Discovering God's Rest: Embracing Peace and Renewal in Your Christian Journey

God’s Rest: A Problem for Theistic Evolution

According to Scripture, God finished creating the entire universe in six days and rested on the seventh day. However, theistic evolutionists argue that God created galaxies, planets, and all living things through natural processes governed by physical laws. They claim that creation is an ongoing process, contradicting the Bible's assertion that God completed His work long ago.

Creation Completed on Day 7

The book of Genesis concludes with a description of God finishing His work on the seventh day. The text states that "the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them" (Genesis 2:1). On this day, God did not create anything new; instead, the world is described as "finished." The ancient Hebrews used a literary device called a merism to express the concept of totality, combining opposites like "the heavens and the earth" to represent the entirety of creation. The Bible teaches that everything within these realms was fully furnished by Day 7.

Understanding "Rest"

On the seventh day, God is said to have "rested." While this term includes more than just stopping creation, cessation is a crucial aspect of its meaning. The Hebrew word for "rest" primarily means "to cease." In Exodus 20:11, another word is used to describe God's rest, meaning "to settle" into a stable or secure position. Both terms indicate that God stopped His creative work and transitioned to a time when He no longer performed that kind of work.

The author of Hebrews affirms that God's completion of creation is connected to human history. Hebrews 4:3 states that God's "works were finished from the foundation of the world." This passage makes it clear that God ceased His creative activities after the initial burst of supernatural activity described in Genesis. The New Testament also distinguishes between Jesus' role in creating the world and His ongoing work of sustaining it.

Theistic Evolutionist Perspectives

Despite the Bible's clear teaching, theistic evolutionists argue that God's creative work is ongoing. They claim that creation is a continuing process rather than a finished work. However, their attempts to reconcile this view with the biblical account fall short.

Blurring Creation and Providence

One strategy employed by theistic evolutionists is to blur the line between creation and providence. They argue that the Bible refers to God as the Creator of things that originate through natural processes. While it is true that creation language can be applied to things produced through natural means, this does not eliminate the distinction between God's initial creative activity and ordinary providence. If the line between the two were erased, it would contradict the Bible's assertion that creation is both completed and ongoing.

Allegorizing God's Rest

Another tactic is to claim that God's cessation of creative work did not occur in a historical timeline. Some proponents of the Framework Hypothesis suggest that the seventh day is merely a literary device used to communicate theological truths. However, the author of Hebrews explicitly ties God's completion of creation to human history. The seventh day represents a division between God's prior creative actions and His subsequent suspension of that work within our world.

Denying Creation's Impact on the Physical World

A third approach taken by some theistic evolutionists is to argue that Genesis does not describe the origin of the physical universe. They claim that Genesis 1 and 2 only announce functional relationships previously established by God. However, this interpretation contradicts how the New Testament authors understood Genesis, as they clearly believed that God brought physical things into existence. The idea that God ceased His creative works loses its meaning if divorced from real time and relegated to an ill-defined timetable.

Why This Matters

The question of whether creation is a finished work or an ongoing process has significant theological and scientific implications. It affects our understanding of God's nature, the authority of Scripture, and the reliability of scientific claims. Theistic evolutionists face a dilemma: if they accept that creation was completed in the past, they must abandon the idea that naturalistic evolutionary processes were used. On the other hand, if they insist that creation is still happening now, they contradict the clear teaching of the Bible.

Think About It

Consider the implications of viewing creation as a finished work versus an ongoing process. How does this affect your understanding of God's role in the natural world? How does it influence your interpretation of Scripture? Reflect on how your perspective on creation impacts your worldview and faith.