Creation

The honor, respect and worship of the God of all Creation

By Pastor Dan Kennedy

© November 28, 2010

www.pastorkennedy.com

(On the website above, click the link to “recent message notes” to view this message online.)

Topics submitted by the congregation:

1. •  How old is the earth?
   

2. •  Why is a God-Centered World-View Important?
   

On February 12, 2009, the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin was celebrated, and now, in the next few months a movie on his life will be coming out called “Creation”.  It is not an apt title; because the goal of the movie seems to refute the reality of God’s creation, and to instead, celebrate the pervasive invasion of the theory of evolution on the hearts and minds of the children of our civilization (primarily the “Christian” civilization).

Recently I have been drawn to and refreshed by reading the account of Creation from Genesis 1.  Let’s read it together!

Genesis 1:1–31 (ESV)

The Creation of the World  [Bracketed and italicized sections within the passages below, are my personal comments.]

1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

The First Day

3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. 

[Remember, God is Light, a sun is not needed, Rev. 21:23-25; 22:5]

The Second Day

6 And God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” 7 And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so. 8 And God called the expanse Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day. 

[The “Heaven” referred to here is what we generally call “the earth’s atmosphere (or Troposphere)” above our earth. This is where rain clouds hover – thus “the separation” of the waters.  “Space”, above the atmosphere, is what we commonly call the next heavenly void (Stratosphere, Mesosphere, and Ionosphere, etc.).  The Place where God currently has His Throne is what we have come to call “Heaven” in theological terms.  Matt. 5:34; 23:22; Rev. 4; 7:10-12, etc. Paul called this, “the third heaven”, 2 Cor. 12:2.]

The Third Day

9 And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.

11 And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so. 12 The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.

The Fourth Day

14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. 16 And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. 17 And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18 to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.

[Since God Spoke everything else was in Creation as mature forms – not as helpless infants, or bubbly molecules waiting to grow into the suspected plants, trees or animals; such, I believe was the light from the distant stars.  The God who Spoke them into existence, Spoke them into mature existence.  Since the purpose and intent for the visible stars around the earth was to give light to the earth, that light was mature from the moment of their creation.  It didn’t take millions of years for their visible light to reach earth.]

The Fifth Day

20 And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.” 21 So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, 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 birds multiply on the earth.” 23 And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.

The Sixth Day

24 And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. 25 And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps 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, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

27So God created 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 and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29 And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. 30 And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. 31 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

[Note that all the references to the Creator in Genesis 1 are the Hebrew word for God, as “Elohim”, the plural form of God...which is confirmed in the statement: “Let us make man in our image...” - vs. 26. (See also God’s reference to Himself as “us” in Genesis 11:6,7)  In Genesis 2 the reference to the Creator is LORD God, or Jehovah-Elohim.  Jehovah is singular and Elohim, plural.  Certain non-Christian scholars may attribute this to an early form of polytheism, but in actuality it is a reference to the Trinity, even seen in the Deuteronomy 6:4 statement, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD (Jehovah - singular) our God (Elohim - plural), is one LORD (Jehovah - singular).”  There can be no clearer statements than these, in the Old Testament, of the Trinity!]

The Seventh Day

Genesis 2:1–3

2 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2 And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. 3 So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.

[This points to the “ultimate rest” in Christ that is spoken of in Hebrews 4:9,10 (see all of Heb. 4), when we “rest” from our “works” - “as God did”, in our relationship to finding peace with God.  See also Titus 3:5; Rom. 3:27; 2 Tim. 1:9; Rom. 11:6]

Creation Stories

There are many accounts of creation stories from all over the world.  Early creation stories from various cultures other than Hebrew and Christian, often involve strange mythical imagery with gods and goddesses, fighting, warring or making love, while others would involve a variety of other animals or birds, or celestial bodies such as the sun and moon.  You can read these and many other mythical stories of creation in books from the library or on the Internet as I have…but…

None of the mythical stories compare to the eloquent, spiritually powerful and reasoned account found in the Bible, of the Creation by our God:  Jehovah-Elohim.

We have a choice.  We can believe a myth, a story, a theory, or even invent our own reason why this world has come to exist.   We can believe that we came from nothing and have no existence after life, or we can accept the revelation of the Biblical account.  What eternal outcome does that choice have?

The acceptance of a belief in our existence seems to be somewhat irrelative, unless we realize that our eternal destiny may rest on our choice.  Which account of creation would you prefer to rely on for your eternal outcome?  No “grandstanding” here, just the honest facts, when one considers the potential eternal hazard of a deceptive belief.

