Creation: An Overview

A. Creation in General
The discussion of divine decrees naturally leads to the execution of creation, which serves as the
foundation for all divine revelation and ethical/religious life. The doctrine of creation is derived
solely from Scripture and is accepted by faith.
1. The Idea of Creation
Definition: Creation refers to God's act of producing the world and all that is within it, using pre-
existent materials and also out of materials that are inherently inadequate, for the manifestation
of His glory.
 Divine Agency: While often ascribed to the Father, creation is a work of the triune God
(Gen. 1:2; John 1:3).
 Nature of Creation: It is a free act of God, not a necessity. God, being self-sufficient, did
not need to create.
 Existence of the Universe: The universe exists separately from God but remains
dependent on Him (Ps. 139:7-10).
2. The Time of Creation
The Bible states: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). This
refers to the beginning of all temporal things, including time itself.
 Time and Creation: The world was created with time, not in time. There exists a
beginningless eternity before Genesis 1:1.
3. The Manner of Creation
 Strict Definition: To create means to bring forth something from nothing or without pre-
existing materials.
 Scriptural Basis: While the phrase "out of nothing" is not found in Scripture, passages
like Ps. 33:9 and Heb. 11:3 support this doctrine.
 Creation from Pre-existing Materials: In some instances, God created using materials that
were inadequate, such as Adam from dust and Eve from Adam's rib
B. The Final End of Creation
The purpose of creation has been debated, leading to two primary views:
1. That the Happiness of Man is the Final End
 Viewpoint: Early philosophers and humanists suggested that creation's end is human
happiness.
 Counterargument: Scripture suggests that man exists for God, not vice versa. God
does not exist for man's sake.
 2. That the Declarative Glory of God is the Final End
 Scriptural Support: The true end of creation is found in God, particularly in
manifesting His glory (Isa. 43:7; Rom. 11:36).
 Purpose: Creation aims to promote human welfare and elicit praise from creatures,
attuning their hearts to God.
C. Suggested Substitutes for the Doctrine of Creation
Those who reject creation often propose alternative theories:
1. The Dualistic Theory
 Concept: Both God and matter are eternal; God merely shapes pre-existing matter.
 Objections: This implies two eternals exist, which is impossible.
2. The Emanation Theory
 Concept: God and the world are one; the world emanates from God.
 Objections: This view implies change in God and makes Him responsible for all
occurrences, including evil.
3. The Theory of Evolution
 Misconception: Evolution is sometimes seen as a substitute for creation.
 Objection: Evolution presupposes something that evolves, necessitating either eternal
matter or creation.
D. The Spiritual World
God created not only the material world but also a spiritual realm, including angels.
1. The Existence and Nature of Angels
 Recognition: All religions acknowledge a spiritual world; however, modern liberal
theology often rejects angels.
 Biblical Evidence: Angels possess intelligence and moral character (2 Sam. 14:20;
Jude 6) and perform personal actions (Luke 15:10).
2. The Angelic Orders
 Cherubim: Mentioned frequently in the Bible, they guard paradise (Gen. 3:24) and
represent God's power and holiness.
This overview encapsulates the key aspects of the doctrine of creation, its purpose, and the
nature of the spiritual world, emphasizing the theological foundations drawn from Scripture
 Seraphim: A related class of angels are the seraphim, mentioned in Isa. 6:2, 3, 6. Like
the cherubim, they are also represented symbolically in human form. In distinction
from the latter, however, they stand as servants round about the throne of the
heavenly King, sing His praises, and are ever ready to do His bidding. While the
cherubims are the mighty ones, they may be called the nobles among the angels,
 While the former guard the holiness of God, they serve the purpose of reconciliation
and thus prepare men for the proper approach to God.
