Now, as I said, both sermons
today have to do with the world. Here this morning, how and why
God created, and I'm not going to tell you the name of the second
one. It is a secret, but it is something
that we hear about all of the time. Now, our text. First of
all, Genesis 1 and verse 1. In the beginning, God created
the heaven and the earth. Did you get that? In the beginning,
God created the heaven and the earth. Now, flipping to chapter
4 of Revelation, verse 10 and verse 11, though actually we'll
be all over the Bible this morning. Verse 10 and 11, the four and
twenty elders fall down before Him that sat on the throne, and
worship Him on the throne that liveth forever and forever, and
cast their crowns before the throne, saying, 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."
Now before we move along, could I put the two verses together? In the beginning, God created
the heaven and the earth, for thou hast created all things
and for thy pleasure they are and were created." Now, it's
not to be ignored as one enters into the sacred house of Scripture
that the first thing that we meet and the first thing that
we read about in opening up our Bible is an account of creation. That's the first thing that we
have set out in the scripture. In the first verse of the inspired
scripture, and then in the whole first chapter of Genesis, there
is given the record of God creating the heaven and the earth. And
we're told that this creative period lasted seven days or one
week. Six days, God made heaven and
earth. In other words, my point is,
not by a long, protracted, drawn-out, indefinite period of time. Not millions and millions of
years. But in six days, God made the
heaven and the earth. And they were literal days marked
by the morning and the evening, where the first, second, third
day, and so on. And we might say here, and we
might say now, to the skeptic of God's word, or of creation,
or to the mocker, or to the infidel evolutionists. You need go no
further in the Scripture. You might close your Bible and
walk away now if you cannot receive the record that God has given
of creation. Just close the Bible, for this
is the very foundation. of religion, of the worship of
God, and of Christianity. It is a leading tenet of Christianity
that God is the creator of the heaven and of the earth, that
the God that we worship is one and the same God that created
all things, told us in Genesis chapter 1. I'll go so far as
to say that to go wrong at creation is to go wrong all the way down
the line. You cannot be wrong at creation
and be right in other places. Creation is the unshakable bedrock
of true worship and the worship of God. For those who worship
will either worship the Creator, or they will worship something
that the Creator has created, or some imagined God of their
imagination fashioned somewhere in the dark recesses of their
depraved mind. Note the charge, if you will,
that Paul lodges against the pagans yonder in Romans chapter
1 and verse 25, that they change, or literally, they exchange the
truth of God for a lie, and then they worship and they serve the
creation more, or rather, than the creator who is Almighty God. So that paganism then is the
worship of that which God has made, or which men have imagined. It worships what God has made,
rather than God who has made all things by His power. So in the very beginning, We
reject evolution upon two sorts or reasons, and we reject evolution
of two kinds or of two sorts. First of all, we of course reject
atheistic evolution, which includes both cosmic and organic evolution. Cosmic has to do with the universe,
with the non-living things. that are upon the earth. Organic
has to do with those things that live and grow. And many have been deceived into
accepting evolution on the ground that it is, quote, scientific,
unquote, and that we need to look at science, that science
must help us understand and explain the origin of the world and all
things therein. Philip Mora scoffed at the idea
of evolution as scientific, saying, quote, it belongs wholly in the
realm of speculative philosophy, unquote. Evolution cheats in
that its champions assume the existence of matter and of force,
to put it in motion. And they say at some time the
force began to act upon the matter. And some have referred to this
as resonant forces that were somehow present. And it has come
to the place where evolution is more and more accepted and
taught in the schools and the colleges and espoused by more
and more people. However, as bad as that is, there
is another form of evolution that we also reject. And that is what has been espoused
by many. It is a form of evolution nonetheless,
while at the same time claiming to be from a Christian perspective. And this is called theistic evolution,
if you've heard of it. Theistic evolution. That says
that God created, yes, but he did so by or through a process
of evolution. And this, they think, allows
