Today on the verdict with Pastor John Monroe. What was there before the world in the universe? Before there was anything visible, there was the invisible God who is from everlasting to everlasting. No, there is no eternally existing matter prior to God's creation. Only God is eternal and He creates this eternal God who's always existent.
He creates everything out of nothing. Welcome to the verdict, featuring the Bible teaching of Pastor John Monroe. The Bible tells us that God is the Creator and that everything on earth was created by Him according to His design. Today on the verdict, we're examining the many implications that follow as we dig into the question: did God create everything? It's the next lesson in our series, What Would You Ask God?
And to get us started, here's Pastor John Monroe. What's your view of God? Is there a god? Does he exist? Was our universe directly created or Has it evolved over billions of years?
Today in our continuing series on God, our question is, did God create everything? We've seen from the scriptures that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And we've discussed the evidence for creation. But how did God do that? Does God continue to create?
Does he create everything? Why does it matter? What difference does it make? And how does that impact our perspective and the way we live? Listen to today's message as we look at some of the biblical teaching.
on our great Creator God. who not only made the whole universe, but who created you and me. Baylor University's Institute for Studies of Religion recently released. A new survey about religion in the US. I'm sure some of you read the report.
Of that survey, as I did, in USA today, reporting on the survey, they headed the article, quote, View of God. can reveal your values and politics. I don't know about politics, but certainly our view of God shapes and molds our values, obviously. Years ago, AW Tozer wrote, what comes to our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. What comes to your mind when you think about God?
Tozer is saying, and I think he's right, that is the most important thing. about you.
So this series on God is very important. What would you ask God? Here are three questions asked by children to God. Dear God, Instead of letting people die and having to make new ones, why don't you just keep the ones you got now? Jane.
Here's another one. In Bible times, did they really talk that fancy? Jennifer. I like this one. Dear God, I went to this wedding and they kissed right in church.
Is that okay? Neil. Yes, it is okay, Neil, to kiss in church. Just make sure you kiss the right person. I invite you to turn to Paul's letter to the Colossians in the New Testament, Colossians chapter 1, where we will read three verses.
In ancient Colossi, there was a heresy. There was an attack on the sufficiency and the supremacy and the preeminence of Jesus Christ.
So Paul is combating that heresy, a heresy that we still have with us today. And he writes about God the Son. Colossians 1. verses fifteen through seventeen then, where we will understand that God created everything. Paul writes, Colossians 1.15, regarding God the Son, he is the image of the invisible God.
the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions, or rulers, or authorities. All things have been created by him, or perhaps more accurately, all things have been created through him and for him. He is the creator, he is the agency of creation, and he is also the goal of creation. Verse 17, and he that is God the Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, He is before all things.
Notice that. He is before All things And in him that is in God the Son, all things hold together, all things subsist. He holds everything together. By virtue of his very being. And so the scripture is presenting that God is the creator.
Genesis 1, verse 1, in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Psalm 19, verse 1: The heavens are telling of the glory of God, and their expanse is declaring the work of his hands. Psalm 102, verse 25: Of old you did found the earth and the heavens. are the work of thy hands. In the New Testament, in John's prologue, John 1, verse 3.
John writes this: All things came into being by him, that is, God, the word, the revelation of God. All things came into being by him, and apart from him, Nothing. Nothing. came into being that has come into being.
So, the biblical record is making it very, very clear that God is the creator of the heavens and the earth. The whole universe testifies to the power of Have an awesome creator. And God created everything. And when He did that, He created ex nihilo. God created ex nielo.
I thought you'd appreciate a little Latin. Makes me sound very learned, but I did. toiled through it for four years at school, so my Latin teacher would be proud of me, I think. But there it is, God created Ax Nielo. What does that mean?
At the time of the writing of the New Testament, the prevailing view in the Greco-Roman world was that matter was eternal, that the world had always existed. That the creation had no beginning, it always existed. Scientists, of course, now believe that there was a beginning to the universe. The consensus with scientists is that it began with a big bang. But the Bible has always taught that there was a beginning to the universe.
Our Bible begins with that. Genesis 1 verse 1. In the beginning. God Created. the heavens and The Now this is the point when we say that God created ex nihilo.
We're saying that God is so powerful, God is so great. That in the beginning God created the universe out of nothing.
Now that's power, isn't it? If you can create something out of Nothing. I give you nothing, and I expect you to give me something. That's impossible. Not with God.
Only God can create something from nothing, only God can create ex nihilo. A sculptor, no matter how brilliant he is, needs marble. and a chisel. A violinist needs a violin. A chef needs ingredients.
A preacher needs a voice. But God. And only God. God is so great, God is so powerful. that he doesn't need anything to create everything.
He creates everything out of nothing. He creates the universe ex niolo. out of nothing. You say, how did he do that? The Bible tells us.
That God created. everything with the spoken Words. Let's open our Bibles to the first page, Genesis 1. And read verse 3. Genesis 1.
Genesis 1, verse 1 again, in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Verse three. Then God Sad. God is a speaking God. God is a God who has revealed Himself.
