Finally, let us consider the answer to the last of those six journalistic and historical questions: Why? There are three questions of why the Book of God answers.
(1) Why did God create the heavens and the earth -- in the first place?
(2) Why did God create the heavens and the earth so big?
(3) Why did He create them in the manner He did; i.e., why did He do it by method of "and God said... and it was so"?
First, why did God create the heavens and the earth -- in the first place? When we have the answer to this question in our minds, we will quit searching for naturalistic explanations and rationalizations. And yes, we will immediately reject all the theories of men which would take us away from the literal (historical) view of Genesis one.
Why did God create the heavens and the earth? God created the earth as a temporary place for man's habitation. Man is the last and the crowning glory of God's creation.
And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them (Gen. 1:27).
One of the greatest questions about human life is why God would be so concerned about man. The writer of Hebrews quotes the Eighth Psalm:
But one has testified somewhere, saying, "What is man, that Thou rememberest him? Or the son of man, that Thou art concerned about him? Thou hast made him for a little while lower than the angels; Thou hast crowned him with glory and honor, And hast appointed him over the works of Thy hands; Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet" (Heb. 2:6-8).
And what did God do? He sent His Son to die on Calvary's cross for the sins of man! He saved man according to His unfathomable riches. The salvation of man demonstrates God's manifold wisdom.
To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God, who created all things; in order that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places (Eph. 3:8-10).
Please note: the revelation of God's wisdom through the church is directly in this verse linked to "God, who created all things." God, the Creator, is also God whose riches are unsearchable! The Gospel of God includes the creating God did. We read about the scheme of redemption in Ephesians 1:3-4,
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him.
God's spiritual plan preceded the foundation of the world. The creation of the heavens and the earth was not the end of the plan -- only the start! The physical or temporal is just the means which the Creator used to make possible the spiritual and, ultimately, the eternal.
So what was the purpose of the creation of all things? The answer is that ultimately God might receive the glory of all that creation!
Worthy art Thou, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for Thou didst create all things, and because of Thy will they existed, and were created (Rev. 4:11).
And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, "To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever" (Rev. 5:13).
The logical question is: How can we give the proper glory to God, the Creator, if our "view" of creation places mother nature at any point in the place of Father God?
Number two, the question is why! Why did God make the universe so large -- so great! -- so overwhelming in its size! Why did He create so much matter and so very much space? What are the Bible answers?
O LORD, our Lord, How majestic is Thy name in all the earth, Who hast displayed Thy splendor above the heavens! (Psa. 8:1).
The heavens are declaring the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of his hands (Psa. 19:1).
"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Neither are your ways My ways," declares the LORD. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts" (Isa. 55:8-9).
And we turn to the New Testament: From these passages, we know that God made it so great so we would know how great He is! So we would sing "How great Thou art!" and mean it. From the vastness of the universe to the intricate design of the smallest cell we see and then we praise the great power of a creative God! He made it great so we might get a feel for how much greater His thinking is than ours.
The Holy Spirit revealed in Romans 1:20, "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal Power and divine nature have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse."
We can perceive the infinite power and divinity of God through our understanding of the vastness of nature, and we have no excuse to do otherwise. So now in modern times, we see a vastness greater and a design intricacy which ought to make us be even more in awe of the infinite power of God than previous generations ever imagined.
Again, He made it great, so that we might appreciate the preeminence of Jesus Christ, the Word of the creation, Himself!
Finally, Why did He make it by His word? "For He commanded and they were created" (Psa. 148:5). Why did God make it by saying "Let there be... and it was so?" The answer to that why? question is also simple. He made it how He did -- to demonstrate the great power of His spoken word. In 2 Corinthians 4:1-5, we read about gospel preaching.
Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we received mercy, we do not lose heart, but we have renounced the things hidden because of shame, not walking in craftiness or adulterating the word of God, but by the manifestation of truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus' sake.
You know that the gospel is God's power to save (Romans 1:16). The gospel is the message! The gospel is a word -- message. Now read the text!
For God, who said, "Light shall shine out of darkness," is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ (2 Cor. 4:6).
It was God who said, "Light shall shine out of darkness." Recall Genesis 1:3, "Then God said, 'Let there be light'; and there was light." It is the same God who has revealed, with the same great force and power, the gospel of Jesus Christ -- "the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ."
Let's keep this simple.
1. God's word had power -- then!
2. His word has power -- now!
3. God's word caused the creation -- then.
4. His word, today, causes the new creation.
You see, if you take the power from the word of creation, you take the power from the word of the gospel of Christ! If you take away the power of His word to cause creation, you take away the power of the gospel to cause the new creation. The Holy Spirit has already drawn the parallel in 2 Corinthians 4:6.
This is why the record of the creation matters. This is the answer to why it matters what we believe about how God created the heavens and the earth. God wants us to be impressed with the power of His word; so he told us how He created the heavens and the earth!
God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world (Heb. 1:1-2).
Let us all believe the inspired reporter's record of the creation -- to be impressed with the power of God's word, not just to create man in the beginning, but to be impressed with the power of His Word to save mankind.