There are many scientists who claim to know how the world began. Some of them even claim to know what happened in the first few fractions of a second of the universe. But do they? Or have they just been making stuff up?
Science, true science, deals with what we KNOW, that which we can repeatedly test and measure. The problem that scientists have is that they were not around at the beginning of the universe and therefore they cannot know what happened. They can only guess and speculate, based on what they think may have happened. (We will not go into all the problems that there are with the theory of uniformity etc. but there are real problems with the guesses that they base much of their work on.)
If a policeman, who was not at the scene of a crime, wants to know how the crime was committed, he will try to find a reliable eye witness. Someone who was there when it happened. An Eye witness KNOWS what happened. The policeman will also want to know if there is any scientific evidence to support this account.
In the Bible, God, (who never lies), claims to have been there when the world began. We have a reliable eye witness. In this study we are going to have a look at how God says it all began. By the way, if you want to know if there is any scientific evidence to support God’s account I suggest that you take a look at the Creation Science website Answers in Genesis at www.answersingenesis.org or Creation Science Evangelism at www.drdino.com
How the World Began
The creation account is recorded in the first book in the Bible called Genesis. Genesis chapter one Day one
1. In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. v2 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. 3. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. 4. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. 5. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
Genesis 1:1-5
Day two
6. And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. 7. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. 8. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
Genesis 1:6-7
Day three
9. And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. 10. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good. 11. And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. 12. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. 13. And the evening and the morning were the third day.
Genesis 1:9-13
Day Four
14. And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: 15. And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.16. And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. 17. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, 18. And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. 19. And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
Genesis 1:14-19
Day Five
20. And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. 21. And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his 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 fowl multiply in the earth. 23. And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.
Genesis 1:20-23
Day Six
24. And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. 25. And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good. 26. And 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 fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 27. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.28. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. 29. 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.
Genesis 1:24-31
(On the seventh day God rested.)
Who made the world?
In it’s first verse, the Bible makes the clearest statement about who made the universe or “heaven and the earth.” In Genesis 1v1 it says “…God created the heaven and the earth.” At this point the Bible does not try to argue about who God is or where He came from, it just assumes that God exists. We will do the same. God has always existed, He was around before any of this universe came into being, and will be around after it has all come to an end.
2. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.
Psalm 90:2
How did He make it?
Many times the Bible talks about God creating by speaking. For example Psalm 33v6 “By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth”. Seven times in Genesis chapter one we read of God speaking to create, (see v3, v6, v9, v11, v14, v22 & v24). God simply expressed His will and it came into being. In fact the Bible says that He is still sustaining or upholding the creation, even today, by His word. We find this in Hebrews 1 v3 where, speaking of Jesus it says
3. Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
Hebrews 1 v3
Why did He make it?
‘Why’ is a question that often comes up in our lives. “Why do people suffer?”, “Why did my xxx have to die?”, “Why was I born?” etc. So, if God made the world and made it by His word or by expressing His will, WHY did He make it? Here are some of the reasons that He made the world. He made it because He wanted to. Not because He needed to, for He had no need of creation.
24. God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; 25.Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;
Acts 17 :24-25
He made it because it gave Him pleasure.
11. Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
Revelation 4:11
He made it because He has a plan, and every part of the creation has it’s place in that plan, even the wicked.
4. The Lord hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.
Proverbs 16:4
He made it because His plan was to have a people who would be His, loving and serving Him.
(It might help you as you read this passage to know that ‘Holy’ does not mean to be old, boring or like an angel, but to be special for God’s use.)
4. According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 5.Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
Ephesians 1:4-5
There is no accident or mistake in creation. As we have just seen, before the foundation of the world, that is before any of this universe was made, God knew what He was doing. He made all creation from the mighty stars to the tiny atom, even you and me, for a purpose. All of it according to His own will.
9. Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, 10. Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:
Isaiah 46:9-10
So what?
You may be saying “All this, ‘God made it’ talk is very interesting, but what has it got to do with me?” Let us have a look and see what it should mean to us that God made all things. If God made everything, it all belongs to Him.
1. The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. 2. For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods.
Psalm 24:1-2
Therefore you belong to God. If everything belongs to God, He can set the rules.
Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.
Acts 5:29
In fact, that is in part what the Bible is; it is God’s manual for life. Much more than just a rule book, it is a book on how to get the very best out of life. If God made it all for a purpose, then life is not meaningless. It is all part of His plan; you are part of His plan. Even the bits that look like disasters work out to the good of His people.
28. …all things work together for good to them that love God, …
Romans 8:28
The best bit of this is that there is purpose in your life! When God created you and me, in fact all mankind, He made us in His image. You will find this in Genesis 1v26 “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…” Since God made us in His image we reflect His character. You are, therefore, very special. Being made in God’s image, you have some idea that there is a right and wrong. God is totally just and therefore He will one day judge us all according to His record of all that we have ever done, thought or said. Here are three passages from the Bible that do not sound like very good news, but good news is coming soon.
11.And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 12. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
Revelation 20:11-12
5. Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.
1. Corinthians 4:5
36. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. 37. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.
Matthew 12:36-37
Home Task
Memorise
6. O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker.
Psalm 95:6
Have a go at answering these questions. I have included the full text of the Bible references in this study. If you do not have a Bible do please let me know and we will can chat about where to get one or I will endeavour to get you one if you can not get one. you can use our contact page You can also download ‘Bible Explorer’ a bible for the computer FREE Bible Explorer There are now many, many Bible translations into English, We very strongly recommend using the KJV (King James Version) also known as the AV or (Authorised Version).
Q1. What should we give to God because He is the creator of all things? Have a look at Revelation 4 v11 to find the answer.
11. Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
Revelation 4:11
Q2. If everything belongs to God, what effect should this have on your life?
29. Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.
Acts 5:29
Q3. If God sets the rules, should we know them? YES / NO You can read God’s Ten Commandments in Exodus chapter 20. 10 Commandments Introduction
1. And God spake all these words, saying, 2. I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
Exodus 20:1-2
Commandment 1
3. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Exodus 20:3
Commandment 2
4. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 6. And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
Exodus 20:4-6
Commandment 3
7. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
Exodus 20:7
Commandment 4
8. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 10. But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: 11. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
Exodus 20:8-11
Commandment 5
12. Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
Exodus 20:12
Commandment 6
13. Thou shalt not kill.
Exodus 20:13
Commandment 7
14. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Exodus 20:14
Commandment 8
15. Thou shalt not steal.
Exodus 20:15
Commandment 9
16. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Exodus 20:16
Commandment 10
17. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Exodus 20:17
Q4. If there is purpose in your life, what is it?
13. Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
Ecclesiastes 12:13
Q5. If God is going to judge you by your thoughts, words and deeds, how will you be found? PERFECT / IMPERFECT This is a study about finding Good News, but first we must lay the foundation. Wait until Study Three, that is where the good news really starts.
