Creation Or Evolution (1)

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See full series: what-god-has-and-has-not-joined-together-2026-theme

Creation Or Evolution (1)

Sermon by  Thomas Thornhill Jr

Passage: Genesis 1


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Editor’s note: Greetings.  I have been away this past week and returned earlier Saturday.  Because of this, there are no prerecorded sermons accompanying this lesson.  Hopefully, I will post the “live” recording early in the week.  Thank you for your understanding. It is good to be home.  TATJR

 

WHAT GOD HAS NOT JOINED TOGETHER – 1

Creation and General Evolution – Part 1

Today we resume our 2026 theme, “What God has (and has not) joined together”.  Based on Matthew 19:9, a passage addressing that God intends marriage to be for life, and that man is NOT to separate what God has joined together.   We built upon that idea by noting several doctrinal issues that in scripture belong together even though men have changed them declaring that they are not, in one way or another.

I concluded part 1, noting things that God HAS joined together before our vacation in June.  The doctrines we addressed in that study include:

  • The text – Matthew 19:8-9 – we discussed that God does NOT permit divorce for any reason. In fact, the only exception where God frees an innocent spouse and permits maying again is when their spouse was unfaithful by committing adultery.
  • Faith and works – we noted that faith can be an inclusive term of man’s part. While man can NEVER earn his salvation, no matter what he does, God has still established things we MUST do to be saved.  Our faith is more than mere believing in Him.
  • Water baptism and salvation – a point of contention in the religious world. We have show in scripture that baptism is part of God’s plan of salvation. It is the final step that puts one into Christ.
  • God and Christ – in this we address that Jesus is God, part of the triune deity that saves us.
  • Christ and His church – since the church is His body, we need the church (local) in our walk with Him. It is NOT optional as some profess.
  • Christ and the apostles – this addressed how what the apostles taught has equal authority with what Jesus taught, because He gave them that authority. Their teachings complemented and reinforced what Jesus taught.
  • The Gospel and doctrine of Christ – some want to make a diction between what THEY define as gospel and doctrine. The premise is that as long as we agree on the “core gospel”, doctrinal differences do not matter.  This leads to open fellowship with those practicing/teaching doctrinal error.
  • The church and the kingdom – while different descriptively, scripture is clear that the church is the kingdom. If you are in one you are in the other.  The church/kingdom was in God’s eternal plans – Ephesians 3:10-11
  • Attitudes and actions – yes your attitude (and heart) is important, but that does not mean that your actions are less important. God expects obedience.
  • Grace and law – we spent 2 lessons addressing that while grace (God’s part) is the primary factor in our salvation, we are also expected to obey His commands. We discussed that the gospel is a product of God’s grace, which we are expected to follow. We also devoted considerable time establishing that passages that distinguish between law and grace (there are several – e.g. Romans 6:14, 11:5-6, etc.) were primarily making a distinction between the LOM and the Law of Christ. Context makes it clear that Paul was NOT saying we do not have to do anything.

That brings us to part 2 of this study.  For the remainder of this year we going to continue examining some doctrinal issue, but our focus will be on things God has NOT joined together.  By this, we will notice some teachings that man want to say go together, but God’s word does NOT recognize these things.  Some of the doctrines we want to examine in this par of our study include:

  • Creation and general evolution
  • Fellowship with unbelievers and those practicing doctrinal error
  • Denominationalism
  • Church leadership and the role of women
  • God and mammon
  • The word of God and the wisdom of men
  • Light and darkness
  • Same-sex marriage – man with man/woman with woman
  • The local church and general benevolence
  • Local churches and sponsoring churches (independence/autonomy)
  • The local church and entertainment (influence of the social gospel)
  • The Lord’s return and Jerusalem today
  • The old and new covenants (The “one covenant” doctrine)
  • The Bible and ongoing revelation
  • Godly and worldly morals
  • AD 70 – the destruction of Jerusalem and His 2nd coming
  • The apostles of the NT and modern-day apostles.

 

I may not get through this entire list this year, as many of these subjects require more detailed studies, but we will do what we can and move forward from there. Let’s get started by addressing that God has NOT joined together the general theory of evolution with the creation account of Genesis 1.

The general theory of evolution: It is no secret that for years, even centuries, scientists that reject God and the Bible had advanced the general theory evolution.  In summary this teaches that everything in our universe is the result of natural forces.  This theory (currently) teaches that the universe is about 13.8 billion years old with the earth being about 4.5 billion years old.  This theory teaches that matter is eternal and life formed through natural means without the help of an intelligent designer.  In essence, all living organisms can eventually be traced back to a common ancestor.  Many of these naturalists believe that science and religion (esp. the Bible) cannot be harmonized.  IOW, if you believe in an intelligent designer (aka God) then you reject science, specifically biology, chemistry and other sciences, as they relate to the study of origins. Believing this they reject God, and the creation account of Genesis 1& 2, events that follow through at least chapter 11 – (creation, the fall of man – a single act, the genealogies, a universal flood and the tower of Babel).  Most naturalists reject the Bible all together.

