Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God

We can only accept creation by faith.

Hebrews 11:1–3 (KJV 1900)

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good report. 3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

The creation is the first text of faith.

If you reject the creation account of Genesis Chapter 1, then you can not believe any of the rest of the Bible.

Now let’s return to the first verse of Genesis: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” This is a majestic verse. It is a tremendous verse. I am of the opinion that it is the doorway through which you will have to walk into the Bible. You have to believe that God is the Creator, for he that cometh to God must believe that He is. “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”

Whatever you do with Genesis chapters 1 and 2 sets the tone with what you will do with the rest of Scripture.

If you can't trust the upfront, literal, meaning of the text of Genesis chapters 1 and 2, then you can't trust any of the Bible.

Mankind has exalted his own "High Ideas" against God's revelation of Himself in Creation that exclude faith:

2 Corinthians 10:3–6 (KJV 1900)

3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: 4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; 6 And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.

God will hold those who exalt their own ideas accountable for rejection His revelation of Himself in creation:

Romans 1:17–25 (KJV 1900)

17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; 19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. 20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: 21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. 24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: 25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

Colossians 1:16–17 (KJV 1900)

16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: 17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

Psalm 104 (KJV 1900)

Psalm 104

1  Bless the Lord, O my soul.

O Lord my God, thou art very great;

Thou art clothed with honour and majesty.

2  Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment:

Who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain:

3  Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters:

Who maketh the clouds his chariot:

Who walketh upon the wings of the wind:

4  Who maketh his angels spirits;

His ministers a flaming fire:

5  Who laid the foundations of the earth,

That it should not be removed for ever.

6  Thou coveredst it with the deep as with a garment:

The waters stood above the mountains.

7  At thy rebuke they fled;

At the voice of thy thunder they hasted away.

8  They go up by the mountains; they go down by the valleys

Unto the place which thou hast founded for them.

9  Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass over;

That they turn not again to cover the earth.

10  He sendeth the springs into the valleys,

Which run among the hills.

11  They give drink to every beast of the field:

The wild asses quench their thirst.

12  By them shall the fowls of the heaven have their habitation,

Which sing among the branches.

13  He watereth the hills from his chambers:

The earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works.

14  He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle,

And herb for the service of man:

That he may bring forth food out of the earth;

15  And wine that maketh glad the heart of man,

And oil to make his face to shine,

And bread which strengtheneth man’s heart.

16  The trees of the Lord are full of sap;

The cedars of Lebanon, which he hath planted;

17  Where the birds make their nests:

As for the stork, the fir trees are her house.

18  The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats;

And the rocks for the conies.

19  He appointed the moon for seasons:

The sun knoweth his going down.

20  Thou makest darkness, and it is night:

Wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth.

21  The young lions roar after their prey,

And seek their meat from God.

22  The sun ariseth, they gather themselves together,

And lay them down in their dens.

23  Man goeth forth unto his work

And to his labour until the evening.

24  O Lord, how manifold are thy works!

In wisdom hast thou made them all:

The earth is full of thy riches.

25  So is this great and wide sea,

Wherein are things creeping innumerable,

Both small and great beasts.

26  There go the ships:

There is that leviathan, whom thou hast made to play therein.

27  These wait all upon thee;

That thou mayest give them their meat in due season.

28  That thou givest them they gather:

Thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good.

29  Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled:

Thou takest away their breath, they die,

And return to their dust.

30  Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created:

And thou renewest the face of the earth.

31  The glory of the Lord shall endure for ever:

The Lord shall rejoice in his works.

32  He looketh on the earth, and it trembleth:

He toucheth the hills, and they smoke.

33  I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live:

I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.

34  My meditation of him shall be sweet:

I will be glad in the Lord.

35  Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth,

And let the wicked be no more.

Bless thou the Lord, O my soul.

Praise ye the Lord.

Psalm 148 (KJV 1900)

Psalm 148

1  Praise ye the Lord.

Praise ye the Lord from the heavens:

Praise him in the heights.

