What Existed Before God?

Biblegems #249

Question: If God created the universe, what existed before God, or was He just alone, surrounded by nothing?

Science and the Bible agree: the universe had a beginning. Popular scientific theory calls it “the Big Bang,” where eternally existing matter and energy expanded from a super-heated black hole to the universe we know today. According to this, there was no “before” the Big Bang because time did not yet exist.

The Bible actually agrees—up to a point—with this scenario:

         Gen. 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

“The beginning”—time, as we experience it—had a beginning. Likewise, ”the heavens and the earth”—the universe of matter and energy—also had a beginning, by God’s design and command. The Bible, however, declares that there was a “before” time and a cause behind all matter and energy. That “cause” is God Himself, who brought all things into being through His eternal Son, Jesus Christ, in cooperation with the Holy Spirit.

         John 1:1-3, 14 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (2) He was with God in the beginning. (3) Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. …(14)The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us….

This passage tells us that Jesus pre-existed creation. He “was God,” and He “was with God in the beginning.” God created all that exists through Jesus, as it says in verse three. Then Jesus entered His own creation as a man (v. 14). Throughout Scripture God is described as one Spirit Being who is by nature a plurality of persons: the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This plurality is reflected in the creation of Adam and Eve:

         Gen. 1:26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness…

        

Humanity—male and female—in the limited physical realm reflects the plurality of God in the spiritual realm: three persons in one Being.

Before creation God existed eternally, but He was never alone; and creation reflects His nature. Just as a work of art reflects the imagination and skill of the artist, even revealing much of the artist’s personality and values, so creation reflects who God is and what He values most:

         Rom. 1:20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.

Throughout eternity past God enjoyed perfect love: the wonder and beauty of deep, intimate relationship—Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The creation of a universe rich in relationships, community and, especially on the human level, interpersonal love that sometimes even reaches the pinnacle of putting the interests of others above our own, reflects what God has experienced perfectly for all eternity. We love because God is love, for we are created in His image.

         Cor. 13:14 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

Does A Literal Adam & Eve Matter?

Biblegems # 248

Question: Does the existence of a literal Adam and Eve really matter?

Contemporary science and the Bible propose distinctly different definitions of what it means to be human.

Modern definitions of “human” vary, but all share this fundamental understanding:

         “Human” means the only surviving species that evolved hundreds of thousands of years ago from a common group (Genus) identified as “Homo,” which in turn evolved from the great apes millions of years ago. Homo-sapiens (humans) walk on two feet, possess manual dexterity, have more complex brains and more complex societies than other animals.

The Bible portrays humanity as a distinctly unique “kind” of being, created fully mature, one male and one female, on the sixth day of the universe’s existence, for the purpose of exercising dominion over the newly created earth (Gen. 1:28).

         Gen. 5:1-2  This is the written account of Adam’s family line. When God created mankind, he made them in the likeness of God. He created them male and female and blessed them. And he named them “Mankind” when they were created.  (NIV ’11)

Either, one is correct and the other incorrect, or else both are incorrect. Both cannot be true; they are mutually exclusive. One view assumes man is an accidental byproduct of millions of years of evolution, which in turn is the accidental byproduct of billions of years of evolution emanating from the Big Bang. The other view assumes the existence of God, the Creator of all that exists, who brought a fully formed universe and mature human beings into existence for His specific purpose.

         Col. 1:16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.

The ramifications of these two conflicting worldviews are profound. According to the current scientific worldview, matter and energy cannot be created or destroyed (First Law of Thermodynamics), and that all matter and energy steadily decays (Second Law of Thermodynamics). In other words, the universe is falling apart.

Unfortunately, these two “laws” are in conflict with each other. The Second Law describes a universe in a constant and steady state of chaos, decay and death, implying that there was once a “beginning” when everything was in perfect order, and that there will be an “end” when everything finally falls apart. But a “beginning” and an “end” contradict the First Law—that matter and energy have no beginning or end!

        

The Bible, however, makes sense of this apparent contradiction:

         Rom. 5:12b   …sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin and in this way death came to all people… (Second Law).

Death and decay are the result of man’s rebellion against God, who created of all matter and energy in the beginning (First Law).

But—

         Rom. 5:17  …if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!