god created the world essay

Understanding the Creation Story from Genesis

• May 1, 2018
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How did the world begin? Was the world a cosmological mistake or an intentional creation? What existed before the universe as we know it? Questions like these have generated tons of discussion (and arguments) in the historical, scientific, and religious communities.

While most people are familiar with the creation story found in Genesis, there’s a richness that’s often lost. In The Torah Story online course , Gary E. Schnittjer, Cairn University’s professor of Old Testament, plumbs the depth of the creation story while answering important questions like:

• How did the author of Genesis receive the creation story?
• How does the narrative style of the creation story provide the backdrop for the rest of the biblical story?
• What does the creation story reveal about God?
• How are humans different than the rest of creation?
• What is mankind’s responsibility to creation?

This post is adapted from Dr. Schnittjer’s course.

What is the origin of the creation story?

The Torah begins with a beginning—“in the beginning.” It simultaneously serves as the introduction to the book of Genesis, the Torah, the Hebrew scriptures, and the entire Bible.

You may wonder, “The beginning of what?”

The story that follows reveals that this is the beginning of the human world—the setting for God’s story. Whether there are other beginnings or not remains a significant issue. The opening of Genesis, however, attempts to tell the story of the beginning of the human realm.

You may also ask, “How did the author learn of this story since there were no people to observe it?” We, as readers, can make guesses.

Perhaps the author learned the story from an ancient oral tradition. He could have imaginatively adapted his narrative as a polemic against an ancient written account like the Babylonian creation story, Enuma Elish. Perhaps he offered his own interpretation of how it might have happened based on his understanding of God, humanity, and creation. Or, perhaps God revealed it to him in a special way, such as through an oracle or vision.

The author does not disclose the source of the Genesis creation story . From ancient times, Judaic and Christian believers have embraced Genesis and its account of creation as Scripture—God’s word. The other biblical authors found in the pentateuchal creation narrative an account on which to construct their own writings.

Biblical readers are free to wonder about the source or sources of the creation account. An apprentice of the biblical writers, especially one who regards their writings as Scripture, needs to put the weight of his or her studies on what the biblical authors have written rather than on what they have omitted.

In this case, the author is not primarily explaining in historical or scientific terms the beginning of the human realm. Instead, the opening of Genesis theologically interprets the relationship between God and the human world, namely, that he created it by the power of his word.

Learn more in The Torah Story online course .

Formed from the wild and the waste

According to the storyteller, the world God created in the beginning was unformed and unfilled—wild and waste. The unformed and unfilled state of the earth set up the six creation days—three in which God formed the world and three in which he filled it. The relationship between the preformed and pre-filled world and the creation days is important for this passage and for the entire Torah (not to mention all Scripture).

In the creating days, the power of God’s word tamed what was wild and brought to life what was desolate. The Torah closes with the people at the end of a trek through the wild and barren wilderness hoping for blessing and life in the land God promised to their ancestors (see Deut. 32:9–11). What God did at the beginning and in the wilderness he can do again . Indeed, the Torah portrays a gracious God with a powerful voice that all readers need to obey.

The style of the creation story

Within these first verses readers are introduced to a distinctive biblical literary style that, in some ways and to varying degrees, was emulated by later biblical writers. In Genesis 1:2, for example, a “special word” is used, or better, an ordinary word is used in a special way.

The Hebrew word rûaḥ can signify one of several meanings depending on context. Here it seems to mean spirit—“the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” In the following chapters rûaḥ is applied in other contexts that at once give it a new sense and invite readers to consider the new use in light of this context.

In Genesis 3:8 God is said to have walked in the garden in the rûaḥ of the day (traditionally, in the “cool” of the day). If rûaḥ here means windy, then perhaps cool of the day or evening is appropriate. Still, the reader may easily think of the rûaḥ of the day in reference to the rûaḥ of God hovering over the waters in Genesis 1:2. The hiding humans and the chaotic empty world provide the contexts in which God is seeking and hovering.

In Genesis 8:1 God remembers Noah and sends the rûaḥ (wind) to make the waters of judgment subside so that Noah can again live on the earth. The fact that rûaḥ is sent by God to clear the waters for human life on earth to resume and that previously the rûaḥ of God hovered over the unformed and unfilled world prior to the creation days invites readers to compare and consider this word in a special way.

The dual imagery of the flood and the wind—judgment and new beginning—is similar to the imagery of Israel’s salvation from the Egyptians at the sea in Exodus 14. There God sends an east wind ( rûaḥ ) to provide deliverance to Israel and uses the waters to destroy his enemies.

The narrative of the sea crossing in Exodus uses imagery from Genesis 1 in order to depict the theological significance that God is creating a nation for himself (Gen. 1 language in italics):

“Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night Yahweh drove the sea back with a strong east wind [ rûaḥ ] and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left” (Ex. 14:21–22).

The imagery here can also be thought of in terms of “denotation” and “connotation.” The narrative of the sea crossing denotes or refers to the acts of God to save Israel from the Egyptian threat. Yet, the specific language used to tell the story of the sea crossing connects it by its imagery with the account of creation in Genesis. Thus, the sea crossing narrative connotes God as the Creator of his nation .

Genesis’ textual depth

Many biblical words are used in special ways that both reveal a need for close reading and show a depth, another dimension, to the text. This textual depth is among the reasons that ancient biblical interpreters—before and after the New Testament era—considered the Bible a cryptic writing with subtle and hidden meanings.

In a manner similar to the use of special words, Genesis 1:1–2:4a begins the biblical precedent for special numbers. The seven days set a pattern for a complete week—God finished his work and rested. Thus, in the biblical writings, seven often signifies completion or perfection.

In the following chapters of Genesis other numbers become special, such as three, ten, twelve, and forty. The special numbers become part of the fabric of classic biblical style. The use of special numbers invites readers to reflect on the later events in relation to earlier ones. The forty years that Israel was wandering in the wilderness, for example, encourages the reader to compare it to the forty days of rain in the flood narrative.

The use of special words and numbers are among the many distinctive characteristics of biblical narrative that begin in Genesis 1. The narrative style—somewhere between prose and poetry—displays:

• Rhythmic lines
• Characteristic repetition
• Symmetrical imagery
• The manifold use of “and” to connect lines and scenes
• Frequent intertextual allusions
• Earthy symbolic language

The literary features effectively create a narrative almost poetic with its intertwined realistic and surreal qualities so familiar to biblical readers. Later biblical narrators emulated, whether by intention or otherwise, many of these literary characteristics, always with their own flair, in such a way that their writings “sound like” the Bible .

What does it mean to create: the creation days

The creating days themselves demonstrate the significance of the entire story. Throughout chapter 1 there is a repetition of “God” plus verb—the fourfold repetition in Day 1, for instance: “God said,” “God saw,” “God separated,” “God called” (1:3–5).

The rhythm of God-plus-verb demonstrates several things: the power of God’s word; the relationship between God and creation, namely, the dependence of creation on God and God’s power over and ownership of creation; God’s interest in measuring the character of creation (i.e., “God saw that it was good”); and so forth. Above all else, the reader is confronted by God the Creator.

What does it mean to create? Whatever it means to form and to fill is synonymous with creating in the context of Genesis 1. To understand the Creator, therefore, one must comprehend what it means to form and to fill. In the first three creating days God formed the realms for existence in this world—light and darkness, skies and seas, land and vegetation. During the next three creating days God filled these realms successively with celestial lights, birds and marine life, and the land animals and humankind. The six creation days demonstrate, among other things, the power of God’s word to order and to grant life.

