For more than twenty years, LearnTheBible.org has consistently provided free content from a Bible-believing perspective to our thousands of annual visitors. We do not run ads or charge for access to this wealth of Bible study materials, outlines, preaching, teaching, and so much more! Expenses to maintain our hosting, servers, etc. are provided by the generous donations of God's people. If you have been helped and blessed by LTB through the years, would you help us continue to maintain and support this growing ministry by partnering with us with a onetime or monthly gift?
To those who read, listen, and share our content, we are extremely grateful! Please continue to pray for us and "Thank You!" for 20 great years!

Doctrine of God 0004 - Lesson 1

  1. THE WORKS OF GOD (Continued)
    1. Creation
      1. God as Creator
        1. The title is used five times in the Bible
          1. The “Creator” (Romans 1:25); to be worshipped, as opposed to the creature which is not worthy of worship
          2. The “Creator of the ends of the earth” (Isaiah 40:28)
          3. The “creator of Israel” (Isaiah 43:15)
          4. “thy Creator” (Ecclesiastes 12:1); to be remembered in the day of youth
          5. A “faithful Creator” (1 Peter 4:19); to be trusted with the keeping of our souls even in times of suffering
        2. To see God as Creator is the foundation of all we know about God
          1. The Bible first introduces God as the Creator (Genesis 1:1).
          2. Our foundational relationship to God is that of creature (created being) to its Creator (Hebrews 4:13; Revelation 5:13).
          3. Our foundational relationships within the family structure are determined by creation (1 Corinthians 11:3, 7-12)
          4. The first introduction of God to the heathen should be as their Creator (Acts 17:22-29).
          5. It is through creation that the heathen can know God’s eternal power and Godhead (Romans 1:19-21)
          6. All creation groans and travails for the redemption to come (Romans 8:19-23)
          7. God’s position as Creator gives Him the right to bring all creation to an end (Revelation 10:6).
        3. God is revealed as the Creator of all things
          1. Of heaven and earth (Genesis 1:1; Isaiah 42:5; Isaiah 45:18)
          2. Of the generations of the heavens and the earth (Genesis 2:4)
            1. This is the first listing of generations in a book that has several generations (Genesis 5:1; Genesis 6:9; Genesis 10:1; Genesis 11:10, 27; Genesis 25:12, 19; Genesis 36:1; Genesis 37:2)
            2. Refers to all that proceeds from the heavens and earth (Revelation 10:6)
          3. Of the host of heaven (Isaiah 40:26)
          4. Of the waters above the heavens (Psalm 148:4-5)
          5. Of the ends of the earth (Isaiah 40:28)
          6. Of the wind and the mountains (Amos 4:13)
          7. Of north and south (Psalm 89:12)
          8. Of meats to be eaten (1 Timothy 4:3-4)
          9. Of man (Genesis 1:27; Genesis 5:1-2; Isaiah 45:12; Mark 10:6)
          10. Of Israel (Isaiah 43:1, 7, 15)
          11. Of the smith that makes the idol (Isaiah 54:16)
          12. Of Lucifer before he fell (Ezekiel 28:13-15)
          13. Of the waster to destroy (Isaiah 54:16)
          14. Of darkness and evil (Isaiah 45:7)
          15. Of a woman to compass a man (Jeremiah 31:22); almost certainly a reference to the virgin birth and the incarnation of Christ.
          16. Of new creatures in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 2:10; Ephesians 4:24; Colossians 3:10)
          17. Of the new heavens and new earth (Isaiah 65:17-18)
          18. Of all things (Ephesians 3:9; Colossians 1:16; Revelation 4:11)
      2. The substance of creation: three possibilities (using material from an article on “Views of Creation” from the Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics by Norman Geisler).
        1. Creation ex material
          1. From a Latin phrase meaning “out of matter”
          2. Teaches that matter is eternal in some form and has always existed. Therefore, the present world was formed out of material that already existed.
          3. This is the belief of atheists and dualists (those who believe in the eternal existence of evil and good forces).
          4. The foundational beliefs of this system:
            1. Matter is eternal
            2. Creation needs no Creator
            3. Humans came about by random chance
        2. Creation ex deo
          1. From a Latin phrase meaning “out of God”
          2. This is the belief of pantheists (those who believe that all nature is god)
          3. Teaches that creation is an extension of the being of God
          4. The foundational beliefs of this system:
            1. There is no absolute distinction between God as Creator and His creation.
            2. This relationship between Creator and creation is eternal
            3. The world is of the same substance as God
            4. By extension, humanity is also god
        3. Creation ex nihilo
          1. From a Latin phrase meaning “out of nothing”
          2. This is the belief of theists and those who accept the authority of the Bible
          3. Teaches that God did not create the world out of any preexisting material but that God through His Word brought the world into existence out of nothing.
          4. The foundational beliefs of this system:
            1. There is an absolute distinction between the Creator and His creation.
            2. The relationship between the Creator and His creation goes back to the beginning; therefore, creation is not eternal.