Creation: On the other hand, if you are a Christian, you MUST accept that the Bible is the word of God and that within its pages we learn what we need to know to be saved, because God is our Creator.  HOWEVER, there are professed believers who see this conflict in beliefs of origins and want to find a way to reconcile them.  This introduces us to several different theories that hold to the evolutionary geologic table and God as creator.  We call this “theistic evolution”.  From deists who believe that some God did create the universe and world but then just let it evolve without intervention, to those who advocate gaps of time in various parts of the creation account in Genesis 1 and 2. Some believe there was a multi billion year gap between Genesis 1:2 & 1:3 with some advocating the destruction of the old world followed by God starting over in 1:3. Some will then teach a 6 day creation, but many will seek to insert eons of time between each of the days of “creation week”.  For most who seek to reconcile creation and general evolution, they also reject the flood as a literal, universal catastrophic event, but something that was local, or perhaps even as figurative or allegorical. Much more could be said in developing what is taught.

In this study, we want to notice WHY the general theory of evolution, INCLUDING theistic evolution and creationism (young earth) are incompatible.  In other words, God did NOT join them together.   This will be a 2 part study.  In this lesson I want to look at what the Bible says about creation.  And in our next lesson we will address problems with teaching of theistic evolution.

  1. The Biblical account of creation
    1. Recorded in Genesis 1 as 6 literal days. We begin with this.
      1. 1:1 – In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. You find in this verse what has been described as the five building blocks of the universe: 1) Beginning – time; 2) God – a force; 3) Created – energy, movement, action 4) the heavens – space; 5) the earth – matter.
      2. 1:2 – God created the universe and then organized it. “Creation week” is about that organization.
      3. 1:3-5 – God created light and separated it from darkness. “The evening and the morning were the first day.”  The expression implies a 24 day.
      4. 1:6-8 – 2nd day – The firmament was established separating waters above and below the area of space around the earth. We might call this our atmosphere.  This was the second day.
      5. 1:9-13 – 3rd day = The earth and waters were separated. Grass, herbs and fruit trees were created.  We are also for the first time introduced to the word “kind” with the declaration that reproduction would be LIMITED to that grouping.
      6. 1:14-19 – 4th day – The sun and moon were created to light the earth during daytime and night time. Also, stars were created.  Vs. 14 also describes this as the embellishment of seasons, days and years.
      7. 1:20-23 – 5th day – sea creatures in abundance and winged animals of the air, each reproducing after its kind.
      8. 1:24-31 – 6th day – land creatures – cattle, creeping things, beasts “according to its kind”. Finally, vs. 26-27 – God created man, in His own image.  Genesis 2 will elaborate on this creation by noting that God created man from the dust of the ground (2:7 – did he evolve?), and later woman from his side as a help meet (2:18-23).
      9. 2:1-3 – 7th day – God rested and sanctified it. We are introduced to the week.  NOTE: on our calendars – days, months, seasons and years all have scientific significance.  But WHERE did the week come from? The fact that we observe a 7 day week implies God’s creation as recorded in Genesis 1.  How else do you explain it??????
    2. The mention of the creation account throughout scripture
      1. Exodus 20:8-11 – as Moses is giving the 10 commandments he gives the Sabbath to Israel. One of the basis is that God rested on the 7th day – again identifying the week, and tying their worship to God who created the heavens and the earth as recorded in Genesis 1-2.  This will be repeated in Exodus 31:17 as the Sabbath law is restated.
      2. Psalm 33:6-9, Why praise the LORD? By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth. He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap; He lays up the deep in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the LORD; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.
      3. Psalm 104:5-9, a psalm that describes the greatness of God in and throughout creation. This texts speaking of waters notes, You who laid the foundations of the earth, So that it should not be moved forever, You covered it with the deep as with a garment; The waters stood above the mountains. At Your rebuke they fled; At the voice of Your thunder they hastened away. They went up over the mountains; They went down into the valleys, To the place which You founded for them. You have set a boundary that they may not pass over, That they may not return to cover the earth.
      4. Psalm 136:3-9, Oh, give thanks to the Lord of lords! For His mercy endures forever: To Him who alone does great wonders, For His mercy endures forever; To Him who by wisdom made the heavens, For His mercy endures forever; To Him who laid out the earth above the waters, For His mercy endures forever; To Him who made great lights, For His mercy endures forever— The sun to rule by day, For His mercy endures forever; The moon and stars to rule by night, For His mercy endures forever.
      5. Matthew 19:4-6, asked about divorce and remarriage, Jesus replied, And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”
      6. Hebrews 4:4, 10 – God declared that He rested the 7th day.
    3. The mention of God as Creator in the Old Testament
      1. 1 Chronicles 16:26, David praising God as he brought the Ark into Jerusalem, For all the gods of the peoples are idols, But the LORD made the heavens.
