Having considered the intrinsic works of God, we proceed to consider His extrinsic works—in the realm of nature and in the realm of grace. His works in nature are creation as well as His providence in regard to His creation. We shall first discuss creation.
Creation Defined
The verb “to create” has various meanings.
(1) It can refer to God’s common government of things. “I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil” (Isa 45:7).
(2) It can refer to extraordinary acts of God. “For the Lord hath created a new thing in the earth, A woman shall compass a man” (Jer 31:22).
(3) It can refer to regeneration and renewal of heart in conversion. “Create in me a clean heart, O God” (Ps 51:10).
(4) Generally we understand the verb “to create” to refer to the generation of matters, either out of nothing as was the case on the first day, or out of formless matter created on the first day, the latter being the method by which God created on the five succeeding days.
In travelling reversely through time, one will ultimately arrive at the beginning, beyond which one cannot proceed. Beyond this there is nothing but God only who inhabits eternity. No temporal human being can comprehend this eternity, and those who seek to view it as a very long time, view it erroneously. The eternal God, being desirous to reveal Himself and to communicate His goodness, has according to His eternal purpose and by His wisdom and omnipotence, created the universe and all things belonging to it. Thus, whatever exists has a beginning, prior to which nothing existed except God Himself. There was no infinite light. Neither were there elements, formless mass of matter, matter in motion, nor anything else which one could possibly name or conceive. “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Gen 1:1). “In the beginning” does not refer to the moment before anything existed, but it refers to the first moment of time which coincided with the appearance of the very first element of creation. This is confirmed in Ps 90:2: “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever Thou hadst formed the earth and the world.” Prior to the existence of the world, there was a “before,” not in reality, but only when viewed from the perspective of the beginning of creation. In this “before” the world did not exist, but this “before” was eternity itself. “… even from everlasting to everlasting Thou art God.” The world which did not exist was brought forth. That which has been brought forth, however, of necessity has no prior existence, but rather a beginning. This is confirmed by the use of the word “before” in other texts. “… before the foundation of the world …” (Eph 1:4); “… before the world began” (2 Tim 1:9). Both texts imply that there is a beginning of time and a beginning of the world. Consequently, the world has not existed eternally.
As the world did not exist eternally, neither could it have existed eternally. God was indeed eternally capable to create, however that which is created cannot be without beginning, and thus cannot be eternal. This is true for the following reasons:
First, it could then not have been stated that the world was created, for to create is to bring forth matter which had no prior existence. Since in this formation there is a transition from nothing to something, there is of necessity a beginning.
Secondly, there is progression of time during the existence of a created entity. Progression of time logically implies, however, that there be an initial moment, and therefore the existence of a created entity must of necessity have a beginning.
Thirdly, if the world would have eternally existed, then it either must eternally have been self-existent, or it must exist by virtue of God’s eternity. If it existed by virtue of its own eternity, then of necessity there would be two collateral eternal entities, and God would neither be the only eternal One nor the original cause of everything. Scripture, however, consistently attributes these to God as being unique to Him alone. If the world would have eternally existed by virtue of God’s eternity, then it would be God Himself, and thus also be omnipotent, omniscient, simple in essence, immutable, etc., for in every perfection of God all other perfections are comprehended. Within God these perfections cannot actually be distinguished, but they are all one and the same. It thus follows that the world could not have existed eternally.
In calculating retroactively from our time, the beginning can be dated approximately 5750 years ago. I say “approximately,” for this date cannot be determined exactly, since this chronological calculation is not based on the course of the stars, but must be solely deduced from the genealogies of the patriarchs which are recorded in Holy Scripture, all of which only record the years, without reference to months and days. It is therefore uncertain during what season of the year the world was created. The suggestions that it occurred 1) either when the sun was at its zenith or lowest point, 2) at the point when during fall or spring both day and night are of equal length, or 3) during a different season of the year, are entirely speculative. Most often it is suggested to have been at the time of the spring equinox. Those who claim that it occurred at the time of the fall equinox seem to have the better arguments. I personally do not know which view is correct.
The world did not come into existence of itself for nothing can bring forth itself. Instead, the world has been created by God who is the Creator of all things. “… The Creator of the ends of the earth …” (Isa 40:28); “For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth” (Exod 20:11); “My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth” (Ps 121:2); “In the beginning אלהים (Elohim) (the triune God) created” (Gen 1:1).