In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Gen 1:1
For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.[a]
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well. Psalm 139:13-14
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Psalm 19:1
For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. Romans 1:20
Who is God really?
This is the first in the post about a series I’m writing about who God is. As a long-time Christian, I feel I need to really know more deeply who He is, as some ideas I have about Him are warped. I have started this collection of posts for all audiences: believers and seekers.
God as our creator
The above are just a few verses that show God as our creator. This is how the Bible begins: with the LORD, YHWH (I am who I am) creating the world (Genesis 1). In the Apostle’s Creed, His creating act is also emphasised: I believe in the Lord, God Almighty, creator of heaven and earth… The Hebrew word for “create” is something that only the LORD can do: to create something from nothing. This is something that only a timeless, pre-existent God can do.
Some people think God’s creation is irrelevant in light of science. Tell me, then who started the big bang? (If that is how the universe began to begin with.) I believe that acknowledging God as a creator accords with science. There are plenty of scientists who believe in intelligent design. The evidence of how the universe is put together, and the structured and intricate way it works points towards the hand of a creative genius behind the scenes.
Think about this: The Milky Way, the galaxy we inhabit, contains an estimated 100 billion stars (see NASA link). But the universe is far bigger… And not only is the universe vast in size. Every little detail inside it is extremely complex. There is the complex structure of the underlying building blocks of each material, the molecules, atoms and electrons. The human brain itself contains around 100 billion neurons (see Human Memory)! Think about it: humans are about as complicated as the Milky Way galaxy! How could such a complicated system have spawned without a creative master planner behind it? I believe that planner is the God of the Bible.
What God creates reflects who He is
In Genesis, and in Psalm 139, it is clearly stated that what the LORD creates is good. What He makes “reflects” His “invisible” qualities: “His eternal power and divine nature” (Romans 1:20). So God’s goodness is clearly reflected in what He has made. His eternal power: His infinite attention to the little details and the big ones, is shown in what He creates. What He makes is structured. In Genesis 1, we see God seperated things, ordering them, using the stars to show humans the seasons, making things in stages and at different times. This structure shows a God of order and plan. Creation also shows us other things about God: His love for beauty and majesty, His creativity, His glory: “The earth is filled with His glory” Isaiah 6:3. All aspects of creation were to reflect God, but the ultimate God-reflecter was to be the human being. We were made last, and were created to reflect His character, to flash who He is into the world.
Human beings as image-bearers
When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
human beings that you care for them?
You have made them a little lower than the angels
[or You have almost made them gods]
and crowned them with glory and honor.
You made them rulers over the works of your hands;
you put everything under their feet – Psalm 8:3-6
In the beginning of Genesis, it says that God made the man and the woman in His image and called them to multiply, and rule over the earth and the animals on the earth (Genesis 1:27-28). We were to reflect who God is, and His character. One of God’s characteristics is His rule. God called us to rule the earth for Him; to reflect who He was by ruling the earth in a good and just way. God trusted us with so much! What is mankind that you are mindful of them? – Psalm 8:3.
A warped reflection
We failed unfortunately: utterly and miserably. In Genesis 3, traditionally called the fall, we rebelled against God and let evil have rule over the earth. As we had allowed evil to reign in our hearts, we the earth’s rulers, subjected it to evil as well. And after that, creation and mankind ceased to properly reflect God, though they still gave us some idea of His glory. They now give us a warped idea of who God really is. Many people point to sickness, death and disease as excuses not to believe in God: they believe if God had allowed them, that would mean He is evil. What they don’t realise is that these came into the earth because of man’s rebellion and evil. War, murder, theft, gossip, and other destructive behaviours show what really is wrong with the world: man, not God.
Because of man’s failure, we often also fail to see who God really is and fail to paint an accurate picture of who He is. Many Christians fail to grasp who God really is or fail to show His love properly. People in many religions try to paint pictures of God: images, or idols. We were actually supposed to show who God was ourselves: we were to be His image-bearers. But we failed miserably.
Who would save us?
Deeper 