UNIT II - God and Creation
Four Basic Views on God
The Attributes of God
The Doctrine of Creation
Creation vs. Evolution
The Length of the Creation Day
The Creation of Angels
Divine Providence
The Doctrine of Man
The Image of God
Humankind as Male and Female
God and Creation
Four Basic Views on God:
Monotheism ---- One God
Polytheism ----- Many Gods
Pantheism ------ Everything Is God
Atheism ---------- No God
Scripture ridicules the conclusion that there is no God as utter foolishness. To deny the existence of God is to deny the plain evidence of nature itself and human conscience.
Psalm 14:1 "The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.'"
Psalm 19:1 "The heavens declare the glory of God, the skies proclaim the work of his hands."
Romans 1:20 "Since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse."
Romans 2:14,15 "When Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them."
Hebrews 3:4 "Every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything."
The Bible teaches that the true God is one. The faith of Scripture is strictly monotheistic.
Deuteronomy 6:4 "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one." cf. Isaiah 40:10-31; Jeremiah 10:1-16.
Acts 14:15 "We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them."
I Corinthians 8:4 "We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world and that there is no God but one."
At the same time the Bible teaches that within the one God there are three separate and distinct persons: Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
Matthew 28:19 "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."
John 15:26 "When the Counselor comes, whom I will sent to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me."
II Corinthians 13:14 "May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all."
The Biblical teaching of a God who is one in three and three in one is called the doctrine of the Trinity. The doctrine of the Trinity is a mystery, incomprehensible to human reason, which must simply be accepted by faith on the basis of the Biblical testimony.
"Whoever wishes to be saved must, above all else, hold the true Christian faith. Whoever does not keep it whole and undefiled will without doubt perish for eternity. This is the true Christian faith that we worship one God in three persons and three persons in one God, without confusing the persons or dividing the divine substance...three persons are to be worshiped in one Godhead and one God is to be worshiped in three persons. Whoever wishes to be saved must think thus about the Trinity." - Athanasian Creed, 5th Century AD
1. God is a spirit, a personal being without physical substance. John 4:24
2. God is transcendent. He is not a part of created reality, a mere projection or amplification of natural forces. He exists apart from and over creation. Exodus 3:13-14
3. God is eternal, without beginning and without end, not bound by time. Psalm 90:1-2; I Timothy 1:17
4. God is unchangeable. Psalm 102:27; Malachi 3:6; James 1:17
5. God is almighty. There are no limitations upon His power. Genesis 17:1; Matthew 19:26
6. God is all-knowing. There are no limitations upon His knowledge. Psalm 139:1-4; John 21:17
7. God is present everywhere. Jeremiah 23:24; Acts 17:27
8. God is holy. He is without sin. Leviticus 19:8; Isaiah 6:3
9. God is just. He is fair and impartial. Deuteronomy 32:4
10. God is merciful and gracious. Jeremiah 3:12; Titus 3:5; Exodus 34:6-7
11. God is love. John 3:16; I John 4:8
The Bible teaches that God created the universe and everything that exists out of nothing in six days by His almighty Word. cf. Genesis 1:1-2:3
Exodus 20:11 "In six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them."
Psalm 33:6,9 "By the word of the Lord were the heavens made...He spoke, and it came to be; he commanded and it stood firm."
Psalm 124:8 "Our help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth."
Colossians 1:16 "By Him all things were created; things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible."
Hebrews 11:3 "By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible."
A Confession of the Biblical Doctrine of Creation
"We teach that God has created heaven and earth, and that in the manner and in the space of time recorded in the Holy Scriptures, especially Genesis 1 and 2, namely by his almighty creative word, and in six days. We reject every doctrine which denies or limits the work of creation as taught in Scripture. In our days it is denied or limited by those who assert, ostensibly in deference to science, that the world came into existence by a process of evolution; that is, that it has, in immense periods of time, developed more or less out of itself. Since no man was present when it pleased God to create the world, we must look for a reliable account of creation to God's own record, found in God's own book, the Bible. We accept God's own record with full confidence and confess with Luther's Catechism: 'I believe that God has made me and all creatures.'" (Brief Statement of the Doctrinal Position of the Missouri Synod, CPH, St. Louis: 1932. Used By Permission)
An Analysis of Genesis Chapter One
"The first chapter of Genesis is the most remarkable chapter in the whole Bible and is unique in all the literature of the world. Here we have in simple and beautiful language the only answer to the question of how the world came into being...Here is dignity, simplicity, and beauty. In crisp, telegraphic style the drama of creation is unfolded day by day...There is no vagueness or uncertainty here, no bombast or meaningless verbiage. There is no grotesque description of the creating gods as found in the pagan mythologies. The Eternal God was, He speaks, and things are. Every word is a flash of creating power. Here God reveals His majesty, power, and wisdom in actions that are beyond human comprehension; yet they are described in language so simple that a child can understand it...But this chapter is not only unique in its brevity and literary beauty: its content has stood the test of time. It has withstood the vicious attacks of the enemies of the Bible throughout all the ages-like the granite mountain peak calmly defying the raging storms and ravages of weather. But the pretentious Lilliputian critics of the past, who arrogantly attempted to undermine this Rock of Ages with their toy picks and shovels, have been forgotten and their ever changing theories are remembered only by the professionals as antiquarian theological curiosities. The same will be true in the future by those who assume the role of critics now." (Alfred Rehwinkel, The Wonder of Creation, Bethany House Publishers, Minneapolis: 1974. Used By Permission)
Creation vs. Evolution
What Difference Does It Make?
