Introduction: Let’s assume that you are going out to buy a new car
this week. Except for paying for it, that would be a lot of fun,
right? Think about what qualities you would like in a new car? What
qualities would you avoid? Now consider two new cars. One was created
by the finest auto maker who has production and design capabilities
which are out of this world. The other is the result of setting off
bombs in a junkyard. There is no design or purpose to the explosions.
After a lot of explosions, they let it sit around and accumulate
stuff until it is fit for you. Which do you choose? The handmade
product, or the junkyard product that has been ripening? Let’s
explore this more as we plunge into our study of creation in the
Bible!
- Reasonable Doubt
- My introduction was in intended to illustrate the
conceptual differences between the creation account and
the evolutionary theory. Was my illustration fair or not?
(I think it is weighted in favor of evolution in two ways.
First, we are blowing up stuff that already had an
intelligent design. Second, a car is considerably less
complex than the least complex animal.) - Evolutionists could say my illustration was flawed
because we are not dealing with something that is
living. How would that affect this illustration? (To
evolve life seems a much greater challenge than to
evolve equipment.) - Let’s look at another issue. Evolutionists see similar
design and function among various types of animals and
humans. They argue that this is proof of a common
ancestor. What logical counter-argument do you see? (It is
proof of an Intelligent Designer. Let’s get back to cars.
How many wheels could a car have? Because we find that for
most circumstances four wheels are best, cars have this
common design feature.) - Read Jeremiah 27:4-7 and 2 Peter 3:3-7. What is at issue
in both of these texts? (The authority of God.) - Why do you think we are in the middle of a debate
over origins? (The authority of God is under attack.) - Light
- Read Genesis 1:3-5. What is the first recorded statement
of God? (“Let there be light.”) - Why do you think God created light first?
- Is there a parallel between creation and God
recreating our lives? - Read John 1:3-5. Does this text parallel Genesis 1:3-5?
(Last week we learned that Jesus was the Creator. When He
came into the unformed world He brought forth light. When
He came into the formed world as a human He also brought
light.) - Look again at Genesis 1:4. What does Jesus say about light
that He does not say about darkness? (Light is good.) - Look again at John 1:5. What does this say about
darkness? (That it does not understand the light.) - Why would the Bible give a human attribute to
darkness — that darkness thinks? (The point is
that light is understanding. Light is
revelation. God first brought light into His
new creation to give us understanding. Jesus
came to our world to give us understanding.
Evolutionists say that we are uneducated and do
not understand. In fact, recognizing God’s
authority gives us understanding. It gives
light to our life.) - Was this light that was created on the first day the sun?
(No. The sun and moon were not created until the fourth
day. See Genesis 1:14-19.) - Why would God wait to create the sun and moon? Is
that consistent with our discussion of authority and
understanding? (Yes. God is our light and our
authority. Humans in the past have worshiped the sun.
But, the light here is centered on the power and
authority of God. God invades darkness and
nothingness in both the creation of the universe and
the recreation of our life.) - If this light was not our solar system with its rotational
pattern, how do we know this first day was a literal
twenty-four hours? Many argue that it was not.(Re-read
Genesis 1:5. It gives evening and morning as the first
day. God specifically tells us that the first day of
creation accords with our familiar day/night pattern.) - Sky
- Read Genesis 1:6-8. Previously we saw God dividing light
from dark. What is He dividing here? (The water from the
water. It sounds like He is making a sandwich, water on
bottom, expanse (sky) between and water above.) - Notice that the description of God’s work varies a bit
here. The Bible says that God “said” and He “made” when it
comes to separating the water. Genesis 1:3 seems to have
light come only by speaking. Am I drawing distinctions
that do not exist? Or, is this an important point? (Light
is the nature of God. It is fundamental to Him. Our
atmosphere, on the other hand, is simply one of His
designs.) - Would it be fair to say that light is created
whenever God speaks? (This is an interesting idea.
God adds light whenever He enters a situation. Why
not ask God to enter all of your situations?) - Land and Plants
- Read Genesis 1:9-10. In how many places did God collect
the seas? (“One place.”) - What does this suggest about the nature of our earth
then and now? (It suggests things are different.
There is a theory, based on the contours of the
continents, that at one time before the Flood they
were all joined together. The water being in “one
place” lends support to that idea.) - Read Genesis 1:11-13. How many plants and trees were
created? (The Bible does not say, but it does refer to the
various “kinds.”) - What does this suggest about the evolutionary idea of
things having a common source? (God was the common
source for these plants and trees, but God created
them with differences. They had no need to evolve the
differences.) - What was God’s plan for reproduction of the plants
and trees? (Seeds. God created them with a
reproduction plan.) - Genesis is an ancient document. What does it say to
you that plants and trees continue to reproduce today
just the way God described it in Genesis? (It gives
credence to Genesis and undercuts the idea that we
came to exist through another process. What we
observe accords with the Genesis account. The
Evolutionary Theory asks us to accept something we do
not observe.) - Look again at Genesis 1:11. Do immature trees bear fruit?
(No. This reveals that God created His new world with an
age. Adam and Eve, when we get to them, are not created as
babies, they are created as adults. The plants and trees
have an age.) - Genesis 1:12 tells us this was “good” and Genesis 1:13
gives us the “evening and morning” sequence. Why do you
think that the Genesis account adds those details? (“Good”
tells us that God was satisfied. This was not something
that needed time and space to evolve into something
appropriate. The evening and morning statement gives us a
time-marker. God created this in a day and He did it
according to His specifications.) - Read Job 38:4-7. To what does God compare His creation of
the earth? (To creating a building.) - This not only reveals an intelligent design, but
these verses give us further insight into the
creation. Was creating the earth just another task
God checked off on His “to do” list?(No! This is a
great public event. It is a wonderful celebration of
joy among heavenly beings.) - When we learn that heaven had a party to celebrate
our creation, what does that tell you about heaven’s
attitude towards us? (They care about us. They love
us. They are rooting for us.) - Friend, how about you? Would you rather be the product of
junkyard explosions, or the result of a much anticipated
unveiling of God’s design and production plan? Would you
rather be the result of an unthinking process, or a
celebrated event by the most sophisticated intelligence of
the universe? - Next week: The Creation Completed.