them to reconcile science and scripture together. It lets them
have their evolution and their Christianity too. So they think. However, the teaching of evolution
is not the teaching of the scripture, neither atheistic or theistic
evolution. and is irreconcilable with the
record and the testimony of the Word of God. Now, the view of
Christianity is the view of Scripture, that in seven or literally six
days the Lord made heaven and he made the earth and all things
in them. Everything that grows out of
the earth, Genesis 1 and 12. Everything that lives in the
water, Genesis 1-20. and the beast of the earth, verses
24 and 25, and he made male and female, Genesis chapter 2 and
verse 7 through verse 25. Thus there are two Christian
positions concerning evolution from which the church must not
retreat. Number one, that not only did
God create all things. Not only did he do that in one
week or six days, in six days all things were completed that
God had made. Not hundreds, not thousands,
not millions of years, but in six literal days consisting of
morning and evening, God made all things. The heavens and the
things therein, the earth and the things therein, the oceans
and the things therein. The second point that we hold
is from the biblical standpoint is, not only did God create,
not only did He create in six days, but God created all things
that He created out of nothing. He did not use any pre-existing
material. Creation was not God rearranging
something that already existed, some kind of matter. When God
created the first man, He made him out of the dust of the ground. Genesis 2 and verse 7. When he made the first woman,
he opened up the side of Adam, took a rib out of him, and built
Adam a woman. Genesis 2 and verse 21 through
23. But in the creation of the heavens
and of the earth, that is the habitable earth, he made it out
of absolutely nothing. By the power of His Word, our
God spoke it into existence. Psalm 33 and verse 6 said, By
the Word of the Lord were the heavens made, and all the host
of them by the breath of his mouth. We read again, down in
verse 9. He spoke and it was done. He commanded and it stood fast. Spurgeon wrote on this passage
from the psalm, quote, that creation was the fruit of a word, unquote. In other words, a word of God.
Not only did the Lord speak creation into existence, but by the same
power, creation was confirmed and is sustained by the power
of God. Listen to what the Word said.
He commanded and it stood fast. As stated in Hebrews 11 and verse
3, by faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the
Word of God, That is, all things were brought into being by God's
command. They were put and arranged in
their proper order with all of their beauty and symmetry as
pleasing unto the God. Some things about Hebrews 11
and verse 3 such as, number one, this is the first instance in
that chapter in which the apostle gives of many examples of the
power and the efficacy of faith. In this whole chapter, he's going
to prove that faith is the evidence of things not seen and such like. That it is the evidence, faith
is, of unseen things. Secondly, this particular example
pertains to the origin and the arrangement of the world. Faith, faith in Christ, saving
faith, does not stumble at all at hearing that God made all
visible things which we behold in the world, and that He made
them out of nothing. and that it causes them to appear. By faith we understand. Now, not by reason or conjecture,
for such seems impossible to reason. And some would say, oh,
nothing can come from nothing. Absolutely not. Nothing can become
something would be the argument. of many. But if Abraham staggered
not at the promise of God that he would be the father of many
nations, so faith staggers not at all at the revelation that
God has made the heaven and the earth out of nothing. But then
coming to the question, why God created? Why did God create the
heaven and the earth? Especially, for our interest,
the earth. Why did God create the earth,
or the world, or the planet, as we call it? In creating, we
remember that God created two orders of living intelligent
beings. Number one, the angelic, the
angels who are spirit, the spirit beings. And number two, the human
family consisting in male and female with a soul and a fleshly
body. He also created two habitats,
or dwelling places, heaven and earth. The angels principally
have their dwelling in heaven, and the men and women, their
dwelling upon the face of the earth. Heaven being the principal
dwelling place, also of God. Psalms 115 and verse 16, the
earth has been given unto the children of men, that is, to
be their abode, to be their home and their dwelling. Now, God
might have created the heavens and the angels and ceased altogether
His work of creating. But he also created the world,
or the earth, or the planet. And then that leads us to ask
why. And when we ask why, it is not
to question his right. It is not to question his wisdom
