God Created

GENESIS 1:1 NKJ
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

GENESIS 1:2 NKJ
2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

God did not create the earth without form and void in the beginning. We know this because Isaiah 45:18 uses the same Hebrew words as Genesis 1:2, saying God did not create it that way.

ISAIAH 45:18 NKJ
18 For thus says the Lord, Who created the heavens, Who is God, Who formed the earth and made it, Who has established it, Who did not create it in vain, Who formed it to be inhabited: "I am the Lord, and there is no other.

Isaiah 45:18 makes it clear there is a time period between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2. Nowhere does the Bible indicate how long this period was.

God Created Everything

REVELATION 4:11 NKJ
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."

REVELATION 10:6 NKJ
6 and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things that are in it, the earth and the things that are in it, and the sea and the things that are in it, that there should be delay no longer,

ISAIAH 42:5 NKJ
5 Thus says God the Lord, Who created the heavens and stretched them out, Who spread forth the earth and that which comes from it, Who gives breath to the people on it, and spirit to those who walk on it:

ISAIAH 45:12 NKJ
12 I have made the earth, and created man on it. It was I -- My hands that stretched out the heavens, and all their host I have commanded.

Through Jesus

EPHESIANS 3:9 NKJ
9 and to make all people see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ;

COLOSSIANS 1:15-18 NKJ
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
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.
17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.
18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.

JOHN 1:1-3,10 NKJ
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.

After Its Kind

GENESIS 1:11 NKJ
11 Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth"; and it was so.

GENESIS 1:24 NKJ
24 Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind"; and it was so.

Man Created In Image Of God

GENESIS 1:26-31 NKJ
26 Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."
27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."
29 And God said, "See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food.
30 "Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food"; and it was so.
31 Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

Jesus Taught That God Created

MARK 10:6 NKJ
6 "But from the beginning of the creation, God `made them male and female.'

MARK 13:19 NKJ
19 "For in those days there will be tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of creation which God created until this time, nor ever shall be.

Creation Reveals What God Is Like

ROMANS 1:20 NKJ
20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,

PSALM 19:1 NKJ
1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork.

Sin Entered After Creation

GENESIS 1:31
31 Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

Everything God made was good. However, when sin entered things were perverted. God did not create anything to be bad -- things began to do bad after sin opened the door for the influence of the devil.

ROMANS 5:12 NKJ
12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned --

ROMANS 8:19-22 NKJ
19 For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.
20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope;
21 because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
22 For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.

ROMANS 1:25 NKJ
25 who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

Why Did God Create The Devil?

Did God create the devil? God created the being who became the devil after his rebellion against God. But God did not create him to be bad. Originally, the devil was named Lucifer.

EZEKIEL 28:11-19 NKJ
11 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
12 "Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre, and say to him, `Thus says the Lord God: "You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
13 You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering: the sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes was prepared for you on the day you were created.
14 "You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; you were on the holy mountain of God; you walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones.
15 You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you.
16 "By the abundance of your trading you became filled with violence within, and you sinned; therefore I cast you as a profane thing out of the mountain of God; and I destroyed you, O covering cherub, from the midst of the fiery stones.
17 "Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor; I cast you to the ground, I laid you before kings, that they might gaze at you.
18 "You defiled your sanctuaries by the multitude of your iniquities, by the iniquity of your trading; therefore I brought fire from your midst; it devoured you, and I turned you to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all who saw you.
19 All who knew you among the peoples are astonished at you; you have become a horror, and shall be no more forever." ' "

ISAIAH 14:12-15 NKJ
12 "How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations!
13 For you have said in your heart: `I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north;
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.'
15 Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Pit.

1 TIMOTHY 3:6 NKJ
6 not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil.

Obviously, pride was what caused Lucifer's fall. Pride causes you to think you can do things your way, instead of God's way.

One Idea

1 CORINTHIANS 6:2-3 NKJ
2 Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
3 Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life?

It is possible that one reason mankind was created was to be the jury to judge the devil and the angels who followed him in rebellion against God.

This would explain why God allowed the devil access to man in the garden of Eden. This could have all happened as a result of Lucifer accusing God of being unfair in condemning him, and of being unjust in judging him.

Lucifer may have said that God was a dictator Who did not deserve to rule over all creation; that beings God made should be able to choose whom they wanted to serve; that Lucifer's way was better than God's.

The devil may have accused God of not being qualified to judge him.

Probably the devil told God that His demands were too high, that He was too strict, that He did not care about anyone's happiness but His own, that He claimed to be a God of love and justice, but was not.

All the things the devil accuses God of today are probably the same things he accused Him of then.

God, in His great justice, may have agreed to give the devil and his followers a jury trial -- and created mankind to be that jury.

Conclusion

REVELATION 4:11 NKJ
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."

It is not vitally important for us to understand all the mechanics of how and when God created everything. But it is vital for us to recognize that, as the Creator, God has the right to do as He chooses, and we must obey.

The great news is that God is a wonderful, loving Being Who desires the best for us -- not just to give us orders.


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