What's Genesis?

Intro & Review

Last week we learned:

The Bible is 1 book made up of 66 books

It tells many different stories that make up one big story of God and what he’s done for us

Today we we will begin that story. But first, one more question:

Big Question: Who wrote the Bible?

Who wrote the Bible?

The Bible was INSPIRED by God

The Bible was WRITTEN by human authors

The bible is God’s truth communicated through human words.

The living Word of God and the written word

The Bible is different than Jesus- Jesus is living being, the Bible is recorded words. Our worship is directed to God, not the Bible

The Bible is similar to Jesus in that both uniquely balance the divine and human.

Example: Caleb is fully Korean and fully American

Human: Research, experience, personality.

Divine: Inspired by God

There are many books of the Bible where we KNOW the author, but some we don’t know who wrote. We still trust them because we believe God inspired them.

We believe that God inspired the process of pick which books are in the Bible and which shouldn’t, and the process to preserve them.

We’ll learn more about that process NEXT Week.

Jesus’ View of the Bible

Matthew 5:17–18 CSB

“Don’t think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or one stroke of a letter will pass away from the law until all things are accomplished.

The Bible tells God’s promises

Jesus is fulfills these promises

All of it matters for us today

Genesis

First book of the Bible

Divided into two parts

Genesis 1-11 Primeval History

The story of the first age

This is the beginning of OUR story, they set the stage for the story of the Bible and all of History

Genesis 1 The Big View of Creation

Genesis 1:1 CSB

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Colossians 1:16 ESV

For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.

The Big takeaway of Genesis 1 is that God created everything. This is:

The Triune God Father, son and Holy spirit

Orderly and matches our experience of work and rest

This is good

The climax of Genesis 1 is the creation of humanity. Key takeaways here are

He created them male and female

He created them in the image of God

God blessed them

God told them to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth

He created them to to rule over/care for creation (authority and responsibility)

He gave them food and limits (only giving them fruits and vegetables to eat)

Not only were humans created good their creation completed creation and led to God describing everything he had made as “very good”

Genesis 2 The Zoomed In View of Creation

When we move into Genesis 2 we see a zoomed in view of this creation of humans which gives us much more details

Humanity was created to be in relationship with God

Humanity was created to be in relationship with others, and here particularly we see the foundation for understanding marriage

God gave humanity the choice of accepting His authority or rejecting it

As the story continues we see the goodness of humanity but an explanation of the origins of sin and brokenness in the world.

Rather than trusting God, both Adam and Eve listened to the deception of the serpent which questioned God’s word, authority, and boundaries

They chose to reject God

As a result sin entered the world and along with it shame, separation from God, and just as God had promised, death.

The First Gospel

Since this is Lent the season we are focused on sin and repentance, but also the Gospel the Good news of Jesus death and resurrection defeating sin. Do you know the first time we see the gospel expressed in the Bible?

In God’s curse of the serpent in Genesis 3:15

Genesis 3:15 CSB

I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.

Questions

Who is the “you” in this verse?

Identified here only as the serpent, but in Romans 16:20 and Revelation 12:9 as the devil, Satan.

Who is the offspring of the woman?

What is the hostility between you (the serpent) and the woman’s offspring?

The very first thing that Eve’s children do is struggling with sin as Cain murders Able. This is an extreme but very real example of what the struggle with sin looks like for the offspring of Eve and is what we see throughout the rest of the Old Testament, New Testament, and even in our lives. Hostility, a struggle between us and sin with us often losing.

What does striking the serpent’s head refer to?

What does striking his his foot refer to?

Halley’s Bible Handbook

Here, immediately after the fall of man, is God’s prophecy that His creation of human beings would yet prove to be successful, through the “offspring of the woman.” This is the Bible’s first hint of a coming redeemer. The use of “he” (v. 15) shows that one person is meant. Here, right at the start of the Bible story, is this first foreshadowing of Christ. And as the Bible story unfolds, there are other hints, pictures, and plain statements that become clearer and more abundant, so that, as we come to the end of the Old Testament, a fairly complete picture of Christ has been drawn.