He is not a God who is silent. God said Let there be light. And There was right. I like that. That is power.
Like created with the spoken word. Think of the ph phenomenon of light.
Some of you have studied it. Fascinating, think of prisms, all that is involved in light, how fast light travels. In the beginning, God said, Let there be light, and there was light. The psalmist says in Psalm thirty three verse nine that he speaks And it's done. He commands and it stands Fast.
He speaks. and it is done. I can't even achieve that in my own home. Right. God speaks.
It's done. He commands and it holds Fast. His spoken word. Brings everything into existence. That's power, that's majesty, that's our creator at work.
And in the New Testament, when the writer of Hebrews in chapter one is telling us about our Lord Jesus Christ, one of the things that he says about God's Son, that he he upholds all things God sustains all things. God holds everything together, the planets, the molecules of our body. He holds it all together. How does He hold it all together? He upholds all things by the word of his power.
How wonderful. An artist Can speak a painting painting into existence? A musician can't speak a symphony into existence. A builder cannot speak a house into existence. A world class chef cannot speak a five course meal into existence.
But God is so great. God is so powerful. God is so magnificent that He speaks. And it is done. He speaks things into existence.
Moses writes In Psalm 90, verse 2, before the mountains were born, or you did give birth to the earth and the world. What was there before there was a physical creation, Moses is asking? Here it is. Even from everlasting to everlasting, you are God. What was there before the world in the universe?
Before there was anything visible, there was the invisible God who is from everlasting to everlasting. No, there is no eternally existing matter prior to God's creation. Only God is eternal. Only God is from everlasting to everlasting. And He creates this eternal God who's always existent.
He creates everything out of nothing. Turn to Hebrews chapter 11, where we will see this on the great chapter of faith. In the New Testament, Hebrews 11. Verse three. Right over there is trying to strengthen our faith.
Gives us great examples of the men and women of faith in the Old Testament. But before he does that, he says something here in verse 3. Hebrews 11 verse 3 by faith We understand That the worlds were prepared. By what? By the word of God.
The worlds were prepared by the Word of God, so that what is seen. was not made out of things which are visible. God makes the visible out of the invisible. He makes everything out of nothing, and he does that. By his spoken word.
Paul writes in Romans 4, verse 17, that this God calls into being that which does not exist. That's it. Incidentally, wouldn't you like to know that God? Wouldn't you like to know a God who's so powerful? that he can speak and it's done.
Wouldn't you like to know a God who is so all-wise, who is so brilliant? Who knows everything? And that he can guide you. And he can bless you. And he can help you.
Wouldn't you like to know that kind of God? Because the Bible is telling us that God creates everything. He created the whole universe. Psalm 146, verse 6. God made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them.
No doubt about it. The heaven and the earth The sea and all that is in them. The writer is emphasizing that God made everything. Turn with me to Psalm 139, the scripture we looked at last week to understand this amazing fact that not only did God make everything, Made the universe, the planets, the sun, the grass, the flowers, the animals. He also made you.
I want that to impact your soul. This morning. Whoever you are, whatever your relationship with God is. to understand that God made you. Verse thirteen, here is David.
Praying to God, and He says, You did form my inward parts. You did weave me in my Where? Mother's womb. I will give thanks to Thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are thy works, and my soul knows it very well.
David, verse 13, you did form my inward parts. He uses this word which is used of the potter molding a pot. Not only did you form, did you mold my inward parts, verse 13, you did weave me in my mother's womb. The word weave is used of knitting or tapestry. From the moment of conception, David is saying, and rightly saying, that God was forming you, God was weaving you, God was putting you together in all of the intricacies of the human body.
And this was written. Over three thousand years ago.
Nowadays we conceive what is in the mother's womb. With our technology, we can see the unborn child with all of the intricacies, with all of the delicacies. of the human form, and yet here is David saying, That when I was still in my mother's womb, You God Where ads? Work. This past week I received a pro-life pin.
Unborn baby on it with the words, Some people think that my life began at birth. But my life journey started long before. Birth. Yes, it did. We are fearfully and wonderfully made.
God Major. God created you. You are a creature Of God, you're part of the handiwork of God. God used great skill in your creation. But God's creation is not finished.
God also makes the new creation. We think of the original creation which was originally good and then sin entered into into the world and since then all of us without exception have sinned. We break God's law, we come short of His glory. Rather than living a life in accordance with the will of God and the laws of God, we turn aside our favorite song, although we don't may perhaps like the song or the tune, certainly the theme of the song is the favorite theme of our life. I did it.
My way. Do you like doing it your way? I love living life my way. I did it. my way.
I don't like people telling me what to do. And neither do most of you. You don't like coming in here and be told to sit in a particular seat by the ushers, do you? I have two women in my house now trying to tell me what to do. I don't like that.
I don't like whether it's men or women or anyone telling me what to do. I like to do things my way, and I would suggest that you do as well. That is the human condition. All of us, instead of doing it God's way, have done it our own way. You say, What's God's answer to all of that?
