Lesson 06 How Did Life Begin?
[Image:] A plant sprouting from the ground on a sunny day.
[Press play to hear the MP3 of the Lesson]
“With [God] is the source of life.” (Psalm 36:9)
[Quotation] Psalm 36:9: With you is the source of life; By your light we can see light. [End Quotation]
Do you believe that? Some people think that life came from random, undirected events. If that is true, then we exist only because of an accident. But if Jehovah God created life, it would have a purpose, would it not? * Consider the Bible’s account of the origin of life and also why that account is reasonable. [Footnote.] * Lesson 25 will discuss God’s purpose for humans. [End of footnote]
1. How did the universe begin?
The Bible states: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1) Most scientists agree that the universe had a beginning. How did God create it? He used his “active force, his holy spirit, to make everything in the universe, including galaxies, stars, and planets.
[Quotation] Genesis 1:2 Now the earth was formless and desolate, and there was darkness upon the surface of the watery deep, and God’s active force was moving about over the surface of the waters. [End Quotation]
2. Why did God create the earth?
Jehovah “did not create [the earth] simply for nothing, but formed it to be inhabited.”
[Quotation] Isaiah 45:18: For this is what Jehovah says, The Creator of the heavens, the true God, The One who formed the earth, its Maker who firmly established it, Who did not create it simply for nothing, but formed it to be inhabited: “I am Jehovah, and there is no one else. [End Quotation]
He made our planet to be a comfortable and permanent home for humans. (Read Isaiah 40:28; 42:5) Science reveals that the earth is unique. It is the only known planet that can sustain human life.
[Read Scripture] Isaiah 40:28: Do you not know? Have you not heard? Jehovah, the Creator of the ends of the earth, is a God for all eternity. He never tires out or grows weary. His understanding is unsearchable. [End of Read Scripture]
[Read Scripture] Isaiah 42:5: This is what the true God, Jehovah, says, The Creator of the heavens and the Grand One who stretched them out, The One who spread out the earth and its produce, The One who gives breath to the people on it And spirit to those who walk on it: [End of Read Scripture]
3. What makes humans unlike the animals?
After he made the earth, Jehovah created life on it. First, he filled the earth with plants and animals. Then, “God went on to create the man in his image.” (Read Genesis 1:27.) What makes humans unique? Since we are made in God’s image, we can reflect his qualities, such as love and justice. He also created us with the ability to learn languages, appreciate art, and enjoy music. And unlike any animal, we can worship our Creator.
[Read Scripture] Genesis 1:27: And God went on to create the man in his image, in God’s image he created him; male and female he created them. [End of Read Scripture]
Dig Deeper
Consider the evidence that life was designed and that the Bible’s creation account is reasonable. Learn what the qualities in humans teach us about God.
4. Life was designed
Humans get credit for the designs they copy from nature. So who should get credit for the originals? Play the video Belief in God (2:43), and then discuss the question that follows.
[Disclaimer: The following video is created by Watchtower Bible and Tract Society; however, the audio description has been added independently to assist those who are blind or have low vision]
[Click for Transcript]|[Belief in God
[On a chalkboard, white text ‘What your peers say about belief in God. High school students sketch in a notebook]
Gabriel: A lot of people say that no intelligent person would believe in God.
Larissa: But that’s just not true. Many professionals believe in God, including doctors, lawyers, teachers, even many scientists.
Gabriel: When I see a car, I ask myself, ‘Who built that?’ It takes intelligent people to design a car. I mean, so many things have to work just right for the whole thing to run smoothly.
Lindsey: And if a car needed someone to design it, so did humans and so did the earth and so did the universe.
Robbie: It’s like you’re walking on a beach; you see an empty glass bottle sticking out of the sand. Now glass, it’s made out of sand particles. But, honestly, would an intelligent person believe that the bottle assembled itself from sand particles? No, of course not!
