God Created All that is: Therefore, all this is His (Genesis 1-2)

Evolutionary Atheism

In Genesis, God created the heavens and the earth, and declared all of it 'very good'. The biblical account of creation asserts that each human is made in God's image, with inherent worth. Evolution contradicts this by suggesting that we are mere accidents of nature, and that the world is governed by natural cosmic powers.

Imagine a brilliant craftsman creating a masterful piece of art. Each stroke is intentional, filled with purpose and meaning. Now, think about how this differs from a random sequence of events leading to a smudged canvas. Evolution posits that our existence is a product of chance, not design. That is because evolution does not embrace the idea of God. It is atheistic.

Some of you were taught atheistic evolution in your public school. You were taught that there is no absolute truth, no universal moral law, but the law of nature is survival of the fittest. These are evolutionary ideas. When society is shaped by evolutionary ideas, the weak are often overlooked and discarded. If we base our lives off of survival of the fittest, what happens to kindness and compassion? The notion of evolution distorts God’s foundational truths of love and morality that God calls the wise to embrace.

Genesis 1–2 narrates the account of God’s creation of the world, emphasizing His intentional design and the inherent goodness of all He made, culminating in the creation of humanity in His image. God is the creator and designer of the world. He created with purpose and beauty, with us as his image bears to rule and live in harmony with God and each other. Moreover, the creator of the world, all of the world belongs to Him.

God Created All That is With Purposeful Design (Genesis 1:1-10)

Genesis 1:1 ESV

1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

When God created the heavens and the earth, he created it with complex order. Everything hangs in its proper balance.

He created the earth in seven literal 24 hour days (Genesis 1:5). The earth is not 4.5 billion years old, but more like six to ten thousand years old.

The earth is perfectly orbiting in the third position from the sun. Any closer and we disintegrate, any further away, and we freeze to death. The moon is perfectly proportioned to support the earths tides and skies, while circling the earth in at a perfect distance in a perfect orbit in relation to life on earth. Both the sun and the moon help govern our time and seasons.

The earth is governed by laws set in place by God to sustain life. Have you ever wondered what keeps oceans from leaking out into space or draining to the center of the earth? Gravity and the earth's thick rock and mineral layers keep the ocean from leaking out. Centrifugal force, which is the Earth's rotation, creates an outward centrifugal force that keeps the ocean in equilibrium with gravity. Gravity pulls water toward the center of the Earth. Then thick layers of rock and minerals in the ocean's deepest layers hold the water in place. All of this is by God’s purposeful design.

God says as much to Job.

Job 38:4–12 CSB

4 Where were you when I established the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. 5 Who fixed its dimensions? Certainly you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? 6 What supports its foundations? Or who laid its cornerstone 7 while the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy? 8 Who enclosed the sea behind doors when it burst from the womb, 9 when I made the clouds its garment and total darkness its blanket, 10 when I determined its boundaries and put its bars and doors in place, 11 when I declared, “You may come this far, but no farther; your proud waves stop here”? 12 Have you ever in your life commanded the morning or assigned the dawn its place,

Job 38:13 ESV

13 that it might take hold of the skirts of the earth, and the wicked be shaken out of it?

The universe did not just appear in a Big Bang, and then from chaos, randomly put itself in order. Order never comes from chaos. Never on earth can you simulate blowing something up and then chaos from the explosion brings complex order. The order tells your there is a designer who created things with a purpose.

Two-fold Purpose

We see the design, but what is God’s purpose?

On the one hand, the purposeful design is to help his image bearers flourish. We cannot live on earth if we the heavens and the earth are not governed by creational laws. we need gravity. We need seasons. We need oceans to stay in their place. Otherwise, we die.

On the other hand, the complex purposeful design of creation is meant to tell you that there is a God.

David says in Psalm 19:1-3,

Psalm 19:1–3 ESV

1 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. 2 Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. 3 There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard.

What David is saying is when you look at the complex purposeful order of creation, you should see a creator. Every star in the sky, every sunrise, every sunset, every strand of DNA, every hurricane, tornado, every ant, blade of grass, grain of sand, and snow flake preaches to your soul there is a God. God created all this is with a purposeful design.

God Created All That is with Diverse Beauty (Genesis 1:11-25)

There are so many different kinds of seeds, fruit, plants, and animals, and that is by design. God loves diversity. He could’ve created everything very bland, like a brown cardboard box. But Yahweh is a God who loves beauty. He loves aesthetics. He does not just want flowers. He wants red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet flowers that bloom in every season, or is some seasons. He does not just want animals. He wants dinosaurs, platypuses, hummingbirds, axolotl’s, Blue Whales, and Tiger Sharks. He does not just want insects, he wants Carpenter Ants, Asian Wasps, gnats, praying mantis, and black widows. That’s the sense you get from Moses when he writes

Genesis 1:11–13 ESV

11 And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so. 12 The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.

You also see his diverse beauty in the seasons and order of the world; in the four seasons. We are entering the Fall Season.

When you see the sun set tonight, and God paints the sky a majestic purple with golden highlights on the canvas of a twilight clouded blue sky that cuts across the Autumn colors of red, yellow, orange, and brown on the leaves floating in the air as the sun sinks on the horizon, you are witnessing God’s love for diverse beauty. Once again, the feeling of awe you get when you see it is your soul responding to the glory of God’s creation preaching there is a God. And as amazing as this diverse beauty is in creation, it does not compare the beauty and glory of God’s image bearers.

