Morning Meditation - 10/10/08

**Sorry for break from these. Been sick.**

HOW TO UNDERSTAND CREATION
Heb. 11:3

“Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.”
If you are a student of Scripture you have probably noticed how often the Bible states that God is the Creator of all things except sin and it explains how that entered into God’s perfect creation.

One of the first questions that man asks is “How did this all get here and what is the purpose?” This question came into being after man’s sin in the Garden of Eden. Sin is the cause of man’s search for the origin of things apart from God. While true science is a legitimate study and much good has been gained by the scientist’s, when any scientist studies the origin of man apart from the Word of God, he must start from the evidence at hand and work backward. When one studies evidence and it leads to a conclusion that conflicts with REVELATION, we discover if the scientist is a Bible believing Christian, or if he is willing to get rid of God in favor of his so-called scientific discoveries.

Our text says, “Through faith we understand.” This same faith that sees the invisible and reckons things to be true that are not revealed to the natural senses is the way “we understand.” The word “noeo” is a present active indicative verb and means “to perceive with the reflective intelligence.” Vincent says, “Here is meant the inward perception and apprehension of the visible creation as the work of God, which follows the sight of the phenomena of nature.”
The Psalmist David tells us in Psalm 19:1-3: “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.”

The word “declare” means, “to recount, to rehearse, to declare.” The word “recount” suggests bringing something back up that has been brought up before, the word “rehearse” suggests to go back over something that has been previously discussed. David is saying that the heavens are continually recounting and rehearsing the truth of God as Creator.

The heavens say what they have to say in a language that is common to all. David says, “There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.” There are languages where their voice is not believed but there is no language in which it is not heard. God says that this is such an accurate witness that it leaves man without excuse (Rom. 1:20).

The Bible stands as truth before the throne of God and does not need the confirmation of science. Where science confirms the truth of Scripture, it is ok, but should not surprise anyone who believes the Bible. Men have spent millions of dollars trying to find Noah’s Ark in order to prove that the Bible is true. Do you think that will convince an unbeliever? The Holy Spirit is the person in the Godhead given for the purpose of convincing the world of sin, of righteousness, and judgment to come. The unsaved man is not convinced by reason but by the conviction of the Holy Spirit when God’s Word is preached.

Next our text says, “That the worlds were framed by the word of God” The “worlds” (aion) means, “ages or dispensations.” John 3:16 says, “God so loved the world.” The word world in John 3:16 is “kosmos.” It is not “aion.” God’s ages “were framed” by the word of God. The words “were framed” (katartizo) translate a perfect passive participle means “to fit out or equip, so that the person or thing thus equipped might serve the purpose for which is was made.” The perfect tense means that God did it in the undefined past with the result that it remains that way at the present. The passive voice means that the creation did not evolve. The creation is the result, not of itself, but of the Word of God.

Lessons:

1) Faith is the basis for understanding creation as a Christian. God tells us how He did it and we believe Him. God does not address Himself to reason but to faith. No man is believing God if he requires the confirmation of science.

2) What we understand by faith is that what we see was not made out of things that appear. God made the seen out of the unseen. Now this can be confirmed by science. But do I believe it more because science confirms it? No. If science contradicted it, I would believe the Bible.

I do not mean for this meditation to be an attack on true science or the Christian who is a scientist. I have a great respect for their studies and have been encouraged to find men and women of science who believe in the verbally inspired Word of God. God’s Word is final and is as the Psalmist says, “Forever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven” (Psa. 119:89).

May the Lord bless these words to our hearts.