Lesson 1 - God Creates the World

God made the world in six days by the power of His Word. All creation is God’s blessing to us.

Opening

Prayer: Lord, send your Holy Spirit to open our hearts and minds as we study Your Word so that Your Truth is revealed to us.

This lesson studies what God’s Word says about creation and compares it to scientific theories related to the universe. You’ll need the Bible along with paper and pencil.

Watch the video What is the Evidence for the Big Bang? In this video, Fraser Cain, editor of the Universe Today website, cites four kinds of evidence for the big bang theory. As you watch it, write down information presented as evidence, assumptions, conclusions or theories.

In case, the meaning of those words is not clear, here are some definitions:

Evidence – Facts that can be proven that support a conclusion or opinion.

Assumption – A statement accepted as true without sufficient facts to prove it.

Conclusion – A judgement or decision reached by reasoning

Theory – A conclusion based on a combination of evidence and assumptions

 

Four Kinds of Evidence Cited to Support the Big Bang Theory

The universe is expanding (conclusion not evidence): Evidence includes measuring changes in wavelengths of light to calculate the assumed speed and direction of spiral galaxies and differences of energy output and time between pulses of pulsing stars. Both assume the speed of light has stayed the same after the assumed big bang. We have measured the speed of light for less than four hundred years. What if light traveled faster or slower in an earlier time?

An abundance of elements (evidence) Cain said that right after the big bang, “hydrogen compressed into a tiny volume with crazy heat and pressure” (theory). Measurements of hydrogen and other trace elements (evidence) exactly match expected results if the universe was once a big star (assumption). Could other factors, perhaps yet unknown, affect these elements?

Cosmic microwave background radiation comes from every direction (evidence). The theory assumes a massive radiation release from the big bang billions of years ago that shifted from visible light to background radiation (conclusion/theory) as it traveled away.  Could something else cause it? And why does it come from all directions, instead of moving in one direction?

The formation of galaxies and large-scale structures of the cosmos (evidence) shows a cooling universe (conclusion/theory) where gravity (evidence) pulled these structures together (evidence/theory).

Cain misleadingly said, “Almost all astronomers agree on the theories of the big bang.” However, many physicists do not agree with the big bang theory. They also do not agree on a “unified field” theory to explain gravity, special gravity, special relativity, electromagnetism and other mysteries. Einstein’s original theory of general relativity has been revised and continues to be modified by current research.

In addition, evolution has largely been discredited by the study of DNA, the complexity of cells and systems, the fossil record, and probability theory.

The website dissentfromdarwin.org lists over 800 scientists, including Nobel Prize winners,  that are skeptical about Darwin evolution.

Also many scientific theories have been discredited from the past such as the flat earth, earth-concentric solar system instead of sun-concentric, location of the plant Vulcan between Mercury and the Sun, Mars canals just to name a few.

Christians believe the Bible is God’s true Word and consider Genesis Chapter 1 to be a historical account not a science textbook, myth or poetry. We see evidence of God’s creation in our complex, finely tunes world, our intricate bodies and the vast universe.

 

God Speaks

Read Genesis 1:1-2:3. As you do makes notes about what God did in the seven days of creation.

Before God created, there was nothing. The Latin word ex nihilo means "out of nothing”.  Interestingly, this is what the opening video said big bang theorists think existed before the beginning.   However, most physicists acknowledge they do not know what existed previously.  Early in his career, Albert Einstein thought the universe was eternal with no beginning. He was Jewish, not an atheist, as many claim.

Genesis shows God's organized and orderly work, not chaos.

God first created light. According to video, the universe started in one place as a large star (light). God created heaven next.

God created vegetation before He set up the moon and the sun, which provides light for plants to grow. But, remember light was already created.

The order in which God created creatures matches closely with scientific suggestions: water creatures, birds; livestock, creeping things, beasts; humans

The Hebrew verb for create" is used in the Bible only to describe God's work never human's, affirming that only God truly creates out of nothing.

Principles of scriptural interpretation consider the literature type (in this case historical), context of immediate verses, the book (Genesis), and other writings by  the same author (Moses), and all of Scripture; and use the most obvious word  meaning, unless context and literature type suggest otherwise.  Our church teaches that each day was a literal twenty-four-hour day. A study  of other places in Scripture that use the Hebrew words translated as day,  morning, and evening also usually use these common meanings.

Some Christians believe creation took longer than seven days to make it more compatible with science. However, we should not change Scripture to fit our ideas. While facts prove many aspects of Scripture, we do not base our faith on human validation of these facts.

Rather, the Holy Spirit leads us to believe God's creation account in Genesis 1 as true. Christians believe it by faith (Hebrews 11:3) because God said it in His true Holy Word, the Bible, which is without errors.

God spoke and the world was created. The Word of God has awesome power that the human mind cannot understand. And God said His creation was good. And God blessed the animals and people by telling them to be fruitful and multiply.

Print out the Student Page 1 and read Genesis 1:2 again along with John 1 verses on Student Page.

