First Things First Series

Genesis (2) (First Things First)

Text: Genesis 1:1-2

By: Ken McKinley

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Last Sunday when we looked at this passage we saw that Moses wanted to make it clear to us that it was God and God alone that was responsible for creation. We also talked about how God created all that exists ex nihilo or out of nothing. So this morning what we’re going to do is actually look a little closer at those first two verses from the first book of the Bible, and try to see how we can apply them to our lives.

What verse 1 and 2 do is bring us face to face with the reality of God; the reality that God is our Creator and that we are ultimately responsible to Him.

What these verses do is give us the Biblical “cosmogony”. What that means is the study of the origins of our world. Scientists have their own views of cosmogony, and so do philosophers, and here we have the Biblical cosmogony. And I believe that the Holy Spirit inspired Moses to write this passage because God wants us to consider the implications of what these two verses are saying.

What verse 1 does, is makes it clear to us that there is no alternative opinion that we can take about the creation of the universe, and still say we hold to the Biblical account. That’s not to say a person is lost if they believe in evolution or theistic evolution. I have met Christians; who have, through public education, and the worlds pressures… have come to be confused or skeptical about how God created the heavens and the earth, and all that lives therein. They’re just as saved as you or I. They believe in Jesus, they’ve been saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, they just aren’t sure what exactly Genesis 1:1 means… they wonder if God used evolution or the various means scientists claim, in the creation process. Hopefully after we get through this first section of Genesis we’ll be able to clear that confusion up. But I’ll just say this now, God didn’t use evolution. He didn’t use the big bang. He spoke and it was.

You see evolution requires that something existed, even if it was a blob or a particle, something existed. It has no answer to where that blob or particle came from. Evolution also tells us that matter progressed, and it progressed favorably. That’s an empirical problem for evolutionists today, and it always has been. Every time we see a mutation occur in science, its always harmful. And we find that there are far more problems with Darwin’s theory than there are within Christian doctrine. I’ll give you one example before we move on. It comes from the idea that is so pervasive in our society that “all people and all ideas are equal.” So let me ask you this: if there is no God and there is no divine Law Giver, and there are no consequences for our thoughts and behavior… then how did we arrive at the idea that all people are equal? If we evolved, who’s to say that my particular group of people didn’t evolve at a faster rate than your particular group, or that the process of evolution didn’t result in my evolving into something better than you?

You see it’s taking evolutionary thought to its logical process that creates men like Adolph Hitler, or Lenin or Stalin. But as Christians we have an answer to that kind of thinking. And that answer, is that all of humanity is created in the image and likeness of God. That we are God’s most cherished creation, so cherished in-fact that He sent His only begotten Son to die in our place so that we might be redeemed back to Him.

Genesis 1:1 says God is our creator, and when we see God as our creator, that He created us in His image, we can agree with the Unites States Declaration of Independence which states that, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are – life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

The other thing that verse 1 does – is that it shows us the distinction between the Creator and His creation. God is not the earth, God is not creation. He’s not part of the world and the world and the universe is not God. God is clearly defined as the Creator. And though He is personally and intimately involved in His creation, He is apart and distinct from His creation. He brought it into existence and He is Lord over it. He is an all-powerful, all-knowing, personal Being… and that’s part of the amazing thing about Genesis. This all-powerful, all-knowing, ever-present, personal God who created all that is, made the world to reflect Him and His glory. And so in creation we can expect order, we can expect meaning, we can expect certain laws to govern the creation. And we have those things, like GRAVITY, OR ENTROPY. Now I could stand here all day and talk to you about the philosophical side of this, but my wife on the other hand is sitting up there in the sound booth wondering, “How does knowing all of this help me keep the house clean, and take care of the kids? How does knowing that God sovereignly created the universe, and created it orderly, and that that He gave it meaning help in the daily struggles I face?”