Breaking God’s Command

God had created man with greater mental and emotional capacities than the other animals, so that they were more like God.  He had given Adam only one instruction, in Genesis 2:17.  “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” 

The creation story does nto tell us all the details, but some can be inferred from other passages.    Isaiah 14:12-15 compares the destruction of Babylon to the judgement on Satan at the beginning of time.  “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!  For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.  Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.”  II Peter 2:4 stresses that these were in fact angels.  “…if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, …”  Jesus was present in heaven as the son of God, and helped with the creation.   Luke 10:18 tells us, “…he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.” 

God had given man dominion over the earth.  Satan had been cast out of heaven for trying to usurp God’s authority.  He was still trying to usurp God’s authority when he came to earth.  He immediately tried to usurp God’s authority by gaining control of man.   He began by questioning what God had said, in Genesis 3:1.  “Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” 

The serpent was a very intelligent animal, and by getting control of his mind, Satan was able to cause him to talk.   Genesis 2 seems to imply that Eve had not yet been made when God gave the command not to eat the fruit, but had been told what God said by Adam.  Satan cast doubt, questioning whether it was really what God said or just how Adam interpreted it.  He uses the same trick to get people to question God’s word today. 

Eve’s response in Genesis 3:2-3 indicates she wasn’t sure what God had said.  “And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.”   She implied God had said they might die of eating the fruit.  God said they would surely die if the ate of it, but he said nothing about dying if they touched it. 

Her unsureness gave Satan and opening.  I suspect he may have handed or tossed a piece of the fruit to her and she automatically took it and didn’t die.  Satan then used that fact to imply God had lied and was deliberately keeping them from learning as much as he knew, in Genesis 3:4-5.  “And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.”   

Convinced God was wrong about the effects of eating the fruit, Eve began to think about eating it.  Genesis 3:6 tells us, “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.”   The appearance of the fruit appealed to her eyes, and the smell and looks made her feel like it would taste really good.  That it would make her as wise as God, appealed to her pride as well. 

Satan still uses deceit to convince us God’s word cannot be trusted, and he still uses the same things to convince us to disobey,  I John 2:16 warns, “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.”  People are social animals, and tend to want to be like everyone else.  When they do something wrong, they try to get others involved, and when they see someone do something they tend to go along with it.  Eve gave some of the fruit to Adam, and though he knew what God had said, he went along with her.    Today, even those who know something is wrong are often tempted to go along just because everyone else is doing it. 

Institution of Marriage

God created the woman from one of the man’s ribs, specifically to be his helpmeet, the one specifically designed to meet man’s emotional  and social needs, as well as enabling him to reproduce.  Adam describes the result in Genesis 2:23-25.  “And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.  Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.  And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.” 

The woman was literally of the same flesh and bone as the man.  She was to be called a female person, a woman.  She was equal to the man, but made slightly different to enable her to more easily do things the man might struggle with, while he could more easily do things that might be difficult for her.  Both are essential for the continued existence of humans.    

When they reached maturity, the man was to join to his wife, and leave their parents to form their own home.  They were to become emotionally one flesh, while their children were literally one flesh, being a genetic combination of both, and inheriting traits from both.   This bonding or joining is not the result of a legal or cultural ceremony but of God’s action,  according to Matthew 19:5-6.  Jesus said,”… For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?  Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.”   Corinthians 6:16 makes it clear the bonding takes place as a result of the sex act, whether there is a legal ceremony or not.  “What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh.” 

God clearly recognizes the marriage whether there is a formal wedding or not, as Genesis 24:67 demonstrates.  “And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her: and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.”  In the Old Testament, when there was no formal declaration of marriage, the woman was sometimes referred to as a concubine, but scriptures still describe the man as her husband, as we see in Judges 19:2-4.  “And his concubine played the whore against him, and went away from him unto her father's house to Bethlehemjudah, and was there four whole months.  And her husband arose, and went after her, to speak friendly unto her, and to bring her again, having his servant with him, and a couple of asses: and she brought him into her father's house: and when the father of the damsel saw him, he rejoiced to meet him.  And his father in law, the damsel's father, retained him…”  Since God causes the bonding through the sexual act, adultery and sexual promiscuity are a rejection of God’s plan and working, as are homosexuality, lesbianism, and divorce.      

