THE WORLD WAS CREATED BY GOD

The Bible without question teaches that the universe including this world we live in was created by God. Included in this creation of course are the people who inhabit the earth. The fact that God was at work creating man holds great significance for this world today especially to each individual person who is a part of the human family. The following verses, starting in the book of Genesis, clearly demonstrate the consistent nature of these teachings.

(Genesis 1:1) In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

(Genesis 1:27) And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

(Genesis 1:31) And God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good.

In the following dialogue between Jesus and the Pharisees Jesus quotes from the book of Genesis making reference in part to these same verses to assert the creation of male and female by God. These words of Jesus have special significance when we remember that Jesus God's Son speaks with divine authority.

(Matthew 19:3-6) And some Pharisees came to Him, testing Him, and saying, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause at all?" {4} And He answered and said, "Have you not read, that He who created them from the beginning MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE, {5} and said, 'FOR THIS CAUSE A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER, AND SHALL CLEAVE TO HIS WIFE; AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH'? {6} "Consequently they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate."

The apostle Paul also taught in a number of places that God created the world and all those who dwell in it. In these passages Paul not only makes reference to the first man and women but refers to them by their names Adam and Eve.

(1 Corinthians 11:11-12) However, in the Lord, neither is woman independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. {12} For as the woman originates from the man, so also the man has his birth through the woman; and all things originate from God.

(Acts 17:26) He made from one, every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth..."

(1 Timothy 2:13-14) For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve. {14} And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being quite deceived, fell into transgression.

The first point to be made then is that God has created this world and the people who dwell in it. He created the first man and woman, Adam and Eve, and He declared that all that He had made was "very good".

THE WORLD AND THOSE WHO DWELL IN IT BELONG TO GOD

We live in an age when people have a misguided sense of the personal right to autonomy. The motto of the hour is "It's my life and I can do what I want". The fact of the matter is that our lives are not altogether ours to do as we like. We have been created by God and we belong to Him. The universe, this world and the people in it all belong to God. He owns them all by right of creation. Furthermore we have been created by God not to be set loose in the universe to do as we please but to live according to the plans and purposes of God being governed by His laws and commandments in the grateful pursuit of the life He has given us.

The following passages of scripture illustrate God's ownership of the creation along with some of the ways that man is to respond to God in light of this fact:

(Deuteronomy 10:14) "Behold, to the LORD your God belong heaven and the highest heavens, the earth and all that is in it.

(Psalms 24:1-2) The earth is the LORD'S, and all it contains, The world, and those who dwell in it. {2} For He has founded it upon the seas, And established it upon the rivers.

(Psalms 33:6-9) By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, And by the breath of His mouth all their host. {7} He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap; He lays up the deeps in storehouses. {8} Let all the earth fear the LORD; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. {9} For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.

(Psalms 95:6-7) Come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker. {7} For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand.
(Psalms 100:3-5) Know that the LORD Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. {4} Enter His gates with thanksgiving, And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him; bless His name. {5} For the LORD is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting, And His faithfulness to all generations.

In summary it's important to realize is that this world and the people in it belong to God. Many today believe that their life is theirs to do with it as they please and that they have a right to live in an autonomous way before God. This is the opposite of the biblical world view which recognizes an inherent responsibility of every person to honor and obey God.