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The doctrine of God as the Creator of heaven and earth is frequently neglected in the teaching of the church and in many people’s understanding of God, perhaps because people want to avoid arguments about origins.

However, whatever opinion people may have about the age of the earth or the role of Darwinian evolution, the subject of God the Creator is an extremely significant theme throughout the Scriptures, as well as being the basis of the Gospel. It can also be a great inspiration to faith and worship.

There are a number of very important connections. The ones described below are merely a selection of the many found throughout the Scriptures.

Creation shows the uniqueness of God

The act of creation reveals much about the nature of God. In the OT, there are three different Hebrew verbs which are used to describe the action of creation. There are, ‘bara’, meaning 'to create', ‘asah’, meaning 'to make' and ‘yatsar’, meaning 'to form'. Isaiah uses all three words to describe God’s action in creation,
“For thus says the LORD, who created (bara) the heavens. He is God!, who formed (yatsar) the earth and made (yatsar) it. He established (asah) it; he did not create (bara) it a chaos he formed (yatsar) it to be inhabited!” (Is 45:18).

The first verb, ‘bara’, is exclusively used to describe the actions of God. It is only God who has the ability to call physical things into existence. This is often called ‘creation ex nihilo’, a Latin term meaning creation out of nothing, as the author of Hebrews states,
“By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that were not visible”. (Heb 11:3).

Human beings are also able to do activities included in the second two words (‘asah’ and ‘yatsar’) to make things and to form things. However do to this we always use materials that are already in existence. We can organise these pre-existing things into more complex systems. For example, we can take timber and use it to construct furniture, or take cooking ingredients and bake a cake.

The word ‘bara’ is used at three significant stages in the Genesis creation account.
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen 1:1).
“So God created the great sea monsters, and every living creature that moves, of every kind, with which the waters swarm, and every winged bird of every kind.” (Gen 1:21).
“So God created mankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” (Gen 1:27).
It is significant that the word is used for the three major steps of creation: the creation of the physical world, the creation of the animals, and the creation of human beings.

Isaiah declares the uniqueness of God as the creator by asking the rhetorical question,
“Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heaven with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance?” (Is 40:12).

Jesus the Creator

The prologue to John’s Gospel declares that Jesus, the Word, was also involved in the original creation, showing the eternal divinity of Jesus.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being” (Jn 1:1-3).

Creation and the nature of human beings

According to Genesis, human beings are the only form of life that are described as being made in the image of God (Gen 1:27). Because we are made in God’s image we share certain characteristics with God himself.

Biologists often stress the similarities that humans share with the animals, particularly on a bio-chemical or genetic basis. However, the fact that have these similarities does not necessarily imply that we are evolved from the animals, or share a common ancestor.

Humans uniquely share some of God’s creative ability at least in a small way. We have the ability to imagine something in our minds, then bring it into being. Examples would be composing music, writing books, painting pictures, designing buildings - the list is endless. This is something that separates humans from the animals where the ability to make things is more instinctive, even though some animals are able to learn new skills.

Humans also uniquely share with God the ability to use words in speech, having moral consciousness, the ability to think abstractly, as well as understanding and appreciating beauty and emotion, and particularly the capacity to worship, know and love God.

Creation shows the power and majesty of God

There are many references to God the creator in the Book of Isaiah, particularly in the section between chapters 40 and 48. He also contrasts God with the idols, who are unable to do anything, particularly to create the world.

The introduction the first so-called servant song in Isaiah, says this,
“Thus says God, the LORD, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people upon is and spirit to those who walk on it ...” (Is 42:5).

Isaiah also declares God’s question,
“To whom then will you compare me, or who is my equal? says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high and see: Who created these? He who brings out their host and numbers them, calling them all by name; because he is great in strength, mighty in power, not one is missing.” (Is 40:25-26).

At the end of Job’s lengthy dialogue, he receives a revelation from God, when God answered Job out of the whirlwind (Job 38:1). God asks God a long series of questions beginning with,
“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?” (Job 38:4).
Almost all the questions asked by God over the next five chapters concern God’s role in creating and sustaining the created world. Job’s conclusion was to come to repentance,
“I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eyes sees you; therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.” (Job 42:5-6).

