Last week, we began to discuss creation, and how our view of it determines the most important things about our lives. Today, I want to outline some truths about creation that can teach us about the character and attributes of God. We can learn so much about God by looking at the creative process and result. Romans 1:20 tells us this, by stating, “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.” I want to discuss six truths about God we see in creation. I’ll mention three this week, and three next week.
6 Truths about God Seen in Creation:
1. God is an awesome, powerful, glorious God!
Psalm 19:1-2 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.” God’s magnificent creation tells us about our even-more-magnificent God. The Creator is always greater than his creation. Let me mention just two ways God’s power is seen in His creation:
God created everything out of nothing.
Hebrews 11:3 states, “By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.” God spoke the world into existence (Genesis 1:3). He created everything ex nihilo, which means “out of nothing.” Whenever we as humans create, we always create “out of something.” In other words, we have to work with the raw materials that God has already created and provided to us.
God is the Creator of the immeasurably vast and the microscopically small
Conservative estimates tell us that there are a total of 10 sextillion stars (10 followed by 21 zeroes!). I read that one scientific group guesstimated that for every grain of sand on the earth there are 1000 stars! And yet, Genesis 1:16, in describing God’s creative ability, simply says “and the stars.” And Psalm 147:4 states that God “determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name.” The star nearest to us is Alpha Centauri, which is 4.3 light-years away from the earth…and it’s our closest neighbor! Absolutely mind-boggling! As equally impressive to the vastness of God’s creation, is the minute, intricate detail by which He created. For example, there are approximately 100 trillion cells in the human body…that we cannot see with the naked eye! There are molecules that are a million times smaller than a grain of sand! God’s handiwork is on display for all to see, and for all who will see.
2. God is a God of order.
We get a glimpse into the nature of God by viewing how He created. He created with a plan and design. It was not a haphazard process. For example, Genesis 1 outlines the six days of creation. In days 1, 2, and 3 God formed. And in days 4, 5, and 6 he filled (what He had preciously formed). So, days 1 and 4 correspond to each other, as do days 2 and 5, and days 3 and 6.
Day 1: God formed day and night
Day 4: God filled the day and night with the sun, moon and stars
Day 2: God formed the waters and the sky
Day 5: God filled the waters and the sky with fish and birds
Day 3: God formed the earth
Day 6: God filled the earth with animals and man
3. God is creative.
God created with majesty, not monotony. For example, when He created, He did so with varied and vibrant colors. He did not create in black and white. He did so in living color! Imagine Fall without colorful leaves, or winter without bright white snow, or spring and summer with its bright green.
God created with variety. Think about how many animals there are. Or birds in the air. Or fish in the waters. Conservative estimates put the number of insect species at two million but it can be as high as 30 million. However, biologists believe that they have yet to identify over 80% of the presumed number of species in the world. Moreover, God created things small and things big. He created giraffes with a long neck and elephants with a big trunk. He created varied landscapes: sandy deserts, tall mountains, vast prairies, swamps, and frozen tundra. We could travel the entire earth (not to mention the entire universe!), and never see all of the wonders of God’s creation. God seemed to enjoy creating. And I, for one, am glad He did!