The Bible is the Word of God. I don’t make it the Word of God. It already is the Word of God. The only information that is correct in this world about how it all began and what God actually did is in the written revelation of God we call the Bible. I believe that. I believe it’s crucial that we all understand that’s a position that we are coming at, that what God’s Word says is all the revelation that we have.
SPEAKER 02 :
This is Hope for Today, and what a blessing it is to have you with us for the Friday edition of the program. You know, Genesis 1 doesn’t open with man, science, or speculation. It opens with God. God. No defense, no excuse, no apology. In the beginning, God. Wow. And before a single thing in this universe, in our universe, had shape, color, form, or life, he was already there. Stay with us as Bible teacher David Hawking shows us a world unformed, empty, and covered in darkness, but not out of control, because the Spirit of God was there, moving over the waters. This is day two of David’s consideration of Genesis 1, 1 through 2. And we’ve titled our look at these verses, In the Beginning. Stay tuned. We’re back in Genesis 1, 1 through 2. And stand at the edge of everything in just a moment. First, Matt, our listener letter today comes from American Christian Network Territory. Shout out to Tom Reed and his fine crew up there. What a blessing they are. Amen. And this note really touched my heart. Go ahead and share that from a listener. I love it.
SPEAKER 01 :
It says, God bless you and all those volunteers you have. Yeah. As you open up scripture in a deep way, you cause us to look at it and you let us see more. Wow. Sometimes we forget God is in control. Yes. And he has, can, and does bless us. with a vision of his word you bring to us. Thank you. I listen every morning at 7.30 a.m. on 9.30 a.m. Yeah, it’s awesome. American Christian Network.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, thank you so much for that note. And do you have a note for us? Tell us how you’re growing in faith as you listen to the program. And if you’d also like to support the ministry to become a part of it, get in touch with us on that as well. I’ll tell you just a bit later how to do that. Now turn to Genesis chapter one. We’re going back to verses one through two of the chapter to continue David’s look at the beginning.
SPEAKER 04 :
Today, in the Christian world, there are those who approach Genesis with what we call a double revelation theory. It goes something like this. There is a revelation in God’s Word, the written Word of God, but there’s also a revelation in the material and physical universe. And so these are two sources of revelation or information to man about God and His ways. Now, at first glance, and when it’s presented very effectively by those who support it, it sounds correct. The Bible does say in Psalm 19.1 that the heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament showeth his handiwork. The Bible does say in Romans 1.20 that the invisible things of God, his eternal power and Godhead, are clearly understood by the things that are made. Now is it true that we learn facts about God and his universe from the universe? Yes, that is true. But I do not believe in double revelation. I believe that whatever is the correct view about that is also found in the Bible. The very fact of saying the heavens declare the glory of God is a Bible verse. It is a revelation from God to us about the universe. That the heavens do declare the glory of God. Apart from the written revelation, I would not even know that fact. I would not know that they do. I would not know that that is what the Bible actually teaches. There is a single revelation from God to man that is now written in God’s Word. It’s a final, complete, written revelation. And it is everything we need to know about how it all began, about what God actually did or did not do. The reason why I’m telling you this is there are many Christians who are approaching the first 11 chapters of Genesis in particular with the idea that the Bible is sort of mythological literature. It struggles and stumbles to say what happened, but we know through scientific discovery what really took place, and so we have to kind of adjust the Bible to fit what we have learned from science. My answer to that is given enough time, science will catch up with the Bible. I have found that the most complete, accurate, understandable terminologies about the origin of the solar system and our own existence are found within the pages of God’s holy word. I have never seen any improvement upon it. Not one. No, this is not the ramblings of a preacher who has his head in the sand. We are going to take every issue and deal with them. We’re not going to run away from them. We’re going to take our time with them. But I want you to understand that I believe the total revelation of God that he wants us to know about creation, about what he actually did or said or accomplished is within the context of the written word of God we call the Bible. That is my source and that is what I believe is the truth about it all. In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth, 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. Now the first point that we want to establish is that creation is a revelation of the glory of God. When you ask me, David, what is creation? It is a revelation of the glory of God, and it involves His person, who He really is. He is the key. The heavens declare what? The glory of God. You see, if you study the heavens, if you get into astronomy or the laws of physics, if you begin to study geology but you do not see the glory of God, you do not understand what the Bible’s revelation is all about. It is a revelation. The creation of the material universe, it’s a revelation of the glory of God. Turn to Psalm 97, verse 6. There are many things about the character and nature of God that are revealed in the creation. And here’s one that might surprise you. Just to give you an example, a taste of what we’re going to be getting into. It says in verse 6, the heavens declare his what? Righteousness. And all the people see his glory. Jewish poetry with parallelism, two comparative statements. The heavens declare his righteousness. All the peoples see by those heavens his glory. But notice what the heavens declare. When it says declare his glory, it’s declaring his nature, who he is. And one of the things we see in the heavens is the righteousness of God. That’s only one example. Go to Romans chapter 1. So why did God create the universe? Why did God create all things? To reveal His glory. Because prior to creation, there was nothing save the glory of God. So the glory of God is going to be manifested through what He made. Now I read in Romans 1 that this is a crucial issue for all of us dealing with our response to God. In verse 18 it says, “…the wrath of God is revealed from heaven.” Against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold the truth, literally hold down or suppress the truth, in unrighteousness. In other words, they are fighting this. Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them. For God has shown it unto them. For the invisible things of him, he is the invisible God, 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. You say, is God going to send people to hell in some jungle of this world who have never heard the gospel of Jesus Christ? There’s good news and bad news about that question. The good news is that God isn’t going to hold you accountable for what you don’t know. The bad news is he’s going to hold you accountable for what you do know. The most primitive, uncivilized person in this world, in some jungle, who has never heard the gospel of Jesus Christ, is accountable to God for his environment and surroundings. And he is without excuse on two points called the eternal power of the Godhead. First of all, if he’s eternal, what it means is whoever made this thing existed before it was made, if he made it. That should be an obvious point, very simple. A little child can understand it. and also whoever this person or force was who made all of this, he obviously is bigger than you and I. I mean, when was the last time you made a galaxy? So those are just two things. You say, well, that’s not very much information. That’s true. And you would think that man would respond to that limited amount of information, that whoever or whatever made this thing had to exist before it was made, if he made it, and secondly, that he had to have the power to do it, and that power is certainly bigger than you and I have. Now the interesting question is, does man live up to the light of that information? Watch this carefully, verse 21. Because when they knew God, they glorified him not as God. Neither were thankful, but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools. And changed the glory. Again, what is the number one point we started with? That creation is a revelation of the glory of God. They changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man and birds and four-footed beasts and creeping things, the very things that God created. So they’re worshiping the created thing rather than the creator. And that, I say to you, is the fundamental problem in presenting the gospel of Christ. We have a natural tendency to worship ourselves or something we ourselves have designed, even in religion, much more than we worship the creator. And for this reason, we are without excuse. And if we do not live up to the light God has given us in creation, then God says he will give them up. Give them up to vile affections and doing all kinds of tragic, sinful things. And verse 32 says, Who, knowing the judgment of God, that they who commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them. You’re looking at depravity there and not responding to the revelation of God that’s in creation. Now go back to Genesis chapter 1, please, verse 1. In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. We said that creation is a revelation of the glory of God, so the natural question is, well, what is revealed by that creation concerning the glory of God? Number one, it reveals his obvious preexistence. I don’t know why it is that people ignore what is the most simple point of all, But you understand that if God created it, he was in existence before it was made. Amen? That’s not really that tough. But it can change your life. Before anything was made at all, there was God. You say, well, who made God? I feel like saying, who made you? No one made God. The very term demands eternal presence. He never had a beginning or end. If he was made, then he’s not God. Amen? God made the heavens and earth. It reveals his obvious pre-existence when it says, in the beginning. The word beginning used 106 times in your English Bible. The Hebrew word appears about 51 times in the Old Testament. We have an interesting statement here. It says, in the beginning, God, and the word God is plural, Elohim. There is a singular usage of that word, El or Elohe, in the Bible, but the normal form of the word God is plural. You say, well, does that indicate the triunity of God? I think it does. Jewish people call this a majestic plural. It emphasizes the great power and majesty of God. That’s not bad, but I think there’s more than that. But to show you how phenomenal this is, it’s a plural noun, but the word created is a singular verb. So the plural God created, and it’s not a plural verb. It’s a plural, it’s a singular verb going with the plural noun, which is quite unusual to say the least. In Psalm 90, verse 1 and 2, it says, Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations, before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hast formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. What is revealed? Well, obviously, his preexistence is revealed. In the beginning, God created everything. Now even when it says God created, it uses this very special Hebrew word, the word bara. Interestingly, it is never used of men. Not once. It’s used 53 times in the Bible. Seven times in our passage on creation. Let’s take a look at it. Verse 1, God created. Verse 21, interestingly, God created great whales. And every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, and every winged fowl. Interesting, he created those three categories. If you come down to verse 27, you’ll see the word again. So God created man in his own image. And again, it’s a Hebrew word, bara. In the image of God created he him, male and female created he them. I don’t know how many people believe that God made the woman out of the rib of a man, and therefore she was not created, but only the male was created. I’m sorry, the Bible says differently. The male and female were both created by God. Now when you come to chapter 2, verse 3 and 4, you see it again. The last phrase of verse 3, God, all his work which God created and made. Apparently the