OceanSide church of Christ

 Previous Return to Articles Next 

CREATION:  EX NIHILO

Victor M. Eskew

 

            The Bible opens with the words:  “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Gen. 1:1).  As one continues to read this wonderful account of the creation week, he reads these words several times:  “And God said…”  When God spoke, things came into existence.  They literally came into existence out of absolutely nothing.  This is the meaning of the words that entitled our article:  “Creation:  Ex Nihilo.”

            This type of creation should bring many reactions from mankind.  First, it should cause man to stand in awe of God.  It is impossible for any man to bring something into existence from nothing.  A Being who can do this should be feared.  He should be held in high honor and deep respect.  Man should fall before His feet and offer up praise to His name.  The twenty-four elders who are pictured around the throne of God in the Revelation did exactly that.  “The four and twenty elders fell down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power:  for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created” (Rev. 4:10-11)

            Second, man should be impressed with the power of God’s Word.  “And God said, Let there be light:  and there was light” (Gen. 1:3).  Man’s words have power, but they do not possess creative power.  The psalmist stood in awe of God’s powerful, creative words, and wrote about them in Psalm 33.  “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” (vs. 6, 9).

            Third, since God is the Creator of all things, He is also the Master of all things.  Everything that is in heaven and in earth falls under the control of the Almighty God.  All things are subject to His divine command.  This fact helps us to understand that Jesus is God.  In Matthew 8, the apostles and the Christ enter a ship and set sail on the Sea of Galilee.  “And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves:  but he was asleep” (v. 24).  When Jesus intervened in the situation, He spoke forth words to the wind and sea, “and there was a great calm” (Matt.8:26).  What man has this type of power?  Even the disciples “marveled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?” (Matt. 8:27).  Yes, outwardly, Jesus appeared to be a mere man.  He was more than this, however.  He was a “God-man.”

            Fourth, man accepts God’s ability to create something out of nothing by faith.  “Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of the things which do appear” (Heb. 11:3).  Oftentimes, God’s children are ridiculed because of their faith in God’s creative abilities and their faith in the Creation Account of Genesis 1.  The educated of this world tell us that God did not create all things.  They affirm that everything came into existence through evolutionary processes that took place over billions and billions of years.  However, they never explain to us where the matter originated that brought all things into existence.  They will boldly assert that life came from non-life, even though this is a scientific impossibility.  Yes, they ridicule us for our faith, but it takes more faith to be an evolutionist than it does to be a theist.  Great amounts of time combined with fallacies are the “god of evolution.”  Isn’t it much simpler to believe that a living, all-powerful God created all things in six, literal, 24-hour days?  Listen to the simplicity of this belief expressed in Exodus 20:11.  “For in six days the Lord made the heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested on the seventh day:  wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.”

            There is a negative reaction that some people have to the Creation Account as we mentioned above.  They simply choose to disbelieve it.  In fact, they laugh at it, mock it, ridicule it, and seek to put it to open shame.  These individuals would have us to believe that they are wise.  The Bible, on the other hand, calls them fools.  “The fool hath said in his heart there is no God” (Ps 14:1).  These individuals are fools because they reject the mountain of evidence that God has set forth to prove His existence.  “Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath showed it unto them.  For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:  because that when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.  Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools (Rom. 1:19-22).  Such men live lives of corruption and debauchery.  They worship and serve the creature more than the Creator.  They are filled with all forms of unrighteousness.  Sadly, they await the wrath of the Almighty God (Rom. 1:18).

            Where did everything originate?  This is one of three foundational questions asked by all men.  There are only two alternatives:  God or gas, design or accident, from life or from non-life, and by creation or by evolution.  If one believes in God, design, life, and creation, he will live his life accordingly.  God will be feared.  The powerful word of God will be respected.  Man will acknowledge Jesus as the Son of God.  Ultimately, he will submit himself to the Creator because he realizes he is merely the created.  Dear reader, does the way you choose to live your life reflect your belief in the creation “ex nihilo”?