THE DOCTRINE OF CREATION. Hebrews 11:3 The visible world, and all we can see, is a powerful temptation to forget God. We can only see God by faith, but with the eye of faith, we see God in every part of creation. When we closely examine what we see in creation, from the smallest particles to the unmeasurable heavens above us, even the most skeptical scientist, if he is honest, must, in his mind and free will, consider questions about how all this came to be and how it is so coordinated. Nothing in creation is random but has order and purpose.
When we take time with an open mind to see the greatness, uniqueness, and diversity of creation, and realize that everything functions in an orderly fashion, in specific places, under a variety of conditions, and is coordinated with the things around it, we have to acknowledge that a Person with infinite power, unlimited mind, moral standard, and specific plans created everything we see out of nothing. It was created by His word. God had no beginning but has revealed Himself to us through His creation, and has not chosen to reveal to us anything about the past of eternity.
Because of our limited intellect and natural inclination to believe only what we can see, touch, taste, smell, and hear, we have to put our faith in an omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent God. By faith, we can see the things hidden from our limited souls and bodies with our spiritual eyesight. We can see a divine purpose and orderly plans to a limited extent. We know that before creating the world, God knew those who would believe in Him by faith. People of faith see God’s signature on everything in creation.
Faith stands amazed at the reality of things unseen, because we can see God’s work in everything we see in creation. Even in creation, there are things so small that we can only see their effects. Other things are so large that we are unable to grasp their immensity. We are surrounded by things that perish because of man’s sin, and at the same time by things that are unseen and eternal. Creation is one of the ways God reveals Himself to everyone. “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.”
Each person can lay hold of the fact of God’s existence by faith if they choose to do so. “The times of the ages” (the world) began at creation, and God revealed Himself in “various times and various ways.” Faith not only assures us of the things we hope for but also provides the conviction we have about unseen things. The doctrine of creation is the first in the order of that conviction. It is not unreasonable to believe the universe and all that it contains were formed by the word of God. What other explanation makes any sense? In creation, we don’t only find matter but also find in matter information that continues to reveal God everywhere we look.
Faith, then, begins with knowing God and knowing that God created everything out of nothing by His word. Faith is the testimony of a believing mind. We begin our life of faith by believing in God and then by believing what God says. We don’t hesitate to believe what God has done in creation, what He is continuing to do in us, and what He will continue to do through eternal ages.