word made and created are used interchangeably, which is interesting. Verse 4, these are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens. Now creation, bara, is to create out of nothing. No previously existing materials. The word made, which is used 10 times in our creation story and 2,629 times in the Bible, and I assure you I did not look them all up. But that word made can mean either made out of nothing or made out of material that existed. But when you use the word bara, created, it means out of nothing. There was no previously existing material. Now let’s follow the theme of God creating. Go to chapter 5, please, and look at verse 1 and 2. We said our simple point is that creation is a revelation of the glory of God, and that it reveals, first of all, his obvious preexistence in the beginning God. Now in Genesis 5, 1 and 2, the Bible, interestingly, continues to repeat the message of creation. This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him. Male and female created he them and blessed them and called their name Adam in the day when they were created. So they are created. It continues that thought of what God has done, creating out of nothing. You say, wait a minute, I thought God formed man out of the dust of the ground. Genesis 2, 7. Hebrew word yassar, to form or to fashion. That is referring only to man’s body. There are 16 chemical elements of the soil in the human body. That’s why when you die and the spirit departs, the body will decay. When it says that God made man in his own image, God at that moment did not have a body. There are cults and even evangelicals today, who at least call themselves that, who are teaching that God did have a physical body. They even describe how tall he is and how much he weighs. which is utter nonsense since he fills the universe with himself. I like what one high school kid said to me after I taught this. He said, man, he’s one big dude. Yeah, that’s right. He fills the universe with himself. But when you see that argument, understand that it’s man’s body that is formed out of the dust of the ground. What it’s talking about when God created man in his own image is our soul or our personality. We think because God thinks. We feel because he feels. We have volitional and rational choice because he does. So it’s very important to understand it’s the immaterial, invisible part of all of us that we call personality or soul that was created in the image of God after his likeness. The physical body was made or formed, fashioned out of the dust of the ground. Now go to Genesis 6, 7. When the flood came, you once again have God’s creative power mentioned. It says, The Lord said, verse 7, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast and creeping thing and fowls of the air. All of that he created. For repentance means that I have made them. The word made and created often used interchangeably in the Bible. Go to Psalm 148. Psalm 148, verses 1 to 5. Praise ye the Lord. Praise ye the Lord from the heavens. Praise him in the heights. Praise ye him, all his angels. Praise ye him, all his hosts. Praise ye him, sun and moon. Praise him, all you stars of light. Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that are above the heavens. Let them praise the name of the Lord, for he commanded, and they were what? Created. You see, the Bible makes it clear that creation happens by the simple word of God. He commanded and they were created. Nothing else is needed. All God needs to do is speak it and it comes into existence. God said, God said, God said. Ten times in the creation story. He commanded and all of this was created. Now how much time is necessary to create it when it all happens as a result of what you say? The way I see it, as long as it takes God to talk, say it. For instance, we know according to the Genesis account that he said, let there be light. And there what? Was light. Well, what do you do for the rest of the day? Just to carry this a step further, we will later tell you why there are 24 hours in a day, why God did that. He had a special reason. But there are those who believe the days of Genesis are long days. We’re going to get heavy into this, show you both sides of the argument. But one of their arguments is that creation takes longer. I don’t know where they get it. God said it. It happened. Did you know that the Bible itself is the result of the creative breath of God? It says in 2 Timothy 3.16, all scripture is by inspiration of God. The Greek words are, every writing, a compound, God breathed. All God did is breathe. He just took a breath. Did you know that to design all the heavens and the beauty of all those stars, God calls it finger play? You know, I don’t know if God had a cold, but if he sneezed, I’m sure that we’d have another solar system. It didn’t take God any time at all. God has such power, all he does is say the word and it’s there. Does light really have to travel 186,000 miles a second through the entire galaxies of galaxies that we know presently exist and finally arrive at planet Earth for us to see the time factor of Genesis when it says, let there be light and there was light? No way. God didn’t have to sit around and wait for it to travel, even at that lightning speed. God said, let there be light. What happened? It diffused light in the entire system at once. Didn’t take any time at all. In a 24-hour day, God still has 23 hours, 59 minutes, and several seconds to just fool around. The truth of the matter is, God says. He commanded, and it was done. It was created. That’s what it says.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, that’s David Hawking, and this is Hope for Today. Just before David returns with his closing comments, some additional teaching, Matt and I have a resource that we’d love to tell you about. Matt, this is a great book by your dad, and it’s called The Beginning from Creation to the Flood. It’s 150 plus powerhouse pages of teaching through Genesis 1 through 11. Again, this is David’s book, The Beginning, From Creation to the Flood. It’s a study with vital and encouraging insights into God’s power, his faithfulness, righteousness, and love through the earliest days of history. But also insights to govern and direct our lives today. Exactly. And Matt, with the proliferation of confusion today, and we see so much of that around us, don’t we? Big time. It is so vital that we understand the whole counsel of Scripture and anchor ourselves in its power.
