Paul's Teachings on Creation

Does Genesis 1-2 leave you with unanswered questions about the hows and whys regarding creation? Fortunately, other biblical passages provide details that Genesis omits. Perhaps you have noticed God’s involvement with nature described in Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Isaiah, Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Peter, or Revelation. Whereas a complete study could fill a book (and probably has), I will highlight Paul’s perspectives on creation. This will not focus on his teachings of sinners being created into a new person in Christ (although some themes overlap), but on those passages which relate to God as the creator wherein Genesis 1-2 describes. There are arguably more passages that possibly relate to creation, but I chose seven that I think reasonable Christians would agree refer to creation.

1. “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, being understood by what has been made, so that they are without excuse” (Rom. 1:20, NASB).

In the context of the chapter, Paul is laying a fundamental charge at the feet of every unbeliever and atheist. He describes that witnessing the visible things created by God demands acknowledgment of a creator. In his view, the evidence is in favor of this creator being the God of Israel, but here he takes it further and attests that reasonable people “clearly” perceive those things which are also of the spirit; that is to say, things they know exist but are not seen nor measurable. We might include emotions, morality, consciousness, and determination in this category. Whereas a Bible in our language has existed for less than 500 years, nature has testified to the character of God for every person throughout time.

2. (as it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed, that is, God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that do not exist (Rom. 4:17, NASB).

The context of this passage is focused on the creation of new spiritual life in the believer (and thereby becoming a spiritual descendant of Abraham). To emphasize this point, Paul is reminding readers that this is possible for the only one capable of creation. God alone created the heavens and earth, and he did so by bringing into existence those things that did not exist before in any form. Whereas other gods are said to have their origin and dwelling within the universe, the God of Israel alone is said to have created the universe to include space and time.

3. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the eagerly awaiting creation waits for the revealing of the sons and daughters of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only that, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons and daughters, the redemption of our body (Rom. 8:18-23, NASB).

Again, Paul’s message is about new life in Christ for believers but by drawing on the actual creation process of the universe. Verse 20 verifies that God created the universe to be subject to corruption. Some scholars teach that this corruption came as a result of original sin, when Adam ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They argue that there was no death, pain, nor decay prior to Adam’s fall. This approach takes the promise that man would die if he sinned and somehow place it on all animals (but not plants). I find this interpretation unreasonable and unsupported by Scripture. The only reason to insist that corruption to the universe followed Adam’s sin would be to support Young Earth Creationism (YEC). Instead, what we find is that Paul’s statement, of a universe created not to last, aligns with the Genesis account and the natural account of a very old earth in which entire species were created, many of which went extinct, prior to mankind’s creation for the purpose of preparing earth and its atmosphere for humanity. For detailed explanations of these views, see my posts entitled “How Did God Create the Earth?” “Was Noah’s Flood Global?” “Expanding Universe,” and “Psalm 104:1-9.”

4. For man does not originate from woman, but woman from man; for indeed man was not created for the woman’s sake, but woman for the man’s sake. Therefore the woman should have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels. However, in the Lord, neither is woman independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. For as the woman originated from the man, so also the man has his birth through the woman; and all things originate from God (1 Cor. 11:8-12, NASB).

This retelling of the order in which man and woman were created through Adam and Eve is consistent with the Genesis account. Genesis states that man needed a helper, and Paul affirms as much by saying it was for the man’s sake (his own best interest) that she was made (lit. built) from his rib. The detail that Paul adds in his explanation is that neither man nor woman are independent, meaning they both depend on each other and are, therefore, at a disadvantage when apart. In the context of the chapter, each person is to know Christ and is at a disadvantage if they do not. It is insufficient to know God through any mediator, be he a pastor, best friend, or an angel.

5. To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, and to enlighten all people as to what the plan of the mystery is which for ages has been hidden in God, who created all things; so that the multifaceted wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord (Eph. 3:8-11, NASB).

Paul’s emphasis on God’s plan is intertwined with God’s eternity and absolute knowledge of all things. In other words, adding the phrases, “who created all things,” and “in accordance with the eternal purpose” mean that God’s plans were known before creation. There were no adjustments needed to give starlight the appearance of age, make mountains appear to have grown by centimeters annually, or to make fossils appear to be embedded within the lower strata of the Grand Canyon. Creation subject to decay was part of God’s perfect plan. What some Christians have a hard time accepting is the fact that God would make a flawed universe, to which I wonder, why wouldn’t he? If there are blessings associated with having true faith in the Lord and curses upon those who despise the Lord or only pretend to love him, then why wouldn’t he create a universe where death, corruption, and decay are possible. Once again, if we look at nature, the physical laws of our universe are immutable as far as we can determine. This is what we should expect, since the Lord “established the fixed patterns of heaven and earth” (Jer. 33:25, NASB).

6. He [Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation: for by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, or dominions, or rulers, or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also the head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross (Col. 1:15-20, NASB).

Unlike Adam, who was made in the image of God, Jesus is the image of God because Jesus is God. According to several commentaries, verse 15 does not mean that Jesus was physically born of a woman prior to all things being created. This is not a description of chronology but of hierarchy. Reading Paul’s words through this light makes the rest of the passage understandable. Like in John 1, we see Paul attributing the entire creation process to Jesus. Since Genesis 1 tells us plainly that God created the heavens and earth, we can only reconcile this by concluding that Jesus is God. Furthermore, Jesus claims this himself when saying, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30, NASB).

7. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude (1 Tim. 4:4, NASB).

If all things created by God are good, and the universe was created in a state of constant decay, which results in death (according to the second law of thermodynamics), then creating a world in which plants, animals, and humans can die was good. To be clear, it is not good that mankind dies, because our death is the result of sin, which is anything that separates us from God. However, a world in which reprobates can die is good. These laws of nature established by God provide the measures of justice for which God chose in his superior wisdom. As for animals, their deaths are meaningless. There is no reason why zoological deaths prior to mankind’s existence should be regretted anymore than the deaths of present-day animals, whose purpose is to serve and comfort humans for the glory of God. In the same context that God created marriage and food, and, therefore, those things should not be forbidden (verse 3), the fact that God created a universe with decay should not be redefined as a mistake or as if Adam’s sin redefined the laws of nature while the universe shows no sign of such changes.

July 15, 2025