“And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.  Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.  And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.” (Genesis 1:31-2:3)

On seventh day, or Saturday, God took the day to enjoy what he had accomplished, setting the day apart as a day of rest to celebrate God’s blessings.  In Mark 2:27, Jesus said, “The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.”  Contrary to what many believe, people need time off to recuperate and refresh their minds, and God took that into account.  Celebration of the Sabbath was not to be a ritual but an expression of thankfulness.  In the Old Testament, the Jews celebrated the Sabath or Saturday as the day God finished creation.  In the New Testament, the Christians celebrated Sunday as the day the Lord was resurrected, completing their salvation, as we see in Acts 20:7.  “And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them…”  I Corinthians 16:2 indicates the same thing.  “Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him…”  The date is less important than the attitude of appreciation. 

A Helpmeet for Man

In creating the world, God was careful that everything he created would have what it needed to survive and thrive.  When God created the man, he provided for both the physical needs and the emotional and social needs.  Genesis 2:18 tells us this was deliberate.  “And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.”  Man needed someone with similar intellectual and emotional development who could relate to him and help him do what needed to be done. 

God had formed all the animals from the matter he first created.  He brought all of them into contact with Adam, who observed them and named them, according to Genesis 2:19-20.  “And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. Ge 2:20 And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.”  The interaction with the animals showed that none of them had the mental and emotional makeup to meet what mankind would need.  

Contrary to what some believe, humans can live a full and satisfying life without sexual relations, but they desperately need to communicate with other people for their emotional health.  There were no other humans for Adam to communicate with, and even the most understanding animals would be unable to communicate fully on his level.  Genesis 2:21-22 tells how God rectified this problem.  “And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.”

Adam had been formed from the dust of the ground.  God took one of his ribs to make the woman.  While she closely resembles the man, she is intrinsically different, although the differences may appear subtle.  .  These differences go beyond just the different sex organs, including the wiring of the brain, the production of different hormones, and sensitivity to environmental factors.    These differences start at the cellular level with the woman having a slightly different genetic code than a man.  Sex change surgeries and hormone therapies ofr psychological training does not eliminate those genetic differences.  Despite all their efforts to change gender, the transgender person is still biologically the same sex as when he was born.   By trying to change their gender, whether he realizes it or not, the person is rebelling against God’s authority to make them as he chooses. 

Interestingly, studies have shown that if allowed to interact with both sexes normally, gender confusion among young children usually resolves itself within a couple of years.  If they are isolated from role models of one gender, however, the confusion may become deeply ingrained, creating serious psychological problems in the future.  Unfortunately, children growing up in divorced home often do not have proper role models, which frequently results in confusion as to what is normal for men or women.  Thirty years ago, studies indicated thad5t boys raised by a single mother were more than four times a slikely to become homosexuals as thowe who had both parents living together.  Other studies have shown similar results for girls becoming lesbians and for transgender individuals. 

The scientific principles of genetics indicate that unless something intervenes to change them, such as a disease that only attacks one genetic group, the overall ratio of genetic traits in a population will remain essentially the same.  Thus, if homosexuality were a genetic trait, the percentage of homosexuals should remain the unchanged throughout the centuries.  That the percentage of homosexuals and trans-genders has grown in the last few years indicates that something other than genetics is causing the growth.  The various studies lead me to believe it is largely the result of the breakdown of the traditional family, although that is not the only factor involved.   

Human Diet

When God created the world, everything was designed to operate in a particular manner.  As a result of man’s sin, many things have changed besides man’s mental attitudes and abilities.  Our diet is one of the things that has changed.  When God created the world, all animals were vegetarians, according to Genesis1:29-30.  “And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.  And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.”  With no predators, the animal population undoubtedly increased very rapidly. 

In the garden were all the plants we know today, besides various kinds that are now extinct.   There were also two special trees that are no longer available, according to Genesis 2:9.  “And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.” 

Created in the image of God, mankind had the ability to make logical decisions and act on them.  The fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil would open man’s mind to other possibilities besides the logical, possibly in a way similar to how hallucinogenic drugs enable people to imagine things they would not otherwise have considered.  People would have the ability to choose between what they knew was right and good, and what was most interesting at the moment.  This results in and internal conflict we know as the conscience. 

The Tree of life, on the other hand, would cure any diseases or health problems.  Revelation 22:2 tells us a little about it.  “In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.”  By eating of the tree of life, man could live forever, according to Genesis 3:22.  “And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:” 

God gave man a definite warning about the danger of eating the fruit from the tree of the Knowledge of good and evil in Genesis 2:16-17.  “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”  Eating of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil would ultimately result in death, just as using hallucinogenic drugs results in thousands of deaths each year from suicide, accidents and drug overdoses.  Man could freely eat from all the other plants, including the tree of life. 