SPEAKER 01 :
Starting with the essential first 11 chapters. Exactly, exactly. And the matter of origins, as we see dramatically and miraculously unveiled in Genesis, is vitally important for our sense of purpose, worth, and meaning in life. Amen to that, Matt.
SPEAKER 02 :
While the beginning from Creation to the Flood by David Hawking is just $15. And friend, your purchase or a donation, if you choose that, helps the ministry of Hope for Today. And please pray for Hope for Today. Amen to that. Amen. And if you’d like a copy of this book, call us at 800-75-BIBLE. In the U.S., it’s 800-75-24253. And if you live in Canada, reach us at 888-75-BIBLE. Again, that’s 888-75-242-53. And of course, you can always order at davidhawking.org. That’s our website, davidhawking.org. And by the way, when you grab yourself a copy, consider picking up a copy for a friend or maybe two of them while you’re at it. Or maybe give a copy to a middle school or high schooler in your life. By the way, if you’d like to tell us how God is using this ministry in your life, that is so encouraging. Drop us a note at Hope for Today, Box 3927, Tustin, California, 92781. In Canada, write to Hope for Today, Box 15011, RPO7OAKS, Abbotsford, B.C., V2S, HP1. All right, now here’s David to bring our time in the Word to a close. Hi, folks.
SPEAKER 03 :
Are you a partner with us at Hope for Today? I sure hope so. This ministry is dedicated to the Bible, the whole Bible, and nothing but the Bible. We rely upon the partnerships that we have with listeners just like you to stay on the air as well as on the Internet. God makes it possible for us to bring you sound biblical teaching based on His Word alone through your prayerful and financial support. You can join us in prayer support, and if you so lead, you can give financially as well. God bless you, and thanks for listening.
SPEAKER 02 :
Like David said, your generous donations help keep Hope for Today on the air and online, and help us continue declaring the truth of God’s Word to people who need strong, clear, biblical teaching. And that’s all of us, isn’t it? To send your gift by mail in the U.S., write to Hope for Today, Box 3927, Tustin, California, In Canada, write to Hope for Today, Box 15011, RPO 7 Oaks, Abbotsford, B.C., V2S 8P1. You can also call us in the U.S. at 875-BIBLE. In Canada, 888-75-BIBLE. And Bible is 24253. And of course, you can always visit us online at davidhawking.org. davidhawking.org. And by the way, when you get in touch, please let us know where you listen. If you would include the call letters of your station, your city, and how you listen, it might be by radio, online, a podcast, or some other way. That information is a real help to us. It helps us see more clearly where the Lord is opening doors, where this broadcast is reaching people, and how Hope for Today is fitting into the daily lives of listeners. And it really helps us be better stewards of the opportunities God has given to us, making wise decisions, praying more specifically and serving our listeners more thoroughly. So when you write, call or contact us, please do take a moment to share that information with us. We’d be grateful. Well, next time on Hope for Today, David continues his look into the origins of everything, focusing on Genesis chapter 1, verses 1 through 2, considering why this world is here, why man is here, and why none of this begins with us. It begins with God. Amen. Join us next time right here on Hope for Today.
