Genesis 1:1-31
Introduction:
Today we start to study Genesis, the Book of beginnings. Every foundational truth we learn about who God is and who we are can be found in this powerful book. In the next year we are going to discover powerful theology as we pour over the pages of this book.
This morning we are going to take a close look at the creation story. We will discover that one can believe in God and not believe in a literal six day creation. We will also see that one cannot believe the whole Bible and deny the literal six day creation story.
I. Lessons About God
Romans 1:18–20 (AV)
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; 19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. 20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
A. God’s wrath is poured out against truth suppressors
1. They hold down truth
2. God’s invisible qualities are seen thought His creation.
3. God’s eternal power is revealed.
4. The Godhead is revealed.
B. God is eternal.
C. God is Triune.
I see His blood upon the rose
And in the stars the glory of His eyes.
His body gleams amid eternal snows
His tears fall from the skies.
I see His face in every flower,
The thunder and the singing of the birds
Are but His voice—and carved by His power
Rocks are His written words.
All pathways by His feet are worn;
His strong heart stirs the everlasting sea;
His crown of thorns is twined with every thorn,
His cross is every tree.
Joseph Plunkett
II. Lessons About The Universe
A. Matter is not eternal.
Genesis 1:1 (AV)
1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
B. There is no substance to the gap theory.
Genesis 1:2 (AV)
2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
C. Light was created before the sun, moon, and stars.
Genesis 1:3–5 (AV)
3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
D. God created a pre-flood canopy of water.
Genesis 1:6–8 (AV)
6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. 7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. 8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
E. The language of the passage dictated a 24-hour interpretation.
Vv. 5,8,13,19,23,31
è To assume order rose out of chaos is to ignore the second law of thermodynamics.
F. Pangaea is possible.
Genesis 1:9 (AV)
9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
G. Fruit was designed to reproduce itself.
Genesis 1:11–12 (AV)
11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. 12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
H. Celestial lights were not created until day four, making the theory of Theistic Evolution illogical.
Genesis 1:14–18 (AV)
14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: 15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. 16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. 17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, 18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.
I. Creatures were created with the appearance of age.
J. There were no carnivores before the fall.
Genesis 1:29–30 (AV)
29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. 30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.
III. Lessons About Man
Genesis 1:26–28 (AV)
26 And 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 fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
A. Made in the image of God.
1. Body
2. Soul
3. Spirit
B. Man was given dominion over the animals.
C. Man was given the command to multiply.
I Saw God Today
I saw God today—
in the delicate petals of a rose,
kissed by the dew, enhanced by the morning sun.
I saw God today—
in a stream, catching sunlight,
making its own music.
I saw God today—
in the stillness of the woodland,
Silent, except for an occasional call of birds.
I saw God today—
as the slow darkness of a storm began,
as far as the eye could see.
I saw God today—
in a tree once covered with newness of spring,
now cradled in snow, bowing to God’s seasons.
I saw God today—
in the face of a new life. A baby,
Reaching out its little hand to know God.
—Louise Harker