Creation and the awesomeness of God

Reflecting on God’s creation leads to a great sense of awe and wonder. One place this is seen is in Psalm 8, which begins and ends with the refrain,
“O LORD, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” (v1,9).
The Psalmist also looks a human beings and their place within that creation with the same sense of wonder,
“When I look at your heavens, and the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?” (v3-4).

Creation and worship

Creation naturally leads to the worship of God. Creation also gives God the right to expect to be worshipped. The doctrine of creation can inspire people with the awesomeness and majesty of the all-powerful creator God.

In the great vision of the heavenly throne-room in chapter 4 of the Book of Revelation, God is introduced as 'the one seated on the throne' (v2). He is the one who is Lord of the universe, and king of his creation, and therefore worthy to receive worship. In their worship, the twenty-four elders declare,
“You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created” (v11).
God the Father is worthy of worship because he is the creator, making a strong connection between creation and worship. The wording of the praise in this passage implies that all things existed in the eternal mind of God and through his will came into being when he commanded.

Many of the Psalms have a great emphasis on God the Creator and the praise and worship that follows that revelation, which gives his people a real sense of security, protection and hope. If God is powerful enough to create the world, then he is well able to look after us. Looking at his creation is also an inspiration to worship.

It is because God is the creator, we can stand in awe of him, which is ultimately what worship is. Through the act of creation, he demonstrated his power in a unique way. Our response is naturally, 'Wow, God is amazing', as stated in Psalm 33,
“By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and all their host by the breath of his mouth. ... Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.” (Ps 33:6,8-9).

The first part of Psalm 95 also has this emphasis, with a great call to worship sandwiched around the reason for that worship. It begins with a call to worship,
“O come, let us sing to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!” (v1-2).
This is followed by the reason for this worship,
“For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In his hands are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also. The sea is his, for he made it, and the dry land, which his hands have formed,” (v3-5).
It then returns to the call to worship,
“O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker! For he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.” (v6-7).
This psalm shows the strong connection between creation and worship.

The whole focus in Psalm 104 is on praising God who created the physical world, and who now sustains it. Through the Psalm the author looks at the natural world, focusing on a variety of animals and birds, and particularly the provision of water, the sun and the moon, day and night, and food and drink,
“You stretch out the heavens like a tent ...” (v2), “You set the earth on its foundations ...” (v5).
After considering a wide variety of different aspects of his creation, the psalmist declares,
“O LORD, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures ...” (v24).
The psalm also praises God as the one who sustains his creation,
“These all look to you to give them their food in due season ...” (v27).
The conclusion is praise,
“I will sing to the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being.” (v33).

Psalm 100 is a brief psalm of thanksgiving. It gives a call to make a joyful noise and worship God (v1) which is based on his creation of us,
“Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture”. (v3).
It continues with a call to thanksgiving, praise, all based on his goodness and steadfast love for all generations.

Creation and lordship

Creation shows that all things are accountable to God. The act of creation implies ownership and lordship.

As humans, if we create something or invent something new, then that object or idea belongs to us. This is why we have copyright laws. For example, artists sign their paintings to indicate that the painting was created by them and therefore belongs to them. They are claiming the credit for their artistic achievement, and any royalties due to them. They would be most upset if they saw their painting with someone else’s name on it. When an author has published a book or has written music, they have the right to receive royalties from their work. Anyone making copies of the book or music breaks the copyright and is effectively stealing from the author.

As God is the creator of the heavens and earth, and everything in it, the same principle applies. There are a number of places through the Bible that this point is made. Because God is the creator, then he is the owner of his creation, and the lord and master over everything.

This is what the prophet Isaiah declares,
“Thus says the LORD: Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool; what is the house you would build for me, and what is my resting place? All these things my hand has made, and so all these things are mine, says the LORD.” (Is 66:1-2).
This passage is quoted by Stephen (Acts 7:49-50).

In the Psalm 50, God says he does not need sacrifices, because he is the source of all life, lacks nothing, and everything already belongs to him,
“For every wild animal of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the air, and that moves in the field is mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and all that is in it is mine.” (Ps 50:9-11).
In the context of the Psalm, God is saying that he does not need sacrifices from the people of Israel. He has everything he needs, and the sacrificial animals already belong to him anyway.

Creation and judgement

Creation gives God the right to judge. If God owns all things and is lord over all things, that makes all things accountable to him. Because we are part of God’s creation, all human beings, whether they believe in God or not, will be held to account to him on the day of judgement.

