It is said that at a dinner party at which Macaulay attended, a lady turned to him, and said: "I have wished so much for a long time to know the history of the world, and now that we have a few minutes while they are bringing on the fish, I wish you would tell it to me."
We have a parallel to this story in the range suggested for a single Sunday-school lesson; for to study the creation of the heavens and the earth, and all things in them, together with the Sabbath which crowned the work, and God the Creator of all, is a far greater work than that assigned to Macaulay. But a few suggestive thoughts and texts may open the way for each reader to study further to advantage.
The Beginning
We begin with the beginning.
"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." (Genesis 1:1)
How did He create them?
"By the Word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth. ... For He spoke, and it was; He commanded, and it stood fast." (Psalm 33:6,9)
Our translators have inserted in verse 6 the word "done," in Italic, which we have omitted, as the Hebrew text gives no hint of any such word. The idea is not that after God spoke, something was done, but that as soon as He spoke everything was in existence.
Now concerning the Word of God, by which all things were made, read these familiar words: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him; and without Him was not one thing made." (John 1:1-3)
This refers to Christ, for "the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth." (John 1:14)
Not only did Christ begin the work of creation, but He himself is the Beginning. Read the following texts:
"In Him were all things created, in the heavens and upon the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers, all things have been created through Him, and unto Him; And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist [that is, "hold together"]. And He is the Head of the body, the church; who is the Beginning." (Colossians 1:16-18 [RV])
"These things says the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the beginning of the creation of God." (Revelation 3:14)
He is "the Firstborn of all creation." (Colossians 1:15)
When He was, everything was; although everything did not at once appear.
"In Him was life," (John 1:4) and from His own infinite, eternal life everything came. All the matter of the universe is but the manifestation of His existence. Thus we read that the mountains were "brought forth," (Psalm 90:2) literally, born of the everlasting God. This is far from saying that matter is God, or any part of God. The child is brought forth by its mother, yet it is not its mother. We can never understand the mystery of creation, any more than we can understand the mystery of God's existence; but we know that ever since the creation of the world, the invisible things of God, even His everlasting power and Divinity, are revealed in the things that He has made. Everything that He has made bears the impress of His being.
Jesus Christ is "the power of God, and the wisdom of God." (1 Corinthians 1:24)
Of God we read that "He has made the earth by His power, He has established the world by His wisdom." (Jeremiah 10:12)
Now hear what Wisdom says: "The Lord possessed me as the beginning of His way, before His works of old." (Proverbs 8:32, RV, margin)
In the Hebrew there is no suggestion of such a word as the "in" of the Common Version, or the "as" of the Revision; so it should read:
"The Lord possessed me, the beginning of His way."
Christ, the wisdom and the power of God, is the Beginning of all things. In Him all things are, and hold together.
Let It Be
"By faith we understand that the worlds have been framed by the Word of God, so that what is seen has not been made of things which do appear." (Hebrews 11:3, RV)
Christ is the Word, the expression of the Father's thought. All things are in Him, so that when He speaks, the word that goes forth from His lips contains the things named. Notice how easily He brought forth the heavens and the earth. At each successive step He merely said, "Let it be," and immediately it was. After each command, we read, "And it was so." The word rendered "so" has the idea of stability, steadfastness--to establish, to constitute, to confirm. Thus "He commanded, and it stood fast." (Psalm 33:9)
"Say among the nations, The Lord reigns; the world also is established that it cannot be moved." (Psalm 96:10, RV)
Whatever God says is so. His saying so makes it so, because it was already in His word.
Remember now that creation is the assurance and pledge of redemption. God has a desire to the work of His hands, and has not made it to be destroyed.
"For thus says the Lord that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; He has established it, He created it not in vain, He formed it to be inhabited." (Isaiah 45:18)
"Your people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified." (Isaiah 60:21)
"Whatsoever God does, it shall be for ever; nothing can be put to it, nor anything taken from it; and God does it, that men should fear before Him." (Ecclesiastes 3:14)
Therefore although the earth is defiled and corrupted, and men are depraved and lost, the fact that God made the earth, and made man to inhabit it, is proof that it, with man, will be redeemed and restored. Nay, more, it is proof that the work of redemption has been done; for "we which have believed do enter into rest,...[because] the works were finished from the foundation of the world." (Hebrews 4:3)
"Wherefore if any man is in Christ, there is a new creation." (2 Corinthians 5:17, RV, margin)
In Christ, "who is the image of the invisible God, the Firstborn of all creation," (Colossians 1:15, RV) we have redemption through His blood, because "in Him were all things created." (Colossians 1:16, RV)
Let us then see what practical help there is for us in the repetition of the words, "And God said, Let it be," "and it was so," in the story of the creation. As we read the following texts we should remember that we may make them a reality to us by responding from the heart, "Amen," that is, "Let it be so," or "It is so." If we do this, we have creation repeated in us.
"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 2:5)
"Let all bitterness, and wrath, and clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice." (Ephesians 4:31)
"Let the peace of God rule in your hearts... Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom." (Colossians 3:15-16)
And finally: "Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; And you yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding." (Luke 12:35-36)
And this: "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." (Matthew 5:16)
These last texts are most closely allied to our lesson, for the first thing mentioned in creation is light.
"God said, Let there be light: and there was light." (Genesis 1:3)
Now: "It is God, who said, Light shall shine out of darkness, who shined in our hearts, to give the light the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." (2 Corinthians 4:6, RV)
The command to us is: "Arise, shine; for your light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people; but the Lord shall arise upon you, and His glory shall be seen upon you." (Isaiah 60:1-2)
Is it not glorious to know that simple, implicit faith in the Scripture record of creation, and the recognition of the fact that God is still the same Creator, will drive away all the darkness of sin, and make us light in the Lord?
The All-Pervading, All-Powerful Spirit
"And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." (Genesis 1:2)
The word rendered "moved" is the same that is used with reference to a bird fluttering over her nest (Deuteronomy 32:11) or brooding over her eggs or young. Here we have the Spirit represented as the source of all the power that brings order out of chaos, and gives every particle of matter its right relation to every other particle throughout the universe. Milton recognized this, when, in beginning the story of Paradise Lost, he wrote:
And chiefly Thou, O Spirit, that dost prefer
Before all temples th' upright heart, and pure,
Instruct me, for Thou know'st; Thou from the first
Wast present, and, with mighty wings outspread,
Dove-like sat'st brooding on the vast Abyss,
And mad'st it pregnant.
There is a power the existence of which scientists recognize, yet which to them is a mystery. Following the ancient heathen philosophers, they have declared that there are various "forces" inherent in matter, and have named them "cohesion," "gravitation," etc., not heeding the obvious fact that what they were naming was not the power itself, but the working of the power, that which the power accomplished. Thus: Cohesion is not the name of a force, but the result of the application of a force.
The word "cohesion" means holding together; and to say that atoms are held together by cohesion is absurd, since it is but another way of saying that matter holds together by holding together! There is such a thing as cohesion, for matter certainly coheres, or holds together, but the statement of that fact is far from telling us what holds it together. Scientists recognize that there is a lack in their philosophy, but they are slow to accept that which will supply the lack.
In the third volume of Nature's Miracles, Prof. Elisha Gray, in speaking of the mystery of electricity, says: I cannot but think that there is yet a simple statement to be made of Energy in its relation to Matter, that will establish a closer relationship between the different branches of physical science. And this, most likely, will be brought about by a better understanding of the nature of the interstellar substance called Ether, and its relation to all forms and conditions of sensible matter.
This substance called Ether exists not merely in the interstellar spaces, but is everywhere. It pervades all matter. It is generally accepted as a truth that light is conveyed to us by wavelike motions in this unknown substance, and light pervades all things. The so-called X-rays, that is, the unknown rays of light, prove to us that there is light even in things previously supposed to be perfectly opaque, since by them men can now see through a board; and in view of this no man dare say that there are not rays of light that penetrate stones and all metals. God's question to Job: "Where is the way where light dwells?" (Job 38:19) still remains unanswered. God only knows, for: "God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all." (1 John 1:5)
In Light Visible and Invisible, Prof. Silvanus C. Thompson, after showing that the waves of light are not waves of the air, says:
They are waves of another medium which, so far as we know, exists all through space, and which we know, using Sir Isaac Newton's term, the ether. If you ask me what the ether is made of, let me frankly say, I do not know. ... They are waves of a medium which, though millions of times less dense than water or air, has yet a property that resists being torn or sheared asunder; exceeding the resistance to shear even of hard-tempered steel.
Now if we are but simple enough to believe that the God who created all things has in His Book given us an exact statement of the facts of creation, we may know this mystery that puzzles the wise men of the world. Read again (Genesis 1:2), and with it this scripture: "Whither shall I go from your Spirit? or whither shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend up into heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in hell [literally, hole, pit, the lowest part of the earth], behold, You are there." (Psalm 139:7-8)
"God has spoken once; twice have I heard this; that power belongs unto God." (Psalm 62:11)
That is, power is the attribute of God.
"There is no power but of God." (Romans 13:1)
And the Spirit of God is the wielder of this power.
"Not by might, nor by power [earthly might or power], but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts." (Zechariah 4:6)
Only One Force
There are not, therefore, many forces in the universe, but only one force,--the power of the Spirit of God, who is, literally "above all, and through all, and in all." (Ephesians 4:6)
It is the Spirit of God in Christ, that holds all things together. There are not different forces, but different manifestations of one force. The "simple statement" of Energy, for which Professor Gray wished, has already been made. The Word of God is Spirit and life; "[It] is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and quick to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature that is not manifest in His sight; but all things are naked and laid open before the eyes of Him with whom we have to do." (Hebrews 4:12-13, RV)
The word "active" in this text is energès, which we have Anglicized as "energy." So the Energy which philosophers recognize as in all matter, but of the source of which so many of them are willingly ignorant, is the one Spirit of God.
Now we can understand why it is that the enemy of all unrighteousness has so persistently tried to induce men to reject the Scripture narrative of creation. He does not wish them to recognize the power that sanctifies and saves. For it is a fact that the Gospel is in creation.
"We are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God has from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit, and belief of the truth." (2 Thessalonians 2:13)
The power that is seen in all creation is the power that sanctifies. If men would only believe that which is,--would believe things as they are,--that which the earth itself reveals, they would be saved.
"Truth springs out of the earth," (Psalm 85:11, RV) because "the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord." (Psalm 33:5)
God the Present Creator
In the face of all these truths that we have been reading from the Word, if we are not careful we shall still fall into or remain in a fatal error. So far has Satan succeeded in blinding men's minds that, even though they recognize the fact that God did create all things in the beginning, they do not recognize Him as still the Creator. They say that the operations of "nature" are carried on by certain "laws," as though God had retired from business, leaving somebody or something else to carry it on. They forget that the One who created all things is still "upholding all things by the Word of His power." (Hebrews 1:3)
Let us for a moment consider the idea that things are regulated by laws, and that God himself does not work personally in all things. Is it not clear that whatever it is that works in matter must be exercising the power of God, and that therefore if it is not God himself, it must be somebody or something else equal to Him? But there is but one God, and He has not deified anything or anybody else. There is indeed a law directing and controlling all things, but it is the life of God. God's life is the law of the universe.
Bear in mind that no law that is "enacted" can enforce itself. The only law that can execute its own decrees is "the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus." (Romans 8:2)
Men speak of "the law of plant life," as though the plant studied a book of law, in order to learn how it should grow. It does grow according to a certain law, but that law is the life of God in it. The commandment, "you shall not have any other gods before me," (Exodus 20:3) forbids our deifying matter or law, and shuts us up to the recognition of God himself as personally present by His Spirit, upholding, directing, and controlling the universe and every atom in it. He is still the Beginning. The same power that in the beginning brought all things into being still works in them to keep them in existence. It is only the personal working of the Spirit of God that keeps the earth from dissolving into chaos, as at the first.
All this is "for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope." (Romans 15:4)
It lets us know that the power that is exerted throughout the universe is the power that works in us to will and to do the good pleasure of God. (Philippians 2:13)
"[He] is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us." (Ephesians 3:20)
We have but to recognize God as the Creator of all things, as the ever-living, ever-working God, the One who wills our sanctification by the same Spirit that brooded over the face of the waters in the beginning, and to accept that will as ours, to be perfectly saved from sin. Just think! The God whose "exceeding great and precious promises" are given to make me a partaker of the Divine nature, and to save man from the corruption that is in the world through lust, (2 Peter 1:4) is the God whose Word brought the worlds into being. Nothing is hard for Him. He who can create a world in an instant of time, can surely save me to the uttermost. (Hebrews 7:25)
The Memorial of Creation and Redemption
"The works of the Lord are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein. His work is honorable and glorious; and His righteousness endures for ever. He has made His wonderful works to be remembered." (Psalm 111:2-4)
Literally: "He has made a memorial for His wonderful works."
By what means has God made His wonderful works to be remembered? By the Sabbath day; for when God had finished the heavens and the earth, and all their host, "He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it; because that in it He had rested from all His work which God created and made." (Genesis 2:2-3)
The Sabbath was given to man, to be a continual reminder of God's wonderful works. Therefore He says: "I gave them my Sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord which sanctify them." (Ezekiel 20:12)
It is so self-evident that the seventh day of the week, commonly called Saturday, is the Sabbath here spoken of, that we shall not here take time to dwell upon that.
Sabbath means rest; it is God's rest that we are to enter into; and the seventh day is the Sabbath--the rest--of the Lord your God. Nothing in time or eternity can ever change the fact that God created the heavens and the earth in six days, and rested on the seventh day; and therefore the Sabbath of the Lord can never be changed. Men may make another sabbath for themselves, as they have done; but this is but a part of the working whereby they have made other gods for themselves. Nevertheless there is really only one God, and only one Sabbath.
This seventh-day Sabbath is the sign and seal of redemption. Thus: It is the memorial of creation, but not of creation as it now appears. God did not rest from His labors until "[He] saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it was very good." (Genesis 1:31)
The Sabbath commemorates a perfect, new creation.
The Sabbath and the New Man
Now we have only to remember that that new creation which God surveyed and pronounced very good, included man. There was a new heaven and a new earth, and a new man. The Sabbath, therefore, is the sign that a perfect, new man has been created; and so it is the sign and seal of a new man in Christ; for "if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature." (2 Corinthians 5:17)
The Gospel restores man in his original perfection, and the Sabbath is the assurance that God who made a perfect man in the beginning can still do it.
"We which have believed do enter into rest." (Hebrews 4:3)
The rest here referred to is God's rest, as the verse itself shows, and that is the Sabbath, the seventh day. See the commandment, and also "[God] spoke in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all His works." (Hebrews 4:4)
"And in this place again, They shall not enter into my rest." (Hebrews 4:5, RV)
The Israelites that came out of Egypt "could not enter in because of unbelief." (Hebrews 3:19)
Belief justifies, makes righteous. So we are not required to keep the Sabbath in order to become righteous, but Sabbath-keeping is the natural, inevitable result of perfect, complete redemption--the finished work of God. When we accept God as the Creator of all things, as our Creator, then we rest in His finished work, the work which was finished from the foundation of the world; and the sign that we do thus accept Him is the keeping of His rest--the seventh day.--Present Truth, June 27, 1901--International Sunday-school Lesson for July 7--Genesis 1, 2:1-3.
E.J. Waggoner