The first three creation days expose the difference between unformed and formed, chaos and order. The difference is separation. To create, in these cases, is to separate. The light was separated from the darkness, the skies from waters, and the land from the seas. Without grasping the essence of order as separation, the call to be holy, to be separate toward God, in Leviticus will not be rightly appreciated. The holiness required of worshipers is the basic characteristic for relating to the Creator.

The fourth, fifth, and sixth creation days likewise display the difference between unfilled and filled. The difference, in large part, is life. To grant life, or to fill realms with life, is, in these instances, what it means to create. The realm of illumination was filled with life-sustaining cosmic lights (these lights also function as time separators; thus the fourth day is transitional), the skies with flying beings, the waters with aquatic creatures, and the land with terrestrial beings. The Creator is the life-giver.

By conceiving of creation as forming and filling, separating and life-giving, the tools are in hand for uncovering the meaning of judgment. To be specific, to die is at once separation and life-losing. Death is the effect of the anti-creational acts of sin . Death is not separation to form but from form. It does not give but takes life. Therefore, the death that comes from defying God’s commanding word contradicts creation. Life, by analogy, is to accord with the word of God. When the nature of creation and judgment is recognized, the oneness of God as Creator and Redeemer comes into sharp relief.

Where does humanity fit in creation?

The story of the creating days not only reveals the relationship of God and the created realm and the meaning of creation itself, but also the place of humanity within creation. Specifically, creation is viewed in human-centered terms; the created realm itself tells of God’s grace toward humankind. The creation is the home or context for human life. Human beings make sense within their realm, namely, the creation of God. The human-centered view of the created world can be seen in the case of each of the six creation days. I will illustrate the human-centered orientation of the fourth day. On the fourth day according to Genesis 1, God created the celestial lights. The entire description is geocentric.

The earth-centered viewpoint of the fourth day is the opposite of the modernist perspective of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The “objective” perspective of modernity saw the rather ordinary star that is our sun as located in a remote area of the rather unexceptional Milky Way galaxy, which is one of billions of such galaxies.

This is one of the points made in the 1997 motion picture Contact , based on the late Carl Sagan’s book. Three times during the movie lead characters say something to the effect, “If human beings are the only life in the vast universe, then it sure is a waste of space.”

The objective view from “out there” makes the earth seem inconsequential within the universe of planets and stars and galaxies. One of the biblical poets, by contrast, reflecting on Genesis 1, marveled at God’s grace toward humans given the enormity of the skies and the celestial lights: “ When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them? . . . . You have given them dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under their feet” (Ps 8:3–4a, 5 NRSV).

The vantage point of the fourth creating day is that of the earth-dwellers—“from here.” The great lights are those that rule the earth days and the earth nights, namely, the sun and the moon. Even describing the cosmic lights in terms of “day” and “night” is an entirely earth-centered point of view. The stars, moreover, are regarded according to their function of measuring the earth-dwellers time.

“And God said, ‘Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years, and let them be lights in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth.’ And it was so” (Gen. 1:14–15 NRSV; italics added).

By interpreting creation in a human-centered manner, the stage is set for the entire biblical drama. The story unfolds from this beginning. It is the story of humankind within the human world—both created by God—and their progressive relationship with the God who speaks, creates, evaluates, and gives.

Comparing humans to the rest of creation

On the sixth day God made land animals after their kind and humankind in his own image and likeness. The phrases “after their kind” for animals and “in his image” for human beings underscore the categorical difference between humankind and all other created beings—the unique ability to relate personally to God.

Although God prohibits making images of himself in the Ten Commandments, he made humanity in his image. Human beings reflect and represent God in a special sense. Their creational design defines them according to the Creator. This image is displayed vertically in responsible dominion over the creation and horizontally in mutual social relationships.

Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them ” (1:26–27 NRSV; italics added).

The two great commandments—love God and love others—are direct implications from and applications of humanity’s being created in the image of God. Because humans are created in the image of God, it is their intrinsic responsibility to love him. And because all other human beings are created in his image, it is each one’s responsibility to love others as oneself.

The great commands of Leviticus and Deuteronomy are the natural extensions of creational design .

Human responsibility toward creation

Beyond the responsibility humans have toward their Creator and toward fellow humans is their responsibility toward the rest of creation. Humankind is related to but distinct from the Creator and the creation at the same time.

Human beings are creatures among other creatures who live within the created realm. Yet with respect to dominion, humans are responsible to rule over the other creatures by virtue of humankind’s distinction of being created in God’s image. Humans are creatures, but not like any other because they are like God. The idea of image signifying dominion was part of the ancient Near Eastern idea that statues or images of a king could be used to mark or define the realm of his domain. It is in this sense that humankind is the Creator’s royal representative ruler on earth. Human beings are the lords of creation because they are specially created in the image of God .

The creation days move in a direction. They move toward the seventh day, the day of God’s rest. The nature and significance of time itself is thus defined. Time is measured in earth days and counted in sevens or weeks. Each week moves invariably toward its completion—the sabbath. The perpetual repetition of celebrating the day of God’s rest provides a constant reminder of the human place within the world. Humankind lives in a world created by God, forever moving toward the day of God’s rest.

The creation story provides history’s backdrop

The biblical story, thus, begins with the human world created by God. Genesis 1 defines the manner in which the story is told and the way to hear and read the story. Moreover, the beginning provides the cosmological backdrop against which the rest of the story—the book of Genesis, the Torah, and the Bible—unfolds.

The events narrated in the remainder of the biblical story did not just happen in a remote historical context. They happened within the context of the entire human world, the world God created by his word. Because the beginning of the story is God’s creation of humankind within the human context, the story line is, in some way, about the relationship between God and humankind as they exist within his creation.

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Course Introduction

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A Summary and Exploration of Jonathan Edwards' Treatise, "The End for Which God Created the World."

Jonathan Edwards: God’s Goal in Creation

Why did God create the world?

Few questions are more fundamental to human existence, and few people have thought as deeply and biblically about this question as Jonathan Edwards. In this seven-lesson series, Professor Joe Rigney walks step by step through Jonathan Edwards’s treatise  The End for Which God Created the World , exploring the biblical and rational roots beneath Edwards’s argument along the way, and showing the impact that his God-centered theological vision ought to have on Christian worship.

This course is provided courtesy of  The Worship Initiative . Used with Permission.

Joe Rigney serves as Assistant Professor of Theology and Literature at Bethlehem College & Seminary. He oversees the History of Ideas program, an undergraduate major that focuses on the Great Books and the Greatest Book. He is the author of two books:  Live Like a Narnian: Christian Discipleship in Lewis’s Chronicles  (Eyes & Pen, 2013) and  The Things of Earth: Treasuring God by Enjoying His Gifts  (Crossway, 2015). Joe is also a pastor at  Cities Church  in Minneapolis.

After completing a B.A. in Speech Communication from Texas A&M University, Joe and his wife Jenny moved to Minneapolis in 2005 to participate in Bethlehem’s vocational eldership training program. He has an M.A. in Biblical and Pastoral Studies from Bethlehem College & Seminary, and M.St. in Classical Christian Studies from New Saint Andrews College, and is currently seeking a Ph.D. from Union School of Theology. He joined the Bethlehem College & Seminary staff in 2007 as a cohort leader in the INSIGHT program, formerly taught as the college’s freshman year. When he’s not teaching or reading, Joe loves to play baseball with his two sons and spend time with his lovely wife Jenny.

