The Bible begins with this simple, yet profound statement: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen 1:1). This statement is simple because we learn that everything was created by God. It is profound because of the magnitude of the creative power of God. In our sermon today, we shall focus on God’s creative power and learn that:
- God created everything. Everything that exists does so because God created it. God alone has the power to create and nothing can claim existence apart from God (John 1:3). The answer to the question, “Who made you?” is always “God made me.” God’s creative power is unique because He created the heavens and the earth from nothing. An artist or inventor must use existing material to create, but not so with God because He spoke everything into existence. The implications are important because Genesis leaves no room for the theory of evolution. God did not create a single-celled organism and observe it “evolve” from afar. Our universe is not unguided, but guided by God. God created a mature Earth, filled with mature plants, animals, and humans who are all directed to multiply and fill the earth.
- God created powerfully. We shall discuss this in more detail next week when we study the six days of creation. For now, it is important to focus on the fact that God created everything by speaking it into existence. We read numerous times in Genesis 1 that “God said…and it was so.” This is power that resides in God alone. Jeremiah 32:17 says, “Oh, Lord GOD! You Yourself made the heavens and earth by Your great power and with Your outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for You.”
- God created beautifully. When God created, He “saw that it was good” (Gen 1:31). Everything God makes is good because God is good and holy. Psalm 19:1 says: “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky proclaims the work of His hands.” Paul, understanding the implications, wrote in Romans 1:20 that God’s “invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, being understood through what He has made.”
- God created purposefully. Did you know that God created the beginning with the end in mind? Have you ever wondered why God chose to create the universe? Isaiah 43:7 tells us that everything was created for God’s glory. Also, Acts 17:26-27 says that God set our appointed times and the boundaries of where we live so that we “might seek God, and perhaps…reach out and find Him.” God “now commands all people everywhere to repent, because He has set a day when He is going to judge the world in righteousness by the Man [Jesus] He has appointed” (Acts 17:30-31). Colossians 1:16 says that “all things have been created through Him and for Him.” God is glorified when His creation worships Him. Genesis 1:1 is important because we must remember the beginning so as to be mindful of the end.
Do you believe that God created all things? Do you believe that Jesus is God’s Son who died on the cross to reconcile us back to God? Are you a follower of Jesus? If not, ask a Christian how you may be saved.
First Baptist Scott City, MO 