to create the world as and when he would. Rather we ask it from
the standpoint, or from the aim and purpose of God, in creating
the world in which we live. For God does nothing except it
serves a purpose and is according to his good pleasure. For example,
did God create the world to have something to do? I told a person
yesterday what I was preaching on this morning, why God created
the heaven and the earth. And he said, well, I guess he
was bored, wanted to have something to do. And that's an idea, I
think, of a lot of people. The idea that man can add anything
to God is absurd. Man is a created being, and he
cannot make God more than he has always been. The Creator God, being the eternal
free spirit, will receive nothing beneficial from the creature
in the way of helping or improving him. We read there in Revelation
4 and verse 11, thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure
they are and were created. Now the word pleasure there does
not suggest fun or delight or amusement. on the part of God,
but it is a determinate choice. It is a desire. It is the word
that means will in so many places. Proverbs 16 and 4, the Lord has
made all for himself, yea, even the wicked for the day of evil. And I looked in the NIV version,
has it, the Lord works out everything for his own ends. As to the question, why God created
the world and all things therein, it behooves us to consider that
from the revelation which God has given concerning that question. For it is true what Jonathan
Edwards wrote long ago, quote, he, that is God, best knows what
his own ins and designs were in the creation of all things."
And he has not hid, but has revealed his purpose in creation, and
that many times, many times over. Declaring it to the people, declaring
it to the prophets and such like, that the ultimate end of creation
and the works of divine providence and the saving of sinners, and
even the destruction of the wicked, is a manifestation of the glory
of God, that God would in all things manifest his glory and
be glorified. Isaiah 48, verses 9 and verse
11. For mine own name's sake I delay
my wrath, I will not give my glory unto another." Paul says
in Romans 11 and verse 36, it is of him, through him, and to
him are all things to whom belongs glory forever. As to God being the creator of
the world and all things therein, in heaven and in earth, it is
unreasonable as well as atheistic to deny God his glory as the
creator of the world. To ascribe creation to any other
cause or to any other source is utter blasphemy against the
God of heaven who has declared he made the heaven and the earth. To think that it evolved is to
steal God's glory and his power. It is to call him a liar. And it seeks to nullify one of
the greatest works of God that is of creation. Hence, we repeat,
the ultimate end or the chief end of God in creation is ultimately
the manifestation of his glory. Many things along the way. but
ultimately the manifestation of his glory. So let us consider
that God's creation in all things and his providence in directing
all things in the order in which he has created them is a means
of God exercising His great attributes. In creation there can be seen,
or as a result of creation, there can be seen the exercising of
the attributes of God. And that His glorious perfection
could be known by His creatures, not strictly confined to Himself. He knows his perfection. He knows all of his attributes. He is fully aware of all of his
glory. His glory was beheld by the sun
before the foundation of the world. The angels, after their
creation, beheld the glory of God there in the heavenly realm. But it pleased God that his glorious
attribute and his wondrous perfection should be seen and be known by
other beings than himself. And it was by creation that there
came an occasion for the manifestation of all the perfection and the
attributes of the eternal God in heaven." Again, Edwards wrote,
And others have made the same point because it seems reasonable
and common. If God had not created, then
his attributes had not had source to be exercised. In other words,
they would have had no outlet if God had not created all that
he created. He would not have an occasion
to exercise his attributes and power and glory outside of himself
except for creation. They would have been present,
their fullness would have been known by the great and eternal
and all-knowing God. But it is creation that provided
the avenue for the manifestation and the administration of the
divine perfection and attributes of the holy God. Perhaps the
first to go forth, the first attribute of God that we might
meet with in his work of creation is the power of God. The very first one to go forth
is his divine power. For it was by his power that
he brought the world into being out of absolutely nothing. Can you think about this, that
God strained not at all when he brought all things into their
being? It depleted not his strength
or His power at all, but He simply spoke it into existence by the