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An annotated video lecture and Q&A recorded at New Saint Andrews College

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Why Did God Create the World?

Creation is God’s great work of art and an indication of His love, meant to reveal Himself so that the world would respond to Him with a celebration (Psalm 19:1; Romans 1:20). Creation is God’s gift to Himself, and creation is a gift that leads to celebration.

In the Bible, God did not create the world to fulfill a need. He created the world to display His glory (Isaiah 43:7; Isaiah 60:20; Romans 11:36). When the biblical writers mention God’s glory, they dance at the edge of language, struggling to explain the honor, significance and beauty of an incomprehensible God. God’s glory is His mysterious beauty, power, love and wisdom resisting the limitations of all human thought and speech. 

If you're in a hurry, you can use these links to go straight to each section: 

The Creation Story 

Differences and Essential Commitments among Christians

How to Celebrate and Enjoy God Through Creation  

The Creation Story

While many places in the Bible refer to God’s creation of the world and explain His purposes, the Book of Genesis presents the story of creation. Before there was anything else, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit enjoyed one another as distinct persons in a loving relationship. At some point before time, out of nothing, God spoke the world into existence in a series of events over six days: the sky and ground; the sun, moon and stars; plants, animals and human beings (Genesis 1:1-31). And everything was good (Genesis 1:31).

Adam and Eve, the first human beings, were the crowning jewel of God’s creation. God designed them to serve Him as His royal priests in His temple garden, the garden of Eden (Genesis 2:15; cf. The Bible Project, “ The Royal Priests of Eden ”). While in the lush garden of Eden, God set up a test for Adam and Eve. They were free to eat the fruit of every tree in the garden except one: the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:16). 

God’s test was a choice. Adam and Eve could choose to serve God as His royal priests, or they could choose to cast off all limits and boundaries and eat from God’s forbidden tree. If Adam and Eve chose to eat of God’s forbidden tree, He promised that they would die. The penalty for disobedience was death.

One day, while she was tending the garden, Eve was approached by a serpent. The serpent claimed that the forbidden tree had power. It granted knowledge of good and evil and would free them from God’s service. It would make them gods (Genesis 3:1-5). So Adam and Eve, believing the serpent, ate the tree’s fruit and suffered the consequences. They came to know good, evil, nakedness and shame. God cast them out of the garden, sending them out into the world to work, suffer and wait. With a death penalty hanging over their head, God promised to save them through a descendent of Eve, a child who would defeat evil, death and the serpent.

Because of Adam and Eve’s failures, the world changed. God’s good creation became flawed. Human beings exploit each other for personal gain, drain the world of its natural resources and set up economies and societies that struggle to maintain justice. All the world’s problems resulted from the choice to eat of God’s forbidden tree. 

The good news of Jesus Christ is that God is healing His fractured world through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. God is working to renew His now-flawed creation. But when God renews the world at the second coming of Jesus , creation will become perfect.  

Differences and Essential Commitments Among Christians

Christians have disagreed about the age of the earth, the nature and length of the days in the Genesis account, God-guided evolution or “theistic evolution” and how the Bible’s account fits within its Ancient Near Eastern context. Protestant and Evangelical Christians have generally held many diverse views but have more recently settled on five essential commitments:

1. A personal God created the world. 2. God created the world out of nothing. 3. God created the world good. 4. God created a historical Adam and Eve. 5. Human beings disobeyed God of their own free will, bringing death and evil into human existence.  

How to Celebrate and Enjoy God Through Creation

According to Kelly Kapic, a Christian college professor, God created people to love God in part by “taking pleasure in the rest of creation and by faithfully participating in it.” 1 Human beings are meant “to enjoy and to share the gifts of God in creation, and to live in joyful response to these blessings,” celebrating God’s glory and goodness. 2   

1. God wants you to enjoy Him through the world He created.

God created the world to display His glory (Isaiah 43:7; Isaiah 60:20; Romans 11:36). And human beings can perceive God’s glory through creation (Psalm 19:1; Romans 1:20). In the Bible, God gave Israel feasts to celebrate to remind “them of God’s goodness as the one who makes all things and from all things come.” 3 These feasts included Sabbath rest (Exodus 16:23, 20-8, 31:15, 35:2; Leviticus 23:3), the Feast of Firstfruits (Exodus 23:19; Dueteronomy 26:2; Nehemiah 10:35-36), the Feast of Harvest (Exodus 23:16, 34:22) and the New Moon Feast (Numbers 10:10, 29:6; 1 Samuel 20:5; Psalm 81:1–3).

For Christians, all of creation displays God’s goodness and love, providing a way to enjoy God through His created world. Many of the contemplative spiritual practices like solitude, silence and the Prayer of Examen can be ways to enjoy God through the created world.  

2. God wants you to enjoy the world He created.

In Isaiah 25:6, the prophet speaks of God’s future victory over death as a time for feasting on rich foods and well-aged wines. Revelation 19:7-10 refers to this same time period as the wedding supper of the lamb. Throughout Jesus’ ministry, He attended weddings and celebrations and described the kingdom of God as a wedding banquet and feast. 

God stands against greed, indulgence and excess (Isaiah 28:1; Matthew 23:25-26; Proverbs 23; Ephesians 5:3,18; Titus 1:7). But God does not withhold celebrations, feasts and the enjoyment of creation. Healthy Christian spirituality doesn’t just enjoy God; healthy Christian spirituality enjoys the world God created without giving into greed, indulgence or excess.

Many activities built around friendship, community and celebration like Bible studies, prayer meetings, community groups and ministries to the poor can be spiritual practices and ways to enjoy the world God created.  

3. God wants you to care for the world He created.

God created human beings in His image and likeness to reflect and represent His goodness, justice and love (Genesis 1:26; Psalm 8:4-8; Hebrews 2:5-8). God then gave them a responsibility to care for the world. In the Garden of Eden, God gave Adam and Eve the responsibility to tend His garden, symbolizing that human beings are God’s royal priests (Genesis 2:15; Exodus 19:6; Revelation 1:6, 5:10).

As servants of God, human beings are responsible to care for God’s world. This includes caring for the poor and marginalized people in every society (Leviticus 19:10; Deuteronomy 15:11; Isaiah 61:1; Matthew 25:34-40; Galatians 2:10; James 2:6). Thus it’s consistent with Christian values to work toward economies that are just and environmentally sustainable and to build societies that uphold safe business practices, fair labor laws, justice and compassion. 

Many activities like community organizing, social work, ministries to the poor or environmentalist movements can be spiritual practices and ways to care for the world that God created.  

The world is God’s work of art, created to display His glory. This teaching is at the heart of Christianity and gives life to Christian spirituality and worship. Because God created the world, Christians are meant to care for it, embrace it and enjoy God through it.

If you want to know more about what Christian’s believe, a good place to start is with our article, “ What Is the Gospel? ”  

1 Kelly Kapic, For God So Loved, He Gave, 19-20. 2 Kelly Kapic, For God So Loved, He Gave, 19-20.  3 Kelly Kapic, For God So Loved, He Gave, 20.

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A Few Reflections on Creation in Genesis 1

Theological Symposium – Call for Papers

Lutheran theology: kill your passions, cyril of alexandria: lull your passions to sleep, by david adams & charles p. arand.

Introductory Note: In the previous posts , we have surveyed three camps in the faith–science debates regarding origins among contemporary Evangelicals. Three issues arise in these debates: (1) the exegesis of Scripture, (2) the methods and conclusions of science, and (3) the attempt to harmonize theology with science. Without adequate background or knowledge to discuss the methods and conclusions of science, we will leave that aside in this and upcoming posts and discuss the first and third issues only.