Larissa: Researchers are exploring design features of insects, fish, and other animals to create new products,
Gabriel: or improve products that already exist.
Heather: There’s a bird called the kingfisher. Its beak is shaped so that it can dive quickly from air into water without losing too much speed. So, engineers have used the shape of this bird’s beak to design the nose of Japan’s bullet train. As a result, it goes 10 percent faster while using 15 percent less energy.
Gabriel: Some airplanes navigate with the help of a computerized autopilot system that could fit in your hand.
Julie: But that’s nothing! The monarch butterfly has a brain the size of a pinhead, and yet it’s able to navigate from Canada all the way to Mexico. That’s more than 1,800 miles. That’s amazing! Humans get credit for the designs they’ve copied from nature. So, who should get credit for the originals?
Larissa: No matter where we look in the natural world, at birds, butterflies, fish
Gabriel: Everything gives evidence of a Creator.
Robbie: Want more information? Go to jw.org, look for the Publications tab, and download the brochure Was Life Created?
(Logo: Black capital letters JW.ORG inside a white box. Copyright 2015 Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania) [Click to close]
What have human designers copied from nature?
Every house is designed and built by someone. But who designed and built the things in nature? Read Hebrews 3:4, and then discuss the questions that follow:
[Read Scripture] Hebrews 3:4: Of course, every house is constructed by someone, but the one who constructed all things is God. [End of Read Scripture]
What designs in the natural world impress you?
Is it reasonable to believe that the universe and everything in it were designed? Why?
[Box] Did You Know?
You can find articles and videos about this topic on jw.org in the series “Was It Designed?” and “Viewpoints on the Origin of Life.” [End of box]
[Image:] A man securing a bamboo roof to the main structure of a house that he is building in a tropical region. Caption: “Of course, every house is constructed by someone, but the one who constructed all things is God”
5. The Bible’s creation account is reasonable
In Genesis chapter 1, the Bible describes the origin of the earth and life on it. Can you trust that account, or is it just a myth? Play the video Was the Universe Created? Excerpt (3:51), and then discuss the questions that follow.
[Click for Transcript]|[Was the Universe Created?]
[Text: Was the Universe Created?]
[In a museum a large model of Satan hangs from the ceiling. A glass case displays model planets next to a touch screen exhibit. A man approaches the screen then taps the play icon]
Presenter: The universe is vast and awe-inspiring.
[He swipes the screen to show a rotating earth]
Earth and life on it are amazingly complex.
[A cut out of a cell reveals the inner structure]
How did it all get here?
[Five unique snowflakes. Walking away from the screen the man strolls towards a large rotating globe]
The Bible book of Genesis says that there is a Creator. But the account is often misunderstood or even dismissed as a myth.
[Pausing he looks at a trifold brochure]
Is what the Bible says about the origin of the universe plausible?
[He stops to view a wide movie screen]
Scientists estimate that the universe is 14 billion years old.
[A timeline darts from left to right]
This implies that the universe, including earth, had a beginning.
[Two lines indicate the beginning of the universe and the earth]
The Bible agrees. Genesis 1:1 reads: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” The account does not say when or how the universe began. Rather, it focuses on the creative process that took place on earth over six periods of time, which the Bible calls days. Were these six 24-hour days, as many believe? No. The Hebrew word used in the Bible for “day” can refer to various lengths of time. Genesis even summarizes the six days of creation as one day, “the day that Jehovah God made earth and heaven.
[Text: Genesis 2:4]
Each “day” in Genesis chapter 1 must have spanned extremely long periods of time. The accounts perspective is also important.
[Moses writes at a table]
The writer describes the creative periods as they would have appeared to an observer on the earth. Had someone been there, he would have seen events that started in one period and then progressed into the following periods.
[Text: 1]
Light penetrated the atmosphere to reveal alternating day and night.
[Text: 2]
Earth was covered with water, and vapor filled the air. The dense clouds lifted from the waters that covered the earth, forming an expansive sky between them.
