God's power is revealed in the initial creation and the continuing sustenance of the universe. Humanity represents the climax of the Creator's purposes.
God is the Creator
Nehemiah 9:6 See also Genesis 1:1; Isaiah 45:7, Isaiah 66:2; Ephesians 3:9; Revelation 4:11
You alone are the LORD. You created the heavens, the highest heavens with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to all things, and the host of heaven worships You.
God's creative activity demonstrates his uniqueness
Psalm 96:5 See also Isaiah 37:16; Jeremiah 10:11
For all the gods of the nations are idols, but it is the LORD who made the heavens.
God's creative activity implies that he is good
1 Timothy 4:4 See also Genesis 1:4, Genesis 1:31
For every creation of God is good, and nothing that is received with thanksgiving should be rejected,
God creates all things
He creates the physical world
Isaiah 45:18 See also Genesis 1:1–25
For thus says the LORD, who created the heavens— He is God; He formed the earth and fashioned it; He established it; He did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited: “I am the LORD, and there is no other.
He creates the spiritual world
Psalm 148:2–5 See also Romans 8:38–39; Colossians 1:16
Praise Him, all His angels; praise Him, all His heavenly hosts. Praise Him, O sun and moon; praise Him, all you shining stars. Praise Him, O highest heavens, and you waters above the skies. Let them praise the name of the LORD, for He gave the command and they were created.
The human race is the apex of God's creation
Psalm 8:3–8 See also Genesis 1:26–28, Genesis 5:1, Genesis 9:6; Psalm 100:3, Psalm 139:13; Isaiah 42:5; Acts 17:26–28
When I behold Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place — what is man that You are mindful of him, or the son of man that You care for him? You made him a little lower than the angels; You crowned him with glory and honor. You made him ruler of the works of Your hands; You have placed everything under his feet: all sheep and oxen, and even the beasts of the field, the birds of the air and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.
The Creator's agents
He creates through Jesus Christ
1 Corinthians 8:6 See also John 1:3; Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 1:2
yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we exist. And there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we exist.
He creates by the Spirit
Job 33:4 See also Genesis 1:2; Psalm 104:30
The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
He creates by his word
Psalm 33:6 See also Job 38:8–11; Psalm 33:9
By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and all the stars by the breath of His mouth.
He creates by wisdom
Proverbs 3:19 Wisdom is personified and is active with the Creator. See also Proverbs 8:30; Jeremiah 10:12–13
The LORD founded the earth by wisdom and established the heavens by understanding.
He creates from nothing
Hebrews 11:3 God creates out of non-existent material, which emphasises the absolute dependence of all creation upon him. See also Job 26:7; Romans 4:17
By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
The Creator sustains the created order
Isaiah 44:24 The Hebrew indicates continuous activity. See also Deuteronomy 30:20; Job 9:8–9; Psalm 104:2–4; Isaiah 42:5
Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer who formed you from the womb: “I am the LORD, who has made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who by Myself spread out the earth,
Examples of God sustaining creation
Matthew 5:45 See also Job 5:10, Job 38:31–33; Matthew 6:28–30
that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
The Creator watches over his creation
Psalm 33:14 See also Psalm 121:2–8
From His dwelling place He gazes on all who inhabit the earth.
The creation is a vehicle for God's self-revelation
Romans 1:20 See also Psalm 19:1; Isaiah 40:26; Amos 4:13
For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood from His workmanship, so that men are without excuse.
God renews his creation through redemption
John 3:17; 2 Corinthians 5:17 See also John 1:12–13; Romans 4:17, Romans 6:4, Romans 8:19–23 The redemption of the physical world must wait until the sons of God are revealed at the end of time; Galatians 6:15
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come!
God renews his new creation of believing people
2 Corinthians 4:16 See also Colossians 3:10
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, yet our inner self is being renewed day by day.
God will reveal a new universe
Revelation 21:1 See also Revelation 21:5; Isaiah 65:17
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
Related themes
Dictionary of Bible Themes © 1999 Martin Manser, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Bible Aquifer. Formatted for this site, with Scripture from the Berean Standard Bible.