Today, there are many who believe we should go back to a strict vegetarian diet.  While it is true that that was what man was originally intended to eat, man’s sin has resulted in physical changes that make that impractical.  Our body is no longer capable of synthesizing certain things we need from plant sources.  After the flood, God gave different instructions, in Genesis 9:2-4.  “And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered.  Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.  But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.”  After the flood, God said man was free to eat any of the animals for food, as well as the plants.  Later he would restrict what the Jews were allowed to eat as a means of protecting them from certain diseases, but those guidelines applied only to Israel.

The apostles emphasized this In their response to questions about what Christians were to do, in Acts 15:28-29.  “For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things; That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.”  People are free to eat whatever food is available, as far as God is concerned.   

The Creation of Man

On the sixth day of creation, God made all of the land animals.  One of them, the human he made differently than all the others although they are very similar.  Genesis 1:26 describes the decision to make man.  “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.”   Man was to be made in a special way so that he resembled Go in some ways and would have the ability to oversee and manage the other animals.  Genesis 2:7 describes man as being formed of the dirt, somewhat like a little child making a mud figure.  “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”  The soul is the part that makes an animal alive, what some call the life principle.    

Genesis 1:27 says, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.”  Some have taken this to mean we resemble him physically.  This is unlikely because John 4:24 tells us, “God is a Spirit…,” and in Luke 24:39, Jesus made the point that the fact he had a physical body indicated he was not just a spirit.  “Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.” 

While man is physical, he has a spirit, and it appears that it is the spirit that made man like God.  As a result of sin, that likeness has been damaged, and Ephesians 4:23-24 commands, “And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.”  Ecclesiastes 3:21 makes it clear that the spirit of man is different from that of the animals.  “Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?”   Colossians 3:8-11 supports the understanding that the spirit of man, his attitudes and mental capabilities are the the things thast make man like God.  “But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.  Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.”  If man was to be manage the other things God had created, it was necessary that he have mental abilities beyond what the other animals had. 

Genesis 2:8 tells us, “And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.”  When he placed man in the garden, he was responsible for taking care of it according to Genesis 2:15.  “And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.”  Genesis 1:28 describes man’s responsibility toward the earth.  “And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.” 

The environmental groups are correct that man has a responsibility toward the earth and the various species of animals and plants.   Unfortunately, as a result of sin, mankind’s attitudes and thought processes are no longer as much like those of God.  People become concerned about protecting one part of the environment without understanding how the different parts are related.  As a result, even efforts to preserve the environment or individual species frequently wipe out other species in the effort to protect another, and conflicts arise between environmentalists and those who are trying to survive. 

For example, efforts to protect the Komodo dragon have resulted in the extinction of nearly thirteen thousand species of other animals and plants.  Efforts to protect the spotted owl by stopping logging operations have resulted in forest fires destroying thousands of acres of habitat for both the spotted owl and other animals.  Efforts to maintain higher water levels to prevent extinction for the snail darter have resulted in reduced water availability for farming and cities, while interfering with the natural breeding cycle of the snail darter, with the result that the population is declining even faster than before they tried to save them.  In the rush to save them, environmentalists ignored the fact that the snail darter only reproduces during periods when the water level is low.  While we have the capabilities, too often we tend to see only a small part of what is involved.  This is true in everya rea of our lives, from politics and finance to raising our children.   

The Days of Creation

Because we cannot go back and observe creation, nor can we exactly duplicate the conditions at the time, it is impossible to empirically prove whether a theory regarding the origins of the world are true or not.   While we can compare such theories with what we know from science, to see if they are logically possible, our conclusions will still be very subjective, literally based on faith rather than fact, whether we accept the scriptural account of creation by God, some evolutionary theory, or any of the hundreds of explanations by other religions and cultures.  As we see with the Flat Earth society, some people insist on clinging to their faith regardless how much empirical evidence there may be to prove them wrong.   

The biblical record starts with God having created a blob of matter covered with water of no particular shape hanging in space.  God then began to systematically work on that blob of matter, changing into the world we know today, over a period of a few days. 

Genesis 1:3-5 describes the first day.  “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.  And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.  And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.”   It was entirely dark until God created light and separated it from darkness.  Thus the first day moved from darkness or night to light or day.  Hence, the statement that the evening and the morning were the first day.  It would appear that on the first day, God started the earth to rotating, which would ultimately cause the world to assume the slightly flattened spherical shape it now has. 

