The creation of the world is a narrative of profound significance and universal appeal. Across cultures, religions, and belief systems, the story of how our world came into existence serves as a foundational account that addresses fundamental questions about the origins of life, the universe, and everything in it.
While interpretations and details may vary, the core themes and concepts inherent in the creation narrative continue to captivate human imagination and curiosity.
In this exploration of “The Creation of the World,” we embark on a journey through various cultural and religious traditions, from the biblical account in Genesis to creation stories found in other faiths and mythologies.
The Creation of the World
MEMORY VERSE: “In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1).
TEXT: Genesis 1:1-31; 2:1-6.
For our text of study this week, we have the opening book of the Bible called Genesis. Genesis is the book of beginnings, the foundation on which all divine revelations rest and on which they are built. Every great scripture doctrine finds its root in Genesis in germ, type, or simple revelation.
Written by Moses, virtually every book chapter opens up a new beginning. Chapter one records the beginning of creation; chapter two, the onset of marriage and family life. Chapter three is the beginning of man’s sinful career and the commencement of the plan of redemption.
In chapter four, we have the beginning of human wickedness epitomized by Cain, human lusts demonstrated by Lamech, and human ingenuity seen in Jubal. In summary, Genesis is the book of the “generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens” (Genesis 2:14). It bears a resemblance to Matthew chapter one which is “the book of the generation of Jesus Christ.”
Genesis declares God as the personal Creator and shows that nothing evolved through millions of years, as evolutionists claim. We find a brief account of the creation of earth’s species in six days. It also presents the regency and dominance of man over all creation, having been created in the very image of God and “crowned with glory and honor.”
REVELATION OF GOD, THE CREATOR
(Genesis 1:1,2; Isaiah 40:28; Proverbs 8:22-29; John 1:1-3,10; Psalm 104:30).
“In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth… And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters” (Genesis 1:1,2).
Before anything or anyone else, there was God. He is the great First Cause. He is the eternal, independent, and self-existent being whose purpose and actions spring from Himself, without foreign motive or influence.
He is absolute. God is infinitely benevolent, kind, trustworthy, and holy; the infinitely perfect and eternally self-sufficient, needing nothing that He has made; illimitable in His immensity, inconceivable in His mode of existence, and indescribable; known entirely to Himself.
In a word, God is a Being who, from His infinite wisdom, cannot err or be deceived; and who, from His infinite goodness, can do nothing but what is eternally just, right, and kind.
The structure and architecture of the universe could not have been the handiwork of anyone other than the infinite God. ‘Elohim’ is a uni-plural noun meaning ‘Gods,’ and the plural form of ‘El’ – the Strong One.
By that infinite strength and illimitable power, He created the universe without raw materials, that is, out of nothing (Psalm 33:6-9; Hebrews 11:3).
Nothing but almighty strength could bring all things out of nothing. “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” By the ordinary power of nature, nothing may be made out of nothing; no inventor can work unless he has something to work on.
But God to Whom alone belongs “the excellency of power” (2 Corinthians 4:7) merely spoke forth the entire universe into existence, by which token He has become the Maker and “possessor of heaven and earth” (Genesis 14:19).
THE GODHEAD
(Genesis 1:26; Matthew 3:16, 17; John 14:26).
Here in our text is the doctrine of the Trinity. Each reference to God in the first chapter of Genesis signifies a plurality of persons in the Godhead. This phenomenon reaches a climax in the twenty-sixth verse, where God says,
“…Let us make man in our image, after our likeness….”
The use of ‘us’ and ‘our’ suggests a plurality of persons. And indeed, several other parts of Scripture confirm the equal involvement of all three separate, distinct, and eternal members of the Godhead in the work of creation.
Jesus Christ, the God-man, is often presented to us as One by the agency of whom. God made the worlds (John 1:1-3; Hebrews 1:1,2).
The blessed Holy Spirit was likewise a partaker in the creative acts, for God “by His Spirit hath garnished the heavens” (Job 26:13).
Everywhere we turn in the story of creation; we see the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost united in mind, purpose and will, setting all product in their proper places and effectively “working all things after the counsel of his own will” (Ephesians 1:11).
RECORD OF GOD’S SIX-DAY CREATION
(Genesis 1:3-31; 2:1-6; Psalm 8:3; 19:1-3; 102:25; 104:24-26; Isaiah 40:12,25,26; Hebrews 11:3).
“O LORD, how manifold are thy works! In wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches” (Psalm 104:24).
“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth His handiwork.” In six days. God created the world and everything in it. On the first day, God created the light; He divided that light from the darkness. This began the time cycle of Day and (Genesis 1:3-5).
The second day witnessed the creation of the “firmament amid the water” to divide the waters below it from the water above it (Genesis 1:6-8). The former would eventually be called seas, while the latter became the condensed water wrapped up in the clouds to pour rain upon the earth.
The firmament is called Heaven; it includes the atmosphere’s higher, middle, and lower regions, the starry heavens (Genesis 1:14,15), and the place where the birds fly (Genesis 1:20).
On the third day, God made the dry land appear (Genesis 1:9-13). God ordered the waters covering the earth to gather together in one place for the dry land to emerge from the seas. By a divine directive, soil and water formerly mixed in one great chaotic mass were separated and made serviceable to man.
