The Creator
By Heath Jarrett
The very first thing the Bible teaches us about God is that he created everything that exists. That is, everything that exists besides himself, of course.
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen 1:1).
Though the opening words of the Bible are very familiar, perhaps we miss some of their significance. Since God is the one who created the heavens and the earth, he necessarily existed before they did. He is eternal. Everything else had a “beginning,” therefore God is both before and superior to everything else that exists. In addition, the orchestration of creation reveals the power, wisdom, immensity and beauty of God among much else.
Genesis goes on to tell us that God spoke things into existence. Such is the power and efficacy of his word. All that God “said” necessarily occurred.
“By the word of the LORD the heavens were made and by the breath of his mouth all their host” (Psalm 33:6,
cf. 2 Pet 3:5).
It is so foundational for every believer in every age to espouse God as the creator that the Bible not only opens with the teaching, but nearly every one of its books connects an argument to this fact about who God is.
For example, Jeremiah contrasts idols which are made by man with the true and living God who created all (Jer 10). Romans tells us that everyone knows enough about God from creation to be condemned for their rebellion against the creator (Rom 1:18–25). John tells us that Christ was there in the beginning as the creator, echoing the words of Gen 1:1 (John 1:1–3). Paul evangelized the intellectual elite of Athens by informing them that their “unknown god” was the one who made everything and gave all men life (Acts 17:22–32). Many more examples could be cited.
Of course, to believe the very first words of the Bible and the many other references that teach us that God is the creator requires faith.
“By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible” (Heb 11:3).
As Christians, we must affirm that God is the one who created everything. We must also deny that God was created. We believe, rather, that he has eternally existed.