In accepting the God of the Bible (Old & New Testaments) as the Creator of the Universe, one also begins to understand the accountability that we have to our Creator.  In denying accountability to the Creator, we establish our own authority, our own boundaries, and our own mythology.

There has been a devaluation of the Genesis account of Creation because of the “blank page” creation story supported by Darwin and subsequently the modern day evolutionist.  The primary evolutionary assertion is that it took long periods of time (billions of years and growing) for “creation” to bring us to this point – with nothing but a “blank page” to begin it all.  The Geological Charts and Timetables display what evolutionists believe to be fact.  I choose to disavow myself from such belief, and accept, instead, the Biblical account as written.

I accept the Biblical account of Creation.   I also believe that Creation by the “Spoken Word of God” has more reason, more credibility and far greater reliability than can be devised by the human mind in any evolutionary theory or mythical creation story, given the incredible dynamic of real creation all around us.

God spoke and the world was created:

God’s Word:  There is awesome Power in the Spoken Word of God.  Our All-Powerful Creator God Spoke and the profound Universe came into Existence.

The Key here is that the One Speaking is God.

Evolutionists are desperately trying to identify a form of invisible “dark matter” that will give creation a reasoned beginning…but it still begs the question of “Where did ‘dark matter’ come from?”  If dark matter is so powerful as to have been the building blocks for the ultra complex creation and existence of a massive (understatement!) universe and brilliant intelligence in millions of life forms – did it still come from nothing?

The Scripture is very clear, that since there is an All-Powerful God, He created the universe through His Word.  If God Created the universe through His Word, it would not need to take millions and millions of years to bring Creation to its full potential.  God declared that the creation that He Spoke into existence was “good” – “very good”!  He was speaking of stable landmasses and distinct ocean boundaries, world-wide vegetation, fruit-bearing trees, fully formed creatures, with a mature, thinking, interactive and creative man and woman.  This record is replicated in the most ancient specimens, preserved fully intact in amber, and in the fossilize ancient skeletal structures of tiny, small, large and giant creatures unearthed throughout the world.  God spoke and Creation existed.  The clearest evidences reveal that Creation did not rise as portrayed by the evolutionist.

Christ, The Word

John 1:1–3

Christ, The Word Spoke, and all things were made

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

Revelation 19:11–13

The Rider on a White Horse is call “The Word of God”

11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. 12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. 13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God.

Hebrews 4:12–13

The Power of “The Word of God”

12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

1 Peter 1:23–25

The Word of God is Imperishable, Living and Abiding

23 since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; 24 for

“All flesh is like grass

and all its glory like the flower of grass.

The grass withers, and the flower falls,

25but the word of the Lord remains forever.”

And this word is the good news that was preached to you.

Four Reasonable Findings Supporting Creation from God’s Spoken Word

I realize that for most of us, we have been inundated with evolutionary thought since childhood.  It can be a difficult concept to shake, since our society has been taught its theory as the truth through the media, from every form of so-called respected scientific reasoning in the Twentieth and now the Twenty-first Century. 

Please bear with me if I seem too strong in opposition to this theory that has been forced upon us.   I believe evolution is a false theory.  I believe it flies in the face of reasoned thought.   I believe its belief has torn innumerable people from belief in God.  I believe that the spiritual enemy of God has used it to affect the eternal destiny of many, many people. 

To help us confront the fallacy of evolutionary theory, let’s look more closely at these four areas:

1. •   Essential Interrelationships
   

2. •   Sex
   

3. •   Species
   

4. •   Transitional Creatures
   

1.   Essential Interrelationships.  Every part needs another for existence.  For this to happen, it is essential that a Creator create us.

In the tremendous biological complexity found in our bodies and in creation all around us and throughout the universe, to name a few, there are myriads of powerful dynamics which are conditional on one another, such as:

1. -  Biological (enzymes, genetics, cells, etc, etc.),
   

2. -  Physiological (the functioning of living things),
   

3. -  Atmospherical (the generation of oxygen, air that we breathe, etc.),
   

4. -  Cosmological dynamics (sunshine, the moon’s effect on the earth, and our “not to hot and not too cold” place in the universe in which we live),
   

5. -  Etc., etc., etc.
   

One part could not survive without the other part.  Only the reasoned belief that there is an All Powerful God, who Spoke creation into existence, AT THE SAME TIME NECESSARY FOR EACH PART’S SURVIVAL, gives sanity to our existence and the necessary interaction which is essential for our existence.

