Throughout history mankind has sought the answers to the questions: What is man? Where did man come from? Where is he going? How did the world come to exist? Beginning with the Greek philosophers--Thales, the father of philosophy, Anaximander, who developed a version of evolution and natural selection; Epedacles, who reasoned fire, air, earth and water were the basic elements, as well as the philosophers Socrates, Aristotle, and Plato--mankind has struggled to learn the truth about the origin of man and all things. The purpose of this lesson is to learn the truth about the origin of all things and about God, who is the cause of them all.
1. How did the universe come into existence?
Gen1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
1. Time and the history of this world did not begin until God began his creative work. There was no beginning of anything until he began creating the heavens and the earth. He then created the universe.
Jn.1:3 Through him all things were made, and without him nothing was made that has been made.
Heb.11:3 By faith we understand the universe was made by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made from things which are visible.1. God created the universe and all things by the power of his word.
2. God created everything out of nothing.Gen.1:3,6,9,11,14,20,24 God said, “Let there be...”
1. Genesis 1 explains how God formed all things by his word “Let there be.”
Ex.20:11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them. Then he rested on the seventh day.
1. God created all things in six, twenty-four hour days.
2. On the fourth day God created the sun, moon, and stars. He stated they were for signs, seasons, days, and years (cf. Genesis 1:14). On the fourth day, then, God created and established the means for us to mark the passage of time. He put the clock into operation, so to speak. We know, then, that the fourth day, as well as the fifth and sixth days, were twenty-four hour days. Since Exodus 20:11 groups the first three days of creation with the last three days under the common term "days", the first three days also had to be twenty-four hour days. If they were not twenty-four hour days, but some other length of time, then God, who makes no mistakes and knows better than we do that two different things cannot be referred to with the same term, would have told us: "In three periods of time plus three days, the Lord made the heavens and the earth."
The Truth Is: 1. God made the universe and everything that is in it.
2. God made all things from nothing.
3. God made all things by the power of his word, “Let there be.”
4. God made all things in six consecutive twenty-four hour days.
Read Genesis 1:1-2:3 which is printed below.
1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
2 Now this earth was formless and empty, and darkness was upon the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.
3 Then God said, “Let there be light!” And it became light.
4 And God saw that the light was good. And God caused a separation between the light and the darkness.
5 And God named the light day, and the darkness he named night. And it became evening and it became morning – a first day.
¶ 6 Then God said, “Let there be an atmosphere in the middle of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.”
7 And God made the atmosphere and caused a separation between the waters which were below the atmosphere and between the waters which were above the atmosphere. And it became so.
8 And God named the atmosphere sky. And it became evening and it became morning – a second day.
¶ 9 Then God said, “Let the waters below the sky be gathered together to one place and let the dry land appear.” And it became so.
10 And God named the dry land earth, and the gathering of the waters he named seas. And God saw that it was good.
11 Then God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, fruit trees upon the earth producing fruit according to its kind in which is its seed. And it became so.
12 The earth sprouted vegetation, plants yielding seed according to its kind, and trees producing fruit in which is its seed according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
13 And it became evening and it became morning – a third day.
¶ 14 Then God said, “Let there be luminaries in the expanse of the heavens to separate between the day and the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years,
15 and let them be for luminaries in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth. And it became so.
16 God made the two great luminaries, the greater luminary to rule the day and the smaller luminary to rule the night; he made the stars also.
17 And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth
18 and to rule over the day and over the night and to separate between the light and the darkness. And God saw that it was good.
19 And it became evening and it became morning – a fourth day.
¶ 20 Then God said, “Let the waters teem with swarms of small, living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth over the face of the expanse of the sky.”
21 And God created the great sea monsters and all the living creatures that move, with which the waters teemed according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
22 And God blessed them saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth.”
23 And it became evening and it became morning – a fifth day.
¶ 24 Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kind: domestic animals and creeping things and wild animals of the earth according to their kind.” And it became so.
25 And God made the wild animals of the earth according to their kind, and the domestic animals according to their kind, and every creeping thing on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
¶ 26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness. And let them rule over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over the domestic animals, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that crawls upon the earth.