word of His power. Paul says in Romans 1 and verse
20 that creation displays the eternal power and Godhead. That in that creation there is
a display of the eternal power and Godhead, or some render that
divinity, the eternal power and divinity, the divine nature of
Almighty God. These are clearly seen in creation
and what has been created. supposes a creator, does it not? Nothing can make itself. Nothing can bring its own self
into being. But wait, let's draw back a little
bit in order that we might get a wider view of Paul's reasoning
in Romans 1 beginning with the 18th verse concerning such as,
notice, Hold the truth in unrighteousness. Now, our King James renders it
that way, but this does not mean that they delight or that they
assent or agree or believe in the truth. Just the opposite
is what Paul is saying in the end of verse 18. They suppress
the truth. They hold it under. They suppress
it, holding it in wickedness, pressing it down, restraining
holding back the truth of God, and that the sphere in which
this occurs is unrighteousness. Let's not lose our perspective
here, for as John Murray so well put it in his Roman commentary,
quote, the apostle is dealing with the truth derived from the
observable handiwork of God in creation." That in creation,
the mighty power, the divinity of God is seen in the things
that he has made. The power and divinity is there,
made known, revealed before the eyes of all who dwell upon this
globe. In Psalms 19, verses 1 through
6, there is a wonderful passage of Scripture. There we read this,
the heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament showeth
his handiwork. The day utters speech, the night
shows knowledge. And what the writer is saying
is that creation speaks a common language, and that in all places. It's amazing how Paul weaves
that passage from Psalms 19 into his reasoning in Romans 10 and
verse 18. Have they not all heard? Yes. And then he quotes from the 19th
Psalm. But in Romans 1, Paul says, so
extensive is the revelation of God in His creation of His power
and divinity that those who observe the creation are excuseless. They are without excuse. Now it doesn't mean that in revelation
or creation there is a saving revelation of men from their
sin, but that men ought to recognize the Creator and that they ought
to worship the great Creator rather than the things that are
made or that they have assembled by their own hands. And before
we move on, let us remember what Paul said to those in Athens
in Acts, the seventeenth chapter, verse 24 through 28, but particularly
in verse 27. Paul writes, if happily, perhaps
or perchance, they might feel after him and finding, which
would never occur while serving idols and man-made things. Calvin said, quote, idolatry
is self-contradictory, unquote, and that be true. But back to
the idea. Let's recalibrate our minds again
on the subject or the thought that the creation of the world
is that which gave occasion for a great display of the glory
and of the attributes of God. And as we just declared, the
first thing that we think of is the power of God in creation. But next, let us consider the
wisdom of God in the creation that he has made, both in creation
proper, then the wisdom of God in guiding and ordering all things
on their course and to their proper end. We see a cluster
of divine attributes in such places as Proverb 3. 19 and 20. Listen to a part. The Lord, by
wisdom, has founded the earth. By understanding, he established
the heavens. By his knowledge, the depths
are broken up and the clouds drop down due. Wisdom, knowledge,
and understanding. Those attributes of God are connected
to the creation of the world. In Psalm 136 and 5, to him that
by wisdom made the heavens. in Jeremiah 10 and verse 12,
he has made the earth by his power, he has established the
world by his wisdom, and stretched out the heavens by his discretion. Again, a cluster of three, the
whole creation without a bias toward evolution. there will
be evidence of an excellent wisdom in the way that all things are
designed and the way that they function. In the many living
things that God has made, in the tiny creatures, in the large
creatures, in the birth of the young, in the seasons, as they
come and as they go. We do not hesitate to declare
that in all of God's work, he has regard to his very own glory,
that the end of all of his work is that. Remember the two texts,
Proverbs 16 and 4? He has made all things for himself,
yea, even the wicked for the day of evil. And we read it,
Revelation 4 and verse 11, for thy pleasure they are and were
created. in all that God has created,
in all of his works, in all that he does, in every blessing of
grace or every act of retributive justice, his primary aim is a
display of his glory. Again, the first half of Revelation
4, 11. Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive
glory and honor and power, because he hath made all things for himself.
