Creation Outline/Notes from Sunday Seminary

Posted on August 29, 2010 in Blog, Congregational Resources, Sunday Seminary

You can view or download (in Word format) the outline and notes for our Sunday Seminary class discussion the doctrine of creation or see them below:

Creation:

Definition (from Wayne Grudem’s System Theology, ch.15) – God created the entire universe out of nothing; it was originally very good; and He created it to glorify Himself.

  • God Created Everything
    • Gen 1-2 | Ps. 33:6, 9; 136:5 | Isa. 42:5; 45:18 | Acts 4:24; 14:15; 17:24 | Heb. 1:10 | Rev. 4:11; 10:6
    • “Ex Nihilo” (Latin for “out of nothing”; “ex” = out of, “nihilo” = nothing) [John 1:3 | Rom. 4:17 | Col. 1:16 | Heb. 11:3]
      • Thus, matter is not eternal. There was a time when it did not exist [Ps. 90:2]
    • Including the spiritual universe [Neh. 9:6 | Ps. 103:22 | Col. 1:16]
    • Including directly creating Adam and Eve [Gen. 1:27; 2:7; 21-22]
      • They are historic people [Gen. 5:1-5 | 1 Chron. 1:1 |  Hos. 6:7 | Matt. 19:4 | Mark 10:6 | Luke 3:38; 11: 50-51 |  Rom. 5:12 -19 | 1 Cor. 11:8-9, 11-12; 15:22, 45–49 | 1 Tim. 2:13-14 | Jude 1:14]
    • All persons of the Trinity are involved

      Father

      Primary in initiating

      Son

      Made “though” Him

      Spirit

      Fills or give life to
      Creation of World Gen. 1:1 | 1 Cor. 8:6 Col. 1:16 | Heb. 1:2, 8-10 Gen. 1:2
      Creation of Man Gen. 2:7 | Deut. 32:6 John 1:2-3 | 1 Cor. 8:6 Job 33:4 | Ps. 104:30
  • Creation Worldviews
    • Biblical: Creation is distinct from God yet always dependent on God
      • God is transcendent (far “above” creation in the sense that He is greater than creation and independent of it [Rom. 9:5 | Eph. 4:6])
      • God is immanent (very much invovled in creation, for it is continually dependent upon Him for its existence and functioning (Job 12:10 | Ps. 147:8 | Acts 17:25, 29 | Heb. 1:3 | Col. 1:16-17)
    • False Views
      • Materialism (The material universe is all that is)
      • Pantheism (“Pan” = all, “Theism” = god; The universe is god [or some part])
        • This god has no distinct personality, god changes because the universe changes, god is unholy because evil is apart of the universe
      • Dualism (god [good] and the universe [evil] have eternally existed side by side in eternal conflict)
        • This god did not will creation nor is in control of it (evil could prevail).
      • Deism (god created the universe but is not now directly involved in it)
        • This “divine clockmaker” (wound up the clock and left it to run on its own) is transcendent but not immanent, making humans autonomous.
  • God Created to Show His Glory
    • God’s entire creation is intended to testify of His greatness (Isa. 6:3; 43:7 | Ps. 19:1-2; 148 | Eph. 1:3-6 | Rev. 4:11)
    • Creation shows God’s great power and wisdom, far above anything that could be imagined by any creature (Jer. 10:12-16)
    • God did not need to create the universe—it was a totally free act of God (Rev. 4:11)
    • God created the universe to take delight in his creation, especially to the extent that it shows forth various aspects of His character. (see chapter 11 on God’s incommunicable attributes)
    • This explains human creativity (art, music, or literary skills, etc.). We enjoy imitating, in a creaturely way, His creative work. We should delight in it and thank Him for it.
  • God’s Creation is “Very Good”
    • If God created the universe to show His glory, we would expect that the universe would fulfill its purpose
    • At the end of each stage of creation, God saw that what He had done was “good” (Gen 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25)
    • At the end of the six days of creation, “God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good” (Gen. 1:31)
    • Even though sin is now in the world, the material creation is still good in God’s sight and should be seen as “good” by us as well (Ecc. 9:7-9 | 1 Tim. 4:4-5)
    • This frees us from false asceticism that sees the use and enjoyment of the material creation as wrong. (1 Tim. 4:1-3)
    • Though the material creation can be misused, we must not let the danger of abusing God’s creation keep us from positive, thankful, joyful use of it. (1 Tim. 6:9-10, 17-18)
      • Yet, remember that material possessions are only temporary, not eternal. We are to set our hopes on God (Ps. 62:10 | 1 Tim. 6:17) and on receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken (Col. 3:1-4 | Heb. 12:28 | 1 Peter 1:4)

“Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.” – Revelation 4:11