Lesson 1.3
Who made the world? How did man arrive upon the earth? From where did the flowers, the trees, the birds, the animals, and the fish come? For the correct answer to these questions we must turn to the Bible. God’s Book contains a record of creation.
What is the origin of the material universe?
“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”
How were the heavens made?
“By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth… For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.”
How long was the earth to endure?
“Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever.”
Who has created all things?
“Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: He calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth… Hast thou not known? Hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? There is no searching of his understanding.”
“God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets… Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds.”
How was man brought into existence?
“And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”
How is it possible to understand the creation story?
“Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.”
Can we be sure that each day of creation week was a twenty-four hour day?
The first chapter of Genesis gives a definite record of each day’s work and there is a positive marking of the exact duration of each day. At the close of the first day’s work the Bible says, “The evening and the morning were the first day.” Genesis 1:5, last part. And in the very same way each of the remaining days of the week are marked off. Each day consists of two parts, the light and the dark. In God’s plan the setting of the sun marks the close of the day. Read Genesis 1:14-18. Each day of creation week began and ended with the setting of the sun, and was thus twenty-four hours long.
>Note: Sometimes the idea is advanced that a day, in some instances, may be an indefinite period of time. However, a study of the Hebrew manuscripts reveals that whenever the word day is used with a definite number as an adjective a day of twenty-four hours is always indicated.
Why was the world created?
“For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; He hath established it, He created it not in vain, He formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else.”
>Note: Read Job 38:1 through Job 42:6. In theses verses you will read evidences of God’s creative might and Job’s final confession as he comes to see God’s power and wisdom.
What are the basic elements of nature presented in Genesis, chapter one?
In chapter one each of these laws is preceded by the phrase “And God said.”
1. God created light. Read Genesis 1:3.
2. He created the atmosphere.
3. In Genesis 1:9 God set the bounds for the land and the sea.
4. God fixed the species into the vegetable kingdom. Each would produce after its kind. Read Genesis 1:11.
5. God divided the time into days, months, seasons by the rotation of the sun, moon, earth in their several paths. Read Genesis 1:14.
6. God fixed the species of aerial and marine life. Each would also produce after its kind.
Read Genesis 1:20, 21
7. In Genesis 1:24 God fixed the species of cattle and beasts. Each would produce after its kind.
8. Man’s creation was a separate and distinct act of creation. Read Genesis 1:26.
9. God then gave the law of man’s generation. Read Genesis 1:28.
10. Finally God gave man’s diet. Read Genesis 1:29, 30.
What principles having to do with man’s conduct are revealed in Genesis, chapter 2?
1. God mentioned the Sabbath. He made the seventh day holy.
Read Genesis 2:1-3
2. He gave labor. Read Genesis 2:15.
3. God placed restraint on man. Man was to manifest self-control. He was to acknowledge God’s ownership. The tree of knowledge of good and evil became the test of man’s obedience. Read Genesis 2:18, 24.
Everything God did was “very good.” “Man was made perfect. There is no God like the Creator. Let us worship him.” Read Isaiah 43:10, 13