Afterward, God made the earth to bring forth herbs, shrubs, and fruit trees (Genesis 1:11,12). All were necessary for man’s consumption and sustenance on earth. Therefore, they were prepared even before man himself was created.
“O the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!” The fourth Day’s work had to do with the creation of lights.
“And God said, Let there be lights in the firmaments of the Heaven to divide the Day from the night… And God made two great lights… And God set them in the firmament of the Heaven to give light upon the earth” (Genesis 1:14-19).
The Lord made two great definite lights – the more significant, the Sun, to rule the Day and the lesser, the Moon, to lead the night. He made the stars also, and these were to illuminate the earth and the firmament of Heaven (Psalm 19:4-6). It proves God’s power to know that He only commanded, “Let there be light, and there was light.”
The fifth Day was for creating aquatic life and all winged species (Genesis 1:20-23). God said, “Let the waters bring forth abundantly.” As a result, the sea now swarms with millions, perhaps billions, of species of animals. Land animals were created on the sixth day; so was man.
And on the seventh Day, God rested from all His work which He had made, not for fatigue but to savor the delights of His achievement. And God saw everything He had made; behold, it was perfect.” God’s creative acts reflect great variety, great beauty, great accuracy, great power, excellent order, great mystery, and great charity.
Evolution teaches a process in which something complex is developed from a simple beginning. We make bold, however, on the authority of Scripture to tell every evolutionist that the origin of species does not lie in any gradual developmental process or transmutation.
All species of organisms and every particle of matter in the material world originate in God’s active and creative work. The Bible declares, “God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1); God “created great whales and every living creature (Genesis 1:20):
“God created man in his image, in the image of God created he him, male and female created he them” (Genesis 1:26-28). “He made all things, and without him, nothing was made.” God created all things through Jesus.
Christ (Ephesians 3:9). “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, honor, and power: for thou hast created all things and for thy pleasure, they are and were created” (Revelation 4:11).
REGENCY OF MAN OVER GOD’S CREATION
(Genesis 1:26-28; Psalm 8:3-8).
A divine council was summoned at the peak of God’s creative acts. Why was this necessary? God was going to create a unique being, a masterpiece, a prototype of Himself, and a superior creature that would share in the life of God and rule over all His works.
Extreme carefulness and circumspection, even on the part of God, would go into the making of man because man would be God’s regent on earth.
“So God created man in His image, in the image of God created he him, male and female created he them” (Genesis 1:27).
The “image” and “likeness” of God in man consist of his nature and constitution, innocence and moral uprightness, and place and authority. Adam had the likeness of God “created in righteousness, and true holiness” (Ephesians 4:24; Colossians 3:10).
He delighted absolutely in the whole will of God; there were no errors or mistakes in his knowledge; his desires were pure and godly, and he had immense mental powers.
In summary, man, being in the image and likeness of God, means that he was wise in his mind, holy in his heart, and righteous in his actions. Even in his fallen state, man’s body and soul are still a masterpiece of creation.
Man is tripartite. He is a spirit. , and he is a soul and lives in the body. The actual process of his creation had two parts: the molding or shaping of his body and the impartation of life:
“And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul” (Genesis 2:7).
Man’s body is wonderfully made. It is the most complex architecture and the most complex machine on earth. Therefore the Psalmist exclaims:
“I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works and that my soul knoweth right well” (Psalm 139:14).
The divine intention behind the creation of man is revealed in the blessing God gave to Adam and his seeds:
“…be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea, the fowl of the air, and every living thing that moveth upon the earth” (Genesis 1:28).
God ordained man to be fruitful, multiply, and enjoy dominion over all of God’s creation. In effect, man’s power is over all the works of God’s hands, namely, all sheep, oxen, the beasts of the field, the fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea (Psalm 8:6-8).
God brought all those creatures to Adam to see what he would call them; whatever name he called them stuck. This completed the sixth Day of creation.
On the seventh Day, God rested from all His work, not out of exhaustion but to teach us an object lesson to give one day in seven for holy rest and exclusively spiritual engagements. “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.”
The Christian Sabbath is the first Day of the week in which we celebrate the finished work of redemption by Jesus Christ. Let us dedicate the Lord’s Day to Him for holy uses – prayer, worship, and sanctified occupations. So, our life and work in the six days of the week affect blessings.
Personal Questions
1. Enumerate some beginnings in the Book of Genesis.
2. What are the three major lessons in our text of today’s study?
3. What did God create on the first and the sixth days?
4. Give two from each Testament that disproves the theory of evolution.
5, In what sense was man created in the image and likeness of God?
6. Which is the Christian Sabbath, and how should it be spent?
Conclusion:
The exploration of “The Creation of the World” has taken us on a remarkable journey through the rich tapestry of human beliefs, from the biblical account of Genesis to the mythologies and cosmologies of diverse cultures.
These narratives, each unique in its own way, offer profound insights into our understanding of the origins of the universe and the meaning of existence.
As we conclude our journey, we are reminded of the enduring power of creation stories to inspire wonder, contemplation, and exploration. Whether viewed through the lens of faith, science, or philosophy, the creation of the world continues to be a topic that captivates our imaginations and drives our curiosity about the mysteries of the cosmos.
