Creatio Ex Nihilo

creatio ex nihilo 

Latin 

Meaning-created from nothing

In this realm we call Earth, we do create. 

We have raw materials which we use to do so.

God on the other hand needed no raw materials. 

He spoke and it was!

There was nothing then something!

Genesis 1:1

[1] In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

Genesis 1:2

[2] The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

Genesis 1:7

[7] And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so.

Genesis 1:16

[16] And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars.

Genesis 1:21

[21] So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:25

[25] And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:27

    [27] So God created man in his own image,

        in the image of God he created him;

        male and female he created them.

Genesis 2:4

    [4] These are the generations

    of the heavens and the earth when they were created,

    in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens.

Psalm 19:1

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

    [1] The heavens declare the glory of God,

        and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.

Psalm 104:24

    [24] O LORD, how manifold are your works!

        In wisdom have you made them all;

        the earth is full of your creatures.

Hebrews 11:3

[3] By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

Revelation 4:11

    [11] “Worthy are you, our Lord and God,

        to receive glory and honor and power,

    for you created all things,

        and by your will they existed and were created.”

God gave us a warning!

Heed it!

Romans 1:19-20

[19] For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. [20] For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

When the Maker of the Stars Is on Your Side

“So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: ‘Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them’” ACTS 4:24

 

PONDER THIS

What gives the believer boldness? It is the fact that God—who scooped out the oceans, who heaped up the mountains, and who dotted the Universe with stars, billions and billions of stars, out over the velvety blackness of space—is on our side. In today’s passage and the verses that follow (Acts 4:24-30), the believers said, “God, You made it all. Why should we tremble when You are our Father? Why should we be intimidated when a God who can do such things is on our side?”

A college student once asked his pastor, “Pastor, do you believe there’s life on other planets, other places out in space?” Pastor said, “No, son, I really don’t believe there is.” He said, “Now, Pastor, think about it. There are billions and billions of stars, and you don’t believe there’s life out there anywhere?” The pastor said, “I can’t prove there’s not, but I don’t believe there is.” And then the college student said, “Well, Pastor, then why did God go to the trouble to make all that stuff?” The pastor said, “What trouble? He only had to speak. Only God can do that. He spoke, and universes dripped from His fingers.” What a mighty God we serve.

How often do you stop to consider the majesty of God’s creation, even beyond our solar system and galaxy?

What does this tell you about God and His power?

PRACTICE THIS

Make time this week to behold God’s majesty in His creation. As you do, submit your cares before Him, recognizing His power and might as displayed in His creation.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Shadows and Streams

May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his works, who looks on the earth and it trembles, who touches the mountains and they smoke! I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being. May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the Lord. (Psalm 104:31–34)

God rejoices in the works of creation because they point us beyond themselves to God himself.

God means for us to be stunned and awed by his work of creation. But not for its own sake. He means for us to look at his creation and say: If the mere work of his fingers (just his fingers! Psalm 8:3) is so full of wisdom and power and grandeur and majesty and beauty, what must this God be like in himself!

These are but the backside of his glory, as it were, darkly seen through a glass. What will it be to see the glory of the Creator himself! Not just his works! A billion galaxies will not satisfy the human soul. God and God alone is the soul’s end.

Jonathan Edwards expressed it like this:

The enjoyment of God is the only happiness with which our souls can be satisfied. To go to heaven, fully to enjoy God, is infinitely better than the most pleasant accommodations here. . . . [These] are but shadows; but God is the substance. These are but scattered beams; but God is the sun. These are but streams; but God is the ocean.

This is why Psalm 104 comes to a close in verses 31–34 with a focus on God himself. “I will sing praise to my God while I have being. . . . For I rejoice in the Lord.” In the end it will not be the seas or the mountains or the canyons or the water spiders or the clouds or the great galaxies that fill our hearts to breaking with wonder and fill our mouths with eternal praise. It will be God himself.

John Piper 

Chicken Coops and God’s Creation

“For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them.”

ROMANS 2:14-15

 

PONDER THIS

Suppose my father is a master builder. He can build the most beautiful houses, buildings, and skyscrapers you’ve ever seen. Suppose I study his work, and I watch very carefully to observe everything he does. I see his methods and his techniques. Then I take my father’s materials, tools, and plan, but rather than building a magnificent skyscraper, I build a chicken coop. When I’m finished building with my father’s plans, materials, and tools, I step back and say, “You see that chicken coop? That proves my father doesn’t exist.”

