Creating Something
from Nothing
Genesis Study: Lesson 3
In the previous lessons we have explored the nature of God. We understand that God is a Trinity of persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We know they are co-equal and eternally one God and that is a foundational truth that establishes that each person of the Trinity existed before the beginning of time, they are essentially timeless. When we read that God created heaven and earth (Gen 1), we understand that Father, Son and Holy Spirit created the universe.
In this lesson we will delve deeper into the question of how God created. We understand from the last lesson that God spoke the universe into being but did he create something from nothing or something from something? It's a crucial question we need to consider when engaging with alternative interpretations of Genesis. This lesson aims to shine a light on some key thoughts and phrases alongside recapping the first few days of creation.
A little Hebrew!
The Hebrew word for 'created' is 'Bara בָּרָא' and the Hebrew word meaning 'to make' is 'asah עָשָׂה'. The reason this is interesting is that some Christians differentiate between the two meanings to support an old earth or theistic evolutionist interpretation of Genesis 1. Theistic Evolutionists believe that evolution theory is true but that God set it all in motion. They distinguish 'Bara' as a supernatural event where God creates the universe and point to 'asah' as examples of where God uses materials already created to make or form something. Personally, it seems far easier to simply accept what is written literally but if you want some more food for thought, follow the link for more information.
Ex Nihilo
What does 'In the beginning' mean? Logically nothing exists before it begins and therefore a literal interpretation is that before something there is nothing. Think about baking a cake. At the beginning of the process the cake does not exist. The baker creates the cake but the baker gathers existing material to form them into a cake. Essentially, if we see God as a baker, we are saying God was able to create a cake without any pre existing ingredients. In the beginning the only existing ingredient was God. Theologians use the Latin phrase, 'ex nihilo', meaning 'out of nothing' to express the truth that in the beginning there was nothing but God and 'God created the world 'ex nihilo', meaning God created the world from nothing. God is the only ingredient and everything that exists and has ever existed was created through Him. Remember what John tells us, "All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made." (John 1:3 kjv)
Many atheists will pose the question, "who created God?" The answer is that God was not created because God has always existed. God is eternal without beginning or end. For a little more on 'ex-nihilo' use the link below.
Gen 1:1
"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." (KJV)
Picture God as all that exists. God is eternal and that means timeless, without beginning or end. Time therefore does not exist because you cant measure something that does not have a starting point. From the moment God creates the material universe, the clock begins to tick because God has created a starting point for all that exists. God has created what we will go on to call science. He created something that could be discovered, explored and measured.
Gen 1:2
"And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." (KJV)
In verse 1 God created the universe, in this verse we are told that what He first created was 'without form' in other words God hadn't yet shaped the universe. He had basically created what could be described as a vast lifeless, dark 'void' atop of lifeless depths of water. This formless, lifeless and dark universe contained only still, lifeless water. Something is happening however because, 'the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the water' and we will hear as we move on to verse 3 that God is beginning to form into shape what He has created.
Gen 1:3
"And God said, Let there be light: and there was light" (KJV)
God's first action in forming His dark and lifeless void into something we would recognise as the universe is to create light. He speaks light into being, 'And God said, let there be light'. At this point however it is not light as we would recognise it. We experience light in contrast to the darkness we experience. Fascinatingly, consider how we experience the colour we perceive to be white. A little bit of research will explain that neither white or black are actually colours. Similarly here, God has created light but in verse 4 we will learn that it may not be light as we would see it. Light has not yet been formed into the light we experience in the finished universe.
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