According to Genesis 1:6-8, on the second day, God created what we know as the atmosphere.  “And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.  And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.  And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.”  Our atmosphere supports a vast amount of water vapor in the clouds.  The Hebrew word for Heaven just means what is above us, whether the atmosphere, the stratosphere, or outer space. 

On the third day, God caused the dry land to appear, as Genesis 1:9-13 describes.  “And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.  And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.  And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.  And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.  And the evening and the morning were the third day.”

As the earth rotated and gravity pulled the water to the lowest places, the dry land began to appear.  When it did, God commanded the various forms of plant life to grow.  With soil, water, light and an atmosphere the plants had everything they needed to survive and grow. 

On the fourth day, God created the various stars and planets, including the sun and the moon, according to Genesis 1:14-19.  “And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.  And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.  And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.” 

It is the earth’s rotation in the sunlight that determines our day and night.  It is the earth’s alignment with the sun that determines our various seasons.  Originally our months were determined by the movement of the moon, as are our tides. 

On the fifth day, God created the sea animals and the birds, according to Genesis 1:20-23.  “And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.  And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.  And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.  And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.”

With the various seasons and tides established, and plant life readily available both in the sea and on land, birds and sea animals would have access to the food they needed to survive.  Each variety brought forth after their own kind. 

With an ample supply of food, with an atmosphere to provide the oxygen they needed, with water and light, God then made the land animals and insects to live on the earth, as Genesis 1:2425 describes.  “And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.  And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.” 

One of the big problems with evolutionary theories is in the order of creation.  Without the proper food sources and conditions neither plants nor animals could survive even if they evolved.  Secondly, most of them could not reproduce unless a very similar plant or animal evolved in close proximity at the same time.  It is not like one frog could evolve in America and a second one in Africa a thousand years later.   If evolution is completely random, as is often suggested, the chances of a male and a female frog evolving in the same area at the same time are so infinitesimally small as to be statistically impossible.     

Humans were also created on the sixth day, and we will probably look at their creation in the next study. 

God Created the Heavens and the Earth

As we saw in the previous study, the sexual promiscuity, confusion over gender, school shootings, homosexuality and other wickedness we see today is a direct result of mankind having rejected God.  One area where their rejection of God is readily apparent is in the theories about where the world came from.  If God created the world, he had the right to make it follow prescribed rules as to how it is to function, including both the physical laws such as the law of gravity, and moral laws.  Because they rebel against God having such authority over them, people choose to worship other things.  Romans 1:25 tells us they “…Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator.”  They worship the things God created instead of the God who created them. 

Some have chosen to worship certain animals, or a river or volcano, while others worship the sun or the earth itself.  Others worship some exalted human beings such as the old Roman or Greek gods, or some man such as Adam.  Still others worship some unknown extra-terrestrial alien culture.  Today many people believe in evolution, which is in essence worship of modern science.  This is especially popular because if mankind are only the result of a series of random accidents, there can be no moral standard to govern how we live. 

Every one of these beliefs involve the pre-existence of something, whether of an alien culture or some super human beings, the solar system, the animals they worship, or, in the case of evolution, the existence of all matter.  No matter how many thousands or millions of years we go back, it is illogical to assume that nothing suddenly turned into something without something to cause it.  While Christians are often asked where God came from, all other beliefs have the same problem.   

Evolution assumes matter was there and that molecular attraction pulled it together so closely that it created a nuclear explosion which resulted in the formation of the universe with all the galaxies and planets.  There is no explanation where the matter came from or how it came together to reach critical mass all at one time.  Even if we accept the Big Bang Theory as to how the universe was formed, there is no scientific explanation as to how life evolved since we have never been able to produce life despite all our attempts to combine the proper chemicals.        

The Bible makes no attempt to explain where God comes from, but simply declares his existence, in Genesis 1:1.  “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”    God was there and he caused the earth to be formed.   Logically we know that something was there and caused the various things to form.  The Biblical statement is as logically sound as the evolutionary explanation. 

Genesis 1:2 tells us, “And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.”  Literally what this means is that the world had no particular form, that it was empty, and that there was no light, but that the spirit and power of God were present and active.  It clearly intimates that most of the surface was covered by water.  Since three fourths of world’s surface is still covered by water, this makes perfect sense.   At this point, we have an unformed, unfinished planet with soil and water, space, and a source of power to effect changes.  The rest of description of creation will involve how those raw materials were shaped into the world we know today.