Before examining what the doctrine of creation proves about God, consider what it proves about man.
A. Man Was Created in the Image of God, a Little Lower than the Angels.
The teaching of creation
Genesis 1:26,27 - Man was created by God in the likeness and image of God.
Psalm 8:3-5 - God made man a little lower than the angels, crowned with glory and honor.
Failure to appreciate this leads to mistreatment of other people.
Genesis 9:5,6 - Murder of humans is forbidden, because humans were made in the image of God.
James 3:9,10 - Cursing man is wrong, because men were made in the likeness of God.
The reason is it wrong to mistreat another human is because they are in the image of God. They are just as important to God as we are. To mistreat them is to mistreat one who is like God.
This is why Jesus often said that how we treat other people is how we treat Him (Matt. 25:31-46).
Failure to understand this leads to practicing such evolutionary concepts as "survival of the fittest," so "might makes right." People believe if they are able to overpower others, then they have the right to do so: they are more "fit." Extreme manifestations of this were the holocaust and Communist massacres: eliminate those who are "unfit"!
When we understand the Bible doctrine of creation, we learn why it is wrong to mistreat other humans. We did not make them. They don't belong to us. They belong to God - the same God who made us and to whom we belong. In many ways they partake of His nature, so we must not mistreat them.
[Malachi 2:10; Job 31:13-15; Prov. 14:31; 17:5; 22:2]
B. Man Was Created to Have Authority over the Animals and the Earth.
The teaching of creation
Genesis 2:7 - Contrary to evolution, man was not made from the animals. We are fundamentally different from animals. We were made directly from the earth in the image of God.
Genesis 1:26,28 - God created man to have dominion over all other living things and to subdue the earth.
Psalm 8:6-8 - God made man to have dominion over the things God made. All livings things are under our feet (subject to us).
Psalm 115:14-16 - The God who made heaven and earth then gave the earth to man. That is, it is subject to our control to use for our purposes. God had the right to give us this control, because He made both us and the earth.
Failure to understand this leads to devaluing people and overvaluing animals and the earth.
Evolutionists, animal rights groups, the New Age Movement, and pagans all fail to see the proper dominion of man over animals and the earth.
Some view the earth as a living thing, a goddess named Gaia, so we must try to please it and take care of it. Some even worship the earth.
Others view killing animals as morally similar to killing people, so we should not eat meat or wear fur clothing, etc. An Internet student recently said his wife objects to his hunting, because she doesn't want him to kill animals. She wants to buy meat at the store!
Genesis 9:2-6 - Animals are given into our hand (control) and can be used for food. Animals were not made in God's image, but people were.
1 Timothy 4:3,4 - Some people forbid eating meats, but God created them to be received with thanksgiving.
Killing an animal is not the moral equivalent of killing a man. Why? Because of the doctrine of creation! Animals and the earth were made by God to be subject to our control. This does not justify cruelty or waste or other forms of poor stewardship, but it does justify using them for our good.
Failure to understand and believe the Bible doctrine of creation leads to failure to understand our own position in the universe. What could be more basic than that?!
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