In The Beginning

Genesis 1:1-13

 

 

 

The book of Genesis is a Fascinating study. The book of beginnings  it stands as a focal point for the whole entire Bible.

 

For in the book of Genesis we see beginning.

1. ) Creation of World

2) Man — Relationship with God

3) Sin ‑ The Fall; Death, Evil

 4) 1st Judgment

  5) See right from beginning ‑ God's redemptive plan to save man

 

 

We left off w/ the creation of the 3rd day in v. 13 / Our focus has not been to try & theorize about Creation vs. evolution

A) But to take God’s word at face value & look at and be amazed by the greatness of God !

 

B)  See The Bible makes no attempt to prove that there is a God. Why not? Because He says, "The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God " (Ps. 14:1).

 

The Bible is a Book written to reveal the spiritual, the religious, the redemptive truth, and that comes to us only by faith.

 

So the Bible doesn’t seek to prove the existence of God / it just presents the fact that God is the One who created.

 

And that Creation is a witness of His existence / Which  is exactly what Paul wrote in Romans 1:20: "For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen."

                                             How are they clearly seen?

"Being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse."

So As we come to v. 14 we come to the 4th day where we read

14  Then God said, "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years;

15  "and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth"; and it was so.

16  Then 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  God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on 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.

19  So the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

 

Now as I mentioned last week the Bible is not a book a science but it is Scientifically accurate - seen here in the mention of creation of Sun & moon

A) Moses declares that God created to great lights - A greater light to rule the day and a lesser light to rule the night

 

B) How did Moses know the Sun was bigger than the moon ? Ordinary observation would lead to the opposite conclusion

 

C) because the Moon is closer it looks larger to us / in fact in ancient times people actually thought the moon was greater than the Sun -

1)  Because it appears bigger - but we know that the sun is much bigger than the moon

 

D) In fact the sun could contain six million moons

 

E) And the sun isn’t even the Largest of the stars / for example the Star Antaries is so large it could swallow up 64 million of our Suns

1)  Epsilon is so vast that its diameter is 3,000 times that of our Sun

   and its volume is some 27 billion times our suns

 

 

So we look out at the stars and they seem so tiny when in actuality they are enormous / but the universe is so huge / they are so far away

A) But here is what I find incredible - look at v. 16 again - God employs just 5 words to describe the creation of the stars / He made the stars also

 

B) And that is that ! 5 words to describe the creation of the stars -yet 50 chapters of the Bible - are devoted to the Tabernacle

1)  Because the Tab. That dwelt w/ the Children of Israel in the wilderness is a wonderful picture of Jesus who Tabernacled amongst

 

C) In the creation of the Sun & the moon we have a neat picture of the Christian life !

1)  Believers are like the moon - no light in & of itself / reflection of the sun !  Same is true of us -

 

D) Jesus is light of the world !  / We are the Light of the world - Let ….shine .

1)  Like the moon we are placed in the darkness of this world to shine as a light - in the darkness / reflect the light of Christ

 

E) The light of the Church is for the darkness of lost humanity - ocean lost at sea - lighthouse !

1)  Only light those in the world will ever see !

 

 

What causes the moons light to be diminished ? World comes between ..

 

 

5th Day 20  Then God said, "Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens."21  So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.22  And God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth."  So the evening & the morning were the fifth day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6th day 24  Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind"; and it was so.

25  And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.26  Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."

27  So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

28  Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."

29  And God said, "See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food.  30  "Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food"; and it was so.

31  Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

 

On the 6th day we have the creation of man / How man is mad will be explained further in the next Ch.

A) But there are several things we want to note here about the uniqueness of the creation of man

 

First, God holds a divine conference about Him saying, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our  likeness" (Gen. 1:26).

 

 This divine conversation clearly is the first hint given to us that God consists of more  than one person. Trinity - 3 in one

 

 

This revelation is given only in connection with the emergence of man upon the earth for only  man can understand and enter into an experience with a triune God and is seen also as the link between God & the rest of His creation.

 

The first man, Adam, is a mediator between God and the animal world just as

later the last Adam (Jesus Christ) will be seen as the mediator between fallen man and God.

 

 The first Adam was made to reign over the world of nature as the last Adam also makes it possible for those who are in  Christ to reign in life through Him as Paul puts it in Romans 5:17

17  For if by the one man's offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.)

 

The key phrase about man as created on the sixth day is the "image" and '`likeness" of God. What does that mean ?  Answer - Man has a Spirit

 

That image is not found in man's body or his soul, but in his spirit. For, as Jesus told the woman at the well in Samaria, "God  is spirit; and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth" (John 4:24).

 

But what is godlike about our spirit?

If the spirit is made in the image of God, then it can do things that God can do but no animal can.

 

Three things are suggested throughout Genesis which God alone does: first, God creates; second, God communicates; and third, God evaluates, pronouncing some things good and others not good.

 

It is here that the image of God in man appears. Man can create. Man’s Inventiveness clearly marks him off from the world of beasts.

 

Man also communicates as no animal can possibly do, sharing ideas which affect (and infect) others.

 

 

Finally, man is the only creature that has a moral sense, recognizing some things as good and others as bad, feeling the impact of conscience upon his own actions. Thus, man shares the image of God.

 

But We read that man was made in the image & likeness of God / What is the difference ?

 

Image is the capacity to be godlike, but likeness is the proper functioning of that capacity.

 

 

Although man has retained the image, he has now lost the likeness of God.

 

Because of sin & rebellion !

Romans 1: 18  For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,19  because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. 20  For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,

21  because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22  Professing to be wise, they became fools,

23  and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man; and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.

24  Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves,

25  who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

26  For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature.

What has gone wrong with this image of God in man? Man retains the image of God, but now the creature  who is called "God's glory" has become God's shame.

 

 

In Jesus I think we get a glimpse of what man was originally like / having dominion over creation

A) Nature obeyed him !  Wind & waves be still -

 

 

B) through Christ - the likeness of God, being restored in man.

1)  Romans 8:29 conformed into the image of his own dear son!

 

C) Listen to Paul in Col 3:9-10 RSV}Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old nature with its practices and have put on the  new nature, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator."

 

 

In Jesus we see a great principle that should mark our, lives / two things that Jesus possessed that man has lost

A) One is dependency upon the Father / Son does nothing of Himself

 

B) 2nd a desire to please the father !