Presentation on doctrine of creation by Todd Linn, PhD; the biblical basis of creation

1. The Doctrine of Creation

2. BIBLICAL BASIS
For the Doctrine of Creation
The “How” and “Why”

3. How Did God Create?
• Ex Nihilo— “Out of nothing.” Two
phrases speak of how God created:
1. By the word of the Lord (Psalm 33:6;
Psalm 148:5)

4. Psalm 33:6
By the word of the LORD the
heavens were made,
And all the host of them by the
breath of His mouth.

5. Psalm 148:5
Let them praise the name of the
LORD,
For He commanded and they
were created.

6. How Did God Create?
• Ex Nihilo— “Out of nothing.” Two
phrases speak of how God created:
1. “By the word of the Lord” (Psalm 33:6;
Psalm 148:5)
2. “God said” (Genesis 1:3, 6, 9, etc., 2
Corinthians 4:6)

7. Genesis 1:3, 6, 9 …
“Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and
there was light.”
“Then God said, ‘Let there be a firmament
in the midst of the waters...’”
“Then God said, ‘Let the waters under the
heavens be gathered together into one
place . . .’”

8. 2 Corinthians 4:6
“For it is the God who commanded light
to shine out of darkness, who has
shone in our hearts to give the light of
the knowledge of the glory of God in the
face of Jesus Christ.”

9. Why Did God Create?
• Not because He needed to create:
1. Not because He was lonely
(Note: God desires our love; He does not
depend on our Love)
2. Not because He was imperfect (God is
perfect in His attributes)

10. So Why Did God Create?
• Because He wanted to create
(freely)
• Two Purposes:
1. For God’s Glory
2. For Our Good

11. Why Did God Create?
1. To declare His glory (Psalm 19:1;
Colossians 1:16; Revelation 4:11).

12. Psalm 19:1
“The heavens declare the
glory of God;
And the firmament shows
His handiwork”

13. Colossians 1:16
“For by Him all things were created that
are in heaven and that are on earth,
visible and invisible, whether thrones or
dominions or principalities or powers.
All things were created through Him
and for Him.”

14. Revelation 4:11
“You are worthy, O Lord,
To receive glory and honor and
power;
For You created all things,
And by Your will they exist and
were created.”

15. Why Did God Create?
1. To declare His glory (Psalm 19:1;
Colossians 1:16; Revelation 4:11).
2. To provide our good (1 Tim. 6:17;
James 1:17)

16. 1 Timothy 6:17
“Command those who are rich in
this present age not to be haughty,
nor to trust in uncertain riches but
in the living God, who gives us
richly all things to enjoy.”

17. James 1:17
“Every good gift and every perfect
gift is from above, and comes down
from the Father of lights, with
whom there is no variation or
shadow of turning.”

18. What Difference does it Make?
• Every difference in the world!
• It makes a difference with respect to our
concept of God
• It makes a difference with the way we
view ourselves

19. If God is the Creator He must be:
1. Infinitely powerful
2. Immeasurably wise (to create this whole
universe and all its parts, including its
design, laws and structures)
3. A great artist (“Poems are made by fools
like me, but only God can make a tree”);
4. Totally generous, since the all-sufficient,
perfect Being couldn’t have created out of
a need (e.g., boredom or loneliness).

20. If God is Creator then:
1. We owe our very existence to God which
means we have no rights over against
God.
2. We owe God everything. Nothing is our
own—no part of our time, or our money,
or even our thoughts.
3. Our existence is meaningful.

21. Psalm 139:13-18
13. For You formed my inward parts; You
covered me in my mother’s womb.
14. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and
wonderfully made; marvelous are Your
works, and that my soul knows very
well.
15. My frame was not hidden from You,
when I was made in secret, and skillfully
wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.

22. Psalm 139:13-18
16. Your eyes saw my substance, being
yet unformed. And in Your book they
all were written, the days fashioned for
me, when as yet there were none of
them.
17. How precious also are Your thoughts
to me, O God! How great is the sum of
them!
18. If I should count them, they would be
more in number than the sand;