What did God create on the sixth day of creation week?
"And God said, 'Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.' And it was so. And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
Then 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 birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.'
So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
And God blessed them. And God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.' And God said, 'Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.' And it was so. And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day" (Genesis 1:24–31).
Day six, the final day of God's creation and the day that culminates in the purpose of His work: the creation of mankind in His image, for His glory. These articles are meant to be brief, and that will be the case here as well, but we cannot neglect the significant aspects of this final day of creation.
Here now, God has created the heavens and the earth; light; the atmosphere; plants; the sun, moon, and stars; water creatures; and sky creatures. Just as God filled the waters with fish and the air with birds, He now fills the land with living creatures: "livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth each according to their own kinds." Every kind of animal and insect is brought forth in a single breath. God commanded them to be brought forth, "And it was so." Mankind has yet to discover every species of animal on the land, in the air, or in the waters that God has created. And yet they were brought forth simply by the power of His Word.
But it is mankind that takes center stage here on the sixth day of creation. God does not bring humanity into existence as He did everything else; He does not merely speak and man appears. It is not that He couldn't do this, but rather that He intentionally didn't. Here, God speaks within the Trinity and says, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness." Nothing else in all of creation was made in the image of God. He does not say, "let man be made," no, He says, "Let us make man." Unlike the rest of creation which was formed from the words of God's mouth, humanity was formed by God's own hands. God gathers together dust from the ground which He created, and forms the first man, breathing His own life-giving breath into him, making him a living creature (Genesis 2:7). God forms the first woman from that man's side (Genesis 2:18–23). Notice the love and care God takes in creating mankind. Created by Him, from Him, and for Him, humans are unique among all the creatures of creation.
While all of creation is for God's glory (Colossians 1:16), it was also created for mankind. Notice what God says after He creates the first man and woman: "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth" (Genesis 1:28). It was to mankind that God gave dominion over the creation; every thing that lives was to fall under mankind's domain and we were created to rule over it in righteousness. God has spent five and a half days of creation lovingly preparing the heavens and the earth for mankind. And now here He sets them as the pinnacle over everything else He has created.
Day six is the completion of God's creation. Here, however, the familiar words we have come to know at the end of each day are changed. "And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day" (Genesis 1:31). At the conclusion of the first five days of creation (with the exception of the second day), God looks upon the work of His command and declares it "good," meaning that it is perfect and it is such in accordance with His perfection. Yet, here on the conclusion of day six, God says it was "very good." How can perfect be made more perfect? Because here, God has completed what He set forth to do. He has created a perfect world for a perfect humanity, who is created in the image of the perfect God. What is perfectly created has been perfected; it is "very good." Thus concludes the six literal days of creation.
Of course, we know the story does not end there. God gave Adam and Eve the opportunity to trust Him or reject Him. Deceived by the serpent, Eve disobeyed God's one command and Adam joined her in sin (Genesis 3). The "very good" creation of God was stained. Humans lost their close fellowship with God and death became a reality (Romans 5:12; 8:19–25). The world we live in today is fallen and broken. But God has not abandoned His creation. Quite the contrary, He has provided a way of rescue. Even before God created the heavens and the earth He knew that Adam and Eve would deny Him; yet He chose to create them anyway. He already had the plan for redemption—God the Son would take on human flesh, live a sinless life, die on the cross, and rise again victorious over sin and death (Genesis 3:15; John 10:14–18; 14:6). All who put their faith in Jesus are saved (Ephesians 2:1–10; John 3:16–18). His sacrifice is sufficient for those who lived before His work on the cross, too; God counts faith in Him as righteousness (Hebrews 11:6; Galatians 3:6). Not only does God provide this spiritual rescue, God will one day restore the entire creation. Revelation 21—22 describes the new heavens and new earth where all who have put their faith in Him will dwell with Him for eternity. What an amazing God; to Him be the glory!
What did God create on the first day of creation week?
What did God create on the second day of creation week?
What did God create on the third day of creation week?
What did God create on the fourth day of creation week?
What did God create on the fifth day of creation week?
Truth about Creation
