Lesson 1.1: God Creates The Universe

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LESSON 1.1: GOD CREATES THE UNIVERSE

The First Day—Light

Loved one, this beautiful earth on which we live is incredibly old. It is so old that nobody knows when it came into being. Long before there was an earth, however, there was the living God. He has always existed (Psalm 90:2).

At the beginning of time, the living God spoke, and the universe appeared (Genesis 1:1). Think of it! God created the heavens and earth and all things therein out of nothing — simply by giving a command (Hebrews 11:3).

At first, the earth was completely empty. It had no tall mountains or rushing rivers, no green valleys with red and yellow flowers, no blue skies and rainbows. It had no white clouds or deep blue seas. The earth was without form and darkness covered the water. There was no life at all (Genesis 1:2).

God's Spirit moved over the water and God said, "Let there be light!" Light began to shine. God saw the light, and He knew that it was good. Then He separated the light from the darkness. God named the light "day," and He named the darkness "night" (vs. 3-5).

The Second Day—Sky

Then God said, "Let there be space to separate the water into two parts. So God made the space and separated the water. Some of the water was above the space, and some of the water was below the space. God named that space Heaven or sky (vs. 6-8).

The Third Day—Dry Land And Plants

Then God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered together so the dry land will appear." And it happened. When God spoke, mountains rose up out of the water, and the water ran together and filled the deep places. God named the dry land earth. And God named the water that was gathered together seas. And God saw that this was good (vs. 9-10).

Then God said, "Let the earth grow grass, plants that make grain, and fruit trees. The fruit trees will make fruit with seeds in it. And each plant will make its own kind of seed." And it happened. Plants came up all over the earth. Fruit trees, shade trees, berry bushes, and green grass covered the ground. Every plant had its own kind of seeds so that it could reproduce itself. The land was green with vegetation, and God saw that it was good (vs. 11-13).

The Fourth Day—Sun, Moon, And Stars

Then God said, "Let there be lights in the sky. These lights will separate the days from the nights. They will be used for signs and seasons, and to show the days and the years." And it happened.

So God made the two large lights appear. He made the sun to rule during the day and the moon to rule during the night. God also made the stars appear. God put these lights in the sky to shine on the earth. They separated the light from the darkness, and God saw that this was good (vs. 14-19).

The Fifth Day—Fish And Birds

On the morning of the fifth day, the sun rose in the east and warmed the green grass and bright flowers, but no fish swam in the waters. No birds sang in the trees.

Then God said, "Let the water be filled with many living things, and let there be birds to fly in the air over the earth." So God created the large sea animals such as whales. He created all the many living things in the sea, lakes, and rivers. He also created every kind of bird that flies in the air. He created birds that lived near the water, such as ducks and geese, and birds that lived in the wilderness, such as hawks and eagles. Birds screeched, chirped, and sang their songs. The hills and lakes were alive with living things, and God saw this was good (vs. 20-23).

The Sixth Day—Land Animals And People

Then God said, "Let there be many different kinds of animals. Let there be large animals and small crawling animals of every kind. And let all these animals produce more animals after their kind." And all these things happened.

So God made every kind of animal. He made the wild animals such as lions, tigers, and bears to live in the forest. He also made tame animals such as horses, cows, and sheep. God made small animals that crawled on the earth, and insects that flew through the air with buzzing sounds. There were animals running and crawling all over God's beautiful world, and God saw this was good (vs. 24-25).

God's greatest creation has yet to come. After He had finished creating the animals, God said, "Now let's make humans who will be like us. They will rule over all the fish in the sea and the birds in the air. They will rule over all the large animals and all the little things that crawl on the earth" (v. 26).

In the next lesson (1.2), we will see that God created the first man by forming his body out of the dust of the earth and breathing into his nose the breath of life.

So God created humans in His own likeness. He created them to be like Himself. He created them male and female (Mark 10:6). God blessed them and said to them, "Have many children. Fill the earth, and take control of it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds of the air. Rule over every living thing that moves on the earth" (vs. 27-28). God looked at everything He had made, and God saw that everything was very good (v. 31).

The Seventh Day—Rest

So the earth, the sky, and everything in them were finished. God finished the work He was doing. So on the seventh day, He rested from His work (Genesis 2:1-3).

SUMMARY

In the beginning, God created the universe. God spoke, and there was light. God spoke, and there was air, and there was water. God spoke, and there was dry land covered with plants. God spoke, and the sun, moon, and stars appeared.

God spoke, and there were fish in the waters and birds in the air. God spoke, and the earth was filled with animals. Then God carefully formed a man out of the dust of the earth. Finally, He made a woman. Then, He rested.

This is the story about the creation of the sky and the earth. When we read this Bible story, we begin to learn about the God who created everything.

WHO IS GOD?

What do we learn about God from this story? We see several important things:

1. God is eternal. He had no beginning; He has always been alive. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. With Him there is no past and no future. God sees our past and future as clearly as He sees our present. God is eternal.

2. God is powerful. All the energy in our universe comes from God. Every star is a giant ball of fire burning itself out. Our sun is covered with fiery explosions. Some of the flames from these explosions leap upward 160,000 kilometers (100,000 miles). What is the source of such powerful energy? The energy of the universe did not generate itself. It came from an all-powerful God (Read Isaiah 40).

3. God is intelligent. The more deeply we look into the mysteries of nature, the more evidence we find of intelligent planning. Who designed the human brain? The inner ear? The heart? Who drew the plans for the hand, the eye, the nose, the lungs, the stomach, and the reproductive system?

These things could not have happened by accident any more than this lesson that you are reading could accidentally fall together. Every scientific discovery gives more evidence that a superior intelligence produced the world we live in. That intelligence is God.

4. God is personal. In this story of creation, God thinks. God moves. God plans. God speaks. God acts. God produces more beauty than any human artist. When we look at the colors in spring flowers, tropical fish, sunsets, and rainbows, we see the handiwork of God. In summary, God has all the qualities of personality.

5. God is the source of life. Some people say that life on earth has evolved spontaneously. That is, life suddenly appeared millions of years ago without the help of God.

According to this theory, nature somehow produced a living cell, and from that cell, life has developed into higher and higher forms. This idea is known as "the theory of evolution."

Many scientists have said "No" to this form of the theory of evolution because it lacks solid evidence to support it. They have carefully examined the fossil records (the bones, shells, and prints left by things that lived and died long ago), and the fossil records contain little or no evidence to support the theory of evolution. Instead, the fossil records show that dogs have always been dogs, monkeys have always been monkeys, and people have always been people. The various forms of life appeared on earth suddenly and fully developed, just as the Bible says.

Scientists have also discovered that fire burns out, heat cools, energy is used up, everything decays, and life moves toward death. This discovery (known as the “second law of thermodynamics”) argues against the theory of evolution. According to this law, life moves toward death, not toward higher forms of life. Life does not develop on its own power. It is easier to believe that God is the source of life than to believe that life created itself (cf. Ephesians 3:9).

6. God owns the world. According to the Bible, the earth belongs to the Lord because He created it and continues to work in it (Read Psalm 104). He stretched out the skies like a curtain. He built the earth and covered it with water like a blanket. God causes water to flow from springs.

Streams flow through the valleys giving us water to drink. God sends rain upon the earth and makes the plants grow. He owns all the animals in the forest and the cattle on a thousand hills. Everything in heaven and on earth belongs to God. The world and all its people are His (Psalm 24:1; 50:10-12; 89:11).

Since we belong to God, we must answer to Him. God has a right to instruct us, and it is only right that we should obey His commands. He is the Lord of heaven and earth (Deuteronomy 10:14; Psalm 115:16).

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