We would not live long without the mutual continuation and existence of a brain stem, backbone, spinal cord, nervous system, lungs, or beating heart muscle, etc., etc.  The oxygenation of our blood cells from the continual replenishing of air in our lungs is essential (with nourishment and oxygen being transported to feed every living cell in our body in that intricate network of blood veins and capillaries, including waste being taken away by the same).  There are many, many other aspects of creation that are interdependent on one another – sunlight, photosynthesis, pollination, etc., etc.  If one is taken away, the other cannot survive. 

Michael Behe, in his book Darwin’s Black Box, reveals the obvious necessity.  There are many known biological aspects of “irreducible complexities” that we have in our body – such as “blood clotting” (Why does clotting start only when we bleed and why does it stop so all the blood is not clotted in our body?).   When something is “irreducible” it means it can have no fewer parts than what is absolutely necessary for all parts to function, as they should.  Our physical body is replete with such complexities.  To have these myriads of irreducible complexities, categorically refutes the premise of evolutionary biology, which begins with incomplete systems and adds parts as chance and dominance prevails.  If they are incomplete, then they will not function. 

If they do not function, then there would be no life.

When a microbiologist looks in a powerful microscope, many more irreducible complexities and essential interrelationships can be identified in the microscopic “machines” in the ultra-complex cellular and genetic domain, which are the building blocks of our physical body.  These have been invisible for millennia until the invention of the modern atomic microscopes.   The cell is far more complex than Darwin ever dreamed!  The very nature of evolution theorizes that we are in a gradual process of creation (adding critical part by critical part over billions of years) until we become a fully functional biological human being.  The foundations of this theory are ludicrous when faced with essential interactivity and irreducible complexity required within the body and the contributing dynamics necessary for physical survival on our planet.    

There is also the mystery of life in addition to our physical body… the living human spirit, the power of reasoning, communication, rationality, perception, planning and foresight above and beyond our mere human physical being – an invisible dynamic which cannot be measured by the standard scientific tools and powerful microscopic lens. 

We must come to the real conclusion, which seems to be the overreaching goal of the mainline evolutionist:

“I don’t want to believe in or be accountable to a God; therefore, I choose to believe that there is no God.  Since I believe there is no God, I conclude that our existence must be by random chance.”   

Simply wishing that God would go away does not make God inept, invalid, obsolete, extinct or non-existent.   The structure of our body and all creation around us is so incredibly complex and undeniably interrelated this could only come to be and be sustained by THE Creator God who spoke the universe, and all life into existence, with all parts coming together simultaneously so that all of Creation could function properly.   

It is interesting that “random chance” is the fartherest thing from God’s Mind!

Before the Creation of the world, God planned Christ’s Coming, and in the Book of Life, He wrote the names of those who would trust in Him, as those who would inherit His Kingdom! (Matt. 25:34; Eph. 1:4; 1 Peter 1:20; Rev. 13:8; 17:8)   No random chance here!

Hebrews 1:10

10 …“You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning,

and the heavens are the work of your hands….

2.   Sex.  The continuation of life requires a male and female. 

We don’t talk much about sex in church…unless we condemn immorality and promote faithfulness, but I think this is a good time to visit the subject. 

To have procreation there needs to be, at the least:

1.  The necessary relationship of a compatible partner, and,

2.  The variable physical complexity of the required partner for procreation between and within their species. 

Evolution touting billions of years of trial and error would exacerbate the problem of procreation’s requirements of two biologically different yet suitable mates existing at the same time.

The Spoken Word of the Creator in the creation of both male and female is the only way that procreation can be appropriately sustained in complexity and interrelation, or the whole world would be sterile and barren.

The necessity of a unique male and unique female in every species to procreate offspring.   

Mark 10:6–9

6 But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ 7 ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, 8 and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. 9 What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”

If we all came from a singular form of life, where did the genetic differences for male and female suddenly arise, for the formation of either one sex, or the other, for the required regeneration of new life?  Not just in the human species, but in the millions of species across the world.  (Do not pull out the minute exceptions objections here…they won’t work for the rest of the world’s procreation of species!) 

Did these two necessities…the male and female, all spontaneously arise in exactly the right form from “dark matter” – from nothing, without the spoken Word of God?  If there were not the exact male and female representation, interaction and procreation for each of these species – mankind, animals, fowl, insect, and aquatic life… we would cease to exist.  Evolution does not provide an adequate answer for this problem.  Not only is there the problem of male and female within these species, there is the further problem of the procreation block between species.

