Galaxies are enormous collections of stars, gas, and dust bound together by gravity. There are billions of galaxies in the observable universe, each containing billions of stars. The Milky Way galaxy that contains our solar system has over 200 billion stars.
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Galaxies demonstrate the immense scale and complexity of God’s creation. Though the ancients did not know about galaxies, there are several passages in the Bible that reference God’s creative work on the grandeur of the heavens.
Key Takeaways:
The vastness and beauty of creation reflects God’s glory and power.
God created and sustains the heavens, including galaxies, by his word.
The heavens declare God’s handiwork and majesty.
God knows and cares for His entire creation across the cosmos.
Christ holds all creation together and reconciles all things through His blood.
God Created and Sustains the Heavens
Several verses directly attribute the creation of the heavens to God:
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1 NKJV)
By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth. (Psalm 33:6 NKJV)
You alone are the Lord; You have made heaven, The heaven of heavens, with all their host, The earth and everything on it, The seas and all that is in them, And You preserve them all. The host of heaven worships You. (Nehemiah 9:6 NKJV)
These verses establish that God created the entire cosmos through His word and power. The “heavens” and “heaven of heavens” encompass everything we would consider outer space today, including galaxies beyond our own Milky Way galaxy. God not only created the galaxies, but He actively sustains them by His power:
He counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by name. Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite. (Psalm 147:4-5 NKJV)
Who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high (Hebrews 1:3 NKJV)
The fact that God knows and upholds every star implies His detailed knowledge and care for each galaxy. Christ continues to sustain the cosmos today. This affirms that galaxies are not products of chance but reflect the orderly character of God.
The Heavens Declare God’s Glory
Several passages describe how the heavens visibly display God’s glory, craftsmanship, and majesty:
The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. (Psalm 19:1 NKJV)
Lift up your eyes on high, And see who has created these things, Who brings out their host by number; He calls them all by name, By the greatness of His might And the strength of His power; Not one is missing. (Isaiah 40:26 NKJV)
When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him? (Psalm 8:3-4 NKJV)
These passages praise God for His work in creating the beauty and complexity evident in the night sky. Ancient people could observe thousands of stars and discern patterns and structure in the heavens that reflected God’s orderly design. Today, we know those stars are part of billions of galaxies displaying God’s creativity on the grandest scales. The immense number and variety of galaxies, each with unique features, give modern believers even more reason to praise God for the majesty of His creation.
God’s Dwelling Place Transcends Creation
The Bible often uses “heaven” to refer not just to the sky but to the supernatural dwelling place of God. His heavenly abode transcends the physical heavens of creation:
For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.” (Isaiah 57:15 ESV)
But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple which I have built! (1 Kings 8:27 NKJV)
God’s kingdom is on a different plane from even the highest heavens. As magnificent as galaxies are, they are part of the finite natural universe and cannot approach the majesty of the eternal, spiritual presence of God. Believers’ citizenship is secure in God’s heavenly kingdom which is untouched by the physical processes at work in the cosmos.
Christ Holds All Creation Together
The New Testament directly connects Jesus Christ with God’s continuing sustenance of all creation:
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. (Colossians 1:15-17 NKJV)
This affirms Christ’s role in originating, sustaining, and reconciling the cosmos. He maintains the ordered motions of galaxies along with the rest of creation. One day His redemptive work will extend to the farthest reaches of the universe:
having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him. (Ephesians 1:9-10 NKJV)
Christ will restore harmony to all creation; galaxies along with all natural realms will be liberated from their current bondage to decay (Romans 8:21). This cosmic redemption testifies to the immense reach of Christ’s saving power.
Conclusion
The grandeur of billions of galaxies speaks to the glory and power of God as Creator. He undergirds the cosmos, and His heavenly dwelling place transcends creation. In the incarnate Son the fullness of God’s creative work is revealed, as all things are made through Christ and find their ultimate reconciliation in Him. The sheer immensity of galaxies should expand our awe of God’s greatness. As we observe the beauty of God’s creativity on display in the night sky, we can join the psalmist in proclaiming “The heavens declare the glory of God” (Psalm 19:1 NKJV).
All articles have been written or reviewed by Pastor Duke Taber. Pastor Duke Taber is an alumnus of Life Pacific University and Multnomah Biblical Seminary. He has been in pastoral ministry since 1988. Today he is the owner and managing editor of 3 successful Christian websites that support missionaries around the world. He is currently starting a brand new church in Mesquite NV called Mesquite Worship Center, a Non-Denominational Spirit Filled Christian church in Mesquite Nevada.
