Sermon Tone Analysis

*God of all Creation (Genesis 1:1-25)*

Genesis 1:1-25 (NASB95) \\ 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

\\ 2 The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.

\\ 3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.

\\ 4 God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.

\\ 5 God called the light day, and the darkness He called night.

And there was evening and there was morning, one day.

\\ 6 Then God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.”

\\ 7 God made the expanse, and separated the waters which were below the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so.

\\ 8 God called the expanse heaven.

And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.

\\ 9 Then God said, “Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so.

\\ 10 God called the dry land earth, and the gathering of the waters He called seas; and God saw that it was good.

\\ 11 Then God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit after their kind with seed in them”; and it was so.

\\ 12 The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit with seed in them, after their kind; and God saw that it was good.

\\ 13 There was evening and there was morning, a third day.

\\ 14 Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate 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 expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so.

\\ 16 God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also.

\\ 17 God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, \\ 18 and to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good.

\\ 19 There was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.

\\ 20 Then God said, “Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the heavens.”

\\ 21 God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind; and God saw that it was good.

\\ 22 God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.”

\\ 23 There was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.

\\ 24 Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind: cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth after their kind”; and it was so.

\\ 25 God made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and the cattle after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind; and God saw that it was good.

\\ \\

 

 

*The Kingdom in History (BIG PICTURE)*

/The Kingdom before the Fall of Man (Genesis 1:1-2:25)/

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The Creation of the Universe (Genesis 1:1-25)

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The Creation of Man (Genesis 1:26-31)

 

*Main Idea*: We are to worship our God who displays His power and Glory through creating all that is good.

*Introduction*:

BB Warfield stated the following:

 /A glass window stands before us.

We raise our eyes and see the glass; we note its quality, and observe its defects; we speculate on its composition.

Or we look straight through it on the great prospect of land and sea and sky beyond.

So there are two ways of looking at the world.

We may see the world and absorb ourselves in the wonders of nature.

That is the scientific way.

Or we may look right through the world and see God behind it.

That is the religious way.

The scientific way of looking at the world is not wrong any more than the glass-manufacturer’s way of looking at the window.

This way of looking at things has its very important uses.

Nevertheless the window was placed there not to be looked at but to be looked through; and the world has failed of its purpose unless it too is looked through and the eye rests not on it but on its God.The Glass that lies before us begs the question, “What does it mean to worship a creator?”/

*Main Idea*: We are to worship our God who displays His power and Glory through creating all that is good.

*Context:*

* If one accepts Mosaic authorship, as most conservative evangelicals do, the date of composition of Genesis must be within Moses' lifetime (ca.

1525-1405 B.C.).

* The evidence that Moses wrote the Pentateuch is conclusive if one believes that Jesus Christ spoke the truth when He attributed authorship to Moses (Matt.

19:8; Mark 7:10; Luke 18:29-31; 20:37; 24:27; John 7:19, 22; cf.

Acts 15:1)

* Though much could be said by way of context, a basic structure of the big picture may prove to be most important.

* Chapters 1-11 mans destruction, 12-50 mans redemption.

* Though the entirety of scripture is full of stories and nuances and different colored threads, and though it has been debated by many, a singular theme does appear to be seen.

* Not only must a unifying theme arise from the scriptures themselves, but it must also be broad enough to allow for each individual part, the theme of the Kingdom of God satisfies both.

(Vaughan Roberts, “God’s Big Picture” 20-21)

* Graeme Goldsworthy  in “Gospel and Kingdom” offers the following helpful definition for Kingdom of God, “*God’s people in God’s place under God’s rule and enjoying His blessing”*

* The word “genesis” means origin or beginning, and it is in the book of Genesis that we find the only true and reliable record of the beginning or origin of all things.

*Important Principles*:

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Genesis doesn’t tell us everything we want to know; it tells us everything we need to know.

Moses, the author of Genesis, selectively chooses what we need to know about who God is and what He has done.

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The book of Genesis is a part of the Pentateuch, which means one book in five parts.

The Pentateuch I am proposing is part of the whole of scripture which has as it’s overall theme the “Kingdom of God”.

*Formlessness Changed to Form Emptiness Changed to Habitation *

* vv 3-5, Day 1, Light

* vv 6-8 , Day 2 ,Air (upper expanse) ,Water (lower expanse)

* vv 9-13 , Day 3 , Dry land plants

* vv 14-19, Day 4 , Luminaries (sun, moon, stars)

* vv 20-23 , Day 5 ,Fish, Birds

* vv 24-31 ,Day 6 , Animals, Man

  

*I.

God alone created the heavens and earth out of nothing.

(Vs 1)*

* In this one verse we see God single handedly refute Atheism because he was a reality before we were.

* Pantheism because He is transcendent or above all He created.

* Polytheism because He was singular not plural.

* Materialism because matter is not the measure of all things God created it.

* Dualism because there was no competition in the beginning.

* Humanism because God, not man, is ultimate reality.

* Evolutionism because God created all things.

*There are three major views regarding the relationship of verse one with the remainder of the creation account:*

/Verse 1 describes an original creation of the universe in which God began fashioning the

earth as we know it in verse 2 or verse 3./

This view may or may not involve a gap in time between verses 1 and 2:22

Some advocates of this view believe that the original creation became chaotic as a result of divine judgment.

/Verse 1 describes part of what God did on the first day of creation (1:1-5).

It is a

general statement followed by specific details./

§         Verse 1 describes what God did on the six days of creation (1:2-31).

It is a topic

sentence that introduces the whole creation account that follows.

* *In the beginning* =  At least partially is pointing towards a time of origin or initiation and creation of time.

* It is interesting that in John 1 the same words are used, but there we see that in the beginning was the Word.

* *God* = “Elohim” the name of God which stresses his power, majesty, and transcendence.

Interestingly we saw this name in the first half of psalm 19 emphasizing natural revelation of God in creation.

* Interestingly it is in a plural for but used in the singular, surly pointing towards a triune God.

* *Created* = bara always used of the work of God.

We can make some things and form other things but only God can “bara” create out of nothing.

* *Heavens* = can be heaven or heavens which in this context refers most likely to space as we refer to outer space or space in general.

* *Earth* =  here refers most likely not to our idea of planet earth which we see on the fourth day, but rather the basic elements of matter which would later be organized.