Creation

Why, how, and when did God create the universe?

A. God Created the Universe Out of Nothing

• God created the entire universe out of nothing; it was originally very good; and he created it to glorify himself.
• Because God created the entire universe out of nothing, no matter in the universe is eternal. The mountains, the oceans, the stars, the earth itself, all came into existence when God created them.
• God the Father was the primary agent in initiating the act of creation, but the Son and the Holy Spirit were also active. The Son is often described as the one "through" whom creation came about. "All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made." (John 1:3). The Holy Spirit was also at work in creation. Job said, "The spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life."

B. Creation is Distinct from God Yet Always Dependent on God

• The Bible teaches that God is distinct from his creation. He is not part of it, for he has made it and rules over it.
• So basically God is far above the creation in the sense that he is greater than the creation and he is independent of it. (We need God, He doesn't need us)
• God is also very much involved in creation, for it is continually dependent on him for its existence and its functioning.
• The term used to say that God is much greater than creation is the word transcendent.
  
• The term used a lot to speak of God's involvement in creation is the word immanent, meaning "remaining in" creation.
• The Bible is the story of God's involvement with his creation and particularly with the people in it.

C. God Created the Universe to Show His Glory

• It is clear that God created his people for his own glory, for he speaks of his sons and daughters as those "whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made" (Isaiah 43:7)
• When we affirm that God created the universe to show his glory, it is important that we realie that he did not need to create it. We should not think that God needed more glory than he had within the Trinity for all eternity or that he was somehow incomplete without the glory that he would receive from the created universe. We must remind ourselves that the creation of the universe was a totally free act of God.

D. The Universe God Created Was "Very Good"

• If God created the universe to show his glory, then we would expect that the universe would fulfill the purpose for which he created it. When God finished his work of creation, he did take delight in it. At the end of each stage of creation, God saw that what he had done was "good." Then at the end of the six days of creation, "God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good" (Genesis 1:31)

E. The Age of the Earth (Here's a tough one for me)

• The question of the age of the earth, is a question about which Bible-believing Christians have differed for many years. The two primary options to choose from for a date of the earth are the "old earth" position, which agrees with the consensus of modern science that the earth is 4.5 billion years old, and the "young earth" position, which says that the earth is 10,000 to 20,000 years old, and that secular scientific dating schemes are incorrect.
• Those who believe old earth theories of creation prpose that the six "days" of creation in Genesis 1 refer not to periods of twenty four hours, but rather to long periods of time, millions of years, during which God carried out the creative activities. They point out that Hebrew word translated "day" is sometimes used to refer no to a literal twenty four hour day but to a longer period of time. Other factors supporting the old earth view include the fact that the genealogies of the Bible contain gaps and are not intended to be used to calculate the age of the earth, and the evidences of antiquity in the universe (such as the continental drift, dinosaurs, and other things).
• Those who believe in the "young earth" theories of creation argue that the "days" in Genesis 1 represent literal twenty four hour periods of time, pointing to the fact that each of the days of Genesis 1 ends with an expressions such as, "And there was evening, and there was morning - the first day." Another "young earth" theory is that the tremendous natural forces unleashed by the flood at the time of Noah significantly altered the face of the earth, exerting extremely high pressures on the earth and depositing fossils in layers of incredibly thick sediment all over the earth's surface.
• While the various arguments for the two basic views of the age of the earth are complex and our conclusions are tentative, I feel that Scripture seems to be more easily understood to suggest a young earth view, while the observable facts of creation seem increasingly to favor an old earth view.
• With the information we have now, it is not at all easy to decide this question with certainty. The possibility must be left open that God has chosen not to give us enough information to come to a clear decision on this question.
• For me it is helpful to just admit that God may not allow us to find a clear solution to this question before Christ returns.