The Creation

Genesis 1:1-5

THE Bible’s approach to the subject of creation starts with the reasonable assumption that a Creator, an intelligent First Cause, already existed—“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” The six days of creation outlined in this chapter are descriptive, not of the creation of the planet itself but of its gradual preparation for plant and animal life. As originally created it was “without form, and void”—shapeless, empty. There were neither mountains nor valleys, trees nor shrubs, rivers nor oceans, but the earth “was”; that is, it had been created.

The “beginning” referred to in this opening verse of the Bible is not, therefore, the beginning of the “first day” of the “week” during which the earth was prepared for human habitation, but predates this period. A beginning antedating this is mentioned in John 1:1, where we are told that “in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with [the] God, and the Word was [a] god.” Speaking of the “Word,” or Logos, John explains that all things were made by him.—John 1:3

The Logos was the only direct creation of God, and he served as the Father’s agent in connection with all the other creative work. There is an allusion to this in Genesis 1:26, which reads, “And God said, Let us make man in our image.” This undoubtedly is the Heavenly Father addressing his Son, the Logos. The Father gave the directions; his Son carried them out; so it was under the Father’s direction that he created all things.—Eph. 3:9; Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:2

“And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” The “Spirit” of God is his power, in this case exercised as a creative agency. How strange it would seem should we try to imagine an alleged third person in a trinity of gods, called the “Holy Ghost,” moving upon the face of the waters; but how reasonable that the Scriptures should remind us that the power of God was the means by which, having created the “heaven and the earth,” it should now be brought to completion to serve as man’s eternal home.

“Let there be light.” This command was given on the first creative day, so it evidently refers to light miraculously produced at that time other than the sunlight, for the sun was not made to rule the earth until the fourth day. (Gen. 1:16-19) Whatever the nature of the light which appeared on the first day, it was under the Creator’s control, for he divided the light from the darkness, calling the one “day” and the other “night.” Later, the day and night were brought under the control of the sun, moon, and stars.

These creative “days” were obviously not twenty-four hour periods of time, for these are governed by the sun, and the sun did not put in its appearance until the fourth day. It is the Lord’s viewpoint which is expressed in this narrative, and the Scriptures tell us that with him a day is as a thousand years. (II Pet. 3:8) This particular reference is to the world’s judgment day, but the Scriptures also use the term day to describe other periods of time, such, for example as the “day of temptation in the wilderness,” which was forty years in length. (Ps. 95:8-10) There is good reason to believe that the creative “days” were 7,000 years long. See chapter I in “The New Creation.”

Genesis 1:26-31

THE first five “days” of creation saw the earth developed sufficiently to sustain plant and animal life, and before the close of the fifth epoch fish and fowl were created. In the early part of the sixth period, the lower forms of the brute creation were brought forth, and then progressively the higher forms. It was toward the close of the sixth “day” that man was created.

The language used to describe the creation of man is quite different from that employed in. connection with the lower forms of animal life. “Let the waters bring forth,” and “let the earth bring forth,” were the commands concerning fish, fowl, and beast, but when it came to man, “God said, Let us make man in our image, and “after our likeness.” Thus the Creator’s special attention to man is emphasized. Here was the crowning achievement of the entire earthly creation!

Man was created in the image of God, that is, a reasoning being, capable of discerning between right and wrong, good and evil. He was given a conscience, something which none of the lower animals possessed. Man was also made king of earth, all the lower animals being his subjects. In this sense also he was like God, the Ruler of the universe.

The ultimate objective of God in creating man is clearly stated. He was to multiply and fill the earth, and subdue it. Nothing whatever is said about his being transferred to heaven or to any other place. He was created to live on the earth, and every fiber of his being was adapted to his earthly surroundings. There was nothing about man that made him crave a spiritual existence. He was wholly human, crowned with terrestrial glory, king of his earthly domain.

It has been erroneously claimed that the detailed description of man which is given in the second chapter of Genesis refers to another creation entirely, which of course would mean that a race of humans existed before Adam was created. The Apostle Paul does not agree with this, for he refers to Adam as the “first man.” (I Cor. 15:45,47) There is perfect harmony between the first and second chapters of Genesis. The first chapter simply gives us a general statement of the entire creative work, including man, while the second chapter begins to outline in detail the Creator’s purpose concerning man; and in doing this the Lord begins by giving us a detailed account of man’s creation. (Gen. 2:7) The remainder of the Bible continues to unfold God’s plan for his human creation, detailing how, after being sentenced to death for disobeying divine law, Adam and his offspring are ultimately to be recovered and given an opportunity to live forever.

QUESTIONS

What “beginning” is referred to in Genesis 1:1?

In what manner did the Logos share in the creative work?

What was God’s “Spirit” that moved upon the face of the waters?

What was the nature of the “light” which appeared on the first creative “day”?

How do we know that the creative days were not periods of twenty-four hours? How long were they?

On what “day” was man created, and in what ways did he differ from the lower animals?

What was God’s ultimate purpose concerning man? When and how will that purpose be accomplished?

Explain the harmony of the two accounts of the creation of man as they are found in the first and second chapters of Genesis.

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