Copr. 1999, Bruce N. Cameron, J.D. All scripture references
GOD THE CREATOR
(GENESIS 1; JOHN 1; 2 PETER 3)
Introduction: This week we begin at the beginning! Not only
do we start a new quarter and a new series of lessons, but
our study is Creation. It is my impression that many
Christians take the Biblical account of Creation with more
than a little skepticism. As with many other things, if you
start out on the wrong track, you are unlikely to get to the
right destination. The Biblical account of Creation is
critical to a correct belief regarding the nature and power
of God, the nature of sin and the importance of the Sabbath.
It also a mirror to determine your level of confidence in
God's Word. Let's dig in!
I. GOD IN THE BEGINNING
A. Read Genesis 1:1-5. The Hebrew word translated
"God" in the first verse, "'Elohiym," is plural.
Who (or what) do you think this means created the
heavens and the earth?
1. Verse 2 mentions "the Spirit of God." Is this
a different God? Do we now have two Gods in
the picture? How does the Spirit fit in?
B. Read John 1:1-3. This text tells us that someone
was with God "in the beginning." It also tells us
that this someone made "all things!" Who is this
someone? (The "Word.")
1. Who is "The Word?" (If you look down in this
chapter to verses 14 and 15 we find that the
"Word" became flesh and dwelled with us. We
also learn that John the Baptist identified
this person. Skip down to verses 29 and 30 in
this chapter and John identifies this person
C. Who have we discovered is the plural God(s) who
created the earth? (Jesus ("The Word"), the Spirit
of God and God the Father.)
D. I have a Jewish friend whose most effective
argument against Jesus is the popular refrain (the
"Shema") "the Lord our God, the Lord is one." (See
Deuteronomy 6:4 and Mark 12:29) How would you
"stuff" Jesus into the Shema?
1. Try getting into a concert with the logic we
have just discussed! Consider the line: "Our
family is one, therefore please accept one
ticket." Think that will work? What if it is a
Christian contemporary music concert?
2. Doesn't it defy logic to say that the plural
is one? (Actually, no. If you again look at
the Hebrew word for "our God" in Deuteronomy
6:4 we again have the plural "Elohiym." This
is no mistake in word usage. The Shema is
really saying "The Lord our Gods" is one. It
means our plural is a single entity.)
E. A casual reader of the Bible would notice God the
Father as being the first to show up in the Old
Testament. Jesus comes later in the gospels, and
the Holy Spirit arrives last on the scene in Acts.
Does it change your thinking about God to realize
that all three Members of the Godhead, the Father,
Son and Holy Spirit were working together in the
1. How would you guess they did it?
a. What do you make of the fact that God
spoke (Genesis 1:3 "and God said") matters
into existence and Jesus is called (John
1) "the Word?"
2. What does the fact of the trinity being
involved in creation add to your mental
picture of the Godhead?
3. Does it make you view the creation
4. Did Adam and Eve get to talk to all three in
Eden? (These last questions are interesting to
think about for a short period, but God has
not revealed all of these details to us.)
II. THE IMPORTANCE OF GOD IN THE BEGINNING
A. Let's shift gears slightly. Read 2 Peter 3:1-4.
Peter wants to stimulate some wholesome thinking!
Let's join in! What problem does Peter predict?
(Scoffers and skeptics who have an evil "me first"
1. On what logic do they base their evil behavior
and their scoffing? (They do not acknowledge
the authority of God in their lives because He
has not come the second time as promised.
Nothing has changed -- so why should they
believe in God or His power and authority?)
a. Peter suggests in 2 Peter 3:2 that we
should remember the words of the Bible. Do
these scoffers remember the Bible? Do they
have some Biblical knowledge? (Yes! The
refer to the promise of a "Coming" and
say, "Where is it?")
b. If the scoffers remember the words of the
Bible (which is our goal) Are they right
about nothing ever changing? Is their
B. We need to read on to fully answer this last
question. Read 2 Peter 3:5-7. What is wrong with
the scoffers' memory? (It is selective. They
"forgot" some important parts of the Bible.)
1. What did they forget? (They forgot the
Creation the subject of our study this
quarter! Disbelief in the power and authority
of God and evil behavior arise as a result of
2. Are the scoffers right that the Second Coming
has not come? (Yes.)
3. What, then, is the flaw in their thinking and
their memory? What does the Creation have to
do, if anything, with the reality of the
Second Coming of Christ?
4. In a trial the judge and jury look at the
evidence. What "evidence" does Peter give for
the Second Coming of Christ? (God's word
controlled the water both in the Creation and
in the Flood. His word will bring the fire of
judgment at the Second Coming. Peter is
saying that if God's power can create and
destroy the world through water, then He can
certainly destroy it again through fire.)
a. Do you agree with Peter's logic?
b. Do you know Christians who do not believe
in a literal creation or a literal flood?
(1) Do they have any reasonable basis to
believe in the Second Coming of
c. What if you believe in "Creation," but do
not believe in a literal six days of
(1) Does that make you a scoffer?
(2) Is that a denial of the power and
authority of God?
d. What if you believe that God had help?
That some natural disaster "helped" God in
the flood? Or that Noah was "stretching"
things a bit with the flood story? (Two
issues are important here. First, is
trusting the Word of God. Second, is
believing in the power of God. If God is
not trustworthy in His message to us (even
in the Creation account), if God does not
have the power to do what He reports He
has done, then why should we believe He is
competent and trustworthy to bring about
the Second Coming?)
e. Do you remember the story of the spies who
"checked out" the promised land for Moses
and the Israelites? The story is found in
Numbers 13 & 14.
(1) What attitude did the people have
towards God after they heard the
(2) Is this the same attitude as our
"scoffers?"(Read Numbers 14:11, 21-
23. God tells us that if we do not
trust Him and His power we "treat
[Him] with contempt.")
(3) Is it a fair conclusion that those
who do not believe the Creation story
are treating God with contempt?
(4) If God would not let those who did
not trust Him, those who treated Him
with contempt, enter the promised
land, why should we think that He
will allow those who do not trust Him
to enter heaven at His Second Coming?
III. HOW THEN SHOULD WE LIVE?
A. Does a belief in a literal creation change the way
you view God on a daily basis? Does it make a
practical difference in your life?
B. Let's continue to read what Peter says about this.
Read 2 Peter 3:10-12. Peter's line of logic is
that if God has the power to create (in Creation)
and the power to destroy (in the Flood), He has the
power to destroy and recreate in the Second Coming.
What is Peter's conclusion about how we should
live? (2 Peter 3:11 "You ought to live holy and
1. Does this undercut the concept of
righteousness by faith? (No! It is the essence
of righteousness by faith. The scoffers did
not obey because they did not believe in the
power and authority of God. If you do believe
in His power and authority, this, Peter says,
should have a profound effect on your daily
life. It is righteousness that flows from
IV. NEXT WEEK: GOD'S TWO BOOKS: SCRIPTURE AND NATURE