The Creator of the Universe Is Our God (Genesis 1:1-2:3)

does God have anything to say about?

evolution

age of the earth

abortion

euthanasia

gender

marriage

A LOT!!! AND IN GENESIS 1

BUT…

Israel didn’t have even 1 of these things on their mind

Israel was faced with the different beliefs of everyone around them (US TOO!)

how will Israel (and you) view this world?

how many gods are there?

which ones created the earth?

do they care about us?

what do they need from us?

are the sun and moon gods?

Israel clearly heard from Genesis 1…

The Creator of the Universe Is Our God

personal God

knowable God

He is our God

Genesis 1 is so important for our Biblical Worldview

worldview—how you see and interpret the world

predominant options in America

secular vs. Biblical (at war on so many fronts)

secular worldview—humans don’t need God

prioritizes science to explain world

Biblical worldview—humans need God

prioritizes the Bible to explain the world

so Bible may not answer our 21st century questions like we want

but will tell us what we need to know about God

Bible vs. science

our minds look for answers to our scientific questions

but not primary reason we have Genesis 1

we do not want to get sidetracked with our periphery interest and miss main point

BUT that doesn’t mean God’s Word has no interest in science

Christians don’t ignore science

God’s clear design of His creation justifies the scientific approach to nature

because God created our world with order (not randomness)

it can be studied (science)

order evidenced in solar eclipse

we want to be people that start with the Word, not science

science may eventually catch up to God’s Word

Robert Jastrow quote

our primary focus is understanding what the original audience heard

yet we will not ignore our 21st century (issues of the today)

The God of the universe created by His word

God is the omnipotent (all powerful) Creator of the universe

no peer

no competitor

problems Moses addressed

God of Israel is God over all other “gods”

sun, moon, stars, and sea monsters are merely creatures

pagan mythology claimed these were powerful deities

God created from nothing

pagan mythology claimed the gods created from existing matter

God created man and food for man

pagan mythology claimed man was an afterthought to provide gods food

God declared the seventh day to be holy

Babylonian tradition claimed 7th, 14th, 19th, 21st, and 28th days unlucky

Genesis 1:1 pew Bible # 1

personal God

creation was not afterthought (as other religions taught)

heaven and earth likely means the whole universe

Genesis 1:2a conflict

formless, empty, dark, deep

utter chaos

pitch black like after Hurricane Rita

Genesis 1:2b hope

the Spirit of God—expectation about to bring order to chaos

more on 4/28

Genesis 1:3

God creates with His word

creation out of nothing

as NT Christians

understand Trinity all present

clearly God deeply cares about His creation

God said

10 times—Israel 10 Commandments

people prefer a God who does not speak

Peter Adam quote

but this is not our God

God creates His people by His Word

Israelites

Christians

1 Peter 1:23 “since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;”

James 1:18 “Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.”

God’s Word is powerful

He speaks and it is done

He commands and it happens

He wills and it comes to pass

our God is the sovereign Creator of the universe

nothing happens apart from His will

why we have Revelation

nothing happens by chance

doesn’t mean we understand it all

but we have a peace knowing He has a plan

Jesus is one with the sovereign Creator God

John 1:1-3

Jesus is the Word through whom all things were made

knowing the exalted nature of Jesus makes us more aware of His sacrifice

in becoming human

in becoming a lowly servant

in willingly laying down His life in our place

Jesus, the Word of God, created this world

Jesus, the Word of God, redeemed this world

do you know Him?

the HS revealed to Moses that God did all of this in 7 days

The God of the universe created everything in seven days

7 is significant in Gen 1

Gen 1:1 has exactly 7 Hebrew words

Gen 1:2 has exactly 14 (2 x 7) Hebrew words

7 is the number of completeness/perfection

chaism—literary device which mirrors earlier ideas

Unproductive becomes productive

1st 3 days—making the uninhabitable earth productive

Day 1—light and darkness (1:3-5)—separating light from darkness

Day 2—sky and waters (1:6-8)—waters separated to form expanse (heaven)

Egypt—waters personified as god, Nun, to create universe

other belief—creation comes from gods of watery chaos

not with our God

water is simply something God creates

notice 2 acts of creation on day 3…and day 6

Day 3—a. land and seas (1:9-10)—separating water and land

Day 3—b. vegetation (1:11-13)—plants that sprout vegetation

Uninhabited becomes inhabited

2nd 3 days—filling the uninhabitable earth with life

Day 4—sun, moon, and stars (1:14-19)

lights (stars) and 2 great lights (sun and moon)

why not name sun and moon?

Egypt—Re

“powerful gods” are only lights made by our God

Christians look to the God who created the universe

not celestial beings, astrology, or horoscopes (His created things)

Day 5—sea creatures and birds (1:20-23)

even the Loch Ness Monster and Sasquatch are no match for our God because He created them

Day 6—a. land creatures (1:24-25)

Day 6—b. humans (1:26-31)

do you see the order and purpose in creation???

one act of creation was in preparation for the rest of the acts

7th day not like the rest

Genesis 2:1-3

Day 7—God rested and blessed His creation (2:1-3)

not because God was tired

but to set the 7th day apart as holy

we do more in 6 days than in 7 if we only work, work, work

ask Chick-fil-A

back to outline slide

God (not man) dominates the first chapter of the Bible

though man is the pinnacle of His creation

so this is an account about the God of the universe and His highest creation

so begins the relationship of the Bible

but many may ask about the age of the earth?

Biblical worldview is clear

God created the universe

not accident or REALLY long process called evolution

even Biblical scholars are divided on how old the earth is

old earth problems (4.5B)

yom = long periods of time (eons)

text = “And there was evening, and there was morning…”

represents a Hebrew 24-hour day

plants

plants=day 3

sun=day 4

if sun not created until 4th eon, how did plants survive?

young earth problems (6K-10K)

scientists claim dinosaurs roamed earth millions of years ago

yet humans appeared thousands of years ago

but Gen 1 states land animals and humans were created on day 6

text problem

text = “And there was evening, and there was morning…”

how does that reconcile with first 3 days before sun created

why am I persuaded that God created universe in 6 days

default to literal interpretation unless reason not to

I look at the world primarily through the Bible

not ignore science

but default to Bible if any apparent contradiction between Bible and science

morning and evening more persuasive

Adam and Eve mature

earth mature

appears older than it looks

majesty of God

The God of the universe created everything very good

6 times—and God saw that it was good

7th time—And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. (1:31)

even though things are not good now (more on invasion of sin next week—Gen 3)

God did create everything very good

throughout creation, God speaks and creation happens

then Moses slows way down

1:26-27

do what???

other religions portrayed humans as slaves to the gods

our God says we are created in His image

male and female

humans are climax of creation

imago Dei

humans have capacities the animal kingdom does not have (reason, morality, language, relationships, creativity)

resemble (like God is some ways—more in attributes of God on 4/28)

represent (dominion and stewardship of creation)

relationships (with God, one another, and rest of creation)

both male and female

why do we stand against abortion and euthanasia???

because all humans are created in the image of God from womb to tomb

why do we believe that biological sex and gender identity are the same?

because God created us male and female

we have no right to change how God has created us

if you are created by God, you are to embrace His purpose for your life

not try to trail-blaze our own thinking that we are autonomous from God

why do we believe that marriage is between a man and woman?

because