The Creation of the World in Six Days
I[Gen. 1:1]n the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. In these first words of sacred writ, we have that great foundation-truth upon which all religion rests—the creation of the universe by the infinite, eternal, and all-sufficient God. The word for God is Elohim (אֱלֹהִים), a plural noun joined with a singular verb, Bara (בָּרָא), denoting a plurality of persons in the Godhead, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, all concurred in this marvelous design of creation. The world was not from eternity, as the heathen philosophers dreamed, nor did it tumble together by a fortuitous concourse of atoms; but was framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
“The first verse of the Bible gives a sure and quiet resting-place to our faith. It silences all the curious cavils of atheists, and establishes the glorious sovereignty of the Creator over all His works.”
— Matthew Henry, Exposition of Genesis 1:1 (1828 Folio)
[Gen. 1:2]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. The chaotic mass was yet a confused, undispersed heap of elements; but behold how the Ruach Elohim (רוּחַ אֱלֹהִים), the Holy Spirit of God, brooded upon the waters as a dove over her nest, communicating life, order, and beauty to the inanimate globe. Thus in the new creation, when the soul lies in ruins, without spiritual form and empty of good, the Spirit of God begins His work by moving upon the dark waters of the heart.
The Calling Forth of Light
[Gen. 1:3]And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. With what majesty and ease did the Almighty work! He did not labor or toil; He only spoke the sovereign word, Fiat Lux, and instantaneous illumination penetrated the primeval gloom. Light is the first-born of all visible creatures, the most subtle and glorious emblem of God Himself, who is Light, and in whom is no darkness at all.
[Gen. 1:4]And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. God took complacency in the work of His own hands. Whatsoever God makes is good; and when He brought forth the light, He appointed its bounds, severing it from the darkness, so that daytime and night should succeed each other in perpetual covenant.
“Ministers in their study must remember: God did not create all things at once in a moment, though He could have done so, but took six days to frame the world, teaching us deliberation, orderly labor, and patient meditation upon His statutes.”
— Matthew Henry, Expository Notes on the Hexaemeron
[Gen. 1:5]And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. Thus the clock of time was set, and the wheels of Providence began their majestic revolutions. The evening was first, reminding us that darkness naturally precedes the dawn, as sorrow in this world prepares the believer for the eternal morning of resurrection glory.
[Gen. 1:26]And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air. Notice the consultation: Let us make man. The Father speaks to the Son and the Holy Ghost. Man was the masterpiece of the lower creation, dignified with intellect, righteousness, and true holiness. May every pastor, in proclaiming these holy truths, reflect that same divine likeness in doctrine and life!