This post will consider some of the key biblical texts where our interpretation of Genesis 1 conflicts with the conclusions drawn by many scientists from their reading of nature (and its history). How to deal with these texts is crucial for the three evangelical camps in their quest to show that God’s “two books” (the book of Scripture and the book of Nature) do not contradict each other.

Because of their central role in these debates, I want to set forth the historical interpretation of these texts in Genesis 1 within the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS). We will then explore the larger theological approach that seeks to develop a theological–scientific synthesis.

My thanks to David Adams for writing much of this as we talked together. Also thanks to my faculty colleagues for looking over this post as well

Reflection #1: The God of Creation

When we read the creation account in Genesis 1 we typically focus on what it says about us, that is, about the world of creation and our place in it. While these are important truths, they are not the most important thing that Genesis 1 teaches. All the religions of the Ancient Near East taught that the gods they worshiped were responsible for shaping the world in which we live.

And so before looking at a few passages or words, and before bringing our questions to the text, it is helpful to understand God’s purpose and goal in using Moses to write Genesis 1 for his people past and present. This begins with the question regarding the context in which Moses wrote this chapter and what it would have meant for the people of Israel. What questions was Moses seeking to address for the people of Israel as they looked at the world?

What is fundamentally distinctive about Genesis 1, when compared with creation accounts from the Ancient Near East, is what it teaches about who God is. While most of us think of this difference primarily in terms of the Hebrew Bible being monotheistic and other religions of the Ancient Near East being polytheistic, there are at least three other fundamental differences reflected in the creation account.

FIRST , what Genesis 1 says about how God created the world shows us that the God revealed in the Bible is radically different from the gods worshiped in the Ancient Near East with respect to the relationship between the divine and the material. There is no such thing as creation ex nihilo (out of nothing) in any Ancient Near Eastern religion that we know of outside the Bible. For all other religions of the Ancient Near East both the gods and the material world are thought to be derived from a single fundamental but undifferentiated substance which is understood to be eternal. [1]

This leads to a SECOND important difference. While the gods of the Ancient Neat East were not limited by what we call space and time, they were understood to be a part of the perpetual cycle of the cosmos. They are born, they age, they mate and produce offspring, they may become sick or injured, and they may die. When the cycle is complete and the world returns to its primitive state (i.e., chaos), the gods will cease to exist and the process will begin again.

THIRD and finally, no god in the ancient world was truly supreme. None had absolute power. To be sure, polytheistic systems often had a chief god or top god (e.g., Zeus, Odin) who had more power than the other gods. But that “top god” did not have all power, that is to say, he was not Almighty . As a result, they were subject to the same “fates” that shaped the destinies of humankind, and even the most powerful of them could be thwarted by the combined efforts of the other gods.

The biblical creation account, indeed the whole of Scripture, reveals a radically different God. There is only one God. God is not a part of the continuum that includes the material world but brought into being even the unformed substance from which all things were made (the “empty and void” deep of Genesis 1:2). God is not subject to the cycle of the cosmos, but the distinctions that he introduced into the material world brought about time (Gn 1:3–4, resulting in the day as the fundamental natural cycle of time) and space (Gn 1:6–7). Since no part of the material cosmos is a manifestation of his being, he may not be worshiped using any image (Ex 20:4; Dt 4:11–12, 15–19). God and God alone, of all the things worshiped as gods, is all-powerful and can bring about whatever he wills. In this way, the creation account reveals that YHWH stands apart, and YHWH stands alone.

Reflection #2: The Creation Week of Genesis 1

Another unique feature of the biblical account of creation quickly emerges when compared with other “creation” accounts in the ancient world.

Genesis records God creating both time and space and everything that fills them within the span of six days after which God rested on the seventh day. It is the only creation account that is temporally structured. Not only is this temporal ordering one of the biblical account’s most distinctive features, but the period of time in which God creates the world lays the foundation for key elements of the theology of the Bible.

The “liturgical calendar” for the religions of the Ancient Near East is based on the naturally occurring cycles of nature: the year, the season, and the month (including some half-monthly elements). The Bible alone recognizes a period of time that is not based on the naturally occurring cycles of nature but on God’s distinctive activity. In other words, the week as we know it is both unique to the religion of Ancient Israel and fundamental to the theology of the Bible.

This pattern, based purely upon the account of God’s activity in which he created the world over the course of a week, is fundamental to the theology of the Bible in three ways. FIRST , it provided the basis for the rhythm of the Israelite’s own life within creation, especially, with the observance of the Sabbath as the central element of Israel’s worship. SECOND , it provides the framework for almost all of the chief promises and blessings that God gives to Israel. And THIRD , it unites God’s creative work (Ex 20:11) and his redemptive work (Dt 5:15) to understand Christ’s saving work as the fulfillment of God’s plan to restore the state of “rest” that was lost as a result of the fall, and by whose grace we are brought into that rest.

For these reasons we can hardly overstate the significance of the Sabbath to the theology of the Bible and the importance of the creation account’s temporal structuring in laying its foundation. Confessing the pattern of God’s creative work in seven days, culminating and including the Sabbath rest, is confessing what God did, is doing, and will do both in creation and in redemption. This literal weekly pattern lays the foundation for our understanding that God’s redemptive work in Christ brings about what is sometimes called the “eighth day,” the day when all things become again as God intended them to be.

God makes a special connection between the first week of creation and the dawn of the new creation with Jesus’s resurrection. At times, the early church focused on the days of creation in its preaching during the days of Holy Week. The parallels are striking. God creates humans on the sixth day—the second Adam dies on the sixth day, namely, Friday. And so when Jesus was tried, Pilate said, “behold the man.”

During the first week of creation, God rested on the seventh day, Saturday. Jesus in turn “rested” in the tomb on the seventh day, Saturday. Then on the next day, Sunday, the Gospel of John stresses that it was “the first day of the week,” the beginning of a new week, the beginning of a new creation. Thus, it became known as the “eighth day” of creation for which our baptismal fonts often have eight sides.

Reflection #3: The Age of the Earth and Genesis 1

So how old is the earth? Although the Scriptures do not give a specific age to the earth or a specific date for its creation, the Scriptures portray a world that has been created in the relatively recent past, that is, within a historical span of time measured in thousands of years rather than millions or billions of years. [2]

To be sure, the exegetical reading of the creation account raises certain questions but does not give clear and definitive answers to them. For example, how long was the Spirit hovering over the waters? How long were Adam and Even in the garden before the fall?

More importantly, possible gaps in the biblical genealogies may not allow us to pin down a specific age as advocated by many in the Young Earth Creationist movement (especially by the influential organization Answers in Genesis). What is the purpose or the function of those genealogies within their literary context? What is their role or place within the narrative? Genealogies perform one (or more) of three functions in relation to narratives.

• First they may serve to establish the bona fides (or identity) of someone in the account. The genealogy of Moses and Aaron in Exodus 6:14–26, for example, does this. Similarly, Matthew’s account of Jesus’s genealogy establishes the identity of Jesus. Matthew organizes Jesus’s genealogy through his mother, Mary, into three patterns of fourteen generations each. The first fourteen generations following Abraham are a period when the people had no king. The next fourteen generations beginning with David focus on the period when Israel had a king. The third fourteen generations again focus on a time when Israel had no king, and end with Jesus who is born to be king. Matthew’s genealogies thus serve to identify who Jesus is.
• Second, they may be used to “wrap up” the account of a person, summarizing their history and descendants. Many of the smaller genealogies in the book of Genesis function in this way. For example, the short genealogy of the descendants of Abraham by Keturah (25:1–4) serves to wrap up the discussion of all of Abraham’s descendants except those who come from the line of Isaac.
• The third literary function that genealogies sometimes perform is to “fast-forward” from one major event to the next by summarizing the generations in between. This is how the genealogy of Genesis 5 functions. It moves the narrative quickly from the end of the aftermath of the fall in chapter 4 to the account of the conditions that led God to decide to bring about the flood at the beginning of chapter 6.