27 So God created the man in his own image, in the image of God he created him, male and female he created them.
28 And God blessed them, and God said to them: “Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it, and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that crawls upon the earth.”
29 Then God said, “Behold, I give to you every plant yielding seed that is upon the surface of all the earth and every tree in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed. It will be food for you.
30 And to every wild animal of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to every thing that crawls upon the earth in which is the breath of life, I give every green plant for food. ” And it became so.
31 Then God saw all that he had made and behold, it was very good. And it became evening and it became morning, the sixth day.
¶ 2:1 In this way the heavens and the earth were completed and all their hosts.
¶ 2 And by the seventh day God completed his work that he had made, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had made.
3 And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because he rested in it from all his work which God had created to make.
The Truth Is: God made the heavens and the earth and all that is in them in the following order:
Day 1: The earth without any form; water; light
Day 2: The sky, the earth’s atmosphere
Day 3: The bodies of water; the dry land; vegetation
Day 4: The sun, moon, and stars to serve as signs, seasons, days, and years.
Day 5: The aquatic creatures; the birds
Day 6: The land creatures; man
Note:
In creating the different creatures and forms of vegetation, God established the law that each kind could reproduce only its own kind. See Genesis 1:11,12,21,24,25. Micro evolution, a small change within a given kind, may be seen within these kinds. But macro evolution, a changing of one kind into a different kind, is impossible.The angels are also the creations of God. See Colossians 1:16 in connection with Ephesians 6:11,12, and Psalm 148:1-5. Since all things, visible and invisible, were created by God and he ceased his creative work on the seventh day, like everything else God created, the angels were created during the six days of creation, cf. Exodus 20:11. The Bible, however, does not tell us on what specific day the angels were created. Like everything else also, the angels were good at their creation and without sin. At some later time, but before Satan spoke to Eve, Satan led a host of angels into sin. They then became evil angels, or demons. The good angels received the reward of God’s grace of being confirmed in their holiness, so they could never fall into sin and become wicked. The good angels serve God; the evil angels serve Satan. All angels, good and evil, are subject to God’s will and must obey him. The good angels are ministering spirits who watch over God’s Christian people, see Hebrews 1:14 and Psalm 91:10,11. These good angels are our guardian angels.
Gen.1:27 So God created the man in his own image, in the image of God he created him, male and female he created them.
1. God created the human race in his image, not in a physical likeness, since God is a spirit, but in his spiritual likeness.
2. God created the human race with two different sexes, male and female. When God created Adam, he made the male sex. When he created Eve, he created the female sex. Each was the representative of his or her respective sex.Mt.10:28 . . . but rather be afraid of him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
1. God created male and female with a soul and body.
Eph.4:24 . . . and that you put on the new self, created like God in righteousness and holiness of the truth.
1. The “new self” which has been created in us Christians is our new spiritual image, which is in the likeness of God’s righteousness and holiness.
2. Man and woman were created with this spiritual image of God’s righteousness and holiness.Col.3:10 . . . and have put on the new self that is being renewed in the knowledge according to the image of the One who created it. . .
1. We Christians are being renewed in the spiritual image which Adam and Eve possessed at their creation. It consisted of a perfect knowledge of God’s will.
Gen.2:7 Then the Lord God formed the man of the dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. In this way the man became a living being.
1. God created the human race in the person of the first man from the dust of the ground. Having formed his body, God gave him the precious gift of life, which made him a living being.
Then the Lord God said, “The man’s being alone is not good. I will make for him a helper corresponding to him.” Now the Lord God had formed from the ground every wild animal of the field and every bird of the sky, and he brought them to the man to see what he would name each one. And whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. So the man gave names to all the domestic animals and to the birds of the sky and to every wild animal of the field. But for man he did not find a helper corresponding to him. Then the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept. And he took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at the place. And the Lord God built a woman with the rib that he had taken from the man, and he brought her to the man. Then the man said, “This one this time is bone from my bones and flesh from my flesh. This one will be named woman, because from man this one was taken.” For this reason a man will leave his father and his mother and will cleave to his wife, and they will become one flesh.
