God, and the Creation of the World

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1

The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands…The judgments of the LORD are true; they are righteous altogether. Psalm 19:1,9

It is impossible to understand the gospel without an accurate understanding of God, and of Man.

Throughout human history, mankind has sought to explain how the world, the universe, and all of creation came into being. For most people, their common sense tells them that the creation simply can’t be an accident. The complexity and order of nature, of the human body, and of the entire creation testify that this intelligently designed creation had to have an intelligent creator.

The atheists state that there was no creator. Their position is not logically defensible, because the only way to prove a negative assertion is to exhaust all evidential possibilities, and there is no way that can be done. We don’t have every shred of evidence related to creation; no one exists today who was present at the creation. The atheist may have an opinion, but he cannot state as an irrefutable fact that God does not exist, and that the creation had no creator. And as we look at reality, we see that things that are made must have a maker. The atheist cannot prove his position.

The agnostics state that there is no way to explain the source of the creation; that we can’t know with certainty. Their position is not intellectually defensible or honest, because they have not engaged in an exhaustive study of the evidence. An exhaustive study would include a study of all that science has discovered related to the creation, and all that the Bible has revealed about the creation and the creator. Note that we include science in this statement. The Bible does not claim to be a science textbook, but it does reveal a great deal of truth related to the creation. The discoveries of science have generally supported Biblical truth, despite the fact that over the years there have been incorrect applications of science that have been used to purportedly disprove Biblical truth. These incorrect applications have always been refuted as new advances in science occur. Importantly, we also include the fact that we should carefully study the Bible in its entirety before we come to the conclusion that God either does not exist, or can’t be known.

We believe that there is a creator, and that we can know about Him. We believe everyone should carefully study the Bible in its entirety to arrive at an accurate understanding of God, His creation, and our place in it. The Bible gives us what God has chosen to reveal to us about Himself. Scripture teaches that man may know God truly, yet not exhaustively. Stated another way, God is truly knowable but not exhaustively comprehensible. As an introduction, we will provide some of the basic essential truths about God the creator, as taught in the Bible.

God is eternal and He created everything from nothing. The Genesis 1:1 passage quoted above notes that God created the heavens and the earth “in the beginning.” God exists outside of our space and time, and He created everything from nothing. For example, in Genesis 1:3, “God said, let there be light, and there was light.” God is eternal; He declared to the prophet Isaiah “Even from eternity I am He, and there is none who can deliver out of My hand” (Isaiah 43:13).

God created man in His own image. “God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, ‘be fruitful and multiply’” (Genesis 2:27-28). The first man and woman were directly created by God, and had a unique relationship with God, embodying God’s communicable attributes. In their rational life, they were like God in that they could reason and had intellect, will and emotion. In the moral sense they were like God because they were good and sinless. In our day, all people continue to bear God’s image by their ability to reason, exercise intellect, possess will and emotions, and to have a conscience, whether people follow their consciences or not. And because we are created beings, we are not autonomous. God has a purpose for us that is part of His creative plan.

God sustains His creation; we live by God’s grace alone. The Apostle Paul stated that “in Him we live and move and exist” (Acts 17:28). God revealed that He sustains the breath of all life: “If He should determine to do so, if He should gather to Himself His spirit and His breath, all flesh would perish together, and man would return to dust” (Job 34:14). We must realize that we live by God’s grace alone. Most things done by our bodies are not directly controlled by us. For example, we don’t control the beating of our hearts. Science can explain that there are electrical impulses that cause our heart to beat, and we have technology that can stimulate those electrical impulses, but there comes a day for each of us when our heart will simply stop beating, and our life on this earth will end. That is controlled only by God.

God is sovereign over His creation. The Psalmist states “The earth is the LORD’s, and all it contains, the world, and all those who dwell in it” (Psalm 24:1). The prophet Isaiah, speaking for God, said, “I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying ‘My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure’” (Isaiah 46:9-10). Since God is sovereign over His creation, and since He owns everything, God is the one who decides how His creation is ordered. He has authority over all things, including the determination of what is morally right and wrong. He determines how we should live. We are answerable to Him.

