The Creation Account, Part 4

We wrap up our topical study on the issue of the creation account as found in Genesis, chapter one and two today. We have thus far looked at some of the various views of the creation accounts to point out their weaknesses and strengths. Today, we are going to look at the Biblical View and discuss why it must be true above all else and that anything else we believe must fall in line with that view without contradiction. So far, we have looked at the following views: Mythology, Pictoral Day, Old Earth Creation, Young Earth Creation, Gap Theory, and Naturalistic Evolution.

The final view that needs to be considered is the Biblical View. In other words, what does the Bible say in regards to the creation account? These issues include, but certainly are not limited to, what it says about the uniqueness of man above the rest of God's creation, the origin of sin that requires a Savior, and the teachings of Jesus and the Apostle Paul which point to the fact that they clearly believed the creation account as found in Genesis 1-2. 

In regards to the uniqueness of man, the New Testament teaches that man is the pinnacle of God’s creation in that he was created in the image of God unlike any of the other creatures before him. Millard Erickson says of this, “There is something that gives humanity value from above. The value of humans is not that they are the highest products of the evolutionary process thus far but that the supreme eternal being has made them in his own image. It is not our estimation of ourselves, but the judgment of the holy God that gives us value.”

  

In regards to the origins of sin, the Bible also teaches that man rebelled against God in the Garden of Eden when they chose disobedience rather than obedience in regards to the Tree of Knowledge as recorded in Genesis 3. That single act of rebellion brought sin into God’s creation for the first time. As a result of that sin, death came upon all mankind both spiritually and physically. That is why Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” And because of the wages of man’s sin that was introduced into the world by Adam and Eve, “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8).

Also, the teachings of both Jesus Christ and the Apostle Paul are predicated on the historicity of the creation account. For example, Jesus’ response to the religious leaders in regards to divorce, Jesus referenced the creation account when he said in Mark 10:6-8, “But from the beginning of creation, God MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE. "FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH; so they are no longer two, but one flesh.” Jesus clearly believed in a historical Adam and Eve. Also, the Apostle Paul referred to Adam and Eve on several occasions. When speaking to the Romans he said that “death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come (Rom. 5:14). Also, when speaking to the Corinthians, Paul said that “in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive (1 Cor. 15:22), and that "The first MAN, Adam, BECAME A LIVING SOUL." The last Adam became a life-giving spirit (1 Cor. 15:45). Also, when speaking to Timothy in 1 Timothy 2:13-14 he said, “For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve. And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression.” It is also clear that the Apostle Paul believed in the creation account as well. 

In conclusion, after looking at several alternative views of the creation account, the question is now which ones agree with or contradict the writings of the Bible? Most conservatives hold to the view of Old Earth Creationism, Young Earth Creationism, or the Gap Theory. On the other hand, most conservatives categorically reject the Mythological, Pictorial Day, and Naturalistic Evolutionary views.

The reason for these views by conservatives is because Old Earth Creationism, Young Earth Creationism, and the Gap Theory all require an intelligent creator. Of course, they strongly disagree on particulars such as whether the creation account in Genesis 1 and 2 should be taken literally, or that something happened between verses 1 and 2, but they all concur that an intelligent creator (God) was involved.

On the other hand, their rejection of the Mythological, Pictorial Day, and Naturalistic Evolutionary views is because those views reject the account in Genesis 1 and 2 as factual, deny the involvement of an intelligent creator, and they embrace Naturalistic Evolution and its view of random mutation and natural selection which contradicts the teachings of the Bible and thus “impugns the authority of Christ and His apostolic witnesses”. 

Just so that you know, I believe that the Young Earth Creation view best aligns with the teachings of Scripture.