Again, the Bible says: “In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light …” (Genesis 1:1-3; Read Genesis 1:1 – 2:3).

The Hebrew word for “created” in verse one is “bara” and indicates that God created all out of nothing. He called it into existence by saying, “Let there be …” and “There was.”

The Scriptures echo this truth throughout.

Psalm 33:6 says: “By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.”

Hebrews 11:3 says: “Through faith we understand that the universe was framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which appeared.”

These words teach us the truth that God created all things and sustains them by the power of His word.

The Bible says of the Son of God, in Hebrews 1:1-3: “God, who at many times and in diverse manners spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by his Son, whom he has appointed heir of all things, by whom he also made the universe. He is the brightness of his glory and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself made purification of our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.”

So, what has God done? He created all things out of nothing. He created and called all into being by His all-powerful word. And, it is by that same creating word that all things continue to exist.

It is as Nehemiah wrote: “You are Yahweh, even you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens with all their host, the earth and all things that are in it, the seas and all that is in them, and you preserve them all. And the host of heaven worships you” (Nehemiah 9:6).

Genesis 1:1 – 2:3

1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2 And the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. 3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good, and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 And God called the light “day,” and he called the darkness “night,” and the evening and the morning were the first day.

6 And God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” 7 And God made the firmament and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament. And it was so. 8 And God called the firmament “heaven.” And the evening and the morning were the second day.

9 And God said, “Let the waters under the heaven be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. 10 And God called the dry land “earth,” and he called the collection of waters “seas.” And God saw that it was good. 11 And God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit-tree yielding fruit after its kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth.” And it was so. 12 And the earth brought forth grass, herbs yielding seed after its kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after its kind. And God saw that it was good. 13 And the evening and the morning were the third day.

14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night, and let them be for signs, for seasons, for days, and years. 15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. 16 And God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night. He also made the stars. 17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, 18 To rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

20 And God said, “Let the waters abundantly bring forth the moving creature that has life and the bird that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.” 21 And God created the great sea-creatures and every living creature that moves, which the waters brought forth abundantly after their kind, and every winged bird after his kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply in the earth.” 23 And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

24 And God said, “Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind: cattle, the creeping animal, and the beast of the earth after his kind.” And it was so. 25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, cattle after their kind, and every animal that creeps upon the earth after his kind. And God saw that it was good.

26 And God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, over the cattle, over all the earth, and over every creeping animal that creeps upon the earth.” 27 So God created man in his own image. In the image of God he created him: male and female he created them. 28 And God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, replenish the earth, and subdue it. And have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the bird of the air, and over every living animal that moves upon the earth.” 29 And God said, “Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed. To you it shall be for food. 30 And to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to every animal that creeps upon the earth, in which is life, I have given every green herb for food.” And it was so. 31 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made. And he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. 3 And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

[Scripture is quoted from the Revised Common Version. To read more from this translation, click on the link at the bottom of this page.]