Actually, this series is from Understanding Bible Truth booklets by Robert Hicks and Richard Bewes (1981), but I have expanded some texts for modern readers (to make it easier to read) and added Scripture quotes (I’m using ESV Bible) into these writings to clarify its points more clearly. My purpose of making this series available in the internet is single: So that you can be clear the essential facts about the Bible’s teaching in a readily understandable form.
First, What is the Relationship of God to the Universe?
God is the Creator, Sustainer, and Ruler of the universe, everywhere present within it and yet also beyond it. God has brought into existence the whole of creation, which He sustains and upholds by His power. Why He create the universe? He created the universe out of nothing, and did this for His own purpose and glory “that He might reveal and give Himself in love to all His creation” (The Catechism, No.12).
God the Creator
The universe has not always existed. The consistent teaching of Scripture is that the cosmos had a beginning. Genesis 1:1 declared: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth”. It was not formed from any matter that already existed. God, (not random natural selection!) the One and Only Creator of the universe, brought the world into being by the unaided power of His Word. When He said “Let there be….” and there it was! Please note that: God did not need to create the universe, for He is self-sufficient. He decided to bring all things into being for His own glory. Nehemiah 9:6 defines this purpose: “You are the Lord, you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and you preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships you” and we, human being, are created especially for His glory (Isaiah 53:7).
God the Sustainer
The Bible teaches that God the Creator also the Provider and Sustainer of all that He has brought into being. He is not an absentee God who made the world and then left it to run itself. God “did not leave Himself without witness, for He did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness” (Acts 14:17).
Far from remaining aloof and remote from His creation, God continues to work in it. He is intimately involved in the running of the universe and the forces of nature, and He is in overall control of the governments and communities. He “upholds the universe by the word of his power” (Hebrews 1:3).
Christ also taught of the Father’s concern for the least of His creatures.
God is Achieving His Purpose
God is ultimate control of all that He has created. This does not mean that we are unable to decide things freely for ourselves. God has given us that freedom – even though we choose to rebel against Him. But it does mean that God is active, and is bringing about the things He wants to happen. He is achieving His purpose. This is the mystery of God: He is sovereign over all things, and yet we’re responsible for the use of our freedom. His purpose will be accomplished no matter what – He is God, God with end in mind.
God’s purpose may be stated very simply. It is to restore fallen humanity and the creation itself to the freedom and perfection that have been lost because of mankind’s rebellion. God the Creator is also God the Redeemer. [Read Romans 8:18-25 for ‘Future Glory’].
Earth as a Focal Point
The earth is very small planet in a vast universe, and it could not be argued that our world occupies any central position in the cosmos. But it is apparent from the Bible that the Creator of the cosmos has set His loving concern upon this earth of ours.
Man is physically dwarfed (small) by the immensity of his surroundings, but the universe should hold no terrors for him, because of the place the world has in God’s purpose. Ours is the visited planet, the part of creation where a special relationship has been planned between God and us, who have been formed in His image (see Psalms 8:3-9). Man is central to God’s plan for the whole universe. It is said that the crown of creation is man. The end is sure that one day we will be with our Creator in the new heaven and new earth where we will hear the Voice says, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God” (Revelation 21:3).
My Conclusion about God the Creator
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). This is what my Bible told me so – this I believe with all my heart and mind. All things have their source and origin in God, in His creative Word (And God said, “Let there be…”). He alone gave order and stability to the world. It was He who formed the earth and gives life to it. It was He who created man in His own image and likeness, to be the crown of creation. The universe has not always existed; it came into being. Hebrews 11:3 boldly declares, “By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God”.
How magnificent is our God!
THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.
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