3.   Species – From two million to 100 Million Potentials, Creation is locked within the boundaries of definite Species.  Interrelationship between species for procreation does not occur.  The Bible supports procreation within “their kind” (only within species – Gen. 1:11,12,21,24,25).  No other creation story, to my knowledge, ever mentions the problem of procreation within species.  Evolution cannot be supported because of the very real block between species.  Fish cannot procreate with birds, and fowl cannot procreate with alligators.  There is a lock between species that cannot be severed.

Species: a taxonomic group whose members can interbreed. 

There seem to be many, many more species than we know about.  I read of a “well-known study” where 17 trees in a Panamanian forest were fogged with insecticide.  80 percent (1,200) of the bugs that fell from those trees, which were studied, were unknown species – highlighting how bereft our full knowledge is of how many species there actually are.  We know of almost two million species on our planet, but because we know that there are a lot more unknown species out there, there have been projections of up to 100 million!  Let’s just settle on tow million species for now.  Most, if not all require two – a male and a female – each with considerably different biological distinctives, necessary to procreate within their own specie.  

If we all came from a single cell, over billions of years, it would be imperative that this form of life could somehow “cross-pollinate” between species, and therefore conform to the evolutionary “Tree of Life” - which somehow fails to allude to the inability of species to procreate across specie boundaries.    This un-crossable  “species partition” always rises, preventing further procreation.  If there were a necessity for our planet’s survival, for procreation to cross species lines, the world would become extinct in one generation.   Only the Spoken Word of God could account for the creation of male and female in two million species…and counting.

“The fool has said in his heart, there is no God.” Psalm 14:1

4.   Transitional Creatures?  Where are all the “transitional creatures”?  Transitional creatures are absolute necessities to support the theory of evolution.  Only rare, partial skeletal structures are held up as potential examples, but they are proclaimed with dubious heritages.  If Archaeopteryx is transitional, where are all the others in the millions of species (fossilized or otherwise) that have been or are supposedly evolving?  Isn’t Archaeopteryx just an extinct bird that had claws on its wings?  Everyone readily understands that there are obvious transitions within species, but evolution, by its very premise, requires transition between species.   (Darwin’s Finches may develop a variety of different beaks depending on their environment, but no birds in the wild, or no fossilized remains have been discovered with finches with no beaks at all, or variants to imply any transition from another species.)  This is not possible in real life, nor is it supportable from the fossil record.  These have not been found, though a host of brilliant scholars have made diligent archeological searches throughout the world, over the past one hundred years or more, investing untold amounts of money in such efforts.  Transitional creatures required by evolution, do not exist, no matter how loud the volume promoting their doctrine is turned up.

All this being said, the premises of evolution cannot be reasonably supported.

Conclusion

God, our Creator, Spoke and the world and all that was in it was created.

Creation requires…at a minimum:

1. ‣   Essential Biological, Physiological, Atmospherical, & Cosmological Interrelationships at the moment of creation.
   

2. ‣   Unique male and female sexual partners in each of the two million plus, species.
   

3. ‣   Distinct separation of procreation between these two million, plus Species.
   

Biblical Creation Provokes Profound Belief

1.  Believing in God for who He IS, will profoundly affect the understanding I have of myself, those around me, creation, and my personal “world-view”.

Hebrews 11:6

6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

2.  Believing in the Provision that God has made for us to have a meaningful relationship with Him, through Jesus Christ, profoundly affects my view of God, forgiveness from sin, and love that God has given me through His Son, and my acceptance of Him as my Creator.

3.  Believing that our God will carry us through, no matter how dark the path, profoundly affects my world-view, my heaven-view, and my practical faith every day.

4.  Believing that God has an eternal Home for me, profoundly affects my hope for the future and how I trust in God’s written Word for my Eternal Salvation.

If it is essential that a Creator create the world through His Spoken Word, then there most certainly is a God.  If there is a God and He is a Personal God, then we are personally accountable to Him.  If we are accountable to Him and He has provided a way whereby we can have a meaningful relationship with Him, then we can trust Him to reveal that way through His Word.  Since God is All-Powerful, we can trust Him for every detail of our life.  He will carry those through to the end, who trust in Him, no matter how dark or treacherous the path of life.  He will then provide an eternal Home for those who commit their lives to Him for His eternal Salvation. 

God not only Spoke Creation into existence, God our Savior, came to be our Redeemer at a time we now celebrate, called “Christmas”!

The Creator came to earth to redeem the sin-ravaged and eternally doomed creation, with the Sacrifice of Himself.