2  Praise ye him, all his angels:

Praise ye him, all his hosts.

3  Praise ye him, sun and moon:

Praise him, all ye stars of light.

4  Praise him, ye heavens of heavens,

And ye waters that be above the heavens.

5  Let them praise the name of the Lord:

For he commanded, and they were created.

6  He hath also stablished them for ever and ever:

He hath made a decree which shall not pass.

7  Praise the Lord from the earth,

Ye dragons, and all deeps:

8  Fire, and hail; snow, and vapour;

Stormy wind fulfilling his word:

9  Mountains, and all hills;

Fruitful trees, and all cedars:

10  Beasts, and all cattle;

Creeping things, and flying fowl:

11  Kings of the earth, and all people;

Princes, and all judges of the earth:

12  Both young men, and maidens;

Old men, and children:

13  Let them praise the name of the Lord:

For his name alone is excellent;

His glory is above the earth and heaven.

14  He also exalteth the horn of his people,

The praise of all his saints;

Even of the children of Israel, a people near unto him.

Praise ye the Lord.

The Heavenly Council in the New Testament:

In Ephesians chapter 3, just to show you this quickly, in Ephesians chapter 3 and verse 8, Paul says,

“To me the very least of all saints, the grace was given to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable

riches of Christ and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been

hidden in God who created all things...listen to this...He created all things, He created all things in

order that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers

and authorities in the heavenly places. This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He

carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

That is just profound. Why did He create all things? In order that He might put on a display of

manifold wisdom for all the angels of heaven to see and for which they would forever praise Him. He

created to redeem, to display His glory to the holy angels.

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The Comparison of the creation of light in creation to the light of the new creation:

But perhaps the riches analogy between

redemption and creation is in 2 Corinthians 4, and I want you to look at that and this is where we’ll

kind of tie our thoughts together. Second Corinthians chapter 4, “For God who said, ‘Light shall shine

out of darkness.’” Now we’ll stop right there.

What’s that referring to? What’s it referring to? Creation. God said, “Let there be light.” And so, Paul

sees in the original creation of light a picture, an analogy of the light of salvation. For God who said

light shall shine out of darkness. Do I need to remind you about that? “In the beginning God created

the heavens and the earth,” Genesis 1:1. But verse 2 says, “And the earth was without form and void

and...what?...darkness was over the face of the deep.”

It was formless. It was lifeless. It was empty. It was a void of darkness until God said, “Let there be

light.” And the rest of the verse, “It is that God who spoke light into the primaeval darkness who is the

One who has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of

Christ.”

Folks, God creating light in the midst of the darkness by His sovereign instantaneous power is a

picture of what He does in the darkness of the sinner’s heart. If you introduce some convoluted

concept of evolution into the book of Genesis, you tamper with the sovereign, divine, instantaneous

miracle of God who gives life to a dark universe as parallel to God who gives light in an instant to a

dark heart.

All kinds of salvation analogies are drawn not only out of the parallels between Christ and the fallen

Adam, but between Christ and an innocent Adam. But perhaps the riches analogy between

redemption and creation is in 2 Corinthians 4, and I want you to look at that and this is where we’ll

kind of tie our thoughts together. Second Corinthians chapter 4, “For God who said, ‘Light shall shine

out of darkness.’” Now we’ll stop right there.

What’s that referring to? What’s it referring to? Creation. God said, “Let there be light.” And so, Paul

sees in the original creation of light a picture, an analogy of the light of salvation. For God who said

light shall shine out of darkness. Do I need to remind you about that? “In the beginning God created

the heavens and the earth,” Genesis 1:1. But verse 2 says, “And the earth was without form and void

and...what?...darkness was over the face of the deep.”

It was formless. It was lifeless. It was empty. It was a void of darkness until God said, “Let there be

light.” And the rest of the verse, “It is that God who spoke light into the primaeval darkness who is the

One who has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of

Christ.”

