In this video, Pastor Ted Wilson and his wife, Nancy, talk about Creation as discussed in the sixth fundamental belief of the Seventh-day Adventists.
They begin by mentioning the most complicated and expensive space observatory in history so far, the James Webb Space Telescope, launched on December 25, 2021.
It was a result of decades of painstaking research, detailed planning, and complex engineering by a multinational team of astrophysicists, astronomers, engineers, and other scientists. It was designed to accomplish what other space telescopes haven't been able to—to peer deep into the cosmos and see light from the earliest galaxies to form the "Big Bang."
Indeed, this is an amazing achievement by man. But it's so ironic that most people do not see that the vast universe is created by an all-powerful God Who spoke worlds into existence.
We read in Psalm 19:1-3: "The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech and night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard." Also, Hebrews 11:3 says, "By faith, we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible."
Our existence and the existence of this world and the universe come from the power of the Creator. "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1).
With this, the fundamental belief of Creation is foundational to who we are and what we believe and practice as Seventh-day Adventists.
This doctrine states: "God has revealed in Scripture the authentic and historical account of His creative activity. He created the universe, and in a recent six-day creation, the Lord made 'the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them' and rested on the seventh day."
It continues, "Thus, He established the Sabbath as a perpetual memorial of the work He performed and completed during six literal days that together with the Sabbath constituted the same unit of time that we call a week today."
"The first man and woman were made in the image of God as the crowning work of Creation, given dominion over the world, and charged with responsibility to care for it. When the world was finished it was 'very good,' declaring the glory of God."
"The work of creation cannot be explained by science. What science can explain the mystery of life?...In the creation of the earth, God was not indebted to pre-existing matter. 'He spake, and it was;...He commanded, and it stood fast' (Psalm 33:9). All things, material or spiritual, stood up before the Lord Jehovah at His voice and were created for His own purpose. The heavens and all the host of them, the earth and all things therein, came into existence by the breath of His mouth. In the creation of man was manifest the agency of a personal God" (Ministry of Healing, p. 414).
In continuation, "when God had made man in His image, the human form was perfect in all its arrangements, but it was without life. Then a personal, self-existing God breathed into that form the breath of life, and man became a living, intelligent being. All parts of the human organism were set in action. The heart, the arteries, the veins, the tongue, the hands, the feet, the senses, the faculties of the mind, all began their work, and all were placed under law. Man became a living soul. Through Christ the Word, a personal God created man and endowed him with intelligence and power" (Ministry of Healing, p. 415).
How comforting it is to know that we were created by a personal, self-existing God Who loves us and has endowed us with intelligence and power!
Above all this, love motivates what God has done for He is love. He created us not only for us to love Him but also so that He could love us.
In the next episode, we will look more closely at why understanding Creation is important and how foundational it is to our lives today.
In the meantime, Pastor Wilson invites you to visit adventist.org/creation to read more. Also, you can find videos, presentations, articles, photo galleries, and more at grisda.org.