A denial of the Biblical doctrine of God as the Creator of the universe has far-reaching repercussions:
1. Destroys the basis for God's relationship with man
2. Denies man's responsibility to God
3. Robs humanity of its dignity and human life of its sanctity
4. Eliminates the possibility of objective morality
5. Jeopardizes the survival of the weak and the helpless in a world where "might makes right"
6. Subjects all human experience to random chance and accident
Evolution - A Christian Assessment
"The denial of God - rejecting the reality of supernatural creation and the Creator's sovereign rule of the world - has always been the root cause of every human problem. This evolutionary, humanistic, pantheistic - even atheistic - world view has taken many different forms over the ages, varying with time and culture, but it has always been there in one guise or another, to turn the minds and hearts of people away from their Maker. There has indeed been an agelong war against God. It has been going on from the beginning of time and will increase in intensity in these last days...I am not speaking here only of Darwinism, nor even of biological evolution in general, but of evolution as a total philosophy that purports to explain the origin and development of all things by natural properties and processes in a closed universe, one with no involvement by any external, supernatural Creator." (Henry Morris, The Long War Against God, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids: 1990, Used By Permission)
Christianity - An Evolutionist's Assessment
"Christianity has fought, still fights, and will fight science to the desperate end over evolution, because evolution destroys utterly and finally the very reason Jesus' earthly life was supposedly made necessary. Destroy Adam and Eve and the original sin, and in the rubble you will find the sorry remains of the son of god. Take away the meaning of his death. If Jesus was not the redeemer who died for our sins, and this is what evolution means, then Christianity is nothing." G. Richard Bozarth, "The Meaning of Evolution," American Atheist, February, 1978.
THE LENGTH OF THE CREATION DAY
In an attempt to reconcile the text of Genesis 1 with some form of "theistic evolution" it has been suggested that the six "days" (Hebrew - "Yom") of creation are not literal, 24 hour, days but instead represent long geological, epochal periods of time which may have included millions of years. (cf. Psalm 90:4; II Peter 3:8)
The issue is not: "How could God have created the world?"
The issue is: "What does the Bible say about how God created the world?"
Both the immediate context of Genesis 1 ("and there was evening and there was morning" vs. 5,8,13,19,23,31) and the general context of Scripture (the establishment of the seventh day as the Sabbath because of the pattern of creation, Genesis 2:2, Exodus 20:8-11) make it unmistakably clear that the intended sense of the term is literal, 24 hour, days. It is therefore improper and destructive of Scripture's authority as the Word of God to impose a figurative meaning on this term in order to comply with current scientific theory.
"Therefore I have often said, that anyone who desires to study the Holy Scriptures must see to it that he remains with the plain words whenever possible and never departs from them. Only an article of faith can compell us to conclude that the words must be understood differently than they sound. We are all the more certain that no plainer words have ever been spoken on earth than the words which God has spoken. Therefore, when Moses writes that God created heaven and earth in six days, let his words stand...If, however, you cannot understand how this could have been done in six days, then give the Holy Spirit the honor of being more learned than you are." Martin Luther 1524, From Preface to Sermons On the First Book of Moses, St. Louis, Edition III. Concordia Publishing House, 1894.
"I believe in one God, the Father almighty, Maker of heaven and earth and of all things visible and invisible." (Nicene Creed, 325 AD)
The word "angel" ( Hebrew-"malach" Greek-"angelos") means "messenger" or "ambassador". The angels are spiritual beings created by God to serve Him by ministering to His people. cf. Hebrews 1:14; Psalm 91:10-11; Psalm 103:20-21: II Kings 19:35; II Kings 6:15-17; Daniel 6:16-23; Matthew 2:13-21; Acts 12:5-11
Scripture teaches that the angels are many and powerful. cf. Daniel 7:10; Luke 2:13; Psalm 103: 20-21; II Peter 2:10-11; Revelation 5:11
Ranks of angels are mentioned, but the differences between them are not defined: "Cherubim" -Genesis 3:24, Psalm 80:1; "seraphim" - Isaiah 6:2; "thrones and powers" - Colossians 1:16; and, "archangels" - I Thessalonians 4:16. Two of the angels, Gabriel (Daniel 8:16-26; 9:20-27; Luke 1:11-20; Luke 1:26-38) and Michael (Daniel 10:13,21; 12:1; Jude 9, Revelation 12:7) are specifically named.
