In these studies of Bible doctrine, it is not my intention to give you a course in systematic theology. In fact, I do not believe we should attempt to systematize the teachings of Holy Scripture. As soon as we try to set divine Revelation in human order, or mold the Word of God to any human system, our doctrine becomes corrupt and erroneous. Why? Because the only way anyone can fit the Scriptures into a human system is by forcing the Scriptures to bow to his system. We dare not treat the Word of God so contemptuously! We must always bow to the Scriptures. Whenever the Word of God contradicts our doctrine, we must discard our doctrine, not the Word of God. Lest there should be any implied systematization of the Scriptures, I am deliberately avoiding a systematic order in these studies.
My subject tonight is Creation. I am fully aware that most studies in Bible doctrine move from the existence and attributes of God to the decrees of God. Without question, as we have already seen, the decrees of God are from everlasting. However, God's sovereign decrees are revealed to us in the Scriptures much later than his wondrous work of creation. We will, therefore, consider the teaching of Scripture regarding creation tonight, before looking into the wonders of grace in our election unto salvation.
The fact is, creation is a very instructive picture of God's wondrous works of grace in salvation. In 2 Corinthians 5:17 the Apostle Paul tells us, "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature." The work of God in the new creation of grace is beautifully symbolized in the creation of the world.
Proposition: As the creation of the world was the work of God alone, so the making of men and women new creatures in Christ is the work of God alone.
Divisions: Let me show you three things in Genesis 1 about God's creation. In these three things you will clearly see a picture of the work of God in the new creation.
I. THE CREATION OF THE WORLD - "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth" (v. 1).
Thus opens the Word of God with a bare statement of fact. "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." That is all we are told concerning the original creation. No argument is given to prove the existence of God. Instead, his existence is simply affirmed as a fact to be believed. Nothing is given to gratify the curious minds of men. How long did it take for God to create the world? We are not told. How old is this world? We are not told. We are simply told, "In the beginning God created." The truth of God is simply stated as a fact to be received and understood by unquestioning faith.
A. "In the beginning God" - This is the foundation of all truth.
As I have stated many, many times, all true doctrine, all true theology, all true religion begins with this - "In the beginning God." All human religion and philosophy begin with man and work up to God. The Scriptures begin with God and work down to man.
This is most especially true in the matter of salvation. It is impossible to understand salvation unless we begin with God. In the Garden of Eden, Adam sinned and brought in death. But God was not taken by surprise. In the beginning, before ever the world was created, in anticipation of the fall, God provided his Son as "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (Rev. 13;8), "who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world" (1 Pet. 1:20).
In the new creation the sinner who is saved by grace repents, believes on the Lord Jesus Christ and walks with him in the newness of life. But it began with God. In the beginning God chose us in Christ (Eph. 1:4) and predestinated us to be his children (Eph. 1:5), and today "we love him, because he first loved us" (1 John 4:19). Everything begins with God. Understand that and you will not stray far from the truth.
In fact, the word "genesis" means "beginning." Someone said, "The book of Genesis is the seed plot of the Bible." It contains in seed form all the great doctrines and truths revealed more fully in the rest of the volume. In the book of Genesis...
a. God is revealed - He is revealed as the Creator-God, the Covenant-Keeping God, and the Almighty God, "the Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth." From the opening verse hints are given concerning the Blessed Trinity, the plurality of Persons in the Godhead (Elohim - "Let us make man").
NOTE: The creation of the world was a work that involved all three Persons in the Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, even as the works of redemption and providence involve all three of the Divine Persons.
b. The origin and character of man is set forth. - First, we see him as God's creature, then as a fallen sinner, then as one brought back to God, finding grace in his sight, walking with God, and made the friend of God.
c. Satan's devices are exposed. - The arch-enemy of our souls, the tempter, the deceiver seeks to ruin men by calling into question the Word of God, casting doubt upon the goodness of God, and raising suspicions about the veracity of God.
d. God's sovereign election is exhibited. - God approves of Abel and rejects Cain. God chooses Abram and passes by his idolatrous neighbors. God chooses Isaac and rejects Ishmael. God loves Jacob and hates Esau.
e. Salvation in Christ is typically displayed. - Our fallen parents, Adam and Eve, were sought and found by grace and clothed with the skins of innocent victims. In order to clothe the fallen pair, blood must be shed, the innocent victims had to die in the place of the guilty. As those innocent animals were slain for Adam and Eve, so the Lord Jesus Christ was slain for sinners that we might be robed forever in his perfect righteousness.
f. Justification by faith is revealed. - Abraham believed God and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Faith, by believing God's testimony concerning his Son, receives righteousness, the very righteousness of God in Christ.
g. The believer's security is beautifully displayed. - As the Lord brought Noah and his family into the ark and shut them in, so every believer, being brought into Christ by almighty grace, is shut in him, sealed, preserved and kept secure by the power of God. "They shall never perish!"
The incarnation of Christ is prophesied. The substitutionary death of Christ is portrayed. The resurrection and exaltation of Christ is symbolized. The priesthood of Christ is anticipated. And all the blessings of Christ upon the Israel of God are declared. Genesis is the Book of Beginnings.
In this Book of Beginnings everything speaks of Christ.
I have deliberately strayed from my subject a little, because I want you to know Christ who is the Beginning of the creation of God. All things were made by him and for him. He is before all things. He is in all things. By him all things consist. And all things point to him. Both the creation and in the new creation begin with Christ. You must know the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the One who made all things in the beginning. And he is the One who declares, "Behold, I make all things new" (Rev. 21:5).
B. Now look at verse 1 again - "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth" - The creation was a reflection of the Creator.
In verse 2 we read that the earth became "without form and void.' But certainly was not created that way (Read Isaiah 45:18).
Isaiah 45:18 "For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there Is none else."
In its pristine beauty, the earth was perfect beyond imagination.
Then something happened. "The earth" became "without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep."
II. Verse 2 describes THE RUIN AND CONFUSION OF GOD'S CREATION.
Genesis 1:2 "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."
The word "was" in verse 2 really should be translated "became" (Strong's Concordance). God did not create the world in a state of confusion. Between verses 1 and 2, some terrible catastrophe took place. Perhaps the catastrophe was the fall of Satan (Isa. 14:12-17; Ezek. 28:14-18).
Isaiah 14:12-17 "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! (13) For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: (14) I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. (15) Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. (16) They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; (17) That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?"
Ezekiel 28:14-18 "Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. (15) Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. (16) By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. (17) Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee. (18) Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffic; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee."
Whatever the catastrophe was, it left the earth "without form and void," a desolate, uninhabitable, ruined mass of confusion.
NOTE: I have no interest in trying to answer the quibbles of godless scientists and evolutionary philosophers. But if it could be irrefutably established that the earth were many thousands, or even millions of years old, that would be no contradiction to the Scriptures. We have no indication of how long an interval there was between the creation of the world, as it is stated in verse 1 and the ruin of the world, as it is described in verse 2. It is certainly wide enough to embrace all the prehistoric ages that may have existed! However, all that took place from Genesis 1:3-31 transpired in six twenty-four hour days, less than six thousand years ago.
Listen to the words of Exodus 20:11. "In six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is." There is a difference between "creating" and "making." In Genesis 1:1, God created the world out of nothing. In Genesis 1:2, "the earth became without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep." In Genesis 1:3-31, God made the earth in six days, forming it and fashioning it out of that which he had created.
"Out of the chaos was brought the `cosmos,' which signifies order, arrangement, beauty. Out of the waters emerged the earth. A scene of desolation, darkness, and death, was transformed into one of light, life, and fertility, so that at the end all was pronounced, `very good'" (A. W. Pink).
As this is a picture of the world's history, it is also a picture of man's history. In the beginning of time, on the sixth day, God created man. What a creature he was, created in the image and likeness of God, gloriously reflecting the very character of God! God himself said man was "very good!" He had no sinful heredity behind him, no sinful principle within him, no sinful stain upon him, and no sinful environment around him. Man and woman walked together with God in the bliss of perfection, contentment and mutual delight. Man was delighted with God and God was delighted with man.
Then a catastrophe! It is described in Genesis 3. Sin dared to raise its horrid head against God. Man defied God's right to be God. Sin entered into the world, and death by sin. Man died. He was separated from God. The earth was cursed. It began to bring forth thorns and thistles. God's creature became without form and void. The dark slime of the serpent corrupted the race of mankind. This great catastrophe, the fall, is verified in hearts of all Adam's descendants.
Ecclesiastes 7:20 "For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not."
Ecclesiastes 7:29 "Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions."
Ephesians 4:18 "Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart."
Jeremiah 17:9 "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?"
Romans 5:12 "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:"
Genesis 1:2 describes the condition of fallen man. Like the earth after Satan's fall, so man after Adam's fall is in a state of disorder.
A. It is a state of confusion.
"The earth became without form." Nothing was in harmony with God. Nothing was right. And fallen man is out of kilter. Nothing in him is in harmony with God. Nothing in him is right or good.
B. It is a state of emptiness.
"The earth was void," utterly empty, incapable of life and fruitfulness. And man without Christ is spiritually void, empty and barren, incapable of life and fruitfulness toward God. Fallen man can meet no conditions or requirements of any kind.
C. It is a state of darkness.
power of darkness, to be under the rule of Satan, the prince of darkness. There is not one ray of spiritual light in man by nature. Fallen man has no spiritual light, knowledge, or understanding.
III. Now, let me show you how the rest of this chapter describes THE RESTORATION OF GOD'S CREATION (vv. 2-31).
Time will not permit me to explain the meaning of every verse. But that is not my purpose. I want to show you the spiritual significance of these verses. The order followed by God in restoring the physical creation is the same order followed by God in the new creation, in the restoration of fallen man by his almighty grace. The work of God in the restoration of his creation corresponds exactly to the experience of a believer. Here are seven works performed by God in the restoration of his creation which picture his work of grace in the believer.
A. "AND THE SPIRIT OF GOD MOVED UPON THE FACE OF THE WATERS" (v. 2).
The earth, no doubt, moved in its orbit and rotated upon its own axis, but its motions could not mend it. It had to be moved upon by the Spirit of God. Otherwise, it would forever remain "without form and void."
Even so, regeneration is not accomplished by the works of man or the emotions of the heart, but by the working of God the Holy Spirit. The new birth is not an evolution, but a creation. "It is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy" (Rom. 9:16). "It is the Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profitteth nothing" (John 6:63).
The new birth is not accomplished by man's movement toward God, but by God's movement upon the heart of man.
B. "AND GOD SAID, LET THERE BE LIGHT; AND THERE WAS LIGHT" (v. 3).
Mark this down - If the Spirit of God moves upon a man it is by the Word of God. No less than ten times in this chapter we read these words, "And God said." God will not work apart from his Word. Without question, God could have refashioned and restored the earth without speaking a word. But he did not. His purposes were worked out and his counsels were fulfilled by his Word. Light came and was produced by the Word of God.
These two things are inseparably joined together: The ministry of the Holy Spirit and the ministry of the Word of God.
1. The Word of God is the power of God (Rom. 1:16).
Romans 1:16 "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek."
2. The Word of God is the source of spiritual light (2 Cor. 4:6).
2 Corinthians 4:6 "For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."
3. The Word of God is the seed of life (James 1:18; 1 Pet. 1:23-25).
James 1:18 "Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures."
1 Peter 1:23-25 "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. (24) For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: (25) But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you."
4. The Word of God is the conveyor of faith (Rom. 10:17).
Romans 10:17 "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."
5. The Word of God is the means of grace and salvation (1 Cor. 1:23; 1 Tim. 4:16).
1 Corinthians 1:23 "But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;"
1 Timothy 4:16 "Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee."
C. "AND GOD DIVIDED THE LIGHT FROM THE DARKNESS" (v. 4).
As God separated the light from the darkness in the old creation, so he separates the light from the darkness in the new creation. "Ye are the children of the light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness" (1 Thess. 5:5).
The Word of God, by the power of the Holy Spirit working in the new man, divides between the soul and the spirit, separates the spiritual from the carnal (2 Cor. 6:14-18).
2 Corinthians 6:14-18 "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? (15) And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? (16) And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. (17) Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, (18) And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty."
NOTE: Those who are born of God know light from darkness. And they walk in the light as he is in the light (1 John 1:5-7).
1 John 1:5-7 "This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. (6) If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: (7) But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin."
D. "AND GOD SAID, LET THE EARTH BRING FORTH FRUIT" (v. 11).
Where there is the work of the Spirit, the Word of God and the light of grace, there will be fruit unto God (Gal. 5:22-23).
Galatians 5:22-23 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, (23) Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law."
This fruit is the result of a condition, not an effort. It is the result of what we are, not of what we do. The fruit of Christ in us is Christ likeness. Those who are born of God bear fruit after his kind. The seed within bears fruit after its kind on the earth. Apples produce apples. Grapes produce grapes. And grace produces grace.
The grace of God molds and controls a believer's character and conduct.
E. "AND GOD SAID, LET THERE BE LIGHTS IN THE FIRMAMENT OF HEAVEN TO GIVE LIGHT UPON THE EARTH" (vv. 14-15).
The lights must be above the earth if they are to shine upon it. Now you who are born of God have been raised above the earth. "Ye are the light of the world" (Matt. 5:14). As the moon reflects the light of the sun, see that you reflect the light of Christ in this world (Matt. 5:16).
Matthew 5:14-16 "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. (15) Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. (16) Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."
NOTE: Good works are the only lights by which the world sees Christ in his people. Let us be careful to maintain them (Eph. 2:10; Tit. 3:8).
Ephesians 2:10 "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."
Titus 3:8 "This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men."
Here is the climax of the Creator's power. God made man in his own likeness. And he made him out of the soil of the earth, even the earth which had become "without form and void!" But here is a work even greater. In the new creation, the God of all grace creates sinners new in Christ! (2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 6:15; Col. 3:10).
2 Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."
Galatians 6:15 "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature."
Colossians 3:10 "And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him."
God takes men and women who are utterly "without form and void" spiritually and makes them exact replicas of his Son!
G. AND GOD BLESSED THE MAN HE HAD MADE AND GAVE HIM DOMINION OVER ALL HIS CREATION (vv. 29-31).
Genesis 1:29-31 "And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. (30) And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. (31) 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."
Those who are born of God are blessed of God (Eph. 1:3). "All things are yours, for ye are Christ's, and Christ is God's." And one day soon God shall put all things under your feet even as he has put all things under the feet of his dear Son (Heb. 2:6-9; Rom. 16:20). Then the purpose of God shall be fulfilled. Then God shall be all in all!
Application: Until you are one with Christ, your are out of harmony with God's creation. Come to Christ. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Come, enter into that blessed sabbath of faith portrayed in Genesis 2:1-3.
Genesis 2:1-3 "Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. (2) And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. (3) And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made."
Cease from your works as God did from his, and trust, rest in the Lord Jesus Christ as your only, all-sufficient Savior. If you do, I tell you upon the authority of God's Holy Word that you are a new creation in Christ!
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