That’s often what we do with the things we make. We take God’s tools, God’s materials, and God’s plans and make—compared to God’s creation—a chicken coop, then say, “Look what we have done!” All we have is from Him. What we make pales in comparison to His creation.

When you present the case of your faith, whether in a college philosophy class or talking to your neighbor, you don’t have to be intimidated. You don’t have to be nervous and hesitant about sharing the hope that is in you. Be bold! Creation says there is a God; design says there is a God; the moral law of the Universe says there is a God; and even the very things we make each day say there is a God!

What are some things you see every day that point to God?

What are the ways you can acknowledge God in daily conversation?

PRACTICE THIS

Seek to point to God and acknowledge who He is with someone who does not yet know Him.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Seen and the Unseen

“While we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” 2 CORINTHIANS 4:18

 

PONDER THIS

The word hope does not imply uncertainty; it implies certainty. We use the word hope differently in modern vocabulary than the meaning the Bible writers conveyed. In the Bible, the word hope means a divine certainty based on a divine promise. Hope means a certainty based on a word from God. Things hoped for are the things God has promised.

Have you ever heard the expression: “What you see is what you get?” or “Seeing is believing?” Those are the opposite of the biblical definition of faith. Hebrews 11:3 tells us there is more to the world than what we see. What you can see was made of things you can’t see. We have seen that in the molecular structure of the Universe. Our whole Universe is made of invisible atoms, a molecular structure that we cannot see. This is one of the greatest scientific statements in the Bible before the realm of atomic science ever came. The things that are seen are made out of the things that are not seen. So, faith is the evidence of the unseen. There is an unseen world out there. We as Christians are often looked down on because we have faith in what we cannot see, but that is exactly what we should focus on.

What are the unseen things we need to focus on? What are some of the seen things that we get distracted by?

How does knowing God created the world out of things unseen change the way you view the world?

PRACTICE THIS

Worship God and thank Him for all that He has made and for His sovereignty over even the things we can’t see.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

When the Potter Is for Us

“Woe to him who strives with him who formed him, a pot among earthen pots! Does the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’ or ‘Your work has no handles’?” (Isaiah 45:9)

The majesty of God is magnified when we see him through the lens of creation ex nihilo (out of nothing). He commands nothingness, and it obeys and becomes something.

Out of nothing he makes the clay, and out of the clay he makes us — the pottery of the Lord (Isaiah 45:9) — his possession, destined for his glory, in total dependence on him.

“Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture” (Psalm 100:3). It is a humbling thing to be a sheep and a pot that belong to somebody else.

This morning I was reading in Isaiah and found another statement about God’s majesty. When I put it together with God’s absolute power and rights as Creator, there was a combustion that went off in my heart. Boom!

Isaiah 33:21 says, “The Lord in majesty will be for us!”

For us! For us! The Creator is for us and not against us. With all the power in the universe and with absolute right to do as he pleases with what he made — he is for us!

“No eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for him” (Isaiah 64:4). “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31).

Can you think of anything (I mean anything) that is more comforting and assuring and delighting than that the Lord in his majesty is for you?

John Piper 

When the Potter Is for Us

“Woe to him who strives with him who formed him, a pot among earthen pots! Does the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’ or ‘Your work has no handles’?” (Isaiah 45:9)

The majesty of God is magnified when we see him through the lens of creation ex nihilo (out of nothing). He commands nothingness, and it obeys and becomes something.

Out of nothing he makes the clay, and out of the clay he makes us — the pottery of the Lord (Isaiah 45:9) — his possession, destined for his glory, in total dependence on him.

“Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture” (Psalm 100:3). It is a humbling thing to be a sheep and a pot that belong to somebody else.

This morning I was reading in Isaiah and found another statement about God’s majesty. When I put it together with God’s absolute power and rights as Creator, there was a combustion that went off in my heart. Boom!

Isaiah 33:21 says, “The Lord in majesty will be for us!”

For us! For us! The Creator is for us and not against us. With all the power in the universe and with absolute right to do as he pleases with what he made — he is for us!

“No eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for him” (Isaiah 64:4). “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31).

Can you think of anything (I mean anything) that is more comforting and assuring and delighting than that the Lord in his majesty is for you?

