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In the Beginning | Part 2: Trustworthiness of the Divine Record
IN THE BEGINNING
Part 2
Trustworthiness of the Divine Record
The book of Genesis is the only authoritative record of how the universe and all life came into existence. There have been many books written on the theories of how these things came into existence, but the biblical account is the exclusive. authoritative record. No other book claims authorship that predates the creation of all things - except the Bible. And, because the source of this record predates human existence, it is to be understood that it is of divine origin. The Bible testifies of the Creator, saying “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlast- ing, You are God.” (Psm. 90:2) Therefore, there is no more reliable record than that which the Creator has authored - and that record is the Bible. “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God...” (2 Tim. 3:16a) As the apostle Paul stated, “...no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation (origin, gvw), for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” (2 Pet. 1: 20-21)
In regard to this revelation by the Holy Spirit, Paul also said, “What man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Sprit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Sprit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.” (1 Cor. 2:11-12) It is by that revelation that we can know about the origin of mankind and our earthly home and the universe of which it is a part.
We can trust the biblical record for a number of reasons. 1. It is self- proclaimed to be from God. For example, when Moses and the Israelites were at the foot of Mt. Sinai, God told Moses to come up the mountain to Him (Ex. 24:1-2), then “...Moses wrote all the words of the LORD (Yahweh)...” (vs. 4a) 2. We have the testimony of the people who heard Moses; “...And all the people answered with one voice and said, ‘All the words which the LORD (Yahweh) has said we will do.’” (vs. 3b) 3. We have confirmation by the Son of God that what Moses wrote was from God. Jesus rebuked the Scribes and Pharisees saying,“All too well you reject the commandment of God,...for Moses said, ‘Honor your father and mother...then you no longer let him do anything for his father or his mother, making the word of God of no effect through your tradition...’” (Mk. 7:9-10, 12-13a) Keep in mind that Jesus Christ is acknowledged to be the Son of God and the proof of that is His resurrection from the dead. He is “...declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.” (Rom. 1:4) If we can’t believe what He has said, we can’t believe anything in the bible. 4. In addition to all these evidences, we have numerous prophecies that are given long in advance of their fulfillment, as well as
the confirmation of their fulfillment in later Scripture. This will be the subject of later articles. 5. Finally, there are many passages of Scripture that include corro- borative scientific facts that predate their discovery by man. We will look at some of these as we study the biblical account of the creation.
Because the Genesis account is of divine origin as revealed by the Holy Spirit, and because no man was present at the time of creation to report those events as they occurred, we are left with no other alternative but to accept the Genesis record by faith. As the Hebrew writer has said,“...without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” (Heb. 11:6) Those who persist in denying the Bible as the word of God will remain in darkness. So, as we begin to look at the Genesis account, remember, it is Moses who penned these words as he was led by the Holy Spirit - and, as has already been seen, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has confirmed the writings of Moses to be from God.
The First Cause
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Gen. 1:1) So begins the biblical account. Everything else in the Bible hinges on the truthfulness of this profound claim: God created...! To deny this is to deny everything else in the Bible. If God does not exist, then there is no Creator. If God does exist, then He is the first Cause of everything that exists. If God is not the Creator, then each one of us is an accident of random chance as the evolutionist wants us to believe and we exist with absolutely no purpose in life. Any accomplishment that we might succeed in has no real value because it has no end toward which to aim its purpose.
That is a pretty dismal realization. It is no wonder that those who refuse to believe in God “...dishonor[ ] their bodies among themselves,...[and]...exchange[ ] the truth of God for the lie (that God does not exist, gvw), and serve[ ] the crea- ture rather than the Creator...” (Rom. 1:24b-25) Their choice to deny God leads them to all kinds of unnatural activities which are described as “shameful” (vss. 26-27). The result of such unbelief is “...a debased mind...” (vs. 28) that leads to every kind of godless behavior (vss. 29-31) Therefore, the Bible says, “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” (Psm. 14:1a) It is no wonder that “The LORD (Yahweh) looks down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there are any who understand, who seek God.” (vs.2)
Keep in mind that “...every house is built by someone, but He who built all things is God.” (Heb. 3:4) No one would argue the point that a house has a builder. By virtue of its design characteristics we would know intuitively that that house had an intelligent designer who had power and skill to build it. Ima- gine this scenario; When the first men landed on the moon, what if they had found a paperclip lying on the ground? Can you imagine the newspaper head- lines that would have followed: “EVIDENCE OF INTELLIGENT LIFE FOUND
ON THE MOON!”? One of two conclusions would have to be drawn: 1. Some- one had been to the moon before we got there, or 2. Some intelligent life form must be living there. As simple as a paperclip is, it still shows design and func- tion - which points to an intelligent designer. So, what does the complexity of our universeclaim? The simple statement that “every house is built by someone” is a forgone conclusion that no one denies. How-ever, the conclusion of that statement which says that “...He who built all things is God” is the part that many deny. In this we can see the inconsistency in human thinking and the consequences of a lack of faith. It is too bad that this is the case, because there is much more that we might learn about our universe if mankind would accept the treasures that lie locked behind the biblical account of its origin. On the other hand, the benefit realized by those who accept the biblical account of creation is of inestimable benefit due to the fact that it is the beginning of wisdom and the assurance of our divine origin by a loving God who gives purpose for our existence. (see Prov. 1:7)
The timing of God’s creative work took place “in the beginning.” (Gen. 1:1) This is not referring to the beginning of God’s existence because He has no beginning - or end. God is eternal. Therefore, as we have already noted, “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.” (Psm. 90:2) The be- ginning has to do with everything that we know within this physical realm of our existence which God has created. It is, if you will, the beginning of our history. And remember, this is the only record of what we might call our prehistoric existence.
In our next issue we will take a closer look at several aspects of the creation. But this is a good place to note that the scientific community long-ago determined that there are 5 things necessary for anything to be made: time, force or a first cause, space and matter. It is interesting that the first verse in the Bible includes all 5 of those things; “In the beginning (time) God (the first cause or force) created (energy) the heaven (space) and the earth (matter).” Where and how this conclusion was drawn is not as important as the fact that good science does not contradict the Bible. During the course of this study we will be looking at numerous scientific facts that find their origin in divine revelation as well as how human philosophy often contradicts God’s wisdom. Prepare to see the glory of God born out in the magnificence of His creation.
To be continued...
- Gary V. Womack -
- IN THE BEGINNING Part 2.docx (16.59 kB)
