Creation by the Word of God
"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." It was by the direct fiat of God that the heaven and earth were brought into being. "By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. . . . For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast." Ps. 33:6-9. Just how long ago "in the beginning" means we do not know; but the expression means at least this, that the beginning of the heaven and the earth was by the creative power of God. That is, by God's infinite power he called the world into being. Over and over again is this stated in Holy Writ, in both Old and New Testaments. It is not a matter of tradition, nor is the existence of the planetary bodies a matter of evolution, it is a matter of simple belief in the power of God, upon which hangs the eternal destiny of souls. For he who does not believe that God created the heaven and the earth by his word, will not believe the lessons which God designs that the record of creation shall teach us. There is the old creation, the record of which is given in Genesis 1. Its beginning was by the word of God's power, not by evolution. If it had not been for that spoken word, the earth would not have been. Its beginning was in the power of God. Here is the lesson: Man is a sinner, doomed to death. He can only inherit the better life, the better home, by being righteous. He cannot become righteous by evolution. He cannot wash away his own sins. The leopard cannot change his spots nor the Ethiopian his skin. His righteousness will not come by effort nor by evolution from within. "Except a man be born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God." "If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." The new life from above, the righteousness outflowing from that life, comes by the power of God. "Now ye are clean," says Jesus to his disciples, "through the word which I have spoken unto you." John 15:3. They were cleansed of sin by that word as truly and as thoroughly as was the leper when Christ said, "Be thou clean." Matt. 8:3. But it is by faith that the work is done, that the new life comes into the soul. Acts 3:16; Gal. 2:20. But faith in Christ brings a new creation. "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature" (or "creation," R. V.) (2 Cor. 5:17); "for we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works" (Eph. 2:10); "the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness" (Eph. 4:24). It all comes by faith, but the credit does not belong to him who exercises the faith. All that faith can do is to coöperate with God, to yield to God's will, that God's will may be wrought in him, and God's Spirit does the rest. But choosing God means the renunciation of sin, the "putting off of the old man," the rejection of self, and all that comes from self. The same power which creates, which brings into existence, keeps. God created the earth and all things. He upholds by the same word. Col. 1:17; Heb. 1:3. And so it is with the Christian. The beginning of his life is in the creative power of God's word. The continued maintenance of his life is in the power of that word also. Man must feed on that word. 1 Peter 2:2. As he is built on the Incarnate Word, Christ Jesus (1 Cor. 3:11), he must be builded up by the word which comes through Christ (Acts 20:32), by which his life is maintained (John 6:63), and he is sanctified (John 17:17). God will do it all through Christ if we will only submit to him. His words have behind them all the power of the universe if we will only believe, only open our hearts to let that word of power in and it will give us the power, life, and blessing we need. Reader, will you not let God's creative power work through you?