God Created
A guest post by Chad Ramsey.
Perhaps the most well known verse in the Bible is Genesis 1:1: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Although this passage does not specify when the beginning occurred, it does affirm that God—whose existence is prior to and independent of everything else—acted to create what exists.
Importantly, the term translated “created” is only used in Scripture to refer to divine activity, and it “carries the idea of bringing something new into existence” (Woods 4).
God Created the World Out of Nothing.
The creation process involved God speaking the world into being. Describing this, the psalmist wrote:
“By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth” (Psalm 33:6).
The writer of Hebrews also affirmed this by writing:
“By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible” (Hebrews 11:3).
This process is known as creation ex nihilo (i.e. out of nothing). And the idea is significant because “anything else but a creation ex nihilo demands that matter is as eternal as God, and if that is ever assumed, no one could be really sure that God was greater than the matter which was co-eternal with Him” (Smith 278).
Besides whatever else might be said, Genesis 1:1 indicates: “What God created was the basic stuff of the physical universe, both ‘terrestrial’ and ‘celestial’” (Kissling 85).
Genesis 1 goes on to describe what occurred as God created the world. Six days, all possessing both an evening and a morning (cf. Genesis 1:5) are mentioned. The text also specifies what God created on each particular day.
The Godhead and Creation.
When Genesis 1 is studied in conjunction with other passages of Scripture, we learn that all three members of the Godhead were involved in the creation. Genesis 1:2 specifically mentions that “the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” And several passages in the New Testament detail the work of the Son in the process (John 1:3; Colossians 1:15-17; Hebrews 1:2).
Although some have tried to find further support for the work of the Godhead in the creation by noting that the term translated “God” throughout Genesis 1 is a plural form, this approach is unnecessary.
Woods notes that this term is “singular in meaning, being always used with a singular verb when used to designate the true God” (Woods 4). “It is fair to say, however, that the creation account (1:2, 26-27) implies that there is a plurality within God” (Mathews 127).
God Was Involved in the Creation.
Most importantly, the account of Genesis 1 depicts God as actively involved in the creation. When God said: “Let there be light” (v. 3), light resulted.
It is impossible to read the creation account and not be impressed with both the position and power of God. Not surprisingly, the psalmist, encouraging the worship of God, observed:
“Know that the Lord, He is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture” (Psalm 100:3).
Works Cited.
Kissling, Paul. The College Press NIV Commentary: Genesis, Vol. 1. Joplin: College Press, 2004.
Matthews, Kenneth A. The New American Commentary: Genesis 1-11:26. Vol. 1A. Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1996.
Smith, Wilbur. Therefore, Stand. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1968.
Woods, Clyde. The Living Way Commentary on the Old Testament: Genesis-Exodus. Shreveport: Lambert, 1974.
Chad Ramsey preaches for the Gloster Street Church of Christ in Tupelo, Mississippi. You can access their Bible classes and Chad’s sermons on Gloster Street’s YouTube page.
Chad was - and still is - “my preacher” from when I spent my high school and early college years at Gloster Street. I’m thankful to be able to share some of his writings with you.