We deserve his judgment and condemnation. How could we be so ungrateful to this great God who has made us in his image, who takes such care of us in our creation? And then. When we get going and life becomes not too bad here on earth, we turn our back on God and ignore Him and only look to Him for emergencies. We deserve His condemnation.
We deserve His judgment, don't we? But that is not the message of the Bible. It is that God in great love has sent one who is perfect. The only one who always did the will of the Father. His perfect son.
Our Lord Jesus Christ coming into this world. to save us. dying on the cross for our sins, paying the price of the sin that we had committed Bearing my burden, my load. Being buried, being raised from the dead. And so the message of the Bible is that when we trust in Jesus Christ with all of our heart.
When we receive Him as our personal Saviour and Lord, God does a miracle. He makes us new creations. You can't do that. You can clean up your act. You can reform your character.
You can behave better, you can be kinder, you can become socially adjusted, you can become educated, you can put on nice clothes and look very respectable, but you cannot make yourself a new creation. It is only God that can perform miracles, and that is a marvel of the teaching of the New Testament. That Paul says, if anyone is in Christ, that's it, that's it. Not just looking afar on Christ or admiring Christ, but anyone who is in Christ. Says Paul, he is a new What?
Creation Old things have passed away. Here's all of the junk of my old life. and what a mess I made of it. That's gone. Forgiven Covered by the blood of my Lord Jesus Christ.
And now all things have become new. Because in encountering Jesus Christ personally, I have been transformed, I'm changed, things are different in my life, and God, yes, God, not me. God does all of this work. He makes us his new creation. That's power.
That's creative power. That's what only God can do. Have you experienced it? We call this conversion, we call this becoming saved, we call this. Being born again.
The New Testament uses different pictures emphasizing the radical and the fundamental change. This is not just a change superficial, it is radical. We are now very, very different. Here is my life before Christ. That was my life.
after. Christ. I am now a new creation, and so can you. As you trust. Jesus Christ.
But when we die, As died, we must, unless the Lord Jesus Christ comes. Our bodies go into the earth and decay. But think how creative God is. The Bible says at the resurrection, the perishable will put on imperishable, the mortal will put on immortality, says Paul. Then will come about the saying, death is swallowed up in victory.
I love that. Yeah. and victory In the same sentence? But it is. Death is swallowed up in victory.
God is so powerful that He will transform our decaying, corruptible bodies into conformity with Christ's glorious body. That's the resurrection. What a creative power. God has, and there's more. The Bible says that this old earth is going to pass away, it's going to be burned up.
But God is going to create a new heaven. And a new earth.
So Peter writes: We are looking for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. John in the book of Revelation, in the second last chapter, Revelation 21, verse 1, writes, And I saw a new heaven. and a new earth. God is a creative God. and his creation is not yet finished.
And this is the future for every true believer in Jesus Christ. created and is creating and will create everything.
Now let's consider some consequences of everything being created by God. You say to all of this, So what? Number one. God is distinct from his creation. It's very important that we grasp this basic fact because it's one where there's tremendous confusion in our society.
God is the creator, God is not the creation. Paganism, a new age. New Age thought is really paganism, presents God as nature. We're bombarded with that kind of message, Andre. In paganism, there is no Creator.
God is in all things, and all things are part of God. The biblical truth reminds us that a clear distinction must be drawn between God and His creation. God is greater than His creation. He's beyond the universe. He is above the universe.
This is the verdict, featuring the Bible teaching of Pastor John Monroe. There's still more to hear when John returns in just a moment, so stay with us. From matters of truth and identity, to the subjects of love and grace, our world seems more confused than ever. but to find truth and certainty about who we are and find peace, we must turn our attention away from the world and look to the Word of God. To help you do that, John wrote a booklet titled Eternal Security, Finding Certainty in a Chaotic World.
Through this special resource, John shares his personal testimony, along with a careful examination of Scripture, to offer us clarity on matters of eternity. Get your copy today by visiting our website at theverdict.org. While you're there, consider making an investment in this Bible teaching ministry. Whether it's $5, $50, or more, your gift today helps cover the cost of sharing these gospel messages to listeners around the world. And if you haven't already, be sure to subscribe to the Verdict Podcast, featuring John's weekly podcast exclusive called Avizandam.
It's available wherever you get your podcasts, or simply go to our website. Again, that's theverdict.org. The verdict is a ministry of Calvary Church in South Charlotte. We're located on the corner of Highway 51 and Ray Road. If you've been looking for a church home or a community to help you grow in your walk with Christ, We invite you to join us for our Sunday services.
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Now, here's Pastor John Monroe.
Well, what's your verdict? Do you believe that God created everything, including every human being? I am in awe at the power of God who spoke the world into existence. Think of the power of Jesus when He commanded the winds and the waves to be still. Do you know this great and awesome God?
He loves you. He sent Jesus Christ to die on the cross. for your sins. He will make you a new creation when you embrace the Saviour.
Next time. We continue to think through the implications of being created by God. Thanks for joining us today on The Verdict. I'm Michelle Davies. Today's program with Pastor John Monroe was produced and sponsored by Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.