[Text: 3]
Water receded to uncover dry ground, and the first plants appeared.
[Text: 4]
The atmosphere cleared further to reveal the sun and the moon.
[Text: 5]
God created living creatures in the sea and flying creatures above.
[Text: 6]
And in the last period, God created land animals and humans.
[In a lush green paradise, a bird, a fox, Adam and Eve. Back in the museum the man pause to view an exhibit under construction]
In harmony with the Genesis account, the Bible says: Of course, every house is constructed by someone, but the one who constructed all things is God.
[Hebrews 3:4]
The Bible does not speak in scientific detail, but its account of creation is logical and reasonable.
[The man heads toward the exit]
(Logo: Black capital letters JW.ORG inside a white box. Copyright 2020 Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania) [Click to close]
[Image:] Collage: Scenes from the video Was the Universe Created?—Excerpt. 1. The six creative days as they would appear to an observer on earth. 2. The earth after the sixth creative day with the sun, dry land, water, vegetation, birds, land animals, and humans.
Does the Bible teach that the earth and life on it were created in six 24-hour days?
Do you think that the Bible’s account of creation is logical and reasonable? Why, or why not?
Read Genesis 1:1, and then discuss the question that follows:
[Read Scripture] Genesis 1:1: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. [End of Read Scripture]
Scientists say that the universe had a beginning. How does their conclusion compare with what you just read in the Bible?
Some people wonder if God used evolution to create life. Read Genesis 1:21, 25, 27, and then discuss the questions that follow:
[Read Scripture] Genesis 1:21: And God created the great sea creatures and all living creatures that move and swarm in the waters according to their kinds and every winged flying creature according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. [End of Read Scripture]
[Read Scripture] Genesis 1:25: And God went on to make the wild animals of the earth according to their kinds and the domestic animals according to their kinds and all the creeping animals of the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. [End of Read Scripture]
[Read Scripture] Genesis 1:27: And God went on to create the man in his image, in God’s image he created him; male and female he created them. [End of Read Scripture]
Does the Bible teach that God made a simple life-form and then let it evolve into fish, mammals, and humans? Or did he create all the basic “kinds” of life? * [Footnote] * In the Bible, the word “kind” refers to a broad group of living things. [End of Footnote]
6. Humans are a unique creation of God
We are unlike the animals that Jehovah created. Read Genesis 1:26, and then discuss this question:
Because we are made in God’s image, what does our ability to show love and compassion suggest about God’s personality?
[Read Scripture] Genesis 1:26: Then God said: “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness, and let them have in subjection the fish of the sea and the flying creatures of the heavens and the domestic animals and all the earth and every creeping animal that is moving on the earth.” [End of Read Scripture]
[Box]
Some People Say: “The Bible’s account of creation is a myth.” What do you think? Why? [End of box]
Summary
Jehovah created the universe and all life.
Review
What does the Bible teach about the origin of the universe?
Did God let the different kinds of life evolve from a simple life-form, or did he create them all?
What is unique about humans?
Goal
Read an article or watch a video from the series “Was It Designed?” on jw.org. Set Other Goals
Explore
Discover the design reflected in nature. “What Does Nature Teach?” (Awake!, September 2006)
[Click for article]|[Coming soon] [Click to close]
See how a father can explain the Bible’s creation account to his young son. “Jehovah . . . Created All Things” (2:37)
[Click for transcript]|[Coming soon] [Click to close]
“Did God Use Evolution to Create the Different Types of Life?” (Web article) Examine whether the fossil record or scientific experiments suggest that life was created or that it originated by chance.
[Click for article]|[Coming soon] [Click to close]
Examine whether the fossil record or scientific experiments suggest that life was created or that it originated by chance. The Origin of Life, Five Questions Worth Asking (brochure)
[Click for article]|[Coming soon] [Click to close]