“Secondly,” writes Thomas, “without exception creation is always mentioned as a unique event which took place at a particular moment in past time.” It’s not something that’s going on all the time, as is the theory of evolution. He further says, “Creation took place, it was finished. Events occurred which corrupted the world and now it awaits a new creation which will take place in the future at a given moment.”
“Thirdly,” Thomas says, “recitations of creation given in Genesis 1 to 3 are considered in the New Testament to be literally true, historical and of surpassing importance. The New Testament doctrine based on these citations, out of Genesis 1 to 3, would be without any validity and even erroneous if the events of Genesis were not historically true. For example, consider the entry of sin into the world. If Adam were not the head of the whole human race, then Jesus Christ, the last Adam, is not the head of the new creation,” end quote.
He’s referring to Romans where it says as in Adam all died, so in Christ shall all be made alive. Clearly the New Testament writer under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit saw sin and death enter the world through the very historic man Adam, and through his very historic act of disobedience.
And so, that sort of sums up the issue for us. The New Testament makes no small number of references to Genesis and to creation. And it does so very naturally. it doesn’t…it doesn’t come across affected, it doesn’t come across sort of incredulous, it doesn’t come across saying, “Oh I know this is hard to believe and I know you’re going…you’re going to really have a tough time swallowing this, but this is how it is.” It doesn’t do that. There is no attempt to defend, no attempt to explain somebody’s incredulity, it’s simply stated as fact.
Now, for example, Matthew 13:35, “I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world,” indicating there was a point in time when the world was founded. Mark 13:19, “For in those days shall be affliction such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created.” John 1:3, “All things were made by Him and without Him was not anything made that was made.” That is there alone a verse that would immediately cancel the creation of anything by chance by some random process…everything made was made by God. Acts 4:24, “Lord, Thou art God which has made heaven and earth and the sea and all that is in them.” That’s as comprehensive as you can say it. Acts 14:15, “That you should turn from these vanities, these idols under the living God who made heaven and earth and the sea and all things that are therein,” everything, the heaven, the earth, the sea and everything that inhabits all of that.
Romans 1:20, “For the invisible things of Him…that is of God…from the creation of the world are clearly seen.” Second Corinthians 4:6, “For God…and we studied this last Sunday night…who commanded the light to shine out of darkness.” That’s exactly what He did on day one, He commanded the light to shine out of darkness. Colossians 1:16, “By Him were all things created that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible, all things were created by Him and for Him.” Hebrews 1:10, “And Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth and the heavens are the works of Thine hands,” and we’re going to see that a little later on day two. Hebrews 11:3, “Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God.” He spoke them into existence so that those things which are seen were not made of things which do appear,” that’s ex nihilo, He created things which are seen but they weren’t made from anything which existed before.
In Matthew 19 Jesus said, “Have you not read that He which made them at the beginning made them male and female?” Again, speaking of mankind as being the direct result of the creative act of God. Acts 17:26, “God has made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on the face of the earth and has determined the times before appointed in the bounds of their habitation.” He is the creator of all the nations of men. First Corinthians 11:8 and 9, “For the man is not of the woman, but the woman of the man, neither was the man created for the woman but the woman for the man,” again created. First Timothy 2:13 and 14, “For Adam was first formed, then Eve.” Romans 5:14 takes us to the Fall, “Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses.” Romans 5:17, “By one man’s sin, Adam’s, death reigned by one.” First Corinthians 15:21, “Since by mn came death, by man…meaning Christ…came the resurrection from the dead.” And I remind you again of 2 Peter 3:5 and 6, how that Peter refers to the Flood and even to the preshaped world when it was engulfed in water when he says, “By the Word of God the heavens were of old and the earth standing out of the water and in the water,” and so forth as we noted last time.
“This article originally appeared here at Bible Bulletin Board.”
