Genesis 1:24-25 And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. God made…all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
As you read through the story of creation there is a sense of progress in the things that God created. Had he created mankind first, before he created the dry land, they would have perished. God laid the ground work for the universe one step at a time. Once the universe and world were finished, he turned to creating a variety of life forms. Plants, fish, animals and birds were put in their place at the right time. As each day, or period, of creation was completed God declared it “good”.
We learn something about God’s nature in this account and other stories in Scripture. Here we see that God is eternal, existing before the universe we know of was ever created. God is powerful in himself alone. He used no tools to create; God spoke and it came to pass that things were created. The will of God is unchallenged. No one questions his creative desire or criticizes the things he made. God is perfect, creating things and life in such a manner that one compliments or supports the other. His knowledge is complete, knowing how to plan for future acts of creation. He knows how each creature is to be formed, and how best to place them in the world he has made.
Living and existence is different than “Life”. Many things exist without living. Mountains, clouds, stars, buildings, cars and the like all exist. They are there to function in some manner for the world around them. Many living things merely exist. Trees, plants and mold all live and exist. They grow, reproduce and contribute by their existence to the world around them. Even living animals: birds, fish and land creatures, exist. Their living existence is a function of the creator’s will for them. They multiply and fill the world as commanded. God built a foundation that supported all the other things and life forms he created. “Life” is yet to begin.