God Created All That is, Including us as His Image Bearers (Genesis 1:26-31)

The Latin term Imago Dei, means image of God. It refers to human beings being made in God’s image. The imago dei is most clearly seen when Moses writes,

Genesis 1:26–27 ESV

26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

God created us in his own image. What does that mean and why does it matter?

Imago Dei: What does it mean we are “made in God’s image”?

The imago dei means that human beings are unique among God’s personal intelligent creatures in that they are created in his image. We particularly his attributes such as our ability to think and even grow smarter, our will to do something or choose not to do something, our moral understanding of what is right and wrong, our love for God, each other, and creation, our joy, our wisdom, and exercising dominion. No other creature on earth can do the things we do as human beings. You will never walk into the jungle or forest and see chimpanzees or chipmunks creating classical music or the Taj Mahal. Apes do not sit around contemplating philosophy, or organizing their society around a basic political ideology. Dolphins do not hold elections. These are unique things to mankind because God has made us like him; to think, to love, to be wise, to create, and so on.

Imago Dei: Why does it matter?

Being made in God’s image gives us the ability to exercise the authority God has given us over his creation.

Genesis 1:26 (ESV)

26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

To have dominion is to have the right ti rule over creation. We are the highest of all of God’s creation, and he has given us the authority to rule over creation. What this means is we have the right to use creation to live. We have the right to build houses, grow gardens and raise livestock for food. We can explore creation to discover new medicines and find easier ways to live. We can use creation to create beautiful art and music. We can even explore space. There are not limits to what we can do as God’s image bearers. What limits us is simply what we do not know as of yet.

As Spider-man says, “With great power comes great responsibility.” God has made us in his image to use our unique image bearing qualities to be good stewards of our creation. We must take care of the world in which we live. It we make a mess, we must clean it up. If we find better was to harness energy, then we must make sure we find safe ways to handle the whatever comes from it. If we find cures for diseases, we must make sure we make them available to everyone. As God’s image bearers we must reflect his wisdom, love, compassion, kindness, justice, and truth.

God Created All That is and Then Gave us Sanctified Rest (Genesis 2:1-3)

God created all of creation in six literal 24-hour days. On the seventh day he rested. Do you think he rested because he was tired? No! God never gets tired. He rested because he was satisfied with his work.

If you read Genesis 1, there is a sentence that repeats itself.

Genesis 1:10 (ESV)

10 God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:12 (ESV)

12 The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:18 (ESV)

18 to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:21 (ESV)

21 So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:25 (ESV)

25 And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:31 (ESV)

31 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

God was satisfied with his work. There was nothing more for him to do.

Genesis 2:1–3 ESV

1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2 And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. 3 So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.

God also made the day holy, that is he made it separate. He sanctified the seventh day and he made it s Sabbath rest for his image bearers. Why did he do this?

At one level, he wanted to grace his people with rest for their bodies. Although we are made in God’s image, we are not God. We do not have ternal stregnth. We need rest for our minds and our bodies. The sabboth ensures we get that rest.

On a deeper level, however, the sabboth provided the opportunity for us to have a deep relationship with the Lord. It was a day set aside for us to worship God and enjoy his presence. We do not work because work would keep us from focusing on God. Part of our rest is trusting in his soverign goodness to provide for us. God has put eternity in your heart. Only he can satisfy your deep longings and spiritual needs.

Furthermore, the sabbath pointed to the Lord of the Sabbath, Jesus Christ. Sin makes our hearts restless with unbelief. Jesus came to give us rest from being at war with God by dying on the cross to atone for our sin. God accepted his sacrifice by raising him from the dead. Any one who puts their faith in Jesus and calls him Lord, God will give them His rest.

God Created All That is For Us To live in Harmony (Genesis 2:4-25)

One final thing, God created man and woman in his image. That means that both men and women are equal in value before God. God loves Adam as much as he loves Eve and vice versa. With that said, God created men and women for different roles.

In Genesis 2, God gave Adam the responsibly to guard and protect the Garden of Eden. Adam was also to make sure no one ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Adam was also given the authority to name all the animals. When no animal was found to be a suitable helper to Adam, God created Eve from Adam’s rib.

Eve was created from Adam. She is bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh. She was created to be a helper to Adam, a counselor, comfort, someone whom Adam could depend on for wisdom in providing for his family and protecting the Garden. Adam was the head of his home, and God designed Adam’s headship. We know this because when the Fall happens, God calls Adam first to give and account. Why? Because God saw Adam as the head of his home.

The true beauty of these different roles that Adam and Eve have is the harmony they share. When Adam and Eve are living and enjoying their roles as a man and a woman, creation is perfect. They are unified as one. They express the goodness of the marriage covenant that God established between a man and a woman, and the model the kind of love and unity Jesus shares with his church. Marriage is God’s design, and like of all creation marriage belongs to God.

The world did not come into existence by chaotic chance. You were not born out of a cosmic accident. God created the heavens and the earth. You are beautifully and wonderfully made in his image. He has given you a brain to reason and know wisdom, and a heart to have faith and to love God and neighbor. Build life on this truth:

God created all that is, therefore, all that is, is His