God the Perfect Creator

The Bible begins by assuming God’s existence: “In the beginning God . . .” (Gen. 1:1). God spoke the universe and world into existence. During the six days of creation, God gave the universe order, purpose, and life. God applauded His completed creation by declaring it “very good” (v. 31). The most important creation was human life, made in His “image” (vv. 26–27). All people have unique value. People are created in God’s image and therefore enjoy a special relationship with their Creator.

Because people are made in God’s image, they can know their Creator in personal ways. People can take pleasure in Him and the world that He made. God gave people a great responsibility, too. He commanded them to take care of creation. He crowned humanity with glory and honor by making people in His image and putting them in charge of everything He had created. The Bible says that the Lord made the world for people to use, not abuse. People are not creation’s servants but its stewards.

These passages of Scripture are important for followers of Christ to grasp because they provide an answer to one of life’s most foundational questions: “Where did we come from?” The answer to this question has implications for all for life. In fact, a person’s entire worldview is shaped by how he or she answers the question of origin.

In these passages, Scripture provides the answer to our origin. The first chapter of Genesis teaches that God Is and that He is our Creator. Genesis 1:1 gives five powerful words: “In the beginning God created . . .” God not only exists but also has spoken to people through His Word. God created everything out of nothing—from only the words of His mouth (Heb. 11:3). He created the world and has a plan for our lives. Scripture does not spend time arguing for proof of God’s existence; it simply states the reality of God and that He is the Creator and Architect of the universe. It is not surprising that Scripture takes this approach. The apostle Paul asserts in Romans 1:19–20 that God has clearly made Himself known to humankind through creation itself. The reality of God is revealed to all, even to those who repress and deny this truth.

Believing God exists is foundational to our faith. Knowing His character as revealed by His creation is essential as well. If believers do not understand God’s imminence and purposes in creation, they will not understand His purpose for their lives or His purpose for His world.

Genesis 1:1 No greater words on the origin of life has a human being ever read: “In the beginning God . . .” This statement does not refer to the beginning of God; it refers to the beginning of His creation. God the Creator made “the heavens and the earth” on the first day. God provided a master plan for His creation. He spoke “the heavens and the earth” into existence with absolute authority. “The heavens and the earth” is an expression for all that exists. The terms heavens and earth contrast one another. The expression means that God created the totality of the universe. This expression is similar to the expression “the long and short of it.” Many use this expression to indicate all of something.

God created everything out of nothing, an act totally different from how people create from something that already exists. People have clay; they make pots. People have trees; they make houses. People can only use what already exists. Yet God is not part of or dependent on the material universe; He is above and beyond it. Everything depends on His creative, sustaining Word. As powerful as He is, God wants people to know Him personally. People know Him through His perfect Word, the Lord Jesus Christ (John 1:1–5).

Genesis 1:2 When God declared, “Let there be light” (v. 3), the earth existed as a wasteland. It sat submerged under seawater. It was dark and unable to sustain life. The Spirit of God, however, was hovering over the waters. Thus, God controls even the seemingly uncontrolled. God's creative words brought about change. The formless, lifeless earth became fertile, blooming, and full of life.

The six creation days have a natural division. On the first three days of creation God established light, the sky and waters, and the land and seas (vv. 3–13). Three days resulted in the appearance of vegetation (v. 12). The unproductive became productive. The second group of three days provided life (vv. 14–31). God created the luminaries, the fish and fowl, and the beasts and human life. The lifeless became full of teeming life.

Genesis 1:26 After the impersonal, formal commands of “Let there be . . .” God gave a personal command: “Let us make man in our image.” Man refers to humanity, not man versus woman. As the “image of God” (v. 27) they were special creations.

The surprisingly plural words us and our challenge interpreters. The ancient writer of Genesis 1 did not yet fully understand the doctrine of the Trinity. Yet these two pronouns indicate plurality within the Godhead. Since verse 27 includes the singular “his own image,” we understand God as both a plurality and a unity. The Spirit of God moved over the face of the deep in verse two, so it seems that a divine conversation took place within the Triune God. The John the Apostle wrote that the pre-incarnate Christ made all things (John 1:1–3). The apostle Paul wrote that Christ existed before God made anything and holds all creation together (Col. 1:16–17). Moreover, Psalm 104:30 implies that the Spirit, too, had a role in creation: “When you send your Spirit, they are created . . .”