 Gabriel and Michael: There are two angels which are mentioned by name in
Scripture, namely, Gabriel and Michael. The former is mentioned in Dan. 8:16; 9:21;
Luke 1:19, 26. Some regard him as an uncreated being, and even suggest that he
might be the third person in the Trinity; but the passages referred to show this to be an
untenable position. Evidently it was his special task to convey divine revelations to
men and to interpret them. Michael is mentioned in Dan. 10:13, 21; Jude 9; Rev. 12:7.
Some regard his name as a designation of the second person in the Trinity, but this
position is also untenable. In view of Jude 9, where he is called the archangel, and of
Rev. 12:7 it would seem that he occupies a unique place among the angels. We see in
him the valiant warrior fighting the battles of Jehovah against the enemies of Israel
and against the evil powers in the spirit-world.
 Principalities, powers, thrones, dominions: These names, found in Eph. 1:21; 3:10;
Col. 1:16; 2:10; 1 Pet. 3:22, also serve to designate Angels. They do not point to
different kinds of angels, but simply to the fact that there are differences of rank and
dignity among the Angels.
3. THE SERVICE OF THE ANGELS
The angels are represented in scripture as praising God day and night, Job 38:7; Isa. 6; Ps.
103:20; 148:2; Rev. 5:11. Since the entrance of sin into the world, they are “sent forth to do
service for the sake of them that shall inherit salvation,” Heb. 1:14. They rejoice at the
conversion of a sinner, Luke 15:10, watch over believers, Ps. 34:7; 91:11, protect the little ones,
Matt. 18:10, are present in the Church, 1 Cor. 11:10; 1 Tim. 5:21,Learning from her the manifold
riches of the grace of God, Eph. 3:10;1 Pet. 1:12, and convey believers into the bosom of
Abraham, Luke16:22. They also frequently mediate the special revelations of God,Dan. 9:21-23;
Zech. 1:12-14; Acts 7:38, communicate blessings to His people, Ps. 91:11, 12; Isa, 63:9; Dan.
6:22; Acts 5:19, and execute Judgments upon His enemies, Gen. 19:1, 13; 2 Kings [Link] Matt.
13:41.
4. THE EVIL ANGELS
Besides the good there are also evil angels, who delight in opposing God and destroying His
work. They were created good, but did not retain their original position, 2 Pet. 2:4; Jude 6. The
special sin of these angels is not revealed, but probably consisted in this that they exalted
themselves over against God and aspired to supreme authority. Satan, who was evidently one of
the princes among the angels, became the recognized head of those that fell away, Matt. 25:41;
9:34; Eph. 2:2. He is represented as the originator of sin, Gen. 3:1; John 8:44; 2 Cor. 11:3; 1 John
3:8; Rev. 12:9; 20:2, 10. They also possess superhuman power, but employ this in cursing God,
in battling against Him and His Anointed, and in destroying His work. They seek to blind and
mislead even the elect, and encourage the sinner in his evil way.
E. The Material World. Besides the spiritual there is a material world, and this is contemplated
here in relation to God, that is, as a work of God and as a revelation of His divine perfections.
1. THE NARRATIVE OF CREATION. The story of creation was revealed to Moses or to
one of the earlier patriarchs. If it was pre- Mosaic, it must have passed in tradition, oral or
written, from one generation to another, and was finally penned by Moses under the
guidance of the Holy Spirit.
a. The Original Creation. Some regard Gen. 1:1 as the superscription or title of the
whole narrative of creation. But in that case there would be no account whatever
of the original creation, nor of the creation of heaven. For that reason it is better to
regard Gen. 1:1 as the record of the original and immediate creation of the
universe, called in Hebrew fashion “heaven and earth.” In this expression the
word “heaven” refers to that invisible order of things in which the glory of God
reveals itself in the most perfect manner. The second verse describes the original
condition of the earth (comp. Ps. 104:5.
