Q2: What Else did God Make?
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”
Genesis 1:1
The first words we read in our Bible is “In the beginning, God…” Before anything was made, there was God. He is eternal, meaning He has no beginning and no end. He was there in the beginning. It was our beginning. It was the heavens and the earth’s beginning. There were no people and there was no earth in which to live. There was nothing. There were no other alternate worlds with alternate gods. There was and is only God, the one true and living God and without Him, there would not be any thing made that was made (John 1:3).
“…God created the heavens and the earth.”
God is the Triune God. That is to say that He is one God co-existing in three persons: the Father, the Son (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit. He created the heavens and the earth and all that is in them. God is the Creator and has created it according to His own will and for His own good pleasure. The Father sent the Son, Jesus, to create everything we see and by the power of His word, in coordination with the Holy Spirit, He said “Let there be light”; and there was light. (Genesis 1:3) He spoke all things into existence as we read the testimony of God’s work in creation in Genesis chapter 1 and 2.
Look around. We see so many different types of flowers, plants, and trees of a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors. Observe the kinds of animals that God has made, your pet dog or cat, the birds that fly in the air to the lions roaring in the jungle, and even remembering the dinosaurs that once roamed the earth. They have all have been created by God.
Think about the dirt on the ground or the sand that gets between our toes as we walk on a beach. Look at the waves and breakers of the ocean that rush to the shoreline or the grass that grows tall waving to us in the wind. Look at the sky that is filled with clouds, beautiful colors, and as we see lightning with roars of thunder.
Consider the universe with its many stars, planets, moons, asteroids, and galaxies, all made by God. It is amazing to think that we live on the planet Earth and that it hangs on nothing (Job 26:7) as it sits tilted on it’s axis, rotating and revolving around a sun that is so big that around 1.3 million Earths could fit inside it. It is God who has numbered the stars and knows them by name (Psalm 147:4) and He holds all of it together by the word of His power (Hebrews 1:3, Colossians 1:17).
In God is life and it is God alone who gives life (John 1:4) and he gave it not because He needed anything (Acts 17:25), not because He was lonely, not because He needed a friend that’s not who God is. Creation teaches us some important truths about who God is. First we see that God is self-sufficient in himself as we are not. This is known as his aseity (see this article on the aseity of God.) If God had not created anything, He would have been perfectly content within Himself, in perfect harmony and love within the fellowship of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
And God has not created everything we see out of a need for entertainment or sport as though He needs amusement. No, God creates out of His own love, His own pleasure, and for His own glory. God takes pleasure in creating because this is an expression who He is.
We see God’s creativity in the vast variety of his creation. We see the beauty of God’s design, the intelligence, the detail, and the order of all that He has made and all this reflects the very nature and character of God.
God is personal and He is one who communicates and expresses love and so we are made to be personal beings with these same characteristics as we speak with one another expressing love and compassion to each other. God desires that we speak with Him and this is the great privilege we have been given, to speak with the God of the universe as we are made and called into the fellowship of His love.
The God who created you and me created all things as scripture shows us at the end of His account of creation,
“God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good.”(Genesis 1:31)
And in that creation we see his goodness. When He had finished all His work on the 6th and final day of creation God pronounced the state of His accomplishment as “very good”. All that is good comes from Him.
“Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.” (James 1:17)
All that we have comes from God. What do you have that you haven’t received from God? God is truly worthy of all our praise, our thanks, and to receive all the glory that is due to His name.
"Worthy are You, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things, and by Your will they existed and were created." (Revelation 4:11)
Questions to Ponder:
How should knowing that God is the author and creator of all things affect the way you see the world and treat the world around you today?
Prayer Points:
Take some time to confess ways you’ve failed to glorify God for the beauty of his design in creation, where you have taken for granted his great love for you in giving you all you need.
Thank God for the blessing of his creation. Thank him for simple things like air, food, water, and other things we take for granted every day.
Ask God to show you how you can be a better steward of his creation this next year.
Additional Scripture References to ponder:
"Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men, of like nature with you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. (Acts 14:15)
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1)
"He stretches out the north over empty space And hangs the earth on nothing. (Job 26:7)
For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. (Exodus 20:11)
"Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created." (Revelation 4:11, ESV)
For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-all things were created through him and for him. (Colossians 1:16)
For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen. (Romans 11:36)
yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist. (1 Corinthians 8:6)
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. (John 1:1-4)
By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host. (Psalms 33:6)
but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, (Hebrews 1:2-3)
Thus says God, the LORD, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it: (Isaiah 42:5)