"My times are in your hands." Psalm 103:13
All that exists is the handiwork of God with a beginning and an end as determined by the Creator Himself. God is constantly and actively present with all that he has made, keeping and sustaining, directing and governing. "From Him and to Him and through Him are all things." (Romans 11:36) Without that ongoing divine participation and preservation the universe would disintegrate into chaos. The primary principles of order and direction, the very laws of nature itself flow from the will of Him who commands the morning and causes the dawn to know its place (Job 38:12)
"He waters the mountains from His upper chambers; the earth is satisfied by the fruit of His work. He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for man to cultivate - bringing forth fruit from the earth." Psalm 104:13-14 (cf. vs. 1-35)
"He causes His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous." Matthew 5:45
"For by Him all things were created; things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him. He is before all things and in Him all things hold together." Colossians 1:16,17
"And He is not served by human hands, as if He needed anything, because He Himself gives all men life and breath and everything else...For in Him we live and move and have our being." Acts 17:25,28
God's governance of the created universe is complete down to the smallest and most intimate details of existence. The reality of divine providence is presented as a source of comfort and encouragement for the people of God.
"Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows." Matthew 10:29-30
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear...Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!...Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith!" Luke 12:22,24,27-28
"Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you." I Peter 5:7
The universe was fashioned as a home for mankind. God created man in His own image after His own likeness, giving him dominion over every living thing that moved on the earth.
"Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.' So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them and said to them, 'Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.'" Genesis 1:26-28
The uniqueness of humankind consists of our creation in the "image" and "likeness" of God. As creatures fashioned in His image, Adam and Eve were without sin. They knew God as He wishes to be known and were perfectly happy to live according to His will.
Genesis 2
Ability to Make Moral Choices (vs. 15-17)
Ability to Reason and Communicate Rationally (vs.
20,23)
Ability to Love (vs. 18-24)
The image of God was lost when our first parents disobeyed God and fell into sin. Their will and intellect lost the ability to know and please him. Even the ability to love was twisted into an expression of selfish manipulation. cf. Genesis 3:8-19; 5:3-5 For the believer, the image of God is restored as we "put on the new man " in Christ. That restoration, however, will only be complete when we live with Him in heaven, free from sin and all of its consequences.
Colossians 3:9,10 "Do not lie to each other since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator."
Ephesians 4:22-24 "You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness."
God created both man and woman in His image, equal to one another and interdependent upon one another.
Genesis 1:27 "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them."
Genesis 2:18-23 "The Lord God said, `It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.' Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all of the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field. But for Adam, no suitable helper was found. So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. The man said, `This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called `woman,' for she was taken out of man.'"
1 Corinthians 11:11-12 "In the Lord, however, woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God."
Galatians 3:26-29 "You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."
While men and women are equal, they are not identical. God created each gender with unique capabilities and talents designed to compliment one another. cf. Genesis 2:18 The roles which Scripture assigns to men and women in relationship to one another reflect that divine purpose. Man is to be the "head" with responsibility/authority to place the welfare of his spouse/family ahead of his own, providing for and protecting them. Our Lord Himself provides the model for this self-sacrificing leadership. Woman, by her willing submission to the man as one equal to another, is to be the loving, caring "heart" of the family, using the sensitivity and creativity with which God has blessed her for the benefit of others. cf. The description of the ideal wife - Proverbs 31:10-31).
Genesis 3:17-19 "To the woman he said, `I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband and he will rule over you.' To Adam he said, `Because you listened to you wife and listened to the tree about which I commanded you, `You must not eat of it,' Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground from which you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.'
Ephesians 5:22-33 "Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make he holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle, or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church - for we are members of his body. `For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.' This is a profound mystery - but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you must also love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband."
1 Peter 3:1-2,7 "Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives...Husbands, in the same way, be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers."
The Bible teaches that the church, "the household of God" bears a special responsibility to reflect God's will for men and women to the world. Therefore Christian women are to refrain from any activity in the church which would constitute an exercise of authority over men, or which could be construed by society as a rejection of the divinely ordained role/relationship between men and women.
I Corinthians 11:2-16 "I praise you for remembering me in everything and for holding to the teaching just as I passed them on to you. Now I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and that the head of Christ is God. Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head. And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head - it is just as though her head were shaved. If a woman does not cover her head, she should have her hair cut off; and if it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut or shaved off, she should cover her head. A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man. For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; neither was man created for woman but woman for man. For this reason, and because of the angels, the woman ought to have a sign of authority on her head. In the Lord, however, woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God. Judge for yourselves: Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? Does not the very nature of things teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a disgrace to him, but that if a woman has long hair it is her glory? For long hair is given to her as a covering. If anyone wants to be contentious about this, we have no other practice, nor do the churches of God.
I Corinthians 14:33-38 "As in all the congregations of the saints, women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says. If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church. Did the Word of God originate with you? Or are you the only people it has reached? If anybody thinks he is a prophet or spiritually gifted, let him acknowledge that what I am writing to you is the Lord's command. If he ignores this, let he himself be ignored."
I Timothy 2:11-15 "A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. But women will be saved through childbearing - if they continue in faith, love, and holiness with propriety."
Thus the responsibility/authority for leadership in the church, both in the pastoral office and in the governing assemblies of the congregations should be exercised by men. This certainly does not exclude women from being involved in Christ's work but directs their service in a way that accords with the headship principle that God set forth in creation.