Happy New Year!
Here we go again – Genesis Chapter 1 – “In the beginning God created the heavens and the Earth.”
A few things:
- The word “created” is “bara” which means “created from NOTHING” – the word “asah” is not used which means “to fashion or shape, make something suitable.” (Driscoll: Doctrines pg 82). God created everything from nothing, for his own good pleasure.
- God is transcendent – sovereign over all His creation, distinct from it, over all…yet…
- God is immanent – involved in it, he remains in it. Creation is “continually dependent on him for it’s existence and it’s functioning.” (Grudem: ST pg 267)
- If we mess up these 2 things we get really confused about God and stray from what the Bible teaches. Even though God is distinct from his creation, the creation and God are not separate and independent. Two traps:
- Dualism – God and the Universe have always existed side by side, God is not sovereign over it. LOTS of false teaching is here today – New Age, etc.
- Deism – God created the universe but God is not directly involved in Creation currently
God created us in his image, and he is sovereign over every cell in our body, and we are here to glorify him and enjoy him forever. (Col 1:17; Acts 17:25)
As Ephesians 4:6 sums up “one God and Father of all, who is over all and in all.”
Mike Ruel 