      2. Psalm 102:25, Of old You laid the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands.
      3. Psalm 96:4-5, For the LORD is great and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are idols, But the LORD made the heavens.
      4. Psalm 8:3, When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,
      5. Solomon in His wisdom mentions creation more than once, Proverbs 3:19, The Lord by wisdom founded the earth; By understanding He established the heavens;
      6. 2 Chronicles 2:12, Hiram, of Tyre, who was a foreigner, helping Solomon as he built the temple declared, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who made heaven and earth, for He has given King David a wise son, endowed with prudence and understanding, who will build a temple for the LORD and a royal house for himself!
      7. Isaiah 42:5, speaking of the promised coming Messiah, Thus says God the Lord, Who created the heavens and stretched them out, Who spread forth the earth and that which comes from it, Who gives breath to the people on it, And spirit to those who walk on it:
      8. Isaiah 45:18, describing the foolishness of idolatry in comparison to the LORD, For thus says the LORD, Who created the heavens, Who is God, Who formed the earth and made it, Who has established it, Who did not create it in vain, Who formed it to be inhabited: “I am the LORD, and there is no other. 10x the phrase, “made heaven and earth” is recorded in scripture and ascribed to God always.
      9. Again, Isaiah 40:28, Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable.
      10. 2 Kings 19:15, Hezekiah prays to the LORD as Jerusalem is surrounded by the Assyrian army. Then Hezekiah prayed before the Lord, and said: “O Lord God of Israel, the One who dwells between the cherubim, You are God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.
      11. Jeremiah 10:12, He has made the earth by His power, He has established the world by His wisdom, And has stretched out the heavens at His discretion.
      12. Jeremiah 32:17, Praying for understanding, Jeremiah begins, ‘Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You.
      13. Zechariah 12:1, written after the return from captivity. The burden of the word of the LORD against Israel. Thus says the LORD, who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him:
      14. Nehemiah 9:6 – Nehemiah praying with Israel to God, You alone are the LORD; You have made heaven, The heaven of heavens, with all their host, The earth and everything on it, The seas and all that is in them, And You preserve them all. The host of heaven worships You.
    4. The mention of creation in the New Testament
      1. John 1:1-3 – IN the beginning (Gen. 1:1) – all things made through Him (Jesus, as God).
      2. Acts 4:24, as the disciples are delivered, they pray for strength, So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: “Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them,
      3. Acts 14:15, speaking to idolaters in Lystra who wanted to make Paul and Barnabas into gods, and saying, “Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men with the same nature as you, and preach to you that you should turn from these useless things to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and all things that are in them,
      4. Acts 17:24 – Paul in Athens, God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings,
      5. Romans 1:20, For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse. Paul notes that in creation we see God – i.e., intelligent design.
      6. Colossians 1:16 – For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.
      7. Hebrews 1:2, God, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;
      8. Hebrews 1:10 declaring the greatness of Jesus, And: “You, LORD, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands.
      9. Hebrews 11:3 – by faith we understand that the world were framed by the word of God (He spoke and the world came into existence).
      10. 2 Peter 3:5, For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water,… He then describes the flood (another event found in the questioned chapters of Genesis.
      11. Revelation 4:11, those surrounding the throne in heaven worship Him, “You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created.”
    5. Concerning Genesis 3-11, which by evolutionists and many “theistic evolutionists” is viewed as allegorical or symbolic, several events are mentioned in the NT.
      1. Luke 11:50-51 – Jesus mentions the blood of Abel as He indicted the corrupt leaders for killing the prophets.
      2. Romans 5:12 – sin came through the fall of man, Adam. Also 1 Corinthians 15:21-22
      3. Luke 3:36-38, describing the genealogy of Jesus trace it back to Adam found in Genesis 5
      4. Luke 17:26-27, Jesus speaks of the days of Noah – as recorded in Genesis 6-7. Also 2 Peter 3:4-6 speaks of both creation and the flood as previously noted.

The point – why just read all these verses?  Because it establishes that all of scripture treats the account of creation as recorded in Genesis 1 as the way it happened.  When man tries to dismiss Genesis 1 as allegory, symbolic or reconcile it with man’s naturalistic and humanistic theories about the beginnings of the earth.  What is he going to do with the rest of scripture?  It is my conviction that we mut accept Genesis 1 as historical reality presented to us by God, “who cannot lie” (Titus 1:2). You CANNOT teach differently without doing violence to God’s word.  And if one is willing to manipulate this doctrine, what about other doctrines they do not like.  THAT is the problem.   In our next lesson we will dig deeper to establish why theistic evolution is NOT joined together with Biblical creation.  Do you trust God when it comes to your origin and purpose?  Think about it!

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