The Bible is unique in that it never tries to prove that it is the word of God. Throughout its pages it makes many amazing and fascinating statements that in the last analysis we must accept by faith. But as I have tried to show from my website as Christians we don’t just accept the Scriptures on blind faith, but on rational and many convincing evidences. Neither does God try to prove His existence. Right from the very first verse in the Bible, (Genesis 1:1), God’s existence, before the universe ever came into being, is stated as a given.
Sadly, science has been searching in all the wrong places trying to unlock the mystery of how our universe came into being. If they would only look to the very first verse of the Bible, I believe, they would find a totally scientifically accurate description of how the universe began. When we read “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth,” we find a wealth of scientifically accurate information amazingly packed into these 10 short words.
I love how John MacArthur describes the genius and simplicity of this very unique opening verse of the Scriptures:
“A well-known scientist, a very decorated scientist named Herbert Spencer, died in 1903. In his scientific career he had become noted for one great discovery; it was a categorical contribution that he made. He discovered that all reality, all reality, all that exists in the universe can be contained in five categories: time, force, action, space and matter. Herbert Spencer said everything that exists, exists in one of those categories: time, force, action, space and matter. Nothing exists outside of those categories. That was a very astute discovery and didn’t come until the nineteenth century. Now think about that. Spencer even listed them in that order: time, force, action, space and matter. That is a logical sequence. And then with that in your mind, listen to Genesis 1:1. “In the beginning,” that’s time. “God,” that’s force. “Created,” that’s action. “The heavens,” that’s space. “And the earth,” that’s matter. In the first verse of the Bible God said plainly what man didn’t catalog until the nineteenth century. Everything that could be said about everything that exists is said in that first verse.”1
Belief in (Genesis 1:1) is so critical because if you don’t believe in this verse, then you won’t believe in the rest of how God created our world in the entire first chapter of the book of Genesis. Sadly, there are even many Christians who don’t believe in a literal interpretation of Genesis 1, and as a result do great damage to understanding how our universe and world were created.
Many scientists completely disregard God and the Bible and are left with the only other option – evolution. Thus, they are forced to believe that nobody times nothing equals everything.
A third option, which I believe is the worst option, are Christians who believe in theistic evolution. They believe that God created the universe but then used the evolutionary process to bring about all of creation – including man. There is absolutely nothing in Scripture to indicate that God used evolution to create and it would basically mean that God used trial and error and chance plus millions of years of death and struggle to bring about man. So much for man being created in the image of God.
The question of origins is so foundational to having a correct worldview of humanity that if we get it wrong society will suffer greatly in every way. Without man being created by God, in His image, the only other option is to believe in evolution. And believing in evolution means that mankind can have no intrinsic dignity and worth since he is only here by chance and will soon die and go back to nothing.
(Genesis 1:1) tells us that God created the universe. The rest of Genesis 1 tells us how he created our world. The entire chapter is an amazing demonstration of the creative supernatural power of God. If we choose not to interpret this chapter literally then I believe we do great damage to our understanding of the rest of Scripture. If we can’t accept the miraculous details of Genesis 1 as literal then why should we accept all of the miraculous details in the life of Christ – including His resurrection from the dead.
I believe how we understand and interpret Genesis 1 is no mere secondary doctrine but essential to understanding the rest of Scripture. In closing John MacArthur gives us all something to ponder:
“Francis Schaeffer, the apologist, said if he had an hour to spend with a person on an airplane, a person who didn’t know the Lord, he would spend the first fifty-five minutes talking about man being created in the image of God, and the last five minutes on the presentation of the gospel of salvation that could restore man to that original intended image. Christianity does not begin with accepting Jesus Christ as Savior. Christianity begins in Genesis 1:1. God created the heavens and the earth for a purpose and destiny which He Himself had determined. Understanding and believing the doctrine of creation in the book of Genesis is foundational in accepting, listen carefully, that the Holy Bible is to be taken seriously when it speaks to the real world.”2
1 John F. MacArthur – Creation – Believe it or not | The Daily Hatch
2 John F. MacArthur – Creation – Believe it or not | The Daily Hatch
“God created the heavens and the earth for a purpose.” This statement from todays devotion is most certainly true and as the creation account continues we learn what that purpose is. Gen 1:28 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.”
Children, subdue the earth, have dominion over it were the three elements of God’s covenant with mankind since the original creation. This same covenant command was renewed with Noah after the flood.
The Hebrew word for subdue is interesting. It carries the idea of a person walking, one foot in front of the other, and on each step he claims the ground as his possession. Christians still have that mandate today but we don’t see them exercising this authority very often. We have given up ground to the satanic forces of false religions, secularism, humanism and atheism. Christ said, “All authority has been given to me.” He is making his enemies His footstool and the government is still on His shoulders. The gates of hell will not stop this advance of the church.
We must never lose sight of our covenant purpose. Jesus is Lord of heaven and earth. Like in the time of Nehemiah, let’s build and defend God’s kingdom with a sword and trowel. We haven’t been given armor for nothing.