Folks, God creating light in the midst of the darkness by His sovereign instantaneous power is a

picture of what He does in the darkness of the sinner’s heart. If you introduce some convoluted

concept of evolution into the book of Genesis, you tamper with the sovereign, divine, instantaneous

miracle of God who gives life to a dark universe as parallel to God who gives light in an instant to a

dark heart.

Jonathan Edwards saw this here and pursued the idea all the way through the first chapter of

Genesis and suggests that the light dawned and the darkness was gone but things had not taken

their form yet and day after day of creation things began to take form and take shape and become

clear and the earth became richer and fuller and finally very good. And then came rest. And Jonathan

Edwards says, “What a magnificent picture of the life of a believer. In the darkness and in a split

second the light shines in his heart and he lives in the light but the process of sanctification just

begins and he flourishes and he becomes richer and fuller until one day he enters into everlasting

rest. This is the picture, don’t tamper with it. This is the glory of redemption tucked in to the testimony

of creation.

Father, we thank You for the picture that You have given us, even in the beginning, first chapter, of

how You bring light to the darkness. And then it’s a cycle of the evening and the morning, light and

dark, light and dark, light and dark, and even that is like our lives, the light shone in our hearts, the

light of the glory of the gospel of Christ shining. The darkness was dispelled when we were saved, but

still our lives are cycles of dark and light and we find ourselves struggling with sin while loving

holiness, embracing the light. And yet the darkness clings. But as the days of our lives progress, the

new creation flourishes, becomes more beautiful and more beautiful. And one day we enter into final

and eternal rest. A vivid picture of the redemption that is the reason for the creation. May we trust

Your Scripture in every word beginning to end because this is right and this gives You glory.

We thank You that You have opened our eyes through Christ, the work of the Spirit, to understand

these truths. We desire to honor You and to worship You as our Creator and in all aspects of our lives

as our Redeemer. Redeem us continually from every remaining vestige of our sin and some day take

us into that eternal rest which we have tasted now but will fully enjoy in Your presence. Thank You for

Your gift to us, for all the elements of that gift which will be ours forever. In the name of Christ and

everyone said...Amen.

Available online

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ON why did God Create the Universe...

The Word of God tells us that this universe was created for His own pleasure. He saw fit to create it; He delighted in it. In the final book of the Bible we find these words: “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created” (Rev. 4:11). He created this universe because He wanted to create it. He did it for His pleasure. You may not like the universe, but He does. He never asked me about where I wanted this little world on which I live to be located in His universe. In fact, He didn’t even ask me whether I wanted to be born in Texas or not. Of course, if He had given me the opportunity, I would have chosen Texas. But He didn’t give me that choice. May I say to you that this universe was created for His pleasure. He saw fit to create and He delighted in the act.

The second reason that He created this universe was for His own glory. The original creation, you remember, sang that wonderful Creator’s praise “… When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy” (Job 38:7). It was created for His glory. And in the prophecy of Isaiah are these words: “… I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him” (Isa. 43:7). God created this universe for His own glory.

The Word of God also tells us that God created man in this universe for fellowship. He wanted to have fellowship with mankind, and so He created him a free moral agent. God could have made a bunch of robots. God could have made mechanical men and pushed a button to make them bow down to Him. But God didn’t want that kind of a man. God wanted a man to be free to choose Him and to love Him and to serve Him.

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There are three acts of Creation in Genesis Chapter 1...

“God created.” The word “create” is from the Hebrew word bara, which means to create out of nothing. This word is used only three times in the first chapter of Genesis, because it records only three acts of creation. (1) The creation of something from nothing: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” (2) The creation of life: “And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth …” (v. 21). That’s animal life of all kinds. (3) The creation of man: “So God created man in his own image …” (v. 27)

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Exodus 20:7–11 (KJV 1900)

7 Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. 8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: 11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

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Parallelism in Genesis 1

On day one God creates the heavens- On day 4, God populates the heavens.

On day two God creates the waters- On day 5 God populates the waters

On the third day God creates the dry land- On day 6 God populates the dry land

start video at 1 minute mark.