b. The Completion of Creation in Six Days. Some assume that the days of which
Genesis 1 speaks were long periods of time, corresponding with the periods of
Geology. They find that Scripture allows and even favors this interpretation, since
(1) the word “day” sometimes denotes an indefinite period, Ps. 50:15; Eccl. 7:14;
Zech. 4:10; (2) the sun was not created until the fourth day, so that the length of
the previous days could not be determined by the earth’s relation to the sun; and
(3) the seventh day continues up to the present time, and is therefore already more
than six thousand years long. However, the fact that the word “day” may denote a
period of some length, does not prove that it is so used in Genesis 1. Neither does
the absence of the sun prove that the days previous to its creation were long
periods. And the seventh day of Gen. 2:2, 3, the day which God hallowed, does
not continue up to the present, but terminated thousands of years ago.
The literal interpretation of the word “day” is favoured by the following considerations:
(1) The Hebrew word yom (day) primarily denotes an ordinary day, and should be so understood
unless the context demands another interpretation.
(2) Genesis 1 would seem to shut us up to the literal interpretation by its repeated “and there was
evening and there was morning.” Each day had just one evening and one morning. If these days
were the long periods of Geology, there must have been interminable nights of thousands of
years. What would become of all vegetation during the long ‘nights following the third day?
(3) In Exodus 20:9-11 Israel is commanded to labour six days, because Jehovah made heaven
and earth in six days. This would seem to imply that the word “day” should be taken in the
ordinary sense. (4) The last three days were certainly ordinary days, for they were determined by
the earth’s relation to the sun. And if they were ordinary days, why not the others?
F. The Work of the Separate Days. The work of God on the separate days was as follows:
1. On the first day light was created, and by the separation of light and darkness day and
night were constituted. This does not conflict with the idea that the sun and the stars
were created on the fourth day; for these are not themselves lights, but light-bearers.
The account of each day’s work closes with the words, “and there was. Evening and
there was morning.” The days are reckoned from morning to morning. After twelve
hours there was evening, and after another twelve hours there was morning.
2. The work of the second day was also a work of separation: the firmament was
established by dividing the waters above and the waters below, that is, the clouds and
the seas. Notice that the Hebrew word for “firmament” does not denote a solid vault,
as some claim, but is equivalent to our word “expanse.”
3. The work of separation is continued on the third day in the separation of the sea and
the dry land, cf. Ps. 104:8. In addition to that the vegetable kingdom of plants and
trees was established. By the word of His power God caused the earth to bring forth
flowerless plants, vegetables, and fruit-trees, each yielding fruit according to its kind.
God evidently created the different species of plants, and each one of these could
reproduce only its kind. The doctrine of evolution, of course, denies both of these
assertions.
4. On the fourth day, sun, moon, and stars were created as light- bearers, to serve a
variety of purposes: to divide day and night, to serve as signs of weather conditions
and of important future events, to determine the succession of the seasons and of days
and years, and to function as lights for the earth.
5. The fifth day brought the creation of birds and fishes, the inhabitants of the air and of
the water. We should notice that these, too, were created after their kind, that is, the
species were created.
6. Finally, the sixth day is marked by the climax of the work of creation. The higher
classes of animals were created. They did not naturally develop out of the earth, but
were clearly brought forth out of it by the creative fiat of God. The whole creative
work was crowned by the creation of man, made in the image of God. His body was
formed out of the dust of the earth, while his soul was an immediate creation of God.
7. God rested from His labours on the seventh day. This means first of all that He ceased
from His creative work, but also that He took delight in what He had accomplished.
His rest was like that of an artist who finds profound satisfaction in the contemplation
of his production. He rejoiced in the works of His hands, and radiated good-will
towards His creatures.

[Link] DOCTRINE OF CREATION AND THE THEORY OF EVOLUTION.

