Lesson for February 5, 2025

The Doctrine of Creation

Lesson 1

When examining the creation of the universe, which includes planet earth, we will consider only what the Bible says about these events. It is not my intention to delve into scientific data or attempt to disprove the theory of evolution. If a person believes the Bible, they cannot believe in the theory of evolution – they are not compatible. 

It must also be pointed out that there are numerous theories about the creation of the universe among Christians. Some Christian scientists attempt to make the Bible fit their particular theory, instead of letting the Bible interpret itself. A lack of study of the original languages leads one to a misunderstanding of Creation. 

We will examine the words from the original languages that describe Creation, in order to arrive at an accurate understanding of these events. The Bible is not a science book, but when it speaks of true science it is always accurate. For our study, we will look at verses one through eight of Genesis chapter one. 

We begin with verse one of Genesis. This verse seems very straightforward as stated, but let’s examine the original Hebrew words in the context and some Greek words referring to Creation. Verse one is the only verse in Genesis that presents the original creation of the universe. The Hebrew language in this verse is a key to understanding Creation. 

Verse 1

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”

“In the beginning” are the Hebrew words “bereshith,” which is a prepositional phrase made up of “be” meaning “in,” plus “reshith” meaning “beginning.” However, in Hebrew there is no definite article. Therefore, this indicates “a” beginning, not “the” beginning. 

A more literal translation of verse one would be “in a beginning that was not a beginning.” What does that mean? It is a reference to eternity past. 

There is a similar verse in John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” The Greek word is “en arche,” and means the same as the Hebrew, eternity past. John refers to the existence of God in eternity past, and Moses refers to the existence of the universe in eternity past.

The truth is that it did not take six days to create the universe. Its creation was instantaneous and occurred sometime in eternity past before mankind was created. Therefore, we cannot put a date on the age of planet earth. What we find upon examination of the Bible is that after the creation of the universe and before the creation of mankind, the earth became chaotic. This chaos was most likely the result of a battle among the angels and God’s judgment of them. (Isaiah 14; Ezekiel 28:15-16; Revelation 12:7-9)

“God created” are the Hebrew words “elohim bara,” referencing to the Trinity being involved in Creation. “Elohim” is a plural noun and “created” is a singular verb, which is an indication of the Trinity. Therefore, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit were all involved in Creation. “The heavens and the earth” are the Hebrew words “ha shamajim” (plural) and “ha aretz (singular).” This verse should say, “In a beginning, which was not a beginning, in eternity past, the Trinity created out of nothing the universe, including earth.”

Verse 2

^“And the earth was a formless and desolate emptiness, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.” 

“Formless and desolate emptiness” are the Hebrew words “tohu waw bohu,” meaning without form or to lie waste. The earth had become desolate and empty. “And darkness was over the surface of the deep.” The Hebrew word for darkness is “choshek,” meaning the absence of light and heat. “Tehom” is the Hebrew word for deep, meaning raging waters. Absence of light and heat would result in ice (perhaps a reference to the Ice Age). Under this ice were raging waters.

And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. The Hebrew word for the Spirit of God is “Elohim,” referring to the Holy Spirit. The Hebrew word for hovering is “ruach,” and means “to brood or to incubate.” The Holy Spirit “incubated,” provided heat to melt the ice pack. “Waters” is the Hebrew word “hamajim,” and means “melted water.” What was God doing? He was not creating the Universe, He was preparing the earth for habitation by human life, animal life, and plant life.

Verse 3

^“Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light.”

Then God said are the Hebrew words “elohim amar,” meaning God spoke.

Light was necessary for the restoration of life on the earth for heat and energy. The Hebrew word for light is “or,” meaning illumination. The light provided the necessary heat to melt the ice and expose the land.

Verse 4

^“God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.” 

God saw are the Hebrew words “ra-ah tobh,” which is an anthropomorphism to explain God’s attitude toward the light that He had created it. Separated is the Hebrew word “badal,” which means to divide.

Verse 5

^“God called the light “day,” and the darkness He called “night.” And there was evening and there was morning, one day.”

The Hebrew words for God called are “elohim qara jom,” meaning God named the light day and the darkness night. The existence of light caused the ice to melt and the earth to begin rotating once again. It became dark and then it became light as the earth was rotating. To this point, the earth was held in an ice pack, unable to rotate.

It was the incubation from the Holy Spirit and the introduction of light that caused the earth to begin to rotate once again. Then the waters of the earth began to shape the earth’s surface.

Verse 6

^“Then God said, ‘Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.’” 

The Hebrew word for expanse is “raqija,” which refers to the atmosphere. What God was doing was dividing the waters of the earth from the waters above the atmosphere.

Verse 7

^“God made the expanse and separated the waters that were below the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse; and it was so.”

Verse 6 was the command to separate the waters and verse 7 was the carrying out of that command.

Verse 8

“God called the expanse “heaven.” And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.”

The atmosphere was named heaven by God. There are actually three heavens in Scripture: the atmosphere, the stars/planets, and the abode of God.

Here are some applications from our study: 1) The universe was created by God, an intelligent designer not by some “big bang” theory 2) God is not the author of confusion; everything that He does is logical and organized 3)The Bible does not contradict true scientific data; it confirms it 4) Believers can have a personal relationship with the Creator of the universe 5) There is an unseen Angelic Conflict going on, in which we as believers are involved 6) We can place our complete confidence in God and His Word.