            3. The world is of a totally different substance from God.
            4. Humanity owes its very existence to the will and benevolence of the Creator; therefore, men owe God worship and obedience (Acts 17:24-31).
          5. The biblical basis for this belief
            1. The fact that the world had a beginning indicates that there was a time when there was no world of any kind; that is, no preexisting matter (Genesis 1:1; John 17:5; 2 Timothy 1:9).
            2. The scriptures clearly describe the elements of creation as being spoken into existence (Genesis 1:3; Psalm 148:5). This bypasses any need for preexisting material.
            3. Romans 4:17 states that God “calleth those things which be not as though they were.” This describes creation ex nihilo.
            4. Hebrews 11:3 says of creation “that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.” This describes a creation that did not use any material now at hand, thus denying the eternity of matter.
            5. Colossians 1:16 states that by Jesus Christ “were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible.” Since Jesus created all things that are invisible, this denies the idea that the universe was made out of invisible matter.
      3. The method of creation: word
        1. The method God used to create the world was the simple expression of His word.
          1. Created by the word of the Lord (Psalm 33:6; 2 Peter 3:5)
          2. Created by the commandment of God (Psalm 33:9; Psalm 148:1-5)
          3. The worlds were framed by the word of God (Hebrews 11:3)
          4. God brought things into existence by calling their name
            1. He “calleth those things which be not as though they were” (Romans 4:17)
            2. He called the host of heaven by name (Isaiah 40:26; Psalm 147:4)
            3. He created with statements such as, “Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3)
        2. The account of the six-day creation in Genesis is characterized with the phrase, “And God said.”
          1. The phrase is found ten times in the account (Genesis 1:3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 24, 26, 28, 29).
          2. The Jewish commentators compared the ten sayings of creation with the Ten Commandments.
        3. Jesus as the Word
          1. Jesus, as the manifestation of the Father and the revealer of His will is called the Word (John 1:1-2, 14)
          2. Jesus, as the Word, is the person of the Godhead by whom all things are made (John 1:3; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Colossians 1:16).
        4. The power of the word of God
          1. The power of the written word (Hebrews 4:12-13)
            1. It is quick (as the living word), powerful, and sharp
            2. The creature will answer to the written word because all that the creature does is manifest in his sight (Hebrews 4:13). Note: the antecedent noun for the pronoun in “his sight” is the “word of God.”
          2. The power of the word to perform miracles
            1. The healing of the servant (Matthew 8:8)
            2. The calming of the storm (Mark 8:39-41)
          3. The power of the word to save (1 Peter 1:23; James 1:18, 21)
          4. The power of the word to resurrect (John 5:28-29; John 11:43-44)
      4. The Trinity in creation
        1. The Father
          1. Given the credit in the Old Testament (Genesis 1:1; Exodus 20:11)
          2. Said to be the source of creation (1 Corinthians 8:6)
        2. The Son
          1. Said to be the means of creation (1 Corinthians 8:6)
          2. Revealed in the New Testament to be the one who did the creating (John 1:3; Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 1:2)
        3. The Spirit
          1. In preparation of creation (Genesis 1:2)
          2. In the work of creation (Psalm 33:6)
          3. In the completion of creation (Job 26:13; Psalm 104:30)
          4. In the creation of man (Job 33:4)
      5. The products of creation
        1. Heaven as the abode of God (Genesis 1:1; 2 Corinthians 12:1-4)
        2. The host of heaven: angels and other heavenly beings (Colossians 1:16)
        3. The earth
          1. Created at the time of God’s heaven (Genesis 1:1)
          2. Created after the creation of the angels (Job 38:4-7)
        4. The universe and all that is in it (Nehemiah 9:6)
        5. Man
          1. Man was the last and highest creation during the six-day creation (Genesis 1:26-28)
          2. Man was distinct from all other lower creation (Psalm 8:3-8)
          3. Man has a value higher than other earthly beings (Luke 12:6-7; Mark 8:36)
      6. The two biblical uses of creation
        1. Initial generation
          1. This is the normal meaning of creation
          2. It means to bring something into existence without the use of preexisting materials
        2. Continual regeneration (Psalm 104:30; Amos 4:13)
          1. This meaning is seldom used
          2. It refers to the continual bringing forth of new life (Psalm 104:30) and new activities (Amos 4:13 – “createth the wind”) in the universe.
      7. Historical work of creation
        1. Creation as a completed act in time (Genesis 2:3-4; Ephesians 3:9)
        2. Creation as separate acts in history
          1. Original creation (Genesis 1:1); of God’s heaven, of earth, of the heavenly beings.
          2. Six-day creation (Genesis 1:3-31)
          3. Future creation (Isaiah 65:17; 2 Peter 3:13)
David Reagan

Daily Proverb

Proverbs 30:25

The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer;