“In the beginning God created…” Genesis chapter one gives us the historical account of how this world came into existence. For years, scientist have tried to explain the origin of life. Several years ago in the first debate between Bill Nye (the science guy) and Ken Ham (the well-known creationist) we saw the following: As the two presenters entered the question and answer portion of the debate, they had to expect questions about any number of topics in Christianity and science. And despite all his confidence in the formal part of the debate, Bill Nye was stumped with two questions almost right away. The first question he was asked was, “How did the atoms that created the Big Bang get there?” The second was “How did consciousness come from matter?” Up to this point, Nye had presented what he considered to be a consistent, naturalistic worldview. Upon hearing these questions, however, he made a telling, though honest, statement: “This is the great mystery.” As it turned out, Nye did not really have an answer to those questions. In his evolutionary worldview, he could not explain how the matter that supposedly created the big bang was created itself. And he could not explain how human consciousness came to be without a higher power to put it in place. But Ken was prepared with an answer, and his response was an expected one given the topic of the debate. In both instances, he looked at Mr. Nye and said, “Bill, I do want to say, that there is a book out there . . .”—clearly referring to the Bible. Ken’s explanations for both questions clearly explained the world through the framework laid out by Scripture.[1] Those who hold to a secular and naturalistic worldview will never be able to answer the questions that mankind most commonly asks such as how life began. However, those who hold to a Biblical worldview has a much more compelling argument because they have a book, called the Bible, that very clearly records how the world came into existence. As time goes on we find that more and more discoveries are being made that gives proof that the Biblical record is not only true, but also very accurate.

It is not the purpose of this study to debate creation vs. evolution. However, as we approach Genesis chapter one, we must recognize the fact that our interpretation of this passage is seen through the lenses of a Biblical worldview.

Day One. Genesis one describes the universe and all life coming into existence in six days. There are some who attempt to combine the scriptures with the views of evolutionary theory. In order to do this they must take a non-literal view of the scriptures. However, when it comes to the study of scriptures, one must be consistent. You cannot take a literal approach in one part of scripture and a non-literal approach in another part. Therefore, to not take a literal approach in the study of Genesis one must change the way you look at the Bible as a whole.

A careful study of Genesis one reveals that God created the world in six literal days. The evidence for this is very compelling and impossible to deny. Here are just a view of the reasons why:

1. The book of Genesis is an historical narrative.
2. The word ‘day’ is the Hebrew word ‘yom’ which refers to a night and day cycle.
3. The word ‘day’ is accompanied with the phrase ‘evening and morning’.
4. The word ‘day’ is accompanied with a specific number.
5. Every other time the word ‘day’ is used in Genesis, it refers to a literal day.
6. Exodus 20:9-11 gives concrete proof that God created the world in six literal days.

The first day of creation is described in verses 1-5. Some will argue that there is a gap between Genesis 1:2 and Genesis 1:3 of an unknown span of time. Perhaps the gap theory is a compelling explanation, however, I personally and firmly believe that there is no gap in time and that all that is described in verses 1-5 happened on the same day. After God laid out the foundation of the heaven and earth (v. 1-2), the first thing that God created was light. This light came into existence in an instant. God divided the light from the darkness, thus, creating a day and night cycle. This was the creation of time. Before this there was no time. God created time, this is why we understand God to be timeless. He is not bound by the constraints of time as you and I are. The light that God created was not the light of the sun. The sun was not created until later in the creation week. Fraser Cain of Universe Today wrote:

“It wasn’t too long ago (13.7 billion years by some accounts) that a rather significant cosmological event occured. We speak of course, of the Big Bang. Cosmologists tell us that at one time there was no universe as we know it. Whatever existed before that time was null and void – beyond all conception. Why? Well there are a couple answers to that question – the philosophic answer for instance: Because before the universe took form there was nothing to conceive of, with, or even about. But there’s also a scientific answer and that answer comes down to this: Before the Big Bang there was no space-time continuum – the immaterial medium through which all things energy and matter move. Once the space-time continuum popped into existence, one of the most moving of things to take form were the units of light physicists call “photons”. The scientific notion of photons begins with the fact that these elementary particles of energy display two seemingly contradictory behaviors: One behavior has to do with how they act as members of a group (in a wavefront) and the other relates to how they behave in isolation (as discrete particles). An individual photon may be thought of as a packet of waves cork-screwing rapidly through space. Each packet is an oscillation along two perpendicular axes of force – the electrical and the magnetic. Because light is an oscillation, wave-particles interact with each other. One way of understanding the dual-nature of light is to realize that wave after wave of photons affect our telescopes – but individual photons are absorbed by the neurons in our eyes. The very first photons travelling through the space-time continuum were extremely powerful. As a group, they were incredibly intense. As individuals, each vibrated at an extraordinary rate. The light of these primordial photons quickly illuminated the rapidly expanding limits of the youthful universe. Light was everywhere – but matter was yet to be seen.”[2]

Please excuse Cain’s view that the universe is billions of years old. It is obvious that Cain does not have the same Biblical worldview that I have. However, it is intriguing that scientist know and believe that there is light that came before the stars came into existence and even before matter came to be. Notice Cain said that the space-time continuum ‘popped’ into existence. He also points out that once this event took place, units of light called photons appeared. Praise the Lord! Reread Genesis 1:3-5. It all makes sense. The Bible is scientifically accurate. Imagine what that first day would have looked like. Light is everywhere! God has a way of bringing light into darkness. God has a way of bringing light into a world of nothingness. Spiritually speaking, we are in the darkness and nothingness of sin until Jesus comes in. It is the light of the glorious Gospel that opens our eyes to our sin problem and our need for a Savior. Once we receive Jesus as our Savior, we find ourselves gaining greater understanding of God’s Word as the Holy Spirit illumines us. Truly, God is the creator of light.

Day Two. It was on the second day that God created the firmament. The firmament is what we may describe as the atmosphere. The original atmosphere was similar to what we may think of as a greenhouse. The earth was encased with moisture and was filled with water.

        Day Three. On the third day of creation, the dry land appeared. God then created the grass and the trees and every type of plant life. I am sure it was an amazing sight. The appearance of the earth now is just a very small glimpse of what it must have looked like before the fall and the curse of sin.

        Day Four. It was on the fourth day that God made other celestial bodies such as the sun, moon, and stars. The purpose of the sun and moon was to provide man with ability to tell time and to provide direct light to guide man by. “This passage raises a question. Why does God say the moon gives light when it only reflects light? Since the Bible is God’s Word and is inerrant, this cannot be an error. So we must take into account the Author and His intent. The statement “to give light on the earth” does not in any way contradict what we observe about the sun and moon. The sun “gives” light on the earth by burning gas and emitting high-energy photons of light, whereas the moon “gives” light on the earth by reflecting the photons of light. The sun and moon both “give” light, just by different means.”[3]

Day Five. On the fifth day God created all of the birds of the sky and the creatures of the sea. It was on this day that every species of birds and sea creatures were created.

Day Six. On the sixth and final day of creation God created the land animals and man. This was the pinnacle of His creation; the day He created man. Mankind was created differently than all the other creatures of the earth. He was created in the very image of God and formed by the very hands of God.

After each day of creation God said that ‘it was good’. However, after the creation of man God stepped back to see all that He had created He said, ‘it is very good.’ Imagine God as an artist after completing a major project and sitting back and enjoying and reflecting on the work that He accomplished. We will never be able to fully understand the mind of God, however, I tend to believe that God received the greatest satisfaction ever experienced in all of eternity on that day when He said, ‘it is very good.’

[1] Answers in Genesis

[2] Cain, www.universetoday.com

[3] Answers in Genesis