While genealogies do sometimes provide chronological information, we must also assess the purpose of the narrative so that we can understand the significance of that chronological information. Therefore, it is both legitimate and necessary to ask whether the biblical authors are providing genealogies for deducing the age of the earth or whether they are using the genealogy to perform a different function.

A consideration of the literary or theological purposes of genealogies does not mean that one can or should discount the chronological information. The challenge is to make sure that we honor the chronological and historical significance of these genealogies as well as their literary or theological function.

In other words, these genealogies give us a sense of the flow of time within the narrative in terms of actual years (even without a precise computation of the age of the earth). To that end, Moses records the age of each father at the son’s birth, as well as each father’s total years of life. Thus

• even if the genealogies are selective and incomplete (but not inaccurate), and
• even if the genealogies are not exhaustive in a way that one can add them up in order to arrive at firm date from which to calculate the age of the earth, [3]

it is difficult not to conclude that the cumulative year totals in the genealogies contribute to the impression that God created everything in the relatively recent past. [4]

For a good article on genealogies, see Andrew E. Steinmann, “Gaps in the Genealogies in Genesis 5 and 11?,” Bibliotheca Sacra 174, no. 694 (April 2017): 141–158. Steinmann responds to those who maintain that there are no gaps in the genealogies that such views are not correct. Steinmann also cautions that this does not imply that the earth is millions or billions of years old. “Instead, it simply argues that the earth is older than the 6,000 years that can be obtained by a simple arithmetic calculation based on the Genesis 5 and 11 genealogies” (158).

For an older discussion of science, genealogies, and age issues, I recommend Paul Zimmerman’s chapter “The Age of the Earth” in Darwin, Evolution and Creation (CPH, 1959). Zimmerman held a PhD in chemistry and served as president of Concordia Teachers College in River Forest, Illinois. The five-point summary of his chapter bears repeating:

1. The Bible does not give us sufficient information to date the time of creation and the age of the earth. 2. We cannot be certain how long a period of time is involved in Genesis 1:2 in the moving of the Spirit over the deep. It is not clear if this is before the reckoning of days begins. If it is outside the days, we cannot set a limit. However, important ordering of the world comes during the first three days. This includes the succession of day and night, firmament, separation of waters and dry land. 3. The creative days are best accepted as days of ordinary length. This is the obvious meaning. However, we must remember that God’s creation is vastly different from His present preservation where present-day laws of nature obtain. God created a dynamic, operating earth. To attempt to probe these beginnings by using modern conditions is to ignore the fact that creation was a once-in-eternity event to which present laws do not apply. This actually takes the question out of the realm of the scientific and places it into the purely theological and philosophical. 4. If the days of Genesis are days of normal length, then man is about as old as the earth. There is then no point in attempting to stretch the genealogies of Gen. 5 and 11 to cover more than thousands of years…. The really vast age estimates deal with the age of rocks whose condition possibly is the result of the initial creation of God. They did not need to wait for crystallization and recrystallization to achieve their present form. Moreover, we would expect that things were created in chemical and physical balance. 5. Scripture, then, does not give a precise calendar. But it does give the impression of an earth far younger than the theories of some scientists indicate. Neither side can be definite. However, the Christian must be sure that any conclusions he reaches must be in harmony with the very clear picture of a great creative act, of man specially created by God in his image, of man’s fall from perfection into sin, and of the first promise of the Savior in Genesis 3:15. To lose those precious truths would be tragic indeed!  (Zimmerman, 165–166)

Exactly how recently did God create it? We simply can’t say definitively on the basis of Scripture. We can offer suggestions and guesses . . . but that is as far as we should go. LCMS President Matthew Harrison clearly stated as much in his own LCMS blog post of January 4: “it is true that the Synod has not defined as biblical doctrine a specific age of the earth” ( https://blogs.lcms.org/2018/64959 ).

Reflection #4: A Day is a Day in Genesis 1

The question regarding the length of the days of creation arises especially in connection with the new geological sciences that appeared in the century before Darwin. The idea of interpreting them as representing long geological epochs became a popular way to account for the conclusions of geology regarding the age of the earth. We also see this in the “day-age” theory popular among many Fundamentalists in the twentieth century.

Although the Scriptures are silent on defining the number of hours in a day (the Hebrew does not have a word for “hour,” which is why we have not made this a doctrine binding on consciences), exegetically strong arguments exist to regard it as what we ordinarily experience a day to be. Paul Zimmerman (above) referred to them as “days of normal length.”

In other words, the interpretation of “ yom” in Genesis 1 to mean something other than a day is exegetically unconvincing. For example:

• There are no linguistic or literary grounds—either in the etymology of the word “day” in Hebrew or the grammar, syntax, context, or in any figure of speech related to its usage in Genesis 1—that can justify an understanding of the term in any way other than as a day as we ordinarily experience it.
• Genesis 1:5 defines what is meant by a “day” in this context: a day is a period of light (daylight) and a period of darkness (night) separated by two transitional periods (morning and evening). [5]
• All of the other time-related words in Genesis 1 appear from the context to be used in what we might call their natural sense. [6]
• Most importantly, in Exodus 20:8–11 Moses speaks of the “days” of creation and relates them to the “days” of Israel’s week that culminates in the Sabbath. Moses reiterates this in Exodus 31:15–17. Here, as in Genesis 1, Moses intended “six days” to be what we ordinarily experience six days to be.
• Interpreting a “day” as what we ordinarily experience as a day is the cleanest way of interpreting the text in that it creates no difficulties for interpreting other portions of Scripture. Put another way, it best fits the overall scope or stream of Scripture.
• Over the course of these six days, we have “eight originating miracles” (as my colleague Paul Raabe refers to them). One on each day with two on the third day and two on the sixth day. These creative acts (the initial opera ad extra of the Trinity) are miracles , and miracles are by definition not accessible to human reason or empirical science (in the same way that Jesus’s calming of the storm is not accessible to science).

Horace Hummel expressed it well in his classic introduction to the Old Testament,  The Word Becoming Flesh (CPH, 1979):

Grammatically , it is impossible to try to calculate a date for creation on the basis of the meaning of “day” ( yom ). The word is undeniably used in Hebrew as in English in a variety of extended senses. Yet in the context of Gen. 1, its ordinary 24-hour sense is certainly the most natural or “literal” sense, if external criteria are not invalidly introduced. The problem of Gen. 1–11 is not primarily exegetical, but hermeneutical (philosophical and epistemological starting points).  (64)

Reflection #5: Animal Death and the Fall

One of the questions that arises both for Old Earth Creationism and Evolutionary Creationism is whether or not animal death existed before the fall.

The narrative of Genesis 2, and the scriptures that follow, focuses on those two human creatures that God made in his image and to whom he gave dominion over his creation. It focuses on their life, their death, and their renewal of life as the gift of eternal life. Thus Paul writes, “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned ” (Rom 5:12, italics added). Paul follows with, “For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many ” (Rom 5:15, italics added).