John Piper 

Do You Recognize God as The Creator?

PRAY OVER THIS

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.”

Romans 1:18-19

PONDER THIS

Suppose I were to pluck some parts out of nowhere, just cause them to appear, and then put them in a bucket and shake them around for a while, and then they become a button and then after a while a compass; and then after a while a steam gauge; and then after a while a speedometer, and then a gas meter, and finally a watch. I’m wearing the watch and I tell you, “That’s the way it came about.” You’d say, “Adrian, I just don’t believe that.” Of course not! How could such a thing happen? But somehow, people have thought that something as wonderful as the human eye just simply happened.

Now I looked up the word suppress, in many translations, and let me give you some of them. Other translations include, “hold back the truth,” “smother the truth,” “repress the truth,” “stifle the truth.” All of them mean essentially the same thing—they resist and seek to hold back the truth of God. They do not want to know. Now blindness is tragic but willful blindness is horrible. There are none so blind as those who put out their own eyes. It’s not that they cannot believe; it is they will not believe.

   

How do you regularly recognize God as the maker of all things?

When are you tempted to ignore or suppress the truth found in Scripture?

PRACTICE THIS

Talk with a fellow believer about any areas in which you need to hold to the truth and ask your friend to help hold you accountable.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

What God Created, He Sustains

PRAY OVER THIS

“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. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.” Colossians 1:16-17

 

PONDER THIS

Whether it be the planets in orbit or the electrons whirling around the nucleus of an atom, Jesus Christ is the glue of the galaxies. The Bible says, He upholds “all things by the word of His power” (Hebrews 1:3). “He spoke,” the Bible says, “and it was done” (Psalm 33:9). If you were to look at my pulpit, the atoms are raised in such a way that you can see and touch and feel them, or you seem to feel them. But actually, the pulpit stand is primarily energy. It is made out of invisible entities. In Hebrews 11:3, the Bible says, “The things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.” Isn’t it incredible how the Bible said all this long before Einstein?

The things that are seen are made out of things that do not appear. We see how that relates to the atoms that make up the things we see but here is the bottom line—what holds it all together is Jesus. He spoke and it was done! By Him, all things exist.

How does it encourage you to know Jesus is the One who holds all things together?

Who do you know who feels like things are falling apart? How can you encourage them with today’s truth?

PRACTICE THIS

Consider any areas of your life in which you don’t include Jesus. Ask God to help you remember that He holds all things together.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Do You Marvel at God’s Creation?

PRAY OVER THIS

“Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these things, who brings out their host by number; he calls them all by name, by the greatness of His might and the strength of His power; not one is missing.” Isaiah 40:26

 

PONDER THIS

It’s the Lord Jesus who fuels the sun with its power. It’s the Lord Jesus who veils the moon with its beauty. It’s the Lord Jesus who guides the planets. There’s no natural law. It’s the laws of God that nature obeys.

Joyce and I took a vacation some years ago down on a little island in the Bahamas and there was no television and no radio—just a little place there on the beach; we loved it. There was a dock out in front, and at nighttime Joyce and I would just go down and get flat on our backs on the dock and look up at the stars and just lie there and talk and marvel at the stars in the Universe.

You see, Jesus is the producer of creation. Jesus is the preserver of creation. By Him, all things exist. And Jesus is the purpose of creation. Colossians 1:16 says, “All things were created through Him and for Him.” The Universe came from Him, the Universe is sustained by Him, and everything comes back to Him. People ask, “What’s the world coming to?” It’s coming to Jesus, “For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things” (Romans 11:36).

When was a time you marveled at God’s work in creation? How did that impact you?

How does the truth that God is reconciling all things to Himself encourage you?

PRACTICE THIS

Go outside or look out your window and spend time praising God for all He has done in creation and for how He is reconciling all things to Himself.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Created by God for God

PRAY OVER THIS

“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.” Colossians 1:16

 

PONDER THIS

What did God make a fish to do? Swim in the sea. What did God make a bird to do? Fly in the sky. If you take a fish out of the sea and put him in a tree, he’ll be an unhappy fish. If you take a bird out of the sky and put him in the sea, he’ll be an unhappy bird. Both are out of their elements.

What is the element you were created for? God Himself. Until you know Him, you will be like a fish in a tree or a bird in the sea. You’ll be out of your element.

