Answer
The beginning of the universe has fascinated people for millennia. Some think its origin is exclusively the result of natural processes that occurred over billions of years. Others believe the universe materialized when God purposefully spoke it into being. This view—that God created the universe through direct command—is called “fiat creationism.”
The English word fiat refers to an authoritative decree. It comes from a Latin word with the same spelling, meaning “let there be.” In early Latin Bible translations, fiat appears six times in the first chapter of Genesis. Its first appearance is found in the phrase fiat lux, meaning “let there be light” (Genesis 1:3). The word describes God calling into existence different aspects of the created order (see Genesis 1:6, 9, 14, 20, 24).
Fiat creationism is theologically consistent with the Bible’s teaching on the nature of God’s Word. Isaiah 55:11 says a central characteristic of God’s Word is that it never fails: “It shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it” (ESV). For example, God’s Word has instantly saved people from calamity: “He sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction” (Psalm 107:20). Also, when the devil tempted Jesus, the Lord expressed faith in God’s Word to directly sustain Him: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4:4; cf. Deuteronomy 8:3). These examples affirm that God’s Word has the power to immediately enact and fulfill God’s decrees, reflecting the essence of fiat creationism.
Fiat creationism is compatible with certain views that Christians have about the universe’s origins, but not with others. For instance, it aligns with young earth creationism, the position of Got Questions Ministries. According to this interpretation, the creation account describes seven consecutive 24-hour periods that occurred between 6,000 and 10,000 years ago. In contrast to taking billions of years to slowly evolve, God spoke each aspect of creation into existence instantaneously. For example, when God called land animals into existence, they immediately appeared: “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” (Genesis 1:24, emphasis added).
However, fiat creationism isn’t compatible with old earth creationism, also called “progressive creationism” or “day-age creationism.” According to this view, the “days” mentioned in the creation account describe seven unequal periods of time, each consisting of billions of years. Each “day” in the passage reflects a symbolic summary of changes that occurred over billions of years.
Fiat creationism has varying degrees of compatibility with other views on the origin of the universe. First, it’s not compatible with theistic evolution, which posits that God guided the evolutionary process whereby the natural world evolved gradually over billions of years. Second, although advocates of intelligent design agree that purposeful design is found in creation, and they reject purely Darwinian explanations for the origin of the universe, they lack consensus regarding God calling creation into existence through direct commands. Third, the gap theory holds that billions of years elapsed between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2, yet the subsequent six-day period (Genesis 1:3—2:3) consisted of instantaneous creations called into existence through God’s direct commands. Fourth, adherents of the framework view of the creation account posit that the creation account isn’t scientific or historic, but merely contains literary structure to convey theological truth. So, it doesn’t address, and therefore doesn’t affirm, fiat creationism.
The most common view of the origin of the universe among non-Christians today is the opposite of fiat creationism. It attributes the universe’s beginning to the so-called “Big Bang,” hypothesized to have occurred 13.8 billion years ago. The term Big Bang is a misnomer because, although proponents believe the alleged event was “big,” they don’t hold that a “bang” occurred in terms of a loud sound or an explosion. According to the theory, the universe began in a hot, dense state and has been slowly expanding ever since. Advocates of the Big Bang hold that there was no singular moment that can be likened to a sudden fiat-directed appearance of the material universe. Therefore, fiat creationism and the Big Bang are incompatible positions.
Fiat creationism reflects faith in God’s power, which Jeremiah relates to the universe’s beginning when he writes, “Ah, Lord God! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you” (Jeremiah 32:17). The psalmist illustrates that the appropriate response to reflecting on God’s power is praise: “Great is our Lord, and abundant in power” (Psalm 147:5).