Some seem to think that the theory of evolution might take the place of the doctrine of creation
in explaining the origin of the world. But this is clearly a mistake, for it offers no such
explanation. Evolution is development, and all development presupposes the existence of
something that develops. That which does not exist cannot develop into existence. For the
explanation of the origin of the world, the evolutionist must either resort to the theory that matter
is eternal, or to the doctrine of creation. We should distinguish between two forms of the doctrine
of evolution:
A. Naturalistic Evolution.
Naturalistic evolution assumes that from the simplest forms of matter and life all existing species
of plants and animals (including man), and also the various phenomena of life, such as sentiency,
intelligence, morality, and religion, developed by a perfectly natural process, purely as the result
of natural forces. Resident in nature. It should be borne in mind, however, that this is as yet only
an unproved assumption, and one that fails at several points. It cannot explain how the inorganic
changed into the organic, nor how the brute changed into a rational, moral, and religious being.
Some evolutionists themselves admit that it has failed to produce a single example of one species
producing another distinct species. Moreover, it is absolutely in conflict with the narrative of
creation as to the origin of species and of man, as to the original condition of man, and as to his
fall In sin and consequent deterioration.
B. Theistic Evolution.
Due to the failure of naturalistic evolution to give an adequate explanation of things, some
Christian scholars take refuge in what is called “theistic” or “creative evolution.” This postulates
God as the almighty Worker back of the whole process of development. It amounts to this that
God created the world by a process of evolution, a process of natural development, in which God
does not miraculously intervene, except when this is absolutely necessary, as in the origination of
life and of man. The very fact that it has a certain religious appeal makes this theory a dangerous
hybrid. As a matter of fact it is no more in harmony with Scripture than naturalistic evolution. It,
too, teaches that it took God millions of years to create the world, that God did not create the
various species of plants and animals, that man at least on his physical side descended from the
brute, and that there was no fall in the Biblical sense of the word.

References for Further Study:

Berkhof, Reformed Dogmatics, I, pp. 113-151; Hodge, Outlines of Theology, pp. 237-257;
McPherson, Christian Dogmatics, pp. 163- 174; Orr, Side-Lights on Christian Doctrine, pp. 55-
66; Clarke, The Christian Doctrine of God, pp. 135-153: Price, The Phantom of Organic
Evolution; Fairhurst, Theistic Evolution.
Creationism: A Belief in Divine Creation_
Creationism is the belief that the universe and life originated from specific acts of divine
creation, as opposed to the scientific conclusion that they came about through natural processes
such as evolution. This belief is based on the biblical account of creation in the book of Genesis.
History of Creationism_
Creationism has a long history, dating back to the early Christian church. The biblical account of
creation in Genesis 1-2 has been interpreted in various ways throughout history. In the Middle
Ages, the Catholic Church taught that the Earth was created around 4000 BC. With the rise of
modern science, alternative explanations for the origin of the universe and life emerged.
Types of Creationism_
There are different types of creationism, including:
1. _Young Earth Creationism_: This belief holds that the Earth and universe were created by God
around 6,000 years ago, as described in the Bible.¹
2. _Old Earth Creationism_: This view accepts the scientific age of the Earth (around 4.5 billion
years) but still believes that God created the universe and life.²
3. _Intelligent Design_: This perspective argues that certain features of the universe and living
things are best explained by an intelligent cause, rather than natural processes.³
Biblical Basis_
The biblical account of creation in Genesis 1-2 provides the foundation for creationist beliefs.
According to Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” This
passage establishes God as the creator of the universe.
Scientific Criticisms_
Creationism has faced various scientific criticisms, including:
1. _Lack of Empirical Evidence_: Creationism is not supported by empirical evidence from
fields such as biology, geology, and physics.
2. _Inconsistencies with Scientific Theories_: Creationism contradicts established scientific
theories, such as evolution and the Big Bang.
3. _Failure to Provide a Testable Hypothesis_: Creationism does not provide a testable
hypothesis that can be falsified or verified through experimentation.
Conclusion
Creationism is a deeply held belief for many people, based on their interpretation of the biblical
account of creation. While it may not be considered a scientific theory, creationism remains an
important part of many people’s religious and cultural heritage.