Although the biblical record focuses primarily on human history, human life, human sin, human death, and human restoration, it does not do so in isolation from the wider creation of which Adam and Eve were members. As the catechism puts it, “God made me together with all creatures.” Consider the following connections.

FIRST , in Scripture, animals and humans were both created on the sixth day and both seek their food from God (Ps 104:27). In addition, God’s human creatures and non-human creatures possess the breath of life and thus are both regarded as “living creatures” ( nephesh chayyah— Gn 2:7, 19; Ps 104:29–30). This linkage binds them together in both life and death after the fall. Plant “death” is not of concern since plants do not have nephesh or breath (thus humans and animals were given plants to eat).

SECOND , given the role of humans as stewards of creation, it follows that all creation is impacted by human dominion, sin, and restoration. Scripture repeatedly suggests that animal life and death are closely bound with humanity’s fall and restoration. On the ark, God preserved Noah’s family and the animals. Outside the ark, everything that had the breath of life died. After the flood, God made a covenant three times with humans and every living creature (Gn 9:9, 12, 15; cf. Hos 2:18–20).

THIRD , we might also note that animals were not given to humans for consumption in the initial creation. Genesis 1:29–30 portrays a world in which both animals and humans are given plants to eat. This would further support the idea of no animal death prior to the fall. Then, following the flood, God grants humans the right to kill animals and consume their flesh. At the same time, he puts the fear of humans into animals that they might flee and preserve their life (Gn 9:2–3).

FOURTH , animal life was analogous enough to human life that substitutionary sacrifice was logical and acceptable to God, for the life is in the blood.

Finally, when Paul talks about the fall in Romans 8, he speaks about how all creation was impacted and subjected to futility (pointlessness or meaninglessness). The same language is used in Ecclesiastes to describe life hemmed in by death. In humanity’s restoration the animal creation will participate as well; in the eschaton when humanity is liberated, animals will be, too. Hence Isaiah describes what has been called the “peaceable kingdom” (Is 11 and 65) in terms of humans and beasts living in harmony, and an end of predation.

Luther comments on Genesis 3:17–19 about the curse making the earth resistant to bringing forth its bounty:

Moreover, it appears here what a great misfortune followed sin, because the earth, which is innocent and committed no sin, is nevertheless compelled to endure a curse and, as St. Paul says in Rom. 8: 20, “has been subjected to vanity.” But it will be freed from this on the Last Day, for which it is waiting. Pliny calls the earth a kind, gentle, and forbearing mother; likewise, the perpetual servant of the need of mortals. But, as Paul points out, the earth itself feels its curse. In the first place, it does not bring forth the good things it would have produced if man had not fallen. In the second place, it produces many harmful plants, which it would not have produced, such as darnel, wild oats, weeds, nettles, thorns, thistles. Add to these the poisons, the injurious vermin, and whatever else there is of this kind. All these were brought in through sin. (Luther’s Works , vol. 1, 204, italics added)

A few paragraphs later, he reiterates, “The earth indeed is innocent and would gladly produce the best products, but it is prevented by the curse which was placed upon man because of sin” (LW 1, 205).

But even as we identify these similarities or correspondences between humans and animals, we cannot ignore the scriptural differences with regard to their role and telos within Scripture. Even though they both are “living creatures,” only humans were made by the hands and breath of God. Only humans were made in the image of God, and only humans are given the task of serving as God’s vice-regents upon the earth.

These are a few of the significant exegetical issues raised for those searching for harmony or synthesis between theology and science, or faith and reason. We have crafted these reflections so as to say neither less than Scripture says nor more than Scripture says. In such matters, about which people quite rightly have strong opinions and deep concerns, it is difficult to provide answers without saying more than what the Word of God itself says.

When we encounter conflicts between the conclusions reached by Scripture and science it is natural for us to ask how they can be resolved. God created us to want to understand the world around us, and to find answers to all the questions that our study of the Bible and of the world raises. We want answers, but sometimes we cannot find them.

In this we share Habakkuk’s dilemma as we wonder how long it will be until we see all things fully revealed. It can be hard to hear God say, “Wait for it” (Hab 2:3). Like Habakkuk, God calls us to wait in faith. Until that day, genuine faithfulness requires us to confess the truth of God’s Word while having enough humility to recognize that when the Word of God does not speak directly to a question, we may have to live without answers. This we can do by the grace of God that constantly recalls us to the cross, the empty tomb, and the risen Christ who is both the source and the object of our faith, and who is the answer to the one question that we must ultimately know, “How can I be saved?”

[1] This primitive substance, which we often call “chaos,” is typically given a name and regarded as a god, but it is also a material substance. It is commonly pictured in these texts as “water.” The ancients employed this way of talking about the undifferentiated divine/material substance because water was the only thing commonly known to them that had a physical substance but no natural form.

[2] Paul Zimmerman, for example, in “The Age of the Earth,” in Darwin, Evolution, and Creation (Concordia Publishing House, 1959) writes, “Scripture, then, does not give a precise calendar. But it does give the impression of an earth far younger than the theories of some scientists indicate” (166).

[3] For a very good discussion on the topic of genealogies in Genesis, see Andrew E. Steinmann, “Gaps in the Genealogies in Genesis 5 and 11?,” Bibliotheca Sacra 174, no. 694 (April 2017): 141–158.

[4] I personally prefer this language to keep the focus on God’s creative act rather than the language of “young earth” which too easily gets into the issue of whether or not the earth looks young. By relatively recent past, I would understand a time scale measured in thousands of years rather than in millions and billions of years.

[5] This passage provides us with the one certain exception to the basic rule that we have just stated. In its first usage in Genesis 1:5 the Hebrew word for day is used in the sense of the period of light (what we commonly term “daylight”) in contrast to the night. This is within the common use of the term, both in Hebrew and in Greek (cf. Jn 9:4 and Rom 13:12) as well as in English, and does not invalidate the general point.

[6] These would include terms “night, “evening,” and “morning” all in 1:5, and “seasons” and “years” in 1:14. Genesis 1:14 includes the only ambiguous usage of the term “day,” there in the plural for the only time in the chapter. While the matter is debatable, the apparent meaning of 1:14 is that the “lights” function as signs to indicate the passage of two things, the “seasons” and the “days and years” (the grouping in this case suggested by the pattern of the usage of the prepositions in Hebrew). By this interpretation the term “days,” while plural, still refers to normal days. The other possibility, that the term “days” is being used euphemistically to refer to some other period of time, perhaps a “month” or a “week,” seems unlikely. The former (month) is unlikely because Hebrew has two other words (both related to the new moon) regularly used for a month and “days” is never elsewhere used that way. The latter (week) is unlikely since it is not a period of time for which the lights function as a sign, and thus makes no sense in the context. In either case the context requires that the term “days” as used in Genesis 1:14 refers to some naturally occurring period of time, apparently less than a year.

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Charles Arand

Pastor Tom Eckstein March 6, 2018

This is an excellent, well balanced article on this issue. Thanks!

Charles Paulson, retired LCMS pastor May 12, 2018

Excellent article. I agree, Genesis 1 is the inspired truth of God’s own Word, but it does nothing to establish the age of the earth in geologic terms. I would refer you to an excellent article by Henry B. Smith, “MT, SP or LXX? Deciphering a Chronological and Textual Conundrum in Genesis 5,” Bible and Spade 31 1 (2018), 18-27. He makes a compelling argument that the Masoretic Text was shortened to conform to the time frame of the Book of Jubilees. He notes that the LXX, Samaritan Pentateuch and Josephus all have higher begetting dates of 100 years for almost every generation, raising the creation event to 5500 and the Flood to 3300 B.C.

