Creation: Forming the World
Creation: Forming the World
January 12, 2012
Sabbath School Study
Larry Evans
Introduction
Few Bible sentences have created more intense controversy
and discussion than Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heavens and
the earth.“ Opinions abound! I have found that the first three chapters
of Genesis have a much more complete meaning and purpose when I see them in the
context of the whole book of Genesis.
Our scientific culture tends to put issues under a microscope and see parts
apart from the whole. This idea is somewhat reflected in the article I wrote
for the Adventist Review and published sometime ago. (http://www.adventistreview.org/?issue=2008-1535)
While I certainly do not deny the importance
of current discussions regarding evolution/creation nor the literal creation of
the earth in 7 24-hour days we must not stop there with our reading. By first seeing the “forest” rather than just
the “trees” of Genesis, I find multiple messages of relevancy and hope for
today. The “trees” then become pillars
supporting insights into God’s plan along with the power and authority to do
so. The Creator God has a master plan
and nothing will stop that plan from being fulfilled—including sin. The Creation story of Genesis 1 and 2 is not
a story in isolation. It is only the
“beginning” of a longer story of how God took the clay that He had turned into
man and woman and then created a people (Gen. 22) that would fill the entire
earth despite the entrance of sin.
Indeed God is not only a Creator but also a Redeemer and a Sustainer. It
is a dramatic story! From this larger
perspective, Genesis 1 is like a liturgical praise service for the awesomeness
of a God who not only wants to be known for his creative powers (Genesis 1 --
Elohim) but also for his relational desires to be with His creation (Genesis 2,3 -- Yahweh). At the end of each day’s creation can you hear
the “choir” sing “And God saw that it was good!” This was no academic rendering of the activity of God. It is given to build hope and confidence in
the One who made the world, who made us and who is coming again for us! From this foundational presentation, Genesis
takes us through the valleys of man’s fickle relationship with his creator and
reveals how God establishes a “movement’ that is to encompass the world with
the truth about His character and His plan to redeem the world from the tyranny
of sin. It is an amazing story and it
must not be limited to the scientific labs of our generation. From my study I see the Genesis account in
its broader context. This is why I have
personally found it most helpful for Genesis 1 and 2 to be seen from God’s
intended climax. I have found an even
richer understanding of Genesis 1 and 2 when I see these chapters through the
lens of Revelation 22:12,13 –-
"Look, I am
coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according
to what they have done. I am the
Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”
Quiz
1.
The universe has no inherent or independent will
of its own. (Isa. 45:18) True
“For this is what the
Lord says—he who created the heavens, he is God; he who fashioned and made the
earth, he founded it; he did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be
inhabited—he says: "I am the Lord, and there is no other.” Isa 45:18
There are three main points implied in this passage that
we’d like to emphasize:
a.
God was personally involved with the creation of
the heavens and earth – He “fashioned.”
The NLT says, He “put everything in place.”
b.
This passage has a wider context in which God as
creator provides an important foundation.
Salvation is from the Lord alone.
The issue of creation is not confined to scientific deductions. Creation is linked God’s plan for His
creation.
c.
The chaos that existed before creation was
replaced with meaning and purpose. This
is a principle found throughout Scripture and is a direct confrontation with
the effects of sin and a separation from God.
The recreation of the repentant sinner leads to purpose, meaning and
hope despite the destructive presence of sin.
The purpose of creation, then, is not the production of physical
objects.
2.
When the Creation story begins in Genesis the
planet is already here but is unformed, unfilled, dark, and wet. (Gen. 1:1,2) True (though are there some nuances of
differences among Adventist biblical scholars.)
Note carefully the following diagram:
Chaos (Without Form and Void)
Day 1: Day Day
4: Sun
Night Moon/Stars
Day 2: Sea Day
5: Fish
Sky Birds
Day 3: Land
Day 6: Animals
Vegetation Humans
Day 7: Rest and Sanctification
( I am indebted to Lawrence Turner who wrote a chapter in In the Beginning: Science and Scripture
Confirm Creation, edited by Bryan W. Ball, Editor. See page 67)
Observations:
a.
To read sequentially we see that the earth is
prepared for fish, birds, animals and humans.
b.
However, to read horizontally we matching
provisions with specific needs.
Day/Night with Sun, Moon and Stars; Sea with Fish and Sky with Birds;
Land with Animals and Vegetation with Humans.
But there is more as we look at the account vertically.
c.
