The Creation of the Heavens and the Earth – Part 1
Today, we are beginning a new series of topics to help our physical and spiritual children learn to understand and explain the Old Testament to others. Genesis is the foundation on which all of the books of the Bible are built because it is the book of beginnings. God has always existed. Psalm 90:2 says, “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.” In fact, we will see in the first three verses that God has always existed as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. In addition, we also see in these verses that time began when God created the earth.
Genesis 1:1-5 says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.” In the first verse, we see that the Father willed the creation. In the second verse, the Spirit of God (Holy Spirit) moved on the face of the waters. In the third verse, the Son spoke all things into existence.
In John 5:30, Christ said that He always carries out the will of the Father. That verse says, “‘I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.’” Then, in John 1:1-3, we read, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.” Colossians 1:16 adds, “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.” These verses make it clear that Christ created all things because He was carrying out the will of the Father as He spoke all things into existence.
Before Christ spoke, the earth was formless (unfinished or empty space) and void (emptiness). Isaiah 45:18 says, “For thus says the LORD, who created the heavens, who is God, who formed the earth and made it, who has established it, who did not create it in vain, who formed it to be inhabited: ‘I am the LORD, and there is no other.’” The word translated “void” means emptiness. Jeremiah 4:23 says, “I beheld the earth, and indeed it was without form, and void; and the heavens, they had no light.” These verses together show us that God began with nothing and created the heavens and the earth where there had previously been nothing. Every theory of man assumes the existence of something and assumes the existence of some kind of life, instead of beginning with nothing. Those theories fail to explain the source of the creation or the source of life. In contrast, Hebrews 11:3 says, “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.”
God asked Job a series of questions that no man can answer to show that these things could not evolve, but that there was a Creator who created them. Job 38:4-7 says, “‘Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? To what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together, and
all the sons of God shouted for joy?’” However, mankind turned from worshiping the Creator to worshiping the creation. Romans 1:22-23 says, “Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.” Most of mankind continues to worship the creation, instead of the Creator of heaven and earth. That is really a summary of false religion.
The first three days of creation, Christ divided various things. Then, days four through six, Christ filled the things that He had divided. We see that the first thing Christ spoke into existence was light. God saw that the light was good. The word translated “good” means good, excellent or beneficial. One of the things to notice is that there was day and night before there was a sun, moon, or stars. We see that Christ divided the light from the darkness. It is God who called the time when mankind has light on the earth “Day”, and “Night” when we have darkness. We also see that God sees things in a different order than most people because God called the evening and the morning the first day. We see that the evening came before the morning. That order becomes very important when we read Romans 13:10-12, which says, “Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.” As Christians, we can now look forward to the eternal day, while those who reject Christ will face eternal darkness.
Genesis 1:6-8 says, “Then God said, ‘Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.’ Thus 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. And God called the firmament “Heaven”. So the evening and the morning were the second day.” The second thing Christ divided was the waters above from the waters below. The word translated “firmament” means expanse or firmament and speaks about that which holds the waters that are above the earth. This means that when Christ spoke, the waters above were divided from the waters below. We see that God called this firmament “heaven”. It includes the atmosphere above us and also the second heaven where Christ would place the sun, moon, and stars when He spoke them into existence. Again, the evening and the morning were the second day.
Genesis 1:9-13 says, “Then God said, ‘Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear’; and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, ‘Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth’; and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. So the evening and the morning were the third day.” In these verses, we see that God separated the water that was on the earth and caused the dry land to appear. God was the One who called the dry land “earth”, and the waters that were gathered together “seas”.
This is explained in more detail in Psalm 104:5-9, where we read, “You who laid the foundations of the earth, so that it should not be moved forever, You covered it with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains. At Your rebuke they fled; at the voice of Your thunder they hastened away. They went up over the mountains; they went down into the valleys, to the place which You founded for them. You have set a boundary that they may not pass over, that they may not return to cover the earth.” These verses show that God raised the mountains above the lower places on the earth. He then caused the water to settle in these lower places. Then, God set a boundary between the dry land and the seas. The only time this boundary was removed was when God sent the flood, which covered the entire earth during the time of Noah. As a result, things like shells that have been found in the mountains were placed there at the time of the flood in the time of Noah. Men try to deny that flood by talking about things like the Ice Age.
On the third day, Christ spoke and caused the earth to bring forth grass, herbs that yield seed, and various kinds of fruit trees. This again shows that God is the Creator of all things, because each kind of seed produces according to its kind. Grass does not suddenly turn into a fruit tree, nor does a fruit tree turn into an herb. These various forms of plant life were created on the third day, while the sun was not created until the fourth day. This is another evidence of the fact that there was the light of day and night before there was the sun, moon, and stars to give that light. This condition will be true again in the future when the new heavens and the new earth are created. Revelation 21:23 says, “The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light.” Then, Revelation 22:5 adds, “There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.” God is both the Creator and the true source of all light.
These verses also show us that when the earth brought forth grass, herbs, and fruit trees, on that third day, they had their seed within. This means that God created all things so they could reproduce themselves. We will see, in later verses in this chapter, that this same thing was true for the sea creatures, birds, animals, and man. God saw that everything He created was good. When we see how complex God created each kind of fruit tree, sea life, bird, animal, and especially man, we see the greatness of the Creator. That is why Psalm 19:1 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork.” We want to help our physical and spiritual children learn to explain how every part of creation reveals the glory of the Creator. Many people in the world want to boast in themselves, but this first chapter of Genesis shows that we have a wonderful Creator who had a perfect plan for the development of everything within His creation. May the Lord richly bless you as you help your children learn to explain these things.
