The Beginning of it All

Introduction

The Beginning of It All

Text: Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”

Introduction

One's belief concerning the genuineness of the book of Genesis is absolutely vital in determining their response to the rest of the Bible. One writer states that "It has been called the 'seedplot of the Bible' because all the vast forest of Scripture start here as seedlings."[1]This book is the doorway to the rest of God's Word!

Every major doctrine of the Bible has its roots in the Book of Genesis. G. Campbell Morgan taught that we find seven “permanent values” in Genesis. These are:

1.Theology (the study of God)

2. Cosmogony (the study of the universe)

3. Anthropology (the study of man)

4. Sociology (the study of society)

5. Hamartiology (the study of sin)

6. Ethnology (the study of the races)

7. Soteriology (the study of salvation)

The name Genesis means "origins," or "beginnings." In this book we find the beginnings of the universe, man, sin, families and nations. Genesis is a book of origins and beginnings. Gordon Talbot gives a list of the beginnings that we find in Genesis:

The beginning of the universe

The beginning of man

The beginning of sin

The beginning of salvation

The beginning of nations

The beginning of Israel

The beginning of the life of faith

The beginning of worship

The beginning of the family

The beginning of the human society[2]

Also, in this book we find the beginning of God's wonderful plan of redemption for fallen man! We can rest confident in believing God's Word in Genesis 1. IF WE CANNOT BELIEVE WHAT GOD SAYS ABOUT CREATION, HOW CAN WE BELIEVE WHAT HE SAYS CONCERNING SALVATION?

Concerning the authorship of the book, we find that the Scriptures state Moses as the human writer. At least 36 times in the New Testament we find reference to the first five books of the Bible being called the Book of Moses. While modern critics may question and attack the Mosaic authorship of the book, I will simply believe what God Himself says and go on!

The book of Genesis falls into two major divisions: (1) History of the human race (chapters 1-11), and (2) History of the Hebrew race (chapters 12-50). In the first division with find the creation, fall, flood and the tower of Babel. In the second division we find the history of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph.

The book of Genesis opens with the mighty symphonic crescendo of creation's praise, and it ends in the final verse with the funeral dirge and a coffin in Egypt. What transpires in between 1:1 and 50:26 comprises the entire theme of the Bible concerning God's plan of redemption.

The book of Genesis tells us of the creation of the earthly dwelling place of God's people, and the Bible ends in Revelation with the creation of the eternal dwelling place of God's people.

In the Old Testament book of Genesis, we find Isaac questioning "where is the lamb" (Gen. 22:7). In the New Testament book of John, we find John proclaiming "Behold the Lamb." And in the final book of the Bible we find the saints of God gathered at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb! The book of Genesis truly is a book of beginnings! In it we find the beginning of the greatest love story ever told. It is the story of the Savior's love for sinful man and His sacrifice to redeem a sinner such as I!

Transition

This first chapter of the biblical narrative is a priority chapter! All other 1188 chapters are hinged on this chapter. John Phillips writes the following:

The first chapter of Genesis is one of the most God-centered chapters in the Bible. God is mentioned by name thirty-two times in thirty-one verses. Add to that the use of personal pronouns, and He is mentioned no less than forty-three times. Thus, on the very first page of Scripture the Holy Spirit brings us into the presence of God and keeps us there. No wonder Satan hates that chapter! No wonder he has brought up his heavy artillery to discredit it in the minds of men.

Abandon Genesis 1—as unfactual and unreliable, as mere mythology, as a doctored-up copy of the Babylonian creation epic, as totally unacceptable to modern science—and Satan has won. If the Holy Spirit cannot be trusted when He tells of creation, how can He be trusted when He tells of salvation?If what He says about earth in Genesis 1 can be questioned, then what He says about heaven in Revelation 22 can be questioned. If the Holy Spirit cannot be trusted in Genesis 1, how can He be trusted in John 3:16?

The importance of Genesis 1 is emphasized by the constant use of a significant figure of speech, the polysyndeton, which always shows up in the King James Version by the multiple use of the word and. Count up the “ands” in Genesis 1—there are almost one hundred of them. In ordinary writing, of course, it is usually considered improper to have more than one conjunction in a sentence. Not so in the Bible![3]The polysyndeton is used to slow us down and draw our attention to each phrase or word thus joined together. In Genesis 1, then, the Holy Spirit would have us weigh each word and phrase, for He is writing with great precision (emphasis in original).[4]

The importance of this first chapter cannot be underestimated! The late Andrew Fuller said, “In the first page of this sacred book a child may learn more in an hour than all the philosophers in the world learned without it in a thousand years.”[5]

The book of Genesis truly is an amazing book. We find the preciseness of God in the very first verse. We find...

I. The When of Creation ("In the beginning").

A. The beginning.

The term, beginning, means “to begin; the starting point, the first and the best, first-fruit.” The word does NOT refer to the beginning of God but, rather, to the beginning of God’s handiwork in creation.