Daniel Pech November 15, 2021

According to the universal self-evidence of life-affirming, Divine Design, there is a particular hierarchy of natural dependencies in the Completed Creation. For example, creaturely life depends on the Earth’s ecology, and the Earth’s ecology depends on the Sun.

Indeed, the Day Four portion of Genesis 1 (vs. 14-18) mentions the value of the luminaries for life on Earth. This is the account’s textual central portion, being essentially halfway between v. 1 and v. 31. Indeed, by word count in the Hebrew, the central word or phrase of the account is firmly within this portion. By my count, this is the word translated ‘the light’ in v. 18. Or, leaving out v. 31, it is the word or phrase translated ‘to shine’ or ‘give light’ in v. 17.

But vs. 14-18 is the only part of the account to outright mention the luminaries at all. This has caused a deep debate regarding when, in the Creation Week, the account intends to say that the luminaries were created. Were they created on Day Four? Or, instead, were they created in the ‘in the beginning’ of v. 1?

Part of the issue of this debate is whether the account presupposes the universal self-evidence of Divine Design, not only of the Completed Natural World, but of Natural Language. For example, is the account

(X) straightforward, in that each verse in turn is to be understood on the basis of any and all prior verse(s)? or, instead, (Y) a bit of a ‘botch job’ that involves a measure of the less or more arbitrary kinds of ‘inside secrets’?

In other words, (X), is vs. 1:1-5 the context for interpreting vs. 14-18? Or, instead, (Y), are vs. 14-18 the context for interpreting vs. 1-5?

According to most readers, Believer and skeptic alike, the account teaches that the luminaries were created on Day Four (vs. 14-18). Let us call this the Earth Created Before Luminaries interpretation, or the ECBL.

But my impression of the ECBL is that the ECBL fails to take the account as a straightforward narrative. For, it can be charged that the ECBL ignores the particulars of the entire first thirteen verses, specifically of these particulars in terms of the universal self-evidence of Divine Design. For, these are particulars that, in their own terms—that is, aside from the ECBL—would seem to compel the impression that the luminaries are created in v. 1.

Of course, the account nowhere mentions the luminaries except in vs. 14-18. So, if we suppose that the account’s author intends to be understood as saying that the luminaries are created in v. 1, then why does he not ensure, contrary to vs. 14-18, that that is what all readers understand? I mean, it would be very easy for the author to have outright stated, as part of v. 1, that the luminaries are created at the beginning. For example, he could easily have said in v. 1,

‘In the beginning, God created the heaven and all its host, and created the Earth.’

That way, when a reader gets to vs. 14-18, the reader can sense that vs. 14-18, as a way of mentioning the value of the luminaries for life on Earth, are merely recapitulating the fact that the luminaries were created at the beginning.

But, countering this last problem is the very fact, as already stated, that the particulars of the first thirteen verses, in their own terms, would seem to compel the impression that the luminaries are created in v. 1. For, if one had only the first thirteen verses, and if one did not know of any of the rest of the account, one normally would never expect that any part of the rest of the account would contradict that impression.

Moreover, the universal self-evidence of Divine Design implicitly affirms the hierarchy of natural dependencies.

Moreover still, if one were an ancient Hebrew, one would be familiar with the common usage, on the part of one’s people, of the word ‘darkness’ as implying or identifying dense cloud cover (ex: Job 3; Job 38:9; Deuteronomy 4:11).

So again my issue: Does not the ECBL fail to take the account as a straightforward narrative? Is not the ECBL just an act of alternately arranging the Inspired-as-already-assembled pieces of the ‘jigsaw puzzle?’ What, regarding the luminaries, is the picture that the account’s author intends to present? And is his intention effective in the account’s own terms? What, exactly, are those terms. Do the account’s terms involve some elements that are foreign to the bulk of its terms?

Or, instead, are all its terms in keeping with one sole standard? If so, what is that standard?

And, what is the first thing the account is concerned to tell us was created, and why? According to a reading that may well be the simplest and most intuitive, childlike reading, the answer is ‘the heaven and the Earth’ (v. 1). Only an ‘aloof’ kind of reading would say ‘light’ (v. 3), in that an ‘aloof’ reading allows that v. 1 can be seen as constituting a mere title or summary title. This allowance, in effect, disparages the childlike observation that a things’ rightly servicing a need does not equate to the idea that that service is that thing’s own most proper purpose. By analogy, the service of Adam as Title Human in no way negates Adam’s historicity. If anything, it is that historicity that ‘puts the meat on the bones’ of that very service. By a clearer analogy, despite the service which 2+2=4 has as polemic against financial fraud, that service in no way negates the truth of the equation itself. On the contrary, it is the equation itself that makes that service both logically possible and right.

It may not be untrue, as far as it goes, to say that ‘In the chronologically absolutely first instant, God created space and matter.’ But, consider the depth to which vs. can express Divine Design:

1. the general cosmos and the special Earth.    2. The Earth, as its own general subject, implying that which we all intuit is most valuable about the Earth unto itself in all the cosmos: its abiding maximal abundance of open liquid water.      3. that water and its special relation to the Sun’s light, hence the water cycle;        4. The water cycle and its special beneficiary and member, biology;          5. biology and its special category, animal biology (plant/animal/mineral = animal);            6. Animal biology and its special category, human; 7. The man and his wife (Genesis 2:21-23)

Therefore, v. 1 can well afford merely to imply a blandly ‘creationary’ kind of ‘cosmic ‘physics’ information. This is because Genesis 1:1 can be found to be entirely concerned to affirm the fact that, since God designed and created us, we are—contrary either to a Godless or Platonic outlook—not insignificant.

Indeed, had God created everything together in a single durationless instant, and had He told us this, it would not show us His wisdom and goodness, but only His power. The Almighty is not defined merely as the Almighty. He also is wise, good, and relational toward us. He wants us to know of Him as He is, not merely that He is almighty.

So, we might want to ask, ‘One, how does the completed creation hold together, or operate; and Two, how did God created it?’ I think Genesis 1 constitutes a single recognizable answer to both questions.

Daniel Pech February 28, 2023

The pagan gods ‘were subject to the same “fates” that shaped the destinies of humankind, and even the most powerful of them could be thwarted by the combined efforts of the other gods.’

How did the pagan peoples come to believe in such gods in the first place? What is the cause for the fact that such god’s were imagined to exist? Was it not by the common practice of historical revisionism on the part of delusional, superstition-inclined tyrants? Today, such revisionism is one of the means by which tyrants convince a people that those tyrants’ tyrannical ways are justified. So it seems highly doubtful that Genesis 1 is a *reaction against* the popular ancient belief in pagan god’s. For, how else can these ‘pagan gods’ even come to exist in anyone’s superstitious minds except by the first tyrants’ co-opting some original, naturally widely respected account of origins (an original, totally benevolent account that was, to begin with,, the only account to have any currency)?

Alex Goodwin September 11, 2023

Perhaps I am just missing something but I don’t think you ever got around to the second half of what you were aiming to write in response to the Evangelical positions you surveyed.

You said, “Because of their central role in these debates, I want to set forth the historical interpretation of these texts in Genesis 1 within the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS). We will then explore the larger theological approach that seeks to develop a theological–scientific synthesis.”

You and Dr. Adams did a wonderful job with the first part, but in the years since this was published I cannot find anything pertaining to the second part.