To read vertically we gain additional insights. The
earth begins in chaos but ends in rest and sanctification. This scenario clearly indicates that man is
not the crowning act of creation but rather creation leads to a unique relationship
that God wishes to have with man and all of His creation.
But we must not stop there for when the
theological implications are seen as part of the whole book of Genesis (and
even the whole Bible) we see that just as God does work to bring order out of
physical chaos so he also brings holiness out of spiritual chaos. The book of Genesis illustrates this with
very specific stories and ultimately with the call of Abraham and God’s
intention to bring the privilege of a few to the entire world. (Gen. 22:15-17)
3.
The Bible clearly teaches that rocks, water, and
the environment were all created in one week.
(Gen. 1:1,2) True and maybe False?
The main point is that God was not and is not dependent on
pre-existing matter to create and that He created the earth in 6 literal days! The question comes, as pointed out by Dr.
Richard Davidson of Andrews University, as to how Genesis 1:1 is translated –
an independent clause (“In the beginning God created . . . ) or as a dependent
clause (“When God began to create . . .)
Neither translation denies God’s creative ability. Neither denies either the literal six days
of creation nor the 24 hour day. The
second translation allows for a gap between the time when God formed the matter
and when he completed the creation. Our
point here is not to try to explain the reasoning behind these two translations
but I would refer you to the book cited above where Davidson explains and leans
towards the second translation. For our
purposes here: God is the creator and was not dependent on any pre-existing
matter and that the creation described in Genesis took place in 6 days of 24
hours.
4.
God created time. (Gen. 1:3-5; Ex. 20:8-11) True
“And God said,
"Let there be light," and there was light. 4 God saw that the light
was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light
"day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was
evening, and there was morning—the first day.” (Gen 1:3-5)
Day and night are components of time and as creator God
demonstrates with designation that He is also sovereign over time. No wonder
the seventh-day Sabbath was and is a testimony to the creative powers of God.
5.
It is possible to move water up hill without a
container. (Gen. 1:6-8) True
“And God said,
"Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground
appear." And it was so. 10 God called the dry ground "land," and
the gathered waters he called "seas." And God saw that it was good.” (Gen.
1:9,10)
The atmosphere appears to be the portion of the “heaven”
that was formed on the second day of Creation.
The atmosphere provides a method for moving water uphill; water can
evaporate and enter the atmosphere, where it can be transported to any place on
the earth.
6.
The Bible teaches that on the 3rd day
of creation God created a single plant from which all vegetation came. (Gen. 1:9-13) False
“12 The land produced
vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing
fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.” (Gen.
1:12)
There is no single “plant ancestor”. The evolutionary concept of a single plant
from which all plants derived their beginning is contradictory to the biblical
account.
7.
The peaceful and compassionate characteristics
of the Jesus in the gospels is also revealed in the Creation week of Genesis 1
and 2 but both are in contrast to the evolutionary models which are built on
competition and elimination of the weak by the strong. True
35 Sitting down, Jesus
called the Twelve and said, "Anyone who wants to be first must be the very
last, and the servant of all."
36 He took a little
child whom he placed among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them,
37 "Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me;
and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me."
(Mark 9:35-37)
8.
The biblical view of Creation answers all
questions raised by evolutionists. False
Many questions, and they are important questions, cannot all
be answered now. The words of Hebrews
11, the faith chapter, makes this clear:
1 Now faith is
confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. 2 This
is what the ancients were commended for.
3 By faith we
understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen
was not made out of what was visible. (Heb. 11:1-3)
Closing Reflections
In the light of what we said in the introduction and then
from our study I find the following a good closing thought for reflection.
“In determining relationships we must begin somewhere. There must be somewhere a fixed center
against which everything else is measured, where the law of relativity does not
enter and we say ‘IS’ and makes no allowances.
Such a center is God. When God
would make His name known to mankind He could find no better word than “I
AM.” When He speaks in the first person
He says, ‘I AM’; when we speak of Him
we say, ‘He is’; when we speak to Him
we say, ‘Thou art.’ Everyone and everything else measures from that fixed
point. ‘I AM THAT I AM,” (Exodus 3:14) says God, ‘I change not’ (Malachi 3:6).
“As the sailor locates his position on the sea by ‘shooting’
the sun, so we may get our moral bearings by looking at God. We must begin with God. We are right when,
and only when, we stand in a right position relative to God, and we are wrong
so far and so long as we stand in any other position.” A. W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God: The Human Thirst for the Divine, pp. 94-95)
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