God has revealed Himself and His will to mankind. The Psalm 19:1 passage quoted above notes that all of mankind can see evidence of God in the creation. Even without the Bible, people have the ability to know that there is a creator. And since God created mankind in His image, all people have a conscience, the ability to make moral decisions in accordance with God’s created moral order. For example, people don’t need to know the Ten Commandments to know that it is wrong to murder, steal, lie, engage in sex with someone else’s spouse, or be greedy (covetous). The Apostle Paul stated, “that which is known about God is evident within them, for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.” (Romans 1:19-20) Through what we can observe in nature, and also through what is revealed in the Bible, we can know God’s will for mankind, and that there is a God of creation.

God is Righteous and Just. The Psalm 19:9 passage quoted above notes that God is characterized by His righteousness and justice. The Psalmist tells us, “Righteous are You, O LORD, and upright are Your judgments. You have commanded Your testimonies in righteousness and exceeding faithfulness.” (Psalm 119:137) We are also told, “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne, Lovingkindness and truth go before You.” (Psalm 89:14) We can see that if God were not perfectly righteous and just, He would not be loving. Anyone who has been treated unfairly can attest to that fact. God’s rule over the universe, and his sovereign lordship over His creation, is founded upon His remaining forever perfectly righteous and just.

God is Holy. This means that He is untouched and unstained by the evil in the world; He is absolutely pure and perfect. This is related to God’s righteousness. Moses asked the question, “Who is like You, majestic in holiness, awesome in praises, working wonders?” (Exodus 15:11) The obvious answer is that no one is like God, who is perfectly holy. God is too pure to even look upon evil, much less associate with it. The prophet Habakkuk stated, “Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, and You cannot look on wickedness” (Habakkuk 1:13).

God is unchangeable. God does not change His nature or His purpose. To do so would cancel out all of His other attributes. If God is righteous, just, and holy, He must be unchangeable. He can’t be all of those things and simply change, and remain righteous, just, and holy. If God is perfect, He can’t change and remain perfect. God’s immutability, or unchangeable nature, is taught throughout the Bible. The prophet Malachi, speaking for God, stated “For I, the LORD, do not change” (Malachi 3:6). God told the prophet Balaam to say “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent; has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” (Numbers 23:19) It is also stated, “The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of His heart from generation to generation” (Psalm 33:11).

God requires perfect obedience to His law. God revealed His moral will to mankind, and He requires perfect obedience to it. This is in accord with His holiness, His righteousness, and His love for those who obey Him. “The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry. The face of the LORD is against evildoers, to cut off the memory of them from the earth.” (Psalm 34:15-16) As noted in describing the fact that God is holy, God’s “eyes are too pure to approve evil, and (God) cannot look on wickedness” (Habakkuk 1:13).

God is loving, truthful, and merciful. The earlier quotation from Psalm 89:14 states that “Lovingkindness and truth go before You.” God’s truthfulness is related to His righteousness, and “the truth of the LORD is everlasting” (Psalm 117:2). God is praised for His lovingkindness throughout the Bible. “His lovingkindness is everlasting, and His faithfulness to all generations” (Psalm 100:5). The entirety of Psalm 136 declares the everlasting lovingkindness of God. The Hebrew word for “lovingkindness” is hesed, which encompasses the ideas of love, kindness, mercy and loyalty. The word is used to refer to acts of kindness and loyalty that go beyond duty or obligation.

God acts consistently according to all the attributes of His character. We have seen that God is perfectly holy, righteous, and just; we have also seen that He is loving and merciful. How does God act consistently according to all of these attributes? When Moses asked God to show him His glory and proclaim His name to him, God said that He is “compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished.” (Exodus 34:6-7) There seems to be a contradiction in this statement. How can it be that God can forgive sin, and yet He does not leave the guilty unpunished? God’s love cannot override His justice and righteousness. We could not live in that kind of world. Most people want mercy for themselves, but justice for others. If we’re honest with ourselves, we can see the inconsistency with that reasoning. We like to think of God as loving and compassionate, and that God loves us. But if we want to fully understand the nature of God, we have to realize that God is also holy and righteous, and that He can’t overlook or tolerate sin. We will see later how God reconciles this situation.

God has many more attributes that we have not discussed here. Several of them will be noted in other sections of this website. The information we have provided to this point should help you begin to obtain an accurate understanding of God; He is eternal, He created everything, He created man in His own image, He sustains His creation, He is sovereign, He has revealed Himself to us, He is righteous and just, He is holy, He is unchangeable, He requires perfect obedience from man, He is loving, truthful, and merciful, and He acts consistently according to His character. We must next obtain an accurate understanding of man, and the condition of the world in our present time.