Thank you again for your wonderful posts! Hopefully someone actually is made aware when comments are made to old posts, otherwise I have little confidence in this series ever being finished (unless it was meant to end with this post and I am missing something).

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Why Did God Make Mankind?

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made…” (Psalm 139:13-14).

King David’s words celebrate the truth that God created us. We can feel his awe about being not just thrown together, but intentionally designed by his Lord. As amazing as that reality is, though, it can lead to a question - “What did He design us for?”

As humans, we have a deep need to discover our purpose and to find meaning in life. So, answering the question of why the Lord created us is important. Learning what God put us here for helps us define who we are and what we are meant to do. And when we know His plans for us, we’ll have the right compass to guide us through life.

The Bible shows us that God “fearfully and wonderfully made” us for a very special purpose. And within its pages, we’ll also find insights on how to fulfill that mission.

Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Deberarr

Why Did God Create Us - Purpose behind Creation

Genesis, the first book of the Bible, describes God’s decision to create people. And He already had work in mind for them to do in their new home, the Garden of Eden, and the rest of the world.

“Then God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground. So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground’” ( Genesis 1:26-28 ).

“The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it” ( Genesis 2:15 ).

“Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.   So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals”  ( Genesis 2:19-20 ).

Generations later, after the Lord had brought Noah and his family through the flood ( Genesis 7-8 ), He gave a similar charge to them as He did to Adam.

“Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth’” ( Genesis 9:1 ).

These values of work and family continue on through all of Scripture , and still apply to believers today.

Photo credit: ©Getty Images/vaitekune

What Are We to Do on Earth?

All people have a common purpose, which is to bring glory to God. Scripture shows us several ways to do this.

By giving Him worship

“Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker…” ( Psalm 95:6 ).

By obeying His commands

“Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind” ( Ecclesiastes 12:13 ).

By showing His love to others

“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” ( Micah 6:8 ).

God then takes these general ideas about purpose and leads us to fulfill them in our own unique way. As He designed each of us - with our own gifts, talents and abilities - He intended that we would use them to build His Kingdom. The Apostle Paul puts the idea this way in Ephesians 2:10 :

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

In the words of minister and author George MacDonald, “The purposes of God point to one simple end - that we should be as He is, think the same thoughts, mean the same things, possess the same blessedness.” MacDonald points to a transformation that will happen in us if we embrace the reasons why we were formed.

Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Ryan McVay

What Did God Create First?

People were not the first thing God made in forming the earth. In fact, the order of God’s work in forming our world seems to indicate that He “set the stage” for mankind – His final creation – before resting.

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” ( Genesis 1:1 ).

God began by designing the environment we would live in, setting the physical parameters for Earth.

“God called the light ‘day,’ and the darkness he called ‘night.’ And there was evening, and there was morning — the first day” ( Genesis 1:5 ).

“And God said, ‘Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water’” ( Genesis 1:6 ).

“And God said, ‘Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.’ And it was so” ( Genesis 1:9 ).

Next, He added nature to provide beauty and bounty to the planet we’d walk on.

“Then God said, ‘Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.’ And it was so” ( Genesis 1:11 ).

Then the Lord made the other creatures we would share this place with.

“And God said, ‘Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky’” ( Genesis 1:20 ).

“And God said, ‘Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.’ And it was so” ( Genesis 1:20 ).

People were the last thing the Lord made to inhabit the earth, and Adam was immediately given work as a steward and protector. This anointing on Adam reflected God’s heart for the world He’d made.

Photo credit: Unsplash/Timothy Meinberg

Why Did God Make Man in His Image?

“So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them” ( Genesis 1:27 ).

God created Adam from the dust of the ground by breathing life into him. So he literally carried the “breath of God” inside of him. We were given physical bodies, but the Lord also gave us spirits, the way He exists. We share this trait so that we can connect intimately with Him, and so that we can reflect some of His likeness to the world.

God meant Adam to live forever, without sickness or blemish, in perfect communion with Him and the Garden. But the Fall ( Genesis 3 ) changed all that. Because of man’s disobedience and God’s punishment, our connection to Him was broken, and our reflection of Him became colored. Adam and Eve were driven out of the Garden, and mankind’s relationship with God, nature, and each other was forever marred.

But God had already planned to restore people to their original purpose. The work of Christ on the cross made a way for us to be in relationship with Him again. The awareness of what was done on our behalf should humble us, and lead to a greater desire to follow His call on our lives: to mirror His love, grace, mercy and righteousness to those around us.

“And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” ( 2 Corinthians 3:18 ).

Photo credit: Unsplash/Laurenz Kleinheider

Why Did God Create ME?

As believers, we have a God-given purpose. Stated simply, God gave us life so that we could praise Him and lead others to know Him. As clear as that sounds, though, that vision isn’t always easy to live out day-to-day. 

For one thing, such a broad idea can be challenging to act on in a personal and practical way. That’s where reading Scripture can help. The book of Proverbs and passages like Matthew chapters 5-7 (The Sermon on the Mount) offer all sorts of advice we can put to use in our daily walk.  

How we are made - that is, our individual personalities, talents and abilities - is another thing to consider. The Bible shows all sorts of people who lived out God’s purposes for them, from the soulful warrior David, to the humble teacher Paul. Seeing how they used their unique design to glorify the Lord can inspire us to know and show ourselves better.

Above all, though, we must first seek a relationship with our Heavenly Father. If we ask, He will direct our minds and hearts, shaping us to be more and more like Him.

So many in the world today seem confused, and even discouraged, about finding and acting on their life purpose. But as Christians, we have the blessing of knowing that we were formed by the Master Craftsman, who has always had a marvelous plan for us.

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” ( 1 Peter 2:9 ).

Related articles Who Does God Say I Am? 3 Words to Describe Our Christian Life Will Obedience to God Restrict My Life?

Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Maridav

What are the 7 days of creation?

God’s creation of the earth is found in Genesis chapters 1 and 2 and consists of the following seven days of creation:

Days of creation list

Day 1: light.

• Day 2: Atmosphere / Firmament
• Day 3: Dry ground & plants
• Day 4: Sun, moon & stars
• Day 5: Birds & sea creatures
• Day 6: Land animals & humans
• Day 7: The Sabbath of rest
• Watch 7 days of creation video

Before creation...

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters" (Genesis 1:1-2).

Creation overview

“Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day” (Genesis 1:3-5).

Day 2: Firmament

“Then God said, ‘Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.’ Thus God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day” (Genesis 1:6-8).

Day 3: Earth, sea and vegetation

“Then God said, ‘Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear’; and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good” (Genesis 1:9-10).

“Then God said, ‘Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth’; and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. So the evening and the morning were the third day” (Genesis 1:11-13).

Day 4: Sun, moon and stars

“Then God said, ‘Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth’; and it was so. Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. So the evening and the morning were the fourth day” (Genesis 1:14-19).

Day 5: Birds and sea creatures

“‘Then God said, ‘Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens.’ So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.’ So the evening and the morning were the fifth day” (Genesis 1:20-23).

Day 6: Land animals and humans

“Then God said, ‘Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind’; and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.”

“Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’”

“And God said, ‘See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food’; and it was so. Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day” (Genesis 1:24-31).

Day 7: The Sabbath

“Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made” (Genesis 2:1-3). Browse: Which day of the week is the Sabbath?

The seventh day and the 10 Commandments

It is interesting to note that the seventh day of creation refers to the same day found in the fourth commandment (Exodus 20:8-11). “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.”

Learn more about the 10 Commandments