God’s Word Upholds: Construction and Deconstruction in the Word Part 2: The construction of the Physical World



So, how is all of this really held together? I know we’ve discussed the physical properties of the universe and the design God has used to hold all the matter in the universe together, but where do all of these forces originate? Let’s look at how God’s Word impacted creation:

Genesis 1:1-3 “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.” What things can we pick out from these first three verses?

Now, let’s compare this passage to John 1:1-5 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” The similarity, which we all have seen and understand, is astonishing and explains so much about God’s creative power and methodology. He literally speaks all matter into existence. But, once the physical universe is spoken, does He stop there?

Look at Col 1:15-17 “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” The matter and forces in our universe are held together by Jesus’ creative will and power. I don’t know how, but there is obviously something deeper and more mysterious than the magnetic and gravitational forces we see that hold matter together…

Heb 1:1-4 says more about this: “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.” Imagine a roof with no walls or pillars underneath it…can you imagine such a thing? Why not? Of course, you have to have a foundation upon which to build, supporting structures, and something to hold it all together before you can ever have a roof. Our physical world is no different. While a materialist only looks as deep as the matter itself, the believer understands that there is Someone whose power initiates and upholds that matter…


God’s Word Upholds: Construction and Deconstruction in the Word Part 1: The Physical Universe


God’s Word Upholds: Construction and Deconstruction in the Word

Part 1: The Physical Universe

Have you ever considered how everything is held together, not just in your life, but the entire universe? Materialists would point to weak and strong magnetic and gravitational forces as the primary reason for the physical bonds of the universe, but is there something deeper than just physical forces that holds everything in its place? Is the very matter of the span of creation being upheld by something unseen and far more powerful?

Who remembers high school or college science class, more specifically physical science? What kinds of things did you learn? In the world we can observe, it seems that everything is held together by physical forces such as magnetism and gravity. If you go all the way down to the atomic level, you see electrons spinning around a nucleus of protons and neutrons. You can even work your way down to subatomic particles such as bosons, muons, and gluons and see these revolving around things, being held together by these nuclear forces. All of this attraction is based on objects having mass and positive/negative charges. So, if we continue down and down and down, we see smaller and smaller components of matter being held together by weaker and weaker forces, upon which the fabric of the physical world seems to rest. In fact, there may be sub sub atomic particles that have not yet been discovered. Where will it end?

Now, let’s go up. We live on Earth. Earth has mass as well and is made up of uncountable atomic and subatomic particles. But, around the Earth, other things revolve, don’t they? Then, you move back and begin to see that the Earth itself spins around the Sun. move farther back and notice that all the plants and their moons move around the Sun as well. Pull back farther and you’ll observe that our very solar system is in a spiral arm of the Milky Way galaxy, revolving around the galaxy’s nucleus. And, if you could go even farther back, you’d see that our galaxy is merely one of trillions of galaxies, spreading across light years of space! It’s an amazing universe God has made!

Just look at some of the Biblical passages that describe the universe in all its beauty and majesty. Psalm 19:1-6 refers to the Sun and the “tent” under which it is set, referring to space. Space being stretched out like a tent is referenced many times in scripture. Psalm 104:2, Is 40:22 … This is consistent with what astronomers and physicists see in the universe today. Our universe is literally stretching away in every direction, the fabric being pulled in every direction simultaneously as if it were a balloon being blown up…1 Cor 15:40-41 “There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.” Here’s another view from the heavens where we see the immeasurable variety of creation and all its glory. No two stars are alike just as no two snowflakes or animals or humans are exactly alike.