“Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” (Revelation 4:11)
Who: In eternity past, God spoke the physical universe into existence (Genesis 1:1). “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:3). Unlike the triune Godhead, the matter-space-time universe had a specific beginning.
What: Genesis 1–2 gives the only eyewitness account and historical framework for creation. God spoke into existence what previously had not existed (Hebrews 11:3). The Hebrew words bara (divine creation through God’s command) and yom (the day-by-day pattern of God’s creation work) remove any wiggle room for evolutionary insertion into the first chapter of Genesis. God speaks and creates everything in six literal 24-hour days. “God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good” (Genesis 1:31). Nothing in His creation was a product of natural selection or death.
Why: Man’s creation is listed separately because he was created in God’s image. “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them” (Genesis 1:27). God’s purpose for the entire material universe was humanity. “The heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat” (2 Peter 3:10). Everything will eventually be uncreated except for humanity.
So, God created us according to His pleasure and, as the Westminster Shorter Catechism says, for us “to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.” Those of us who’ve placed our faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ can “look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness” (2 Peter 3:13). CCM
Days of Praise Podcast is a podcast based on the Institute for Creation Research quarterly print devotional, Days of Praise. Start your day with devotional readings written by Dr. Henry Morris, Dr. Henry Morris III, Dr. John Morris, and others to strengthen and encourage you in your Christian faith.
