The Doctrine of Creation / Genesis, The Foundation of Biblical Doctrines, Part 1
Genesis: The Foundation of Biblical Doctrines • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Intro
Intro
Text - Genesis 1.1-3
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 And the earth was a formless and desolate emptiness, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. 3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.
4 This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made earth and heaven. 5 Now no shrub of the field was yet on the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the Lord God had not sent rain upon the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground. 6 But a mist used to rise from the earth and water the whole surface of the ground. 7 Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living person.
Title - The Doctrine of Creation
Series - Genesis: The Foundation of Biblical Doctrines
Purpose of this series
Purpose of this series
to establish the importance of the book of Genesis in the formation and development of biblical doctrines of the Christian faith
to understand the foundations of the biblical doctrines
Definition of Terms
Definition of Terms
Creation - has 2 senses
creation as the act or process of creating
creation as the thing that is created
Words used in the Scriptures
Heb. bara’ (grk. ktizein)
it means to create, used in the absolute sense
used in Genesis 1.1
this word is never used to describe man’s creative activity, only God’s
Heb. asah (Grk. poiein)
it means to make
Heb. yatsar (Grk. plasso)
it means to form
Main Subject
Main Subject
The doctrine of creation is that act of God whereby He, according to His sovereign will, in the beginning brought forth the whole visible and invisible universe without the use of pre-existing material, for His own glory.
this doctrine is primarily focused on the creative act of God in the account of Genesis 1-2
Creation is an act of God
Creation is an act of God
God is the only Creator
God is the only Creator
24 This is what the Lord says, He who is your Redeemer, and the one who formed you from the womb:
“I, the Lord, am the maker of all things,
Stretching out the heavens by Myself
And spreading out the earth alone,
12 “It is I who made the earth, and created mankind upon it.
I stretched out the heavens with My hands,
And I ordained all their lights.
in polytheistic beliefs, different gods were responsible for creation
Genesis records One God who created all things
Babylonian and Canaanite stopries depict their deities struggling in the creative acts
Genesis describes God creating all things by merely speaking things into existence
ancient world beliefs held that the gods were not wholly in favor of the existence of man -
according to “Atrahasis epic”, humans were created by the greater gods when the minor gods went on a strike; but the human population exploded, so they tried to annihilate them mankind with famine, plague and flood.
In Genesis, God creates man as a climax and with much excitement (Let us make man…) and He blessed them!
Creation is a free act of God
Creation is a free act of God
by his will
“Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.”
For his pleasure
for by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, or dominions, or rulers, or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.
God’s creative act is in 3 Stages
God’s creative act is in 3 Stages
[ILLUSTRATION - Three Spheres or Stages of God’s creative act]
First, the heavens and the earth - the cosmic universe
First, the heavens and the earth - the cosmic universe
Genesis 1.1 - describes the creation of the universe
The first stage of creation was ex nihilo (out of nothing)
The first stage of creation was ex nihilo (out of nothing)
3 By faith we understand that the world has been created by the word of God so that what is seen has not been made out of things that are visible.
The world was created by the Word of God
2 Praise Him, all His angels; Praise Him, all His heavenly armies!
3 Praise Him, sun and moon; Praise Him, all stars of light!
4 Praise Him, highest heavens, And the waters that are above the heavens!
5 They are to praise the name of the Lord, For He commanded and they were created.
1 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 came into being through Him, and apart from Him not even one thing came into being that has come into being.
made by things not seen
17 (as it is written: “I have made you A father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed, that is, God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that do not exist.
6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, And by the breath of His mouth all their lights.
7 He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap; He puts the depths in storehouses.
8 Let all the earth fear the Lord; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.
9 For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood firm.
The word “beginning” introduces the idea of time
The word “beginning” introduces the idea of time
beginning indicates time, as it is a starting point
beginning separates the creation from the Creator - God is eternal, no beginning and no end
creation has a beginning
3 distinct marks of creation -
time - “in the beginning”
space - God created “the heavens”
matter - “and the earth”
Second, the earth - to make it habitable to mankind
Second, the earth - to make it habitable to mankind
The second stage of creation was from chaos to order
The second stage of creation was from chaos to order
2 And the earth was a formless and desolate emptiness, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.
formless and empty - chaotic, but only the earth as it was not yet prepared for habitation;
but the universe was already in order (cosmos)
A chaotic earth is not habitable, not useful for God
18 For this is what the Lord says, He who created the heavens (He is the God who formed the earth and made it, He established it and did not create it as a waste place, but formed it to be inhabited): “I am the Lord, and there is no one else.
12 “It is I who made the earth, and created mankind upon it. I stretched out the heavens with My hands, And I ordained all their lights.
by the end of this stage God saw everything He made was very good !
31 And God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
how did God do it?
Marks of orderly creation
Marks of orderly creation
1./ Separation - God separated things that must not be joined
light from darkness
3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.
4 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, one day.
waters above and below
6 Then God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.”
7 God made the expanse, and separated the waters that were below the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse; and it was so.
8 God called the expanse “heaven.” And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.
2./ Life and production - God created life and can reproduce
plant life
11 Then God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit according to their kind with seed in them”; and it was so.
12 The earth produced vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their kind, and trees bearing fruit with seed in them, according to their kind; and God saw that it was good.
animal life
20 Then God said, “Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the heavens.”
21 And God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind; and God saw that it was good.
22 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, a fifth day.
24 Then God said, “Let the earth produce living creatures according to their kind: livestock and crawling things and animals of the earth according to their kind”; and it was so.
25 God made the animals of the earth according to their kind, and the livestock according to their kind, and everything that crawls on the ground according to its kind; and God saw that it was good.
3./ Times and Season - God determined that there will be different seasons in the life of His creation
14 Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and they shall serve as signs and for seasons, and for days and years;
15 and they shall serve as lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so.
16 God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also.
17 God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth,
18 and to govern the day and 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, a fourth day.
4./ Dominion or rule - God determined that somebody will be in charge of His creation
26 Then God said, “Let Us make mankind in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the livestock and over all the earth, and over every crawling thing that crawls 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.
28 God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
5./ Rest - God determined that His creation will find rest in Him!
Gene 2.1-3
1 And so the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their heavenly lights.
2 By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.
3 Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because on it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.
Notes
These are the principles of life in order and in accordance with God
take away one principle, and the result is chaos!
take away separation of light and darkness - chaos!
take away the authority/rule - chaos!
take away reproduction by kind - chaos!
take away the seasons - chaos!
Third, the first man and woman in Eden
Third, the first man and woman in Eden
The third stage of creation was - man, a new creation
The third stage of creation was - man, a new creation
4 This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made earth and heaven.
this marks the 3rd stage, up to verse 25
Man was created in a new/different way -
27 So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
in the image of God
7 Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living person.
out of the ground
He bears the image of the Creator!
And yet he was a secondary creation - out of the ground
The purpose of the third stage is fellowship
God wanted to have a family bearing his image
Creation was made for the glory of God
Creation was made for the glory of God
The whole purpose of creation is to celebrate the attributes of God
11 “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.”
7 Everyone who is called by My name, And whom I have created for My glory, Whom I have formed, even whom I have made.”
Conclusion
Conclusion
The doctrine of creation establishes these truths -
God is the only creator
God created the heavens and the earth out of nothing
God created the earth to be inhabited by His people
God created man to become His own children
God is the final end of all creation
SONG - Who Am I?