Chapter 2 - The Beginning (1)

This post begins Chapter 2 of my book, Biblical Glasses, part 1 of 4. The topic is creation / evolution. If you're going to read my blog selectively, this is the series I'd hope you would read.

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters (Genesis 1:1-2).

What a great opening scene! Picture total darkness—maybe you can hear the sound of rolling waves as the wind blows across the water. Is it true? Does God really exist? How do we know? Did He create the universe? If God did create the universe, when did He do it? Can we know for sure?

What happened?

As we investigate the evidence for the beginning of the universe and life on earth, every version of the Bible says God created the heavens and the earth in the beginning. That should be good enough for us after looking at the evidence for the Bible’s truth and divine inspiration; but since doubt and skepticism exist within our culture, we need to look closer at the evidence for the intelligent design of the universe. We also need to examine the claims of the various theories of evolution to see if they can tread water.

First, the Biblical creation account (see Genesis 1) tells us God made everything in six days. After creating the heavens and earth, God made light and separated it from darkness to finish day one.

On day two, God separated the waters below from the waters above, creating a sky. Creation experts agree the earth was much different before the flood of Noah. Keep in mind that God separated the waters below from the waters above, as we will revisit this issue later to examine the earth and its pre-flood geology.

On the third day, God brought up dry land and created basins of water called seas. God also created plants with seeds and trees with fruits with seeds to grow from the ground and reproduce according to their kind. According to their kind is a critical statement, because it limits trees from producing llamas or alligators. Trees could only reproduce as trees!

On day four, God created the stars to serve as markers of the various seasons. He created the sun and moon to govern the day and night and more distinctly separate night from day.

God created sea animals and birds on the fifth day. Then He created land animals on day six and allowed them to reproduce according to their kind. Again, according to their kind prevents apes from producing human offspring! Later on day six, God crafted man from the dust of the ground and breathed life into him.

God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, in Our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’ So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them (Genesis 1:26-27).

These verses are significant; they show God as multi-personal. Us means Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit were with God the Father. Possibly the most difficult doctrinal point to understand within Christianity is that God is a triune God (elohim). He is three eternally distinct Persons, yet One Being; He is the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Though inadequate and far from describing the perfect nature of God, the structure of H2O can help us see the Trinity. Steam, water, and ice are equally H2O, yet they are separate and distinct. The explanation is inadequate primarily because the Three Persons of the Godhead are immutable, infinite, and eternal, bound by neither time nor space restrictions. On the other hand, the three forms of H2O, created by God, cannot co-exist while remaining unchanged in the same temperature environment. Water exists in the form of ice below 32° F (0° C), steam above 212° F (100° C), and liquid at temperature ranges in between.

God created man in His image, unlike the rest of creation. Perhaps that explains our morality, our spirit, our soul, and our knowledge of self. The Eden story of Genesis 2-3 is a detailed description of the sixth day of creation, showing how we are made in the image of God. Our ability to know good and evil certainly sets us apart from other creatures. “And the Lord God said, ‘The man has now become like One of Us, knowing good and evil’” (Genesis 3:22).

Animals are naked and do not care; plants are alive, but unaware. You could argue that some humans walk around naked without care or that they are alive and unaware, but be realistic. Humans are alive, aware, and often embarrassed when naked! God gave mankind dominion over His creation, the right to reign over the animals and other created beings. After the six days of creation, “God saw all that He had made, and it was very good” (Genesis 1:31, emphasis added). On the seventh day, He rested.

Why did God rest? Was He tired? No. God rested on the seventh day to give us the seven day week and set up the idea of the Sabbath Day. One of God’s Ten Commandments is to honor the Sabbath Day. We are to rest one day per week to worship God and enjoy His creation. Originally, this day was Saturday, but most Christians celebrate the Sabbath as Sunday, because Jesus Christ rose from the dead on the morning after the Hebrew Sabbath, Easter Sunday.

Whew! What a week! The universe was created ex nihilo—out of nothing. The earth went from formless, dark, and empty to full of vibrant color, action, and life! Could it have really happened in one week? How can we explain it? Well, the word universe literally means a “single spoken sentence,” “and God said, ‘Let there be … ’” (Genesis 1:3,6,14). I think that is an adequate explanation! Why else would the universe be called the uni-verse if it was not spoken into existence by its Creator, God?