1. God made the female, Eve, from Adam’s rib.
2. God made the female to satisfy the male’s need for companionship. Adam delighted in the woman God had made for him.
3. The woman was created to be a fitting partner for the man, different from him, yet a perfect match to him, in her role as his helper. Being man’s helper did not imply she was an inferior creature to the man, for she was made from his flesh and blood.
4. When God brought the woman to the man, he established the marital relationship. Marriage consists of one man and one woman who become husband and wife. In marriage man and woman may enjoy the sexual union God had planned for them. Future generations of men would also delight in the women God provided them and would enter into the same holy state of marriage God had united the first man and woman in.
5. As Adam had named the other creatures God had made, so he named the female “woman”, a name formed from the root “man”, just as she had been formed from the man.Gen.1:28 And God blessed them, and God said to them: “Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it, and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that crawls upon the earth.”
1. God blessed both the male and the female.
2. God’s blessing gave them the ability to have children, which is one purpose of marriage.
3. God’s blessing included their subduing the earth. Each should use his or her talents in his or her role as a head or a helper to make the earth serve them and to rule over its creatures.
4. Man was the crown of God’s creation, who would rule over the other creatures. He was superior to them, not on the level of an ape as evolutionists claim he was. The man’s intellect, knowledge, and capabilities were clearly evident in his naming all the creatures God had made within a few hours of the sixth day.
The Truth Is: God made man, the human race:
1. Creating man with a body and a soul and in his image, a spiritual likeness of holiness and a knowledge of God’s holy will.
Note: God is a rational, emotional, volitional living being. God made man in his image with these characteristics as well.
2. Creating two different sexes, male and female.
3. Creating first the male from the dust of the ground.
4. Creating the female from the man’s rib to be his companion and helper, and joining her to him in the holy state of marriage.
5. Blessing both sexes with the ability to reproduce and to use their individual talents in their respective roles to master the earth and to rule over the other creatures.
Heb.1:3 The Son is the radiance of his glory and the exact representation of his actual being, preserving all things by his almighty word.
- The Son of God preserves and keeps all things in his creation by his almighty word.
Mt.4:4 “It is written: MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON THE BASIS OF BREAD ALONE, BUT ON THE BASIS OF EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS FROM THE MOUTH OF GOD.”
- We live, not because we have food to eat, but because God says we should keep living and have life.
Isa.44:24 Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, who formed you from the womb.
1. God is active in creating us people of the earth through the natural procreation, or reproducion, of our parents. See Psalm 139:13-16 also.
Ps.145:15,16 The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at its proper time. You open your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing.
- God provides what we and all his creatures need to live.
Ps.91:10,11 No evil (or harm) will befall you, no calamity will come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you, to guard you in all your ways.
Gen.50:20 You truly plotted evil against me, but God reckoned it for good, in order to produce this day of saving many people’s lives.
Ro.8:28 And we know that God works all things for good for those who love him, for those who are the called ones according to his will.1. The three preceding verses inform us God is actively watching over us believers in Jesus, guarding us from harm and danger through his guardian angels, and even causing all things that happen to us to work for our good.
The Truth Is: God is active today in the world he created:
1. By preserving all things, even us, through his almighty word.
2. Through the natural process of procreation, or reproduction.
3. By providing what we and all his creatures need to live.
4. By protecting us from harm and danger, and by making all things work for our good.
Gen.32:10 I am unworthy of all the lovingkindnesses and all the faithfulness which you have worked for your servant.
- We will confess we are unworthy of all the kindness God shows to us.
Ps.103:2 Bless (or praise) the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.
Ps.136:1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his lovingkindness is everlasting.
1 Sam.12:24 Only fear the Lord and serve him in truth with all your heart, for understand what great things he has done for you.
Jn.14:15 If you love me, you will keep (or obey) my commandments.
The Truth Is: God’s creative and preserving activities will move us to:
1. Confess we are unworthy of all his kindness to us.
2. Praise him.
3. Thank him.
4. Serve him.
5. Obey him.
For years evolutionists have shown pictures of the horse in what was supposed to have been its stages of development, beginning with a small horse about the size of a dog and ending with the horse as we know it today. Not all scientists agree the first two creatures pictured were horses. Whether the first two were or not, the pictures show a change has taken place. The fact remains, however, that the creature which began as a horse remained a horse. Even the evolutionists state the creatures shown are horses. Such a change within a given kind of creature is called micro evolution.
It is incorrect to reason, however, that since a change of a limited nature within a kind has occurred, therefore, broad changes also occur, in which one kind of a creature evolves into a different kind of a creature. For example, it is incorrect to think that reptiles likely dropped their skin to grow feathers in the process of changing into birds. Micro evolution, small change, does not prove macro evolution, which means a gigantic change from one kind of a creature into a different kind of a creature. Such macro evolution has not been observed to take place.
Observation, experimentation, and interpretation of the observations are the methods of science. Strictly speaking, the field of science only concerns itself with what is observable, subject to experimentation, and can be measured, as scientist Dr. J. W. Klotz stated in his book Genes, Genesis, and Evolution; Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, Missouri, 1972 revision, page 13.
This being true, the discussion of macro evolution and the origin of the world do not fall within the field of science, for neither are observable or measurable. A. M. Rehwinkel stated in his book The Flood that when a geologist attempts to explain the origin and development of this earth, he is no longer in the field of science and is operating with established facts, but he is in the fields of metaphysics and theology and is dealing with theory and hypotheses. See The Flood, Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, Missouri, 1951, page 278.
Macro evolution which attempts to explain the development of the universe and its origin, then, is neither fact nor a part of the field of science. It is speculative philosophy and only an unproven theory. As a matter of fact, it has a number of scientific difficulties.
Macro evolution contradicts the Second Law of Thermodynamics, which simply stated, tells us that phenomenon in our universe proceed from order to disorder and randomness. Macro evolution, on the other hand, theorizes that phenomenon, when given enough time, will proceed from disorder to order, from the simple to the complex. The Second Law of Thermodynamics rules out such a proceeding from disorder to order.
Macro evolution cannot answer the problem of the missing links within the fossil record. If macro evolution actually took place over billions of years, then millions of fossils of creatures in the process of changing from one kind of a creature into another should exist. For example, if birds actually evolved from reptiles, as the evolutionists have theorized, then millions of fossils should exist of creatures that were part reptile and part bird. No such fossils, however, have ever been found.
The geologists’ rock layers, which they say explain how the earth evolved, do not match with what has been found either. Nowhere has there been found the arrangement of rock layers depicted by the geologists. The layers do, however, show a universal flood took place, for the layers are mixed up, such as would happen in a flood.
Mathematicians have also calculated that for the kind of evolution to have transpired that the evolutionists describe, four billion years is an insufficient amount of time for it to have occurred. The mathematical improbability of evolution has been described in various articles, such as in the one which appeared in Christian News, February 9, 1976, page 13. Due to its length it could not be reproduced here, but its title tells all: “The Mathematical Impossibility of Evolution.”
The Truth Is: Macro evolution is not fact but only a theory and an impossibility.
1. What was the way in which God brought forth the universe?
2. The universe was created from what?
3. What was the length of each day of creation?
4. Based on what the Bible states, could the length of the days of creation have been millions of years long?
5. Some have tried to harmonize evolution with the biblical account of creation, saying God used the evolutionary process to create the universe. Does this agree with Scripture? Support your answer with a Bible passage.
6. Who really determines when and if a husband and wife will have a child? The couple? Or God?
7. List some ways in which God is still active in his creation today.
8. Does each person in the world have one special guardian angel to watch over him from birth to death?
9. When the human race was created in the image of God, of what did that image consist?
10. Each person now consists of what two chief parts, or elements?
11. Explain what the Lord did to create the man and the woman.
12. What differences has the Lord made between the roles of man and woman?
13. When the Lord blessed the male and female, he said they should subdue the earth. In light of this, would it be wrong for a married woman today to work or to have a career outside of her home? Or must she occupy herself only with her household duties as a wife and a mother?