In six days God created the world and all that is in it. At the end of each day of creation, God looked at what he had done and saw that it was good. After he had given the commands to the man he created, to fill the earth and rule over it, God surveyed his creation and proclaimed it “very good.”
Genesis 1:31-2:1 says, 31God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning–the sixth day. Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.
God had finished the work of creating and proclaimed what he had done as very good. He had a plan in mind when he spoke matter and life into existence. When God brought his plan to completion, it worked the way he designed it to work. His plan had been to create a beautiful and perfect place for people to live in and he filled it with a vast array of complex living things.
Very Good
God made human beings to enjoy the wonderful world he had created and he designed people to live in a right relationship with him and reflect his image in the way they interacted with the other parts of his creation. At the time of creation, everything was perfect and worked just the way God wanted it to. Think through a few ways that the things God created are “very good.”
- The sun is very good because it provides the light and heat needed for life. It is a continual, stable source of light for earth, marks the seasons and the passage of time.
- The stars are very good because they stabilize the universe so life on earth can exist, and they give guidance in travel.
- Water is very good because it is necessary for life and the most abundant resource on earth. The water in the oceans stabilize the temperature of the earth.
- Dry ground is very good as it provides a place for plants to grow and animals to live.
- Plants are very good as they are a source of food for animals and make O2 from the CO2 they take in.
- The sea creatures are very good because they provide abundant food and give life to the oceans.
- Insects are very good as they are a source of food for animals, pollinate flowers, feed on and break down waste.
- Birds are very good as they keep insects, reptiles and rodents under control and pollinate flowers.
- Animals are very good as they fill the world with interest and beauty, provide food and enjoyment, and are useful for work.
- Human beings are very good as they were created in image of God to worship and glorify him. They are the ones who God gave responsibility to steward his creation.
To be “very good,” all of creation was the best it could be. It was perfect and couldn’t be improved upon in any way. It did exactly what God wanted it to do. It reflected the majesty and wisdom of the one who created it. God wants us to look at his creation and respond to him as God, recognizing that we and everything in the world belong to him.
All He Has Done
Many of the psalms in the Bible are expressions of gratitude for who God his. They acknowledge the greatness of God and all he has done. Psalm 100 says,
1Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. 2Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. 3Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
4Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. 5For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.
During this study, we have examined how creation speaks of God. Once we understand all that God has done, we are not to remain silent. We are to grow in our understanding and share what we know about God and his creation with others. We need to study science and marvel at the design and intricacy of God’s creation.
Rejecting God
We live in a time when people have exchanged the truth about God for a lie and have become blind to the majesty of God and his great deeds. People know a lot of information but have very little wisdom or understanding, since they don’t see God.
When people reject God and refuse to see his hand in creation they put themselves on a path of ever-increasing sin that leads to destruction. We need to pray for people and proclaim the majesty of God so that people overcome their spiritual blindness and experience the joy and delight of knowing and worshiping the one true and living Creator God.
- Overview Questions: When God was done creating what did he say about his creation? What makes something very good? Because of all God has done how should we respond to him?
- Thought Questions: If good means that something works the way it is suppose to, according to a good design, what would be the meaning of evil? Why can evil only exist where there was something good in the first place? When people are good what do they follow? When people are evil what do they follow? What does it mean to suppress the truth? How do people suppress the truth about God?
- Prayer: Thank God for all he has done in creating you, the world, and all that is in it. Pray that you would learn to worship God as he deserves and that you would reflect his image in the way you live. Pray for those who don’t recognize the majesty of the almighty God through his creation and are blind to his truth.
- Week’s Memory Verse: Psalm 100:2-3
2Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. 3Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Who is the Creator God?
God is the one who made us and we belong to him.