A little girl misquoted the twenty-third Psalm, but I believe she had it just right when she said, “The Lord is my Shepherd; I’ve got all I want.” That is the secret of satisfaction. It is Jehovah Himself. “The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want” (Psalm 23:1). In Him, in the Shepherd, are the wellsprings of my heart’s desire and purpose.

Have you ever wrestled with the purpose of your life? What was that like?

How does knowing that your purpose is Christ Himself change how you live daily?

PRACTICE THIS

Encourage a friend today in his or her purpose for God’s glory.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Two of Our Deepest Needs

To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Thessalonians 1:1)

We as a church are “in” a Father and “in” a Lord. What does that mean?

The word “Father” implies primarily care and sustaining and protection and provision and discipline. So, to be “in” the Father would mean mainly to be in the care and under the protection of God as our heavenly Father.

The other designation is Lord: We are in the Lord Jesus Christ. The word “Lord” implies primarily authority and leadership and ownership. So, to be “in” the Lord means mainly to be in the charge, under the authority, and in the possession of Jesus as our supreme Lord.

So, Paul greets the Thessalonian church in such a way as to remind them that they are a family (in the care of a Father) and that they are servants (in the charge of a Lord). These two descriptions of God as Father and Lord, and thus of the church as family and servants, correspond to two of our deepest needs.

Every single one of us has a need for rescue and help, on the one hand, and the need for purpose and meaning, on the other.

We need a heavenly Father to pity us and rescue us from sin and misery. We need his help every step of the way, because we are so weak and vulnerable.

We also need a heavenly Lord to guide us in life and tell us what is wise and give us a great and meaningful charge to fulfill, and reason for existence, some usefulness for the way God made us. We don’t just want to be safe in the care of a Father — as precious and needed as that is. We want a glorious cause to live for.

We want a merciful Father to be our Protector, and we want an omnipotent Lord to be our Champion and our Commander and our Leader in some great cause. So, when Paul says in verse 1, You are the church “in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,” we can take rest and help from the one — God is our Father! And we can take courage and meaning from the other — Jesus is our Lord!

John Piper 

The Creator Gives You Confidence

PRAY OVER THIS

“So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: ‘Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them’” Acts 4:24

 

PONDER THIS

What gives the believer boldness? It is the fact that God—who scooped out the oceans, who heaped up the mountains, and who dotted the Universe with stars, billions and billions of stars, out over the velvety blackness of space—is on our side. In today’s passage and the verses that follow (See Acts 4:24-30.), the believers said, “God, You made it all. Why should we tremble when You are our Father? Why should we be intimidated when a God who can do such things is on our side?”

A college student once asked his pastor, “Pastor, do you believe there’s life on other planets, other places out in space?” Pastor said, “No, son, I really don’t believe there is.” He said, “Now, Pastor, think about it. There are billions and billions of stars, and you don’t believe there’s life out there anywhere?” The pastor said, “I can’t prove there’s not, but I don’t believe there is.” And then the college student said, “Well, Pastor, then why did God go to the trouble to make all that stuff?” The pastor said, “What trouble? He only had to speak. Only God can do that. He spoke and universes dripped from His fingers.” What a mighty God we serve.

How often do you stop to consider the majesty of God’s creation, even beyond our solar system and galaxy?

What does this tell you about God and His power?

PRACTICE THIS

Make time this week to behold God’s majesty in His creation. As you do, submit your cares before Him, recognizing His power and might as displayed in His creation.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Are You Moving in the Right Direction?

BIBLE MEDITATION

“For by Him [Jesus], 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. And He is before all things, and in Him, all things consist.”

Colossians 1:16-17

 

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT

Verse 16 in today’s passage states that all things were created both by Jesus and for Jesus. The word “for” in this verse is a preposition that speaks of direction. It’s the Greek word for “moving in the direction of.”

The western world has been invaded by Eastern religions. Eastern religions are circular; they believe everything just goes round and round. But it’s not circular. This world is headed in a direction. The Bible is linear. We’re moving—moving to that time when the kingdoms of this world will become “…the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever” (Revelation 11:15).

ACTION POINT

Friend, it is all headed to Jesus. It is all for Him, for the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the key to the mystery of history. When people ask you, “What is the world coming to?” tell them: “It’s coming to Jesus.”

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers