirit of God" in verse 2 is God Himself, not a separate spirit of some kind. Paul later taught that Jesus Christ did the actual creating (Col. 1: 16, John 1: 3). Since Scripture tells us repeatedly that there is only ONE God, then God the father, Holy Spirit, and Jesus are all the same person. And, we can see this from Scripture in Genesis one. The same truth is seen regarding spiritual rebirth as well (John 3: 16, chs. 14-16).

"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.  And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters" (Gen. 1: 1, 2).

It is essential that this basic study of creation be understood and accepted or no other Biblical doctrine  will be totally correct. A good foundation is necessary for a sound building and likewise, a sound spiritual foundation is needed for a sound spiritual walk.