Creation and faith

Creation is strongly linked to faith and trust in God. Creation shows that God is all-powerful. It demonstrates that God can do all things and that nothing is impossible for him. Belief in God the creator is a great faith-builder, giving believers the confidence that God is able to provide all we need. Because God was able to create the world, we can know with certainty that God can do all things.

During the Babylonian invasion of Judah and siege of Jerusalem in 586 BC, the prophet Jeremiah was called to make a prophetic statement of hope by purchasing a field (Jer 32:6-15). It would seem folly to buy a field when destruction and exile was certain, but he was demonstrating the hope of a return from exile, a return to normal life of buying houses and fields.
“For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land.” (32:15).

In his prayer following this purchase, he made a great statement of confidence in the power of God to bring his people back to the land,
“Ah Lord GOD! It is you who made the heavens and the earth by your great power and your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.” (32:17).
This confidence in God’s power came through the ultimate demonstration of God’s power in creation. God’s reply was as follows,
“See I am the LORD: the God of all flesh; is anything too hard for me?” (32:27).
God then introduced his second word to Jeremiah as follows,
“Thus says the LORD who made the earth, the LORD who formed it to establish it - the LORD is his name: ...” (33:2).
When facing the imminent disaster of the Babylonian invasion, Jeremiah can have confidence in the hope of a return, based on God’s power as demonstrated in his original act of creation.

This is also a common theme in the Psalms, including the very well-known Psalm 121,
“I lift my eyes up to the hills - from where will my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth” (Ps 121:1-2).
The implication is that if God was able to create this amazing physical universe, he is powerful enough to help us in times of trouble.

A similar statement is made in Psalm 146,
“Happy are those who help is in the God of Jacob, who hope is in the LORD their God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them.” (Ps 146:5-6).
Again, because God is the all-powerful creator of the universe, we can have hope in him, whatever issues we may face through life.

Creation shows God’s intimate knowledge of us

The Bible declares God’s original creation of human beings, but also of each of us individually. This gives each person a great value and purpose. This is seen in the very well-known passage from Psalm 139,
“For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well ..." (Ps 139:13-16).
Again this passage demonstrates the connection between creation and worship.

Creation demonstrates God’s care for us

The very well-known and often quoted verse from Isaiah,
“those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint” (Is 40:31)
is actually based on the fact that God is creator of the earth. The oracle begins,
“Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth ...” (Is 40:28).

Creation and God’s destiny for us individually

Also in Psalm 139, God’s creation of us individually is linked to God’s intention and destiny for our lives,
“Your eyes beheld my unformed substance. In your book were written all the days that were formed for me, when none of them as yet existed.” (Ps 139:16).

When Jeremiah was called to be a prophet, God said this,
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations” (Jer 1:5).
God told Jeremiah that before he was even conceived, God knew him and called him to be a prophet. It is perfectly reasonable to conclude that this was not only true for Jeremiah, but for all. God’s creation is used to show that the conception of no human being was a mistake, but each are intended by God, and have a calling to serve God in a particular way. It is our own responsibility to respond to the Gospel, come to faith, and be willing to serve God, and thereby fulfil the calling has placed on our lives.

Creation as the foundation of the call and history of Israel

The foundation of the Israelites as God’s chosen people is also based on creation. God created human beings, and created Israel, particularly through the Exodus.
“But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel. Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.” (Is 43:1).
“Listen to me, O Jacob, and Israel, whom I called: I am He; I am the first, and I am the last. My hand laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand spread out the heavens; when I summon them, they stand at attention” (Is 48:12-13).
“I, I am he who comforts you; when they are you afraid of a mere mortal who must die, a human being who fades like grass? You have forgotten the LORD your Maker, who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth.” (Is 51:12-13).

Psalm 136 gives thanks to the LORD, for he is good, with the refrain, 'for his steadfast love endures forever'. The Psalmist lists God’s works, starting with spreading out the earth (v6), making the sun and moon (v9), then listing God’s action in the Exodus from Egypt (v10), crossing the Red Sea (v13), the wilderness (v16), and conquering the land east of the Jordan (v19-20). Again, the creation and God’s actions in the past are reason for thanksgiving and worship.

Creation as revelation of God

The nature of divine revelation is an important concept to understand. Because of the barrier of sin, God has become unknowable. People can search for God, but it needs God to take the initiative to reveal himself and the means of salvation to sinful mankind. Theologians speak about two distinct forms of revelation from God.

The first form is known as General Revelation, which is available to every person on the face of the earth. This has two aspects, both of which Paul describes in the Book of Romans.

One is through the physical creation.
“For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For ever since the creation of the world his eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through what he has made. So they are without excuse” (Rom 1:19-20).
This implies that by considering the physical creation, everyone can come to the realisation that it must have been made by an amazing all-powerful God.

The second is through the in-built sense of right and wrong and the conscience. This is often called Natural Law. Paul describes it as ‘what the law requires is written on their hearts, to which their own conscience bears witness’ (Rom 2:15). This implies that God creates people with an in-built sense of right and wrong, an inner moral code. It is interesting to see how even very young children, soon after they first learn to talk, can claim 'It is not fair', leaving the question, 'How do they know?'. However the conscience is easily damaged if we ignore it, which explains why people will tend to move progressively into deeper sin, the more they ignore their conscience.

General revelation acts as a way of showing that God exists and that he is all-powerful, but it does not bring a message of salvation.

The second form is Special Revelation. This was only made available only to the Jews, through the story of the Old Testament. This gave a far more personal revelation of the nature and character of God and how to come into relationship with him through faith. Jesus came as the ultimate revelation of God, and made this special revelation available to all through the Gospel.

Creation and evangelism

The physical creation works as a testimony to God, particularly shown when Paul was preaching to a Gentile audience. In the Book of Acts there are two examples of Paul bringing the Gospel message to non-Jewish people. When preaching in the synagogue, he regularly used plenty of quotations from the Old Testament, including Jewish history, personalities such as Moses and David, and prophecies, which his audience would be familiar with. An example of this is his message in the synagogue in Pisidian Antioch (Acts 13:16-41).

The vast majority of Paul’s Gentile listeners would have little or no knowledge of the Jewish Scriptures. They would not have attended the synagogue, and would not have heard the reading of the Scriptures. To this audience, he started his message with God, the maker of heaven and earth.

His first message to Gentiles recorded in the Book of Acts was to an uneducated rural audience in Lystra on his First Missionary Journey (Acts 14:15-17). This followed the healing of the lame man, and the local population responding by wanting to offer sacrifices and worship Barnabas and Paul as the Greek gods Zeus and Hermes (Acts 14:12). His message is quite short:
“We are mortals just like you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. In past generations he allowed all the nations to follow their own ways, yet he has not left himself without a witness in doing good - giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, and filling you with food and your hearts with joy.”
The worthless things in this context would be Zeus and Hermes. These beings were merely the product of human legend and imagination, so had no existence, no power, so were unable to do anything. Paul contrasts these worthless things with the all-powerful living God, maker of everything in the physical environment.

Many people through history have claimed that God was like a watchmaker who created the world and then left it to run itself, no longer being involved. However, in this message, Paul also proclaims that God is also the one who sustains the physical world, bringing the rains and seasons and providing their food and well-being. In his letter to the Colossians, Paul declares that Jesus was both the Creator and Sustainer of the world,
“.. all things have been created through him (Jesus) and for him. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” (Col 1:16-17).

Even though no mention of Jesus is made in this message, it appears that in other situations he preached a similar message, but which also included the proclamation of Jesus. To the Thessalonians he describes their testimony:
“... how you turned to God from idols, to serve a living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead - Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath that is coming.” (1 Thess 1:9-10).

His second message was to the more educated and cultured urban audience in Athens on his Second Missionary Journey (Acts 17:22-31). In this message, Paul preaches God as both creator and judge. Paul begins by referring to an altar he had seen in the city dedicated to an unknown god,
“What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mortals life and breath and all things ...” (Acts 17:23-25).
The god they do not know is the One True God, the creator of heaven and earth and of all humanity, which gives him the right to be judge of all as the Lord of heaven and earth.

It is sometimes argued that these messages from creation were ineffective. After his limited success in preaching in Athens, the next city he arrived in was Corinth, where he declared,
“I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified” (1 Cor 2:2).
We need to understand that evangelism as a process, in which people are at very different stages. Only those towards the end of the process are ready to make an immediate response of faith in Jesus. Others need to have their world-view challenged, so they can begin to move along the process towards Jesus. The proclamation of God as the almighty creator can be a very important first step, particularly to pagan idol worshippers in ancient Greece, and today to people who have little or no knowledge of the Bible.

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