Creation

(Image courtesy of http://img.cinemablend.com.)

God exists for eternity.  He has no beginning and he has no end.  He was not created, for every created thing has a beginning.  Time, space, people, animals, your house, your clothes - all of these things have a beginning.  It is not so with God.

God did not create Himself, for that is a law of contradiction.  No one can self-create.  In order to do so, one would have to be before one is.  It is impossible, even for God.

No, God did not create Himself; God is self-existent.  This means He exists apart from all other things and beings.  He requires nothing from anyone or anything to have His existence.  We cannot say that.  We do not exist transcendent from any laws of nature, as God does.  We need Him to create air for us to breathe, food for us to eat, water for us to drink, and much more.  While God is satisfied and complete in and of Himself, His creation is in need of His fullness.

This is a sobering and humbling thought.  It is very necessary to understand who God is in Genesis 1:1 before attempting to understand any other concept or historical fact about God, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit.

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1).  This verse proclaims the infinite power of God.  For one, He was in the beginning.  This does not suggest that God has a beginning; it only means that God was already there in the beginning of the world.

On the first day of creation, God created the heavens - that is, space - and the earth - that is, the planet on which every other form of life He would give existence to would live.

Psalm 104 speaks of the power and wonder of God's creation - and His creations' constant need of Him to supply them with life.

Bless the Lord, O my soul!
O Lord my God, You are very great;
You are clothed with splendor and majesty,
Covering Yourself with light as with a cloak,
Stretching out heaven like a tent curtain.
He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters;
He makes the clouds His chariot;
He walks upon the wings of the wind;
He makes the winds His messengers,
Flaming fire His ministers. 

He established the earth upon its foundations,
So that it will not totter forever and ever.
You covered it with the deep as with a garment;
The waters were standing above the mountains.
At Your rebuke they fled,
At the sound of Your thunder they hurried away.
The mountains rose; the valleys sank down
To the place which You established for them.
You set a boundary that they may not pass over,
So that they will not return to cover the earth. 

He sends forth springs in the valleys;
They flow between the mountains;
They give drink to every beast of the field;
The wild donkeys quench their thirst.
Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell;
They lift up their voices among the branches.
He waters the mountains from His upper chambers;
The earth is satisfied with the fruit of His works. 

He causes the grass to grow for the cattle,
And vegetation for the labor of man,
So that he may bring forth food from the earth,
And wine which makes man’s heart glad,
So that he may make his face glisten with oil,
And food which sustains man’s heart.
The trees of the Lord drink their fill,
The cedars of Lebanon which He planted,
Where the birds build their nests,
And the stork, whose home is the fir trees. 

The high mountains are for the wild goats;
The cliffs are a refuge for the shephanim.
He made the moon for the seasons;
The sun knows the place of its setting.
You appoint darkness and it becomes night,
In which all the beasts of the forest prowl about.
The young lions roar after their prey
And seek their food from God.
When the sun rises they withdraw
And lie down in their dens.
Man goes forth to his work
And to his labor until evening. 

O Lord, how many are Your works!
In wisdom You have made them all;
The earth is full of Your possessions.
There is the sea, great and broad,
In which are swarms without number,
Animals both small and great.
There the ships move along,
And Leviathan, which You have formed to sport in it. 

They all wait for You
To give them their food in due season.
You give to them, they gather it up;
You open Your hand, they are satisfied with good.
You hide Your face, they are dismayed;
You take away their spirit, they expire
And return to their dust.
You send forth Your Spirit, they are created;
And You renew the face of the ground. 

Let the glory of the Lord endure forever;
Let the Lord be glad in His works;
He looks at the earth, and it trembles;
He touches the mountains, and they smoke.
I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.
Let my meditation be pleasing to Him;
As for me, I shall be glad in the Lord.
Let sinners be consumed from the earth
And let the wicked be no more.
Bless the Lord, O my soul.
Praise the Lord!

It is only the fool who says in his heart that there is no God.  The existence of God is not hidden from any man: "For since the creation of the world, God's invisible qualities - His eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse" (Romans 1:20).  It is our own wickedness that suppresses the truth of God and tells lies instead (Romans 1:18).

There is a day coming when the invisible God who is clearly seen in what His hands have made when judge the world according to our deeds.  Do you not realize, oh man, how small you are and yet how great is the evil in your heart against the one, true, good, holy God?  What will you do on that terrible day of Judgement?  Call out to Him now, that He may have mercy on your wretched soul and spare you from the wrath that is to come.  Even now, His grace spares you - as long as you have breath.

God has sent Jesus, out of His love and mercy, to die for our sins so that the wretchedness of our sinful hearts may be passed over by the sacrifice of the Lamb of God.  Call out to Him for mercy and pardon while you still have time!


"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse" (Romans 1:18-20).