He will be glorified in all that he does, so that his glory is
therefore the highest and the last end of what he does. There are statements in the Old
Testament declaring that God's acts were, quote, for man's own
sake. as kings, 2 Kings 19, 34. Isaiah
37 and 35, where God said that He would defend Jerusalem for
mine own sake. Isaiah 43 and 25, I, even I,
that blocks out your transgressions, for mine own sake." Isaiah 48
and 11, for mine own sake. Even for mine own sake will I
do it. Some slipping into human reasoning
think of God like one like themselves, as was the sin in Psalm 51 or
50 and verse 21. They might consider it unbecoming
of God. They might consider it selfish. They might consider that it is
narcissism, excessive love of self, for God to make Himself
the highest and the end of all that He does. Now, there is an
element in Christendom that only sees God as a heavenly benefactor
waiting to be manipulated. That God has asked for man to
manipulate him. That some look upon the great
and eternal God as a giant sugar daddy passing out goodies. This is wrong and even sinful
because it makes man the object of all that God does. While there
is yet time, let's consider that God has been pleased to get glory
unto his name and being by willing that sin enter into the world. Here is a display of the wisdom
of God. He let sin enter into his creation. Stephen Charnock wrote in his
masterpiece, The Attributes and Existence of God, page 292, In
the chapter on the wisdom of God, these words, quote, his
glorious attributes are drawn out to view upon the occasion
of sin which otherwise had lain hid in his own being, unquote. Had there not been sinners to
save, how would his grace and his mercy have had an outlet? or occasion for their exercise? Was there not sin to punish?
Wherein had appeared the justice and the righteousness of God? Had sin not entered, there had
been no manifestation of the eternal Son of God in the likeness
of men. Had not some been appointed to
damnation, the greatest display of sovereignty would have been
lost and hidden. His distinction between elect
and reprobate. And if God gets no glory on account
of sin, where is his glory since the greatest thing in the world
is sin? It glorifies God the most. Which
glorifies God the most? To prevent the entrance of sin
from happening. or to let it happen and then
overcome it. We notice something in reading
our Bible, that God himself, as well as the prophets and the
apostles and the preachers, frequently refer to God creating the heaven
and the earth as a way of praising him and giving honor unto him. Some examples are Exodus 20,
And verse 11, in six days the Lord made heaven and earth and
the sea and all that in them is. It's again in Exodus 31 and
17. Go yonder and see Hezekiah mentions
in his prayer. In 2 Kings, 19 and 15, thou hast made heaven
and earth. Nehemiah, in the book of Nehemiah
9 and verse 6, you have made heaven, the heaven of heaven,
with all their hosts, the earth and all things therein, the seas
and all that is therein. The psalmist, 121, and verse
2, my help comes from the Lord which made heaven and earth. How great is our effort? He is
the one who has made heaven and earth. You might remember in
Acts 4 and verse 24, The early disciples, some, had been arrested
when they were let go, and they went back under their company.
The early disciples glorified God, saying, You are God which
made heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is. in them. So it was a way of praying. It was a way of praising God
to remember and to include that he has made the heavens and the
earth. Two quick applications in closing. Number one, creation is no evolutionary
accident, and humanity is not the survival of the fittest. Number two, the testimony of
Scripture is this. God made all things in six days,
Exodus 20, 11 and 31 and 17, and rested from his labor on
the seventh day. So God is the Creator. This is the testimony of Scripture. We dare not go outside of it
and swallow something that science so-called has told us, as Paul
called it. God created the heaven and the
earth, and he did so ultimately, ultimately, for His own glory,
that He might be glorified in all things thereby.