How did God create the earth? How were the stars created? Did God use evolution and millions of years to bring all forms of life into being? Could the seven days in Genesis actually be millions of years?
If God used more than an actual 24 hours in Genesis 1 then can you trust what he says in the rest of the bible? If the days in the first six days of creation were thousands of years, is the seventh day, the day of rest more than 24 hours? If death, disease, fossils, thorns and animals eating each other happened millions of years before man, then how could God call his creation very good in Genesis 1:31?
The Bible tells us God’s creation lasted seven days. The seventh day we believe was 24 hours because it was created by God as a day of rest. Evolution teaches the other days were millions and millions of years.
The Bible begins in Genesis 1:1 — “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” We can draw several conclusions from that verse. First, God has been and He will always be. God was not created. He is outside of time as we know it. God created time for man. The beginning is the start of His creative acts for us to know.
Psalm 90:2 — “ Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.” The Psalmist was saying God did not just rock up on the scene when he decided to create. Moses asked God who He is and God replies in Exodus 3:14: “I am who I am.” John Piper gives us two meanings for the name “I am.” First, he says it means God exists. God had no beginning. As Francis Shaffer put it: “God is there.” This may seem obvious but most people live as if it were not true — God makes no difference in their life. The second meaning Piper gives for “I am” is God’s personality and power are owing solely to himself and to no other. Where did God come from? How did he get the way he is? God says “I am who I am.” Nobody gave him a set of genes. He had no beginning. There is no reality outside of himself that did not come from him.
The Apostle John wrote what God said about himself in Revelation 1:8: “I am the Alpha and the Omega, who is and who was and who is to come.” To the prophet Isaiah, God said about himself in Isaiah 43:10: “Before me no god was formed nor shall there be any after me.” What implications do these facts make in your life today? Can the God who made the 24 hour day of rest make the rest of creation in six 24 hour days?
Ben Fleming is the pastor of Silver Hills Community Church.
