Last week we kicked off our Term 1 sermon series on what scholars calls ‘Primaeval History’; Gen 1-11. While this is a source of much debate between Christianity and science, Christians should not be afraid of this. To begin with, science is ‘not an exact science’. It is conducted by humans, who make mistakes or fudge results to prove their theory, seeking either reputation or continued funding. Yet good science can teach us about the ‘what’ and the ‘how’ of God’s creation.
What it cannot tell us is the ‘who’ or the ‘why’, which is why we need passages like Genesis 1. So why did God create the heavens and the earth?
Firstly, as a being of infinite power and knowledge, there is no reason to believe God created our world because he needed (or wanted) things like slave labour, entertainment or food (e.g. the Babylonian creation account ‘Enuma Eliṡ’).
Second, as a triune God, there is no reason to believe God created the universe because he wanted someone to love. The Father, Son and Spirit have been in a perfectly loving and other-person-centred relationship with each other for all eternity.
Thirdly, there is no reason to believe God created the universe to bring Him glory, as the Father, Son and Spirit have all enjoyed infinite glory from each other for all eternity.
Rather, the reason God created was because he wanted to spread (share) his love, community and glory. So he created creatures in his image to enjoy the same awesomeness and impressiveness He has enjoyed for all eternity.
As such, there is nothing better for humans to do than enjoy the glory of God. There are an infinite number of ways to do this, particularly through the gospel. But Genesis 1 teaches that when we look at the world around us, we are to delight in it and the God who created it out of nothing. May we never stop praising the Lord for what he has made, for ‘the heavens declare the glory of God’ (Ps 19:1).
