The Gospel in Creation, No. 2: From Chaos to Cosmos
By W. A. Sweany
THE GOSPEL IN CREATION. NO. 2.
CREATION, the wonderful story of which is recorded in the first chapter of the Bible, is an illustration of the infinite power of God (Job 26:7–14), and an assurance of His ability to redeem (Isa. 42:5–7; 43:1–7; 45:17–19). The eternal purpose of God was that this earth with all its contents, in its beautiful original perfection, should be the eternal possession, the everlasting inheritance, of a race of holy, happy, immortal beings. Gen. 1:26–31; 2:7–9, 15–17; Isa. 45:18. Altho the accomplishment of this purpose has been long delayed on account of sin (Genesis 3; Rom. 5:12), it will finally be carried out in all its blessed fulness. For He “who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will” does not change nor alter His plans, nor suffer them to be thwarted. Mal. 3:6; James 1:17; Heb. 13:8; Isa. 45:9, 10. But since the whole creation is so terribly marred by sin, in order to accomplish His purpose, it will be necessary for Him “to make all things new.” Rom. 8:22, 23; Rev. 21:1–5; 2 Peter 3:13; 2 Cor. 5:17. All that was lost in Adam is regained in Christ. Now, inasmuch as redemption is only recreation, and as God in Christ is the author of both, and as He is unchangeable, it follows that the new creation will be accomplished by the same means, and in the same way as was the old. Therefore as we study the story of creation we shall not only learn how, and by what means God made all things in the beginning, but also how and by what means He “makes all things new.” And this is but the study of the Gospel. Let this be kept in mind as we now study the record of creation in Genesis 1. “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” Verse 1. This verse naturally suggests two thoughts,—the Creator and the creation. While it is true that the “secret things belong unto the Lord our God,” and we can not by searching find out the Almighty unto perfection (Job 11:7), it is also true that “those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever.” Deut. 29:29. And God has in His Word revealed something concerning Himself, which it is well for us to understand and remember. No mortal man has seen, nor can see God the Father, until made like Him, when we “shall see Him as He is.” John 6:46; 1 Tim. 1:17; 6:13–16; 1 John 3:1, 2. But God in the person of the Son has been seen, thus revealing the Father, for they are one. John 1:18; Matt. 11:29; Luke 10:22; 2 Cor. 5:17–19; 1 Tim. 3:16; John 14:6–11. Jacob saw God face to face, wrestled with Him, prevailed and lived. Gen. 32:24–30. Moses saw Him in the burning bush. Ex. 3:1–6. Again, Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the seventy elders saw the God of Israel in the mount and did eat and drink. Ex. 24:9–11. But that this was God the Son, and not God the Father, is clearly seen by comparing 2 Sam. 23:1–3 with 1 Cor. 10:1–4 wherein we are told that the God of Israel, or the Rock of Israel that followed, or went with them (margin), was Christ. And so it is that the Father can be heard, seen, and known only through the Son. And so let it be remembered that when, in the beginning, the heaven and the earth were brought into existence it was a revelation through Christ of the creative power of God. “Create” means to bring into existence that which did not exist before. In Ps. 33:6–9 David declares that “*By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth. . . .3For He spake, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.*” In this wonderful transaction we learn that God’s word has power in it to produce what it pronounces, to accomplish what it requires. Then let us receive it into our hearts (Col. 3:16), that it may “effectually work” (1 Thess. 2:13), beget in us the new life (1 Peter 1:22–25), and make us clean and pure (John 15:3), and keep us from sinning (Ps. 119:11; 1 John 3:9; Acts 20:32). Thus far we have only studied the record of the production of the raw material, of which the earth and its contents were to be formed, for verse 2 tells us that after the first creative act “the earth was without form, and void [empty]; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.” A chaotic, formless mass of elements shrouded in darkness was the material of which the Lord made the first heaven and earth in all their beautiful perfection. And a perusal of the scriptures that describe the terrible condition of the world as we shall see it, marred and cursed by sin, reveals the fact that the material of which this new creation is to be made is, or will be, in similar condition to that of which the first earth was formed. “Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof. The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled; for the Lord hath spoken this word.” Isa. 24:1–6. See Isa. 24:19, 20; Jer. 4:23–27, and compare Gen. 7:6, 11, 12 with Matt. 24:37–39. What a dark, dismal picture of complete chaos and utter confusion! But remembering His triumphant success in bringing the first heaven and earth out of darkness and chaos, we may confidently say with Peter, “Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.” 2 Peter 3:1–14; Rev. 21:1, 5; Isa. 66:22. Proceeding with the study of the account of creation we find the Spirit of God introduced as the operating agency. “And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” Verse 2. “The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.” Job 33:4. “Thou sendest forth Thy Spirit, they [living creatures] are created; and Thou renewest the face of the earth.” Ps. 104:30. Just so in the work of redemption, the Holy Spirit is the operating agency. Christ, through the eternal Spirit offered Himself to God for us, thus purchasing our redemption. Heb. 9:13, 14. In fact, the entire work of regeneration is accomplished by and through the Holy Spirit. “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one spirit.” 