The Creation of the World

Context

The Bible opens before there are families, nations, cities, or kings. It begins with the widest possible horizon: the heavens, the earth, and every form of life have their beginning in God. He is not part of the world he makes; he is its Creator.

The story unfolds through a sequence of days. God speaks, gives creation its order, fills it with life, and calls his work good. Each stage prepares the way for what comes next.

Story

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty, darkness covered the deep waters, and the Spirit of God hovered over them.

Then God spoke.

“Let there be light.”

Light appeared. God saw that it was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. He called the light day and the darkness night. Evening came, then morning—the first day.

God made an expanse to separate the waters below from the waters above. He called the expanse sky. Evening came, then morning—the second day.

Next, God gathered the waters beneath the sky so that dry ground appeared. He called the dry ground land, and the gathered waters seas. God saw that it was good.

At his command, the land produced vegetation: plants that bore seed and trees that produced fruit with seed in it, each according to its kind. The once-empty land was now covered with growing life. God saw that it was good. Evening came, then morning—the third day.

God then made lights in the sky to separate day from night. They would mark seasons, days, and years, and they would give light to the earth. He made the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. God placed these lights in the sky, and he saw that it was good. Evening came, then morning—the fourth day.

Then God filled the waters with living creatures and the sky with birds. He created the great creatures of the sea and every kind of living thing that moves through the water, as well as every kind of winged bird. Again, God saw that his work was good.

God blessed these creatures. He told those in the waters to be fruitful and fill the seas, and he told the birds to multiply across the earth. Evening came, then morning—the fifth day.

On the sixth day, God commanded the land to produce living creatures according to their kinds. He made livestock, wild animals, and the creatures that move along the ground. God saw that they were good.

Then God turned to the creation of humanity. He declared that human beings would be made in his image and likeness and would rule over the fish, the birds, the livestock, the earth, and the creatures that move along the ground.

So God created human beings in his own image. He created them male and female, and he blessed them. He told them to be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and bring it under their rule. They were to exercise authority over the living creatures God had made.

God also provided food. He gave humanity seed-bearing plants and fruit-bearing trees. To the animals, the birds, and the creatures that move on the ground, he gave green plants for food.

God looked at everything he had made. It was not only good; it was very good. Evening came, then morning—the sixth day.

The heavens and the earth, with everything in them, were complete. By the seventh day, God had finished his work, and he rested from all he had made. God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, setting it apart because his work of creation was finished.

What We Learned

• God is the Creator of the heavens, the earth, and every living thing. Everything begins with him and responds to his word.
• Creation has order and purpose. God establishes light, boundaries, seasons, habitats, and living creatures, repeatedly declaring his work good.
• Every human being bears God’s image. Male and female alike receive dignity, blessing, and responsibility within his world.
• God not only creates life; he blesses and provides for it, giving food to people and animals.
• Creation ends with a blessed and holy day of rest. God’s completed work is marked not by unfinished struggle, but by fullness and peace.