“Creation” with Matt Robinson
The Questions of Creation
WHO?
HOW?
WHY?
The question everyone must ask:
Why is there something rather than
nothing?
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and
the earth.”
Genesis 1:1
Ex Nihilo:
Latin, meaning “from out of nothing”.
“By the word of the Lord the heavens were
made, and by the breath of his mouth all
their host.”
Psalm 33:6
“Before the mountains were brought forth, or
ever you had formed the earth and the world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.”
Psalm 90:2
Question 1: WHO?
• GOD
“He by definition, names it, claims it, and owns
it.”
B.B. Warfield
God’s Sovereignty Over Creation
“All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted
as nothing, and he does according to his will
among the host of heaven and among the
inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay
his hand or say to him, ‘What have you
done?’”
Daniel 4:35
“There is not a square inch in the whole
domain of our human existence over which
Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not
cry, "Mine!”
Abraham Kuyper
Question 2: HOW?
• God speaks:
– And God said, let there be light...
– And God said, let there be an expanse in the midst
of the waters...
– And God said, let the waters under the heavens be
gathered together into one place...
– And God said, let the earth sprout vegetation...
What Has God Created?
• “For by him all things were created, in heaven
and on earth, visible and invisible, whether
thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities –
all things were created through him and for
him.”
Colossians 1:16
• “You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens,
with all their host”
Nehemiah 9:6
The Nicene Creed:
“We believe in one God, the Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things
visible and invisible.”
“The earth was without form and void, and
darkness was over the face of the deep, and
the spirit of God was hovering over the face
of the waters.”
Genesis 1:2
Day 1 (Gen. 1:3-5)
And God said, “Let there be light,” and there
was light. 4 And God saw that the light was
good. And God 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.
Day 2 (Gen. 1:6-8)
And God said, “Let there be an expanse in the
midst of the waters, and let it separate the
waters from the waters.” 7 And God made
the expanse and separated the waters that
were under the expanse from the waters that
were above the expanse. And it was so.
8 And God called the expanse Heaven. And
there was evening and there was morning,
the second day.
Day 3 (Gen. 1:9-10)
And God said, “Let the waters under the
heavens be gathered together into one place,
and let the dry land appear.” And it was so.
10 God called the dry land Earth, and the
waters that were gathered together he called
Seas. And God saw that it was good.
11 And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation,
plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit
in which is their seed, each according to its kind,
on the earth.” And it was so. 12 The earth
brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed
according to their own kinds, and trees bearing
fruit in which is their seed, each according to its
kind. And God saw that it was good. 13 And
there was evening and there was morning, the
third day.
Day 4 (Gen. 1:14-19)
And God said, “Let there be lights in the
expanse of the heavens to separate the day
from the night. And let them be for signs and
for seasons, and for days and years, 15 and
let them be lights in the expanse of the
heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it
was so. 16 And God made the two great
lights—the greater light to rule the day and
the lesser light to rule the night—and the
stars.
17 And God set them in the expanse of the
heavens to give light on the earth, 18 to rule
over the day and over the night, and to
separate the light from the darkness. And
God saw that it was good. 19 And there was
evening and there was morning, the fourth
day.
Day 5 (Gen. 20-23)
20 And God said, “Let the waters swarm with
swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly
above the earth across the expanse of the
heavens.” 21 So God created the great sea
creatures and every living creature that
moves, with which the waters swarm,
according to their kinds, and every winged
bird according to its kind. And God saw that
it was good.
22 And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful
and multiply and fill the waters in the seas,
and let birds multiply on the earth.” 23 And
there was evening and there was morning,
the fifth day.
Day 6 (Gen. 1:24-27)
And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living
creatures according to their kinds—livestock
and creeping things and beasts of the earth
according to their kinds.” And it was so.
25 And God made the beasts of the earth
according to their kinds and the livestock
according to their kinds, and everything that
creeps on the ground according to its kind.
And God saw that it was good.
26 Then 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 birds of the heavens
and over the livestock and over all the earth and
over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
27 So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
Trinitarian Roles in Creation
“...let us make man in our image.”
Genesis 1:26
God the Father
“Have we not all one Father? Has not one God
created us?”
Malachi 2:10
The Father is the author of creation and the
constitutive grounds for all that exist.
God the Son
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word
was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He
was in the beginning with God. 3 All things
were made through him, and without him
was not any thing made that was made.”
John 1:1-3
“For by him all things were created, in heaven and
on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones
or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things
were created through him and for him. 17 And
he is before all things, and in him all things hold
together.”
Colossians 1:16-17
The Son is the principle and active agent in
creation.
God the Holy Spirit
“And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face
of the waters.”
Genesis 1:2
“The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of
the Almighty gives me life.”
Job 33:4
The Spirit is the divine power active in creation
and the source of all energy, movement, and
vitality in the universe.
Question 3: WHY?
• God created the universe to show His own glory.
“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky
above proclaims his handiwork.”
Psalm 19:1
“It is he who made the earth by his power, who
established the world by his wisdom, and by his
understanding stretched out the heavens.”
Jeremiah 10:12
“For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal
power and divine nature, have been clearly
perceived, ever since the creation of the
world, in the things that have been made. So
they are without excuse.”
Romans 1:20
“...everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made.”
Isaiah 43:7
“Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive
glory and honor and power, for you created
all things, and by your will they existed and
were created.”
Revelation 4:11
Theories of Creation
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Theistic Evolution
Day-Age Theory
Gap Theory
Darwinian Evolution
Revelatory Day Theory
Young Earth Theory
“It seems as though science will never be able to raise
the curtain on the mystery of creation. For the
scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of
reason, the story ends like a bad dream. He has scaled
the mountains of ignorance. He is about to conquer
the highest peak. As he pulls himself over the final
rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have
been sitting there for centuries.”
Robert Zastrow
Former Director,
Goddard Institute for Space Studies,
NASA
Essential Creation Beliefs
1. Creation Ex Nihilo.
2. Each is created “according to it’s kind (Gen.
1:11, 12).
3. Adam and Eve as historical persons.
4. The Goodness of Creation.
"When I look at your heavens, the work of your
fingers, the moon and the stars, which you
have set in place, what is man that you are
mindful of him, and the son of man that you
care for him?”
Psalm 8:3-4