Simply stated, creation refers to everything that exists that has not always existed. It refers to all that God has brought into existence, which is everything apart from God himself--including angels and, eventually, Satan and his demons--since God is the one and only thing that has never been created.
There are a variety of ways [2] to understand how creation happened--or at least how it has come to look like it does now. While these views can differ slightly or substantially, all Bible-believing Christians will agree on the following points:
1) God created it by, through, and for Christ.
2) God created it by his word and out of nothing.
3) It was corrupted through man’s sin.
4) It will be replaced with a glorious, new creation when Christ returns.
My understanding of Scripture leads me to believe that the world was created in a literal six days, putting me squarely in the traditional 24-hour calendar day view.
This is the third installment in a series on theological terms. See previous posts on the terms theology [3] and Trinity [4].
Links:
[1] http://www.challies.com/resources/the-essential-creation#disqus_thread
[2] http://www.challies.com/liveblogging/why-does-the-universe-look-so-old
[3] http://www.challies.com/resources/the-essential-theology
[4] http://www.challies.com/resources/the-essential-trinity
[5] http://www.challies.com/print/5980
[6] http://www.challies.com/writings/creation
[7] http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.challies.com%2Fresources%2Fthe-essential-creation&t=The+Essential%3A+Creation
[8] http://twitter.com/home?status=Currently+reading+www.is.gd%2FmiWr69
[9] http://delicious.com/save?v=5&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.challies.com%2Fresources%2Fthe-essential-creation&title=The+Essential%3A+Creation
[10] http://www.challies.com/feed
[11] http://www.challies.com/printmail/5980