Notice that God does not go into any elaborate detail concerning creation. Yet man has spent millions of dollars and man-hours attempting to explain the origin of man. In verse 16 He uses just five words to describe the formation of the stars ("He made the stars also"). Yet, in the next few books He uses 50 chapters to describe the building of the temple. The stars deal with creation, but the temple dealt with redemption. This shows us that God is more concerned about souls that He is stars, and people more that planets! To accomplish creation all He had to do was speak, but to provide redemption, He had to suffer!

NOTE: It is not our purpose in this message to address all of the evolutionary postulate about the age of the Earth and Universe. However, as we work our way through chapter 1, we will realize that it is somewhere between 6,000 and 10,000 years old. More likely, it is closer to being 6,000 years old.

II. The Who of Creation ("God created").

The Hebrew word, Elohim, is the word translated “God” in our English text. It is a word that is plural in its form. Yet, it is not a word that speaks of polytheism. Rather, it speaks of the plurality of the Godhead, as in the doctrine of the Trinity. This truth is seen in verse 26 of this chapter, where God said, “Let usmake man in our image…” (emphasis added).

The very first words of this chapter are a statement of absolute truth that wipes aways all apostasy and error! In our English text, the first verse is comprised of ten words to describe the magnificent and glorious work of our great Creator God! This verse is a powerful statement that, in one fell swoop, the Holy Spirit-inspired writer destroys…

Atheism, which states God does not exist. ––This verse states the existence of God as a fact. Phillips writes, “There it stands in all its naked force; the opening statement of Scripture. No attempt is made to water it down, to apologize to a skeptical age, even to prove that God is. The Holy Spirit simply deems certain truths to be self-evident, the first and foremost, that God is.”[6]

Polytheism, which states there are many gods. ––While the Hebrew word, Elohim, is a plural form, it can be used to refer to a singular entity. Thus, it is simply translated “God” in our text. The Scriptures repeatedly speak of the God of the Bible as “one God” (cf. Mal 2:10; Mar 12:32; 1Co 8:6; Eph 4:6; 1Ti 2:5; Jas 2:19).

“Have we not all one father? Hath not one God created us…?” (Mal 2:10)

Pantheism, which states that creation (i.e., nature) is god

––This verse makes God, the Creator, separate and distinct from His creation. Thus, trees, plants, rocks, planets, etc., are NOT God, and neither do they contain God!

It is in this verse that we see…

A. God – The Eternal One

Compare: “Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.” (Heb 11:3).

1. He is eternal (cf. Psa. 90:2; Col. 1:17), and is independent of time.

“Before the mountains were brought forth, Or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.” (Ps 90:2)

“And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.” (Col 1:17)

2. He is immutable (i.e. never changing, cf. Mal. 3:6; James 1:17).

“For I am the Lord, I change not; Therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.” (Mal 3:6)

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” (Jas 1:17)

QUOTE: "He has never changed and can never change in any smallest measure. To change He would need to go from better to worse or from worse to better. He cannot do either, for being perfect He cannot become more perfect, and if He were to become less perfect He would be less that God."[7]

3. He is omniscient (i.e. He knows all things at once).

How did He do it?

B. By wisdom (cf. Jer. 10:12; Prov. 8:22-31).

“He hath made the earth by his power, He hath established the world by his wisdom, And hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion.” (Je 10:12)

“Created” (bara) = to create. God, in His Omniscient wisdom created all that is, and He created it from nothing. That is what is referred to as the ex nihilo of creating something from nothing.

All the sculptures of the world begin their work with clay or some other existing substance. All the artists begin their work with their brushes and paints. Yet, when God did His creative work, He simply spoke!

III. The What of Creation ("the heaven and the earth").

“Inthe beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.” (Jn 1:1–3)

A. Heavens (cf. Rom. 1:17).

B. Earth

NOTE: Although the earth did not begin with a "big bang," it will certainly end with one (II Pet. 3:10-11). The evolutionary concept of creation attempts to remove God from existence, and therefore, man is accountable to no One.

(The Howof Creation will be in the next message).

[1] John Phillips, Exploring Genesis (Chicago: Moody Press, 1980) p.9. [2] Gordon Talbot, A Study of the Book of Genesis (Harrisburg, PA: Christian Publications, Inc., 1981), p.7. [3] The polysyndeton is one of the most common figures of speech in the Scriptures. It can be observed, for example, in Genesis 22, Luke 15, and in many other portions. Look for it and you will see it everywhere. [4] John Phillips, Exploring Genesis: An Expository Commentary, The John Phillips Commentary Series (Kregel Publications; WORDsearch Corp., 2009), Ge 1:1–2:25. [5] Stephen Charnock and Andrew Fuller with Matthew Henry, Andrew Fuller, et al., Geikie and J. P. Lange, C. H. Mackintosh, and H. C. Leupold, Guyot, “The Bible: Text of the Month,” Christianity Today (Washington, D.C.: Christianity Today, 1957), 17. [6] John Phillips, Exploring Genesis: An Expository Commentary, The John Phillips Commentary Series (Kregel Publications; WORDsearch Corp., 2009), Ge 1:1. [7] A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit Of God (Harrisburg, PA: Christian Publications, 1948), p.39