God’s crowning creation was human life. He saved it for last. Although this verse says that people are created in God’s image, it does not describe that image. People clearly have differences from the animal kingdom; people have the ability to think abstractly and to form relationships. The commands that follow indicate two things: Humanity represents God on earth, and humanity rules the earth in His place. This means that people must subdue the land, oversee the animals, and care for everything in the earth. With the privilege of this command comes a great deal of responsibility. People should fulfill this responsibility without waste or greed. The command had enough importance for verse 28 to repeat it.

Because of human sin (Gen. 3:6–8, 3:17–19), people struggle to tame the environment and then eventually die. But Jesus is the perfect Man. On behalf of all humanity He achieved the eventual victory over death (Heb. 2:5–9).

Genesis 1:27 This verse is actually a short poem consisting of three lines. Lines A and B are parallel and inverted. This highlights the central idea of image.

Line C explains lines A and B by showing that the creation refers to both genders (“them”). God created both man and woman in His image. The references to humanity as “him” and “them” indicate unity and diversity. So, as creations in God’s image, all humanity is a unity, but humanity is also diverse by virtue of different gender roles. Yet they have the same status as “human” in the Creator’s eyes. No person has more importance than another (Acts 10:34). The phrase “male and female” anticipates the blessing of procreation in verse 28. Every person is valuable to God and has a purpose in creation.
Also, the word created occurs three times. This gives the verse special recognition in the Creation account.

Genesis 1:28 God blessed humanity with the capability to have children and the responsibility to rule over the earth. Human sexuality is part of God's plan to enrich His creation and people’s lives as husband and wife. People thus must follow God's plan for proper sexual relations between a man and a woman who in marriage produce a family. Also, humanity serves as the earth's caretakers (Gen. 2:15). The psalmist marveled that the Lord had crowned human life with “glory and honor” to exercise rule over creation (Ps. 8:5–8). In the Bible’s view, an upright person shows concern for the earth’s welfare. Proverbs 12:10 gives an example of this truth when it states that “a righteous man cares for the needs of his animal . . .”

Genesis 1:29–30 God both provides and sustains life. He ordered that plants serve as food for people and animals. He fed man and woman with a wonderful variety of fruits and vegetables. Genesis 1:29–30 describes a vegetarian diet. Here’s some food for thought: After Adam and Eve sinned, the abundance and variety of vegetation for both animals and humans declined. Adam had to work the ground (Gen. 3:17–19). Not much later, Noah’s descendants received specific permission to eat meat (Gen. 9:3–4). This implies that humans initially were allowed only a vegetarian diet. (Or if meat was permitted at creation, Genesis 1:29–30 does not specifically say so.) When humans did consume meat, they had to drain the animal’s blood before eating it. This indicated a proper respect for life. Life was God’s choice, and needlessly killing animals was improper.

God shows generosity by giving “every” plant. Consider the variety that He provides! Humans can see, taste, and smell different kinds of delicious fruits and vegetables. God causes His creation to nourish people. Verse 30 ends with “And it was so,” revealing God’s divine authority.

Genesis 1:31 God looked at the completion of creation over six days and said that “it was very good.” The Creator approved the entire creation, which was fully organized and teeming with life. His creation had no ruin, tarnish, or death.

Hebrews 11:3 Through faith we understand that the world had a beginning point. Out of nothing, God created an ordered universe by the power of His “command” (Bruce, 1964). This view contradicted the popular Greek idea at the time that the world had come from preexisting eternal material. What proves that Genesis is right? One does not figure out creation by human logic alone. A person must have faith in the power of God's creative Word. People live by the human senses that God gave humanity: sight, smell, taste, sound, and touch. But faith requires people to look beyond their senses to the great Creator who lovingly provided His creation with life and purpose.

Creation expresses God’s character. God displayed His order and variety though creation. He displayed His power by creating the world with His spoken Word. God is a personal being who created all and revealed Himself to all. Thus, all can know Him personally and put their trust in Him. How would you describe the ways that creation reveals God’s character?

God alone is worthy of praise for creating our world, and we alone are created in His image, not the image of the world. He made individuals to have an intimate and personal relationship with Him. Students today struggle with identity, and they need to be encouraged and reminded on a regular basis of how precious they are in God’s eyes because He created and gifted each one of them for a purpose in His Kingdom.