1 Cor. 12:13. “Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His.” “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God.” “And God said, Let there be light; and there was light.” Gen. 1:3. Let it be remembered that until God through His Spirit uttered that mandate, all was shrouded in dense, black darkness, and the entrance of His word into the darkness caused light to shine forth. Now, because of sin, the human heart, mind, and understanding have become darkened (Rom. 1:2; Eph. 4:17, 18), so that “darkness covers the earth, and gross darkness the people.” Isa. 60:2. “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” 2 Cor. 4:6. And it is the entrance of His Word that giveth this light, by giving understanding to the simple. Ps. 119:130. Just as a light, when carried by a traveler in the darkness, shows him where to step, and where not to step, so His Word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path, showing us where to go and where not to go, telling us what to do and what not to do. Ps. 119:105. “For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and the reproofs of instruction are the way of life.” Prov. 6:23. The law of God, which is light, was written in the heart of Christ. Ps. 40:7–10; Heb. 10:5–10. And so the Word of God, which is light, “was made flesh, and dwelt among us,” “full of grace and truth.” John 1:14. Thus Christ became the Light of the world, and he that followeth Him will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. John 8:12; 12:35, 36. Just so when the Word, or the law of God, is written in our hearts and lived out in our lives by the Spirit of God, we become the light of the world. Jer. 31:31–34; 2 Cor. 4:1, 2; Matt. 5:14. Thus it is that in Christ and in His followers “the life”—“good works,” the Law of God lived out in the flesh—is the light of the world. John 1:4; Matt. 5:16. “And God saw the light, that it was good.” Verse 4. If we try to imagine what conditions would necessarily prevail if there was no light, we shall more fully realize the importance and value of it; for without it no life, human, animal, or vegetable, could long exist. And were all the righteous, who are the spiritual light of the world, removed, how terribly dark and dreadful would be the condition. Truly, “light is good.” “And God divided the light from the darkness.” Verse 4. Absolute light and darkness can not exist in the same place at the same time. Where light is there is no darkness, and where absolute darkness is, there is no light. When the light of day appears the darkness of night disappears, and when the light of day disappears with the setting sun, the darkness of night reasserts itself. Carry a light into a dark room and the darkness is driven out; remove the light, and the darkness returns. Just so in the spiritual world. Light (righteousness) has no fellowship nor communion with darkness (sin). 2 Cor. 6:14–18. “Ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord; walk as children of light.” Eph. 5:8. “But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day; we are not of the night, nor of darkness.” 1 Thess. 5:4–8. No man can serve two masters, nor be the friend of both God and the world at the same time. “Ye can not serve God and mammon.” Matt. 6:24; James 4:4. We are either light or darkness, either for or against Him, for there is no middle ground, no mingling of the two. Matt. 12:30. So it is still true, as it was in the beginning, that “God divides the light from the darkness.” “And God called the light day, and the darkness He called night.” Verse 5. And in the spiritual realm, as has already been shown, God calls righteousness light (day), and sin darkness (night). Thus was completed the work and the duration of the first day of time; and that it was a day exactly identical in length and composition with the days of the present time is clearly evident to every intelligent, candid mind that will believe the plain, simple, harmonious statements of the Word of God, rather than the contradictory and unreasonable arguments of the theological skeptics and higher critics, who would have us believe that the days of creation week were long, indefinite periods of time. That all the days of creation week were exactly alike is shown by the fact that exactly the same expression is used to describe each of them. “And the evening and the morning were the first day.” Verses 5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31. They were composed of darkness and light, the first part being dark, the last part light. And, altho man, in his efforts to pervert God’s ways, has agreed that the day shall begin at midnight (with nothing whatever to mark its beginning or end), the fact remains that, according to God’s plan, as revealed in the Bible, every day begins in darkness, or at the setting of the sun. “From even unto even shall ye celebrate your Sabbaths.” Lev. 23:32. The evening begins with the setting of the sun (Deut. 16:6; 23:11; Joshua 8:29; 10:26, 27; Mark 1:32; Matt. 8:16; Luke 4:40), for “the passover must be sacrificed at even, at the going down of the sun.” “And at even when the sun did set, they brought the sick to Christ, and He healed them.” Notice that all of these texts speak of the same kind of days as are described in Genesis 1,—days beginning with the evening—days composed of evening (darkness) and morning (light). In the fourth precept of the Decalogue (Ex. 20:8–11), wherein direct reference is made to the transactions of creation week, exactly the same words are used to fix the limit of our time for labor and the period for our rest that are used to express the duration of the Creator’s work and the day of His rest, thus proving that our six days of labor and seventh day of rest are identical with those of creation week. Again: Adam was created early on the sixth day, and thus lived through the greater part of the sixth day, and all of the seventh day of creation week; but he was only nine hundred and thirty-nine years old when he died (Gen. 5:5), which could not be true if the days of creation week were long, indefinite periods or ages. “Let God be true, and every man a liar.” Rom. 3:4. W. A. SWEANY.