The Elders Perspective on Creation

Did God Create in 6-Days?

The Elders of The Master’s Church hold firmly to Young Earth Creationism. We interpret Genesis chapter 1 in the normal way language is understood: God created the heavens and the earth in the course of six literal 24-hour days and then rested on the seventh day. All teaching at The Master’s Church will follow the Young Earth Creation model. We make no apology for our interpretation of Scripture or our teaching policy. This is extremely important because understanding origins in the book of Genesis is foundational to the rest of the Bible. If Genesis, chapter 1 and chapter 2 don’t tell us the truth, then why should we believe anything else in the Bible? If Genesis chapter 1 is not meant to be understood factually then when should we begin to believe the Bible factually? Why should we believe what Jesus said about the forgiveness of sins, or about heaven, or about anything else? So what someone believes about creation has implications that effect how they understand the rest of Scripture. The matter of biblical origins is absolutely critical to all human thinking. It is critical to how we conduct our lives as human beings. Without the right understanding of origins, there is no way to comprehend ourselves. Thus getting the early chapters of Genesis correct is paramount for Christians and the church.

Hebrews 11:3 states: By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. This verse speaks of fiat creation. This is the idea that God, by a direct act, brought into being instantaneously everything that is. God spoke and the universe as we know it came into being. Another way to say it is that biblical creation is creation “ex nihilo,” Latin for “out of nothing.” Before the universe existed there was nothing and then God supernaturally created and then there was something. Almighty God did not need preexisting matter, energy or time, He just brought all that exits into reality by His power. The Hebrew word for create is “bara” and that word itself implies that there was nothing and then there was something. False religions have concepts of creation where their gods had to rearrange preexisting materials and form the planets and stars. This is what we would expect if man attempted to explain the universe, but the Bible tells us the truth about origins because God inspired the Scriptures and thus everything we read is exactly how it happened. Genesis 1:3: And God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. Verse 6, Then God said, ‘Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the heavens’ and that’s what happened. Over and over again we read that “God spoke” and it was created! The Bible is clear that God created the universe in 6 days (Genesis 1:1-31). We read in Psalm 33:6, 9, 6 By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth…9 For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.

Colossians 1:16 tells us the Jesus created all things, For by him [Christ] all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities–all things were created through him and for him. Jesus not only created the physical worlds and the physical things that exist in the universe, it is that He created the concepts in which physical things can exist. It takes you one-step beyond the physical. He created time and space and force and energy and matter. He created the stuff of which the physical creation is made. The invisible is talking about the spiritual dimensions Jesus created heaven and hell. He created angels and their different ranks . John 1:3 says, All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. He even made the sub-atomic particles and DNA, He made it all!

The Things God Created on Each of the Six Days are as Follows:

Day 1 — the universe, light and time (Genesis 1:1-5);

Day 2 — the sky and “separated” waters (Genesis 1:6-8);

Day 3 — land, bodies of water, grass and plants (Genesis 1:9-13);

Day 4 — the sun, moon, stars, and planets (Genesis 1:14-19);

Day 5 — birds, fish and all sea creatures (Genesis 1:20-23);

Day 6 — land creature and Adam and Eve (Genesis 1:24-30; 2:7,15-25).

Day 7 – On the seventh day God rested from his work (Genesis 2:2-3).

A Day was 24 Hours, Just as it is Today

The days of creation were not eons-long “days,” but six normal days. Moses said, For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them (Exodus 20:11). From the above passages the most natural way of understanding “day” in the creation account is a reference to what we know as a 24-hour time period.

Genesis is the Foundation for Creation in 6 Days

open page to the book of Genesis

Genesis 1:5: God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day. “Day” in Hebrew is “yom” and always, without exception, refers to a literal 24-hour, normal solar day when modified by a number like the “first day,” “second day,” “third day,” etc. There’s no other way to interpret Genesis chapter 1! R.C. Sproul said it this way: “One must do a great deal of hermeneutical gymnastics to escape the plain meaning of Genesis 1 – 2 .”

Do God's Words of Genesis Matter?

YES! Sadly, some evangelicals are saying NO! The Elders of The Master’s Church believe they are capitulating to the pressure of the academic and scientific communities. They are saying it really doesn’t matter what you believe about origins as long as you believe in Jesus. That is a sad commentary, because it implies that you can believe what you want in the Bible and not believe what you don’t want. The vast differences between the age of the earth among various professing evangelicals is troubling. As we said, this problem is rooted in some fundamental differences about how to interpret Genesis. Is Genesis 1 to be interpreted according to a literary genre or in a literal method? The Master’s Church will interpret Genesis 1 using the literal, historical-grammatical approach, which means we will take the text plainly and at face value. This approach does not mean we do not take into account such things as metaphors and figures of speech (Genesis 2:23, 4:7, 7:11), we certainly do. But those figures of speech have literal meanings. They mean something and in every case they support, not case doubt, on the fact that God created in six, 24-hour days.

The evidence for God creating in a literal six-day time period is vast, but our words as Christians concerning this truth should be tempered with love (Ephesians 4:15). Scientific facts when properly interpreted are friends with six-day creationism, but the Word of God is our ultimate authority and it clearly tells us how God created. Regardless of what the astronomers and cosmologists may say about the age of the Universe, Genesis describes a creation week comprised of ordinary days (1 Timothy 6:20-21).

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