The Creation

(Gen. 1:1-8)

Introduction: Last Sunday’s sermon title was ‘Last instruction and praise’ based on Rom. 16:17-27. The main theme of Romans was the gospel and preaching the gospel. The reason Paul considered the gospel the most important was that it is the power of God which gives salvation to everyone who believes. Anyone who believes in Jesus will be saved. It doesn’t matter whether the person is rich or poor, Jew or Gentile, or good or bad. The question is whether or not the person receives Jesus in his or her heart as the Lord and Savior. We believers have the duty to proclaim the gospel to others. It is our honor to participate in God’s work of human salvation. From today and on, we will learn the principles of the gospel shown in the Old Testaments. The Old Testaments is a broad and diverse book. I should study hard and I need your prayer. Today’s passage is Gen. 1:1-8. In order to take a look at the principles of the gospel in the Old Testaments, I think it is necessary to study the Creation of God. The Creation was not just done by chance. God created this universe with a specific goal, and it is the beginning of human beings. Three topics will be discussed today: The Creator, the meaning of the Creation, and minor issues.

1) The Creator (1-3): The first five books in the Old Testaments were written by Moses, called Torah. Moses said, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” The Hebrew word for ‘God’ is ‘Elohim’, meaning the ultimate supremacy who knows everything and has the ultimate power. The word, ‘Elohim’ is a plural form. This Elohim God created the universe, and creation means making something from nothing. So, God made this universe from nothing. If you see verse 1, there was God, in verse 2, the Spirit of God, and in verse 3, the Word of God, Jesus. According to John 1:1-3, Jesus is the Word of God and has created everything in this universe. The creation was so important that the Trinity God all participated in the process and showed His divine nature in the universe (Rom. 1:20). In the beginning the earth was formless, empty, and dark. Then God created the light through Jesus Christ, the Word, and the light would give life to human beings (John 1:4).

2) The meaning of Creation: The Trinity God created this universe, but this current universe is not eternal. This first creation is a temporary preparation for the eternal second creation Jesus is making for us, the believers. When Jesus comes to this world for the second time, the heavens will disappear and the earth will be melted down by fire (II Peter 3:10). Then the new heaven and the new earth will come down form God (Rev. 21:1-4). Although no one except God knows the exact time and date, the second coming of Jesus will be magnificent (I Thes. 4:16-18). As God abandoned the Law and gave us the new law of the gospel, God will replace the current universe with the new heaven and the earth. Only those who receive Jesus as the lord and Savior will enter the kingdom of God (John 3:3-5).

3) Other issues
1. Some people suggested that there would be a long time gap between verse 1 and 2 or 2 and 3, and God first created the universe, then created this earth. There is no record that God created water in the Genesis, so the universe and water were created before the earth. That is a possibility and it will not make any big difference.
2. The first, second, and third day may not be a day with 24 hours as we see now because God created the Sun and the Moon on the fourth day (Gen. 1:16). That is another possibility we can think about. The important theme is that God the Trinity created the universe and sent Jesus to us in order to save anyone who believes. That is the lesson we can learn today. Thank you and God bless you.