Title: God's Creation of Heaven and Earth
God's Creation
Genesis 1:1-5
Introduction
Iron men who think more deeply than ordinary people ask, "What is the origin of all things?" To get an answer to the question, they put a lot of research, effort, and thought into their own answers and presented them.
1) Thales said that the source of all things in the universe is 'water'.
2) Anaximenes said that the source of all things is 'air'.
3) Heraclitus said that the source of all things is 'fire'.
4) Pythagoras said that the source of all things is 'number'.
5) Empedocles said that the origins of all things are 'earth, water, air, and fire'.
6) Anaximander said that the origin of all things is the 'Infinite', a divine being that does not die, has no characteristics, and does not change. The other five people presented answers that had nothing to do with the correct answers.
What is the origin of all things? Who made heaven and earth? The only book that can give you an answer to this is the Bible, which is the eternal truth. In verse 1 of today's text, it says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” This is the only correct answer. This morning, I would like to share the grace of God by speaking about the creation of the heavens and the earth.
Main subject
1. When God created heaven and earth
When God created the heavens and the earth, it was the beginning
Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
The word “beginning” is “bereshit” in Hebrew, which means “the starting point of time” that began with God’s initiation of creation. To put it more simply, we do not know when, but God created the heavens and the earth. It means the time when all things began to exist.
In John 1:1, it says, “In the beginning was the Word,” and the “beginning” in these words refers to the time when God himself began to exist long before the creation of the heavens and the earth.
2. What God created
1) Heaven, earth, sea, and heavenly bodies
2) Animals, plants, fish, birds, people, all animals, all things.
Of all things in the universe, there is not a single thing that God did not make. When you look at the universe and the ecosystem, you cannot help but be amazed and thrilled.
3. God's Way of Creation
1) He created with the word
In Genesis 1:3, “God said, Let there be light, and there was light.
In Genesis 1:6, “God said, ‘There will be a firmament in the midst of the waters to divide the waters from the waters.”
In Genesis 1:9, “God said, Let the waters under the heavens be gathered into one place, and let dry land appear.” And it was so.
In Genesis 1:11, “God said, ‘Let the earth bring forth grass, seed-bearing plants, and fruit-bearing plants with seed according to their kind.
In Genesis 1:14, “God said, “Let there be a light in the firmament of the heavens, to divide the day and the night, and let it be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years.”
In Genesis 1:20, it says, “God said, Let the waters multiply with living things, and let birds fly above the earth in the expanse of the heavens.”
2) He created from dust.
Genesis 2:7 says, “And the LORD God formed man from the dust, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being.”
Genesis 2:19 says, “From the dust the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air.”
4. The period God created
God created heaven and earth in 6 days
This is possible because God is omnipotent.
Genesis 2:2 says, “When the seventh day came, the work that God had made was finished, and on the seventh day he rested from the work that he had made.”
5. The order God created
1) Light (1-5)
Genesis 1:3 “God said, Let there be light, and there was light”
Genesis 1:5 “And the light he called Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.”
2) The firmament (6-8)
Genesis 1:7 “God made the expanse to divide the water under the firmament from the water above it, and it was so.”
Genesis 1:8 “And God called the firmament Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.”
3) Sea, land, plants (9-13)
Genesis 1:9-10 “God said, Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let dry land appear.” And it was so. God called the dry land Earth, and the gathered waters called Seas. And God saw that it was good.”
Genesis 1:11 “And God said, ‘Let the earth bring forth grass, seed-bearing plants, and fruit-bearing plants with seed according to their kind.’ And it was so.”
4) Sun, Moon, and Stars (14-19)
Genesis 1:16 “God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night; and he made the stars.”
5) Birds, Fish (20-23)
6) Beasts and Humans (24-31)
Genesis 1:25 “And God made the beasts of the earth after their kind, the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing on the earth after its kind, and God saw that it was good.”
Genesis 1:27 “God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”
In God's creation order, we can see how much God loves people.
1) What if man was created before the sun, moon, and stars were created?
2) What if man was created before the creation of vegetables, fruits, and grains?
3) What if man was created before he created trees or plants that serve as shadows?
4) What if man had not been created to rule over all things?
6. God's level of creation
Since the heavens, the earth, and all things created by God are perfect and perfect, there is no need for further evolution or development.
Genesis 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25 And God saw that it was good.
Genesis 1:31 And it looked very good.
The Hebrew word for “good” is “thob,” which means “great,” “amazing,” “perfect,” “beautiful.” No evolution required.
7. The purpose of God's creation of the heavens and the earth
1) for people
Genesis 1:29 "God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth, and every tree that bears fruit with seed, and it will be your food."
Genesis 9:2 “Every beast of the earth, and every bird of the air, and every creeping thing of the earth, and every fish of the sea, will fear you and dread you, for they have delivered into your hands.”
8. God's purpose in creating man
1) For the ministry of governing, managing, and preserving heaven and earth
Genesis 1:28 “God blessed them and said to them, Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
2) To use it as a tool for worshiping God
Isaiah 43:21 “This people I have formed for myself, that they may sing my praises.”
Hebrews 13:15 “Let us always offer to God a sacrifice of praise through Jesus, which is the fruit of lips that testify of his name.”
Isaiah 43:7 “Let everyone who is called by my name come, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”
Isaiah 4:8 “I am the LORD, this is my name; I will not give my glory to another, my praise to an idol.”
John 4:23-24 “The hour is coming and is now, when those who truly worship the Father will worship in spirit and truth. The Father is looking for such worshipers. God is a Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.
The reason God created man in His image is to use it as a worship tool for God. Also, God created only human beings as spiritual beings because God is a spirit, so only spiritual people can communicate with God who is spirit and worship God.