We call God the Father "Creator," but He wasn't alone in the beginning. The Holy Spirit hovered over the waters. God created all things through the Word, His Son.

Jesus is the light of the world (John 8:12). He came as a humble, helpless baby to be our Savior, to die on the cross to pay for our sins, and to rise from the dead to give us new life with our triune God, now and forever.

God created all things through Christ, the Word.  Jesus gives all who receive Him and believe in His name the right to be called the children of God. The Holy Spirit works through Baptism and God’s Word to give us faith and make us God's children.

Read 2 Timothy 3:16-17 and 2 Peter 1:21 on Student Page. These verses reinforce the power and truth of God's Word. We believe the Bible is God’s Word and accept the creation account as truth. Believing in the inspiration of the Scripture means trusting the Word as written. 

Question 3 in Luther’s Small Catechism with Explanation says, "The Bible is the Holy Scripture because God the Holy Spirit gave to His chosen writers the thoughts that they expressed and the words that they wrote (verbal inspiration). Therefore, the Bible is God's own Word and truth, without error.

We Live

Discuss the four statements on the Student Page under the heading The world says… and use what you have learned from Scripture today. These statements contain basics of the theory of evolution, which contradicts the Word of God.

The world began with a chaotic big bang. Evolution maintains life was created by accident; out of chaos, life began and progressed to what it is today.  However, we believe our world was not created by pure chance or random accident. We observe great order in the universe. Our world and all its creatures are too complex to evolve by chance.

Nature maintains rhythms and patterns passed from season to season and from one generation to the next. Our cells use elaborate systems, intricate sequences, and complex combinations of proteins, bacteria, and other substances.

Roger Penrose, British mathematician and co-worker/friend of Stephen Hawking calculated the probability of an orderly universe coming out of the big bang as 1 in 10 followed by 23 zeros (1, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000). However, probability theorists say anything less than 1 in 10 followed by 50 zeros (1, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000) is impossible. 

Death is nature's way of ensuring the survival of the fittest.  Evolution sees death as natural and necessary for the survival of the fittest. Christians see death as a consequence of sin (Romans 6:23; Genesis 3:19). God is not the author of evil but the giver of life. God’s basic attributes make evolution impossible.

Plants and animals evolved over time and eventually developed into new species. God made animals and plants unique in their own way. Scientists observe microevolution within species, small changes and adaptations.

However macroevolution, where one species turns into another, has never be observed. Darwin’s theory depends on mutations happening often and with positive results. Instead, we observe mutations happening one at a time, not in bunches and usually bringing negative, not positive results. For example, a genetic mutation causes progeria, which causes accelerated aging.

Probability theorists also say there isn't enough time for life to evolve with Darwin’s mutations. According to prominent evolutionist Dr. Francisco Ayala from the University of California, Irvine, the chance of humans evolving from bacteria is 1 in 10 to the millionth power.  Remember, more than 1 in 1o to the 50th power is considered impossible.

In his book The Cell's Design: How Chemistry Reveals the Creator’s Artistry, Dr. Fazale Rana cites over one hundred examples of startling similarities of biologically unrelated creatures that could not have evolved similar features through separate branches of life. Examples include the similar structure of bird and bat wings, which do not have a genetic connection to a common ancestor.

Humans descended from apes. Scripture says that God created humans in a special way and gave them souls (next week's lesson), We did not evolve from another mammal.Read Romans 1:20-22 on the Student Page. These verses shine light on the lesson. God's creation shows the reality of His existence. When we see our magnificent world, the size of the universe, and the complexity of the human body, we realize someone had to create it. Orderly, systematic processes do not spring up from nothing.

Things do not naturally get better, especially without intervention. Instead, things decay and degrade. People who fail to see God's work in creation and who don't seek to know Him through His Word become futile and foolish in their thinking.

As scientists learn more about the complexity of God's creation and the tiny variations in the many parameters that sustain life, more conclude that there must be an intelligent mind involved in its design.

God richly and daily provides all we need to support our bodies and life.  God's Word is powerful. God promises to care for our physical and spiritual needs. Through God's Word and Sacraments, the Holy Spirit creates faith in the one true triune God. By grace through faith in Christ Jesus, who died for our sins and rose from the dead, we receive forgiveness of sin and eternal life. In faith, we trust God to provide all we need for daily life.

We have not always seen God as our Creator or been good stewards of His gifts. Despite our sin, God adopted us as His children in Baptism and forgives our sins in Christ Jesus. May He keep us in the true faith by His grace and mercy.

Closing

Listen to Thy Strong Word and consider the first verse – God spoke and the darkness was split apart (cleaved) by light (Genesis 1:3). God created the world by the power of His Word alone. He spoke and it came into existence.

On the Student Page, read the First Article of the Apostle’s Creed and it’s meaning from Luther’s Small Catechism.

Prayer: God give us faith to believe that You created the earth and the heavens and that You continue to provide us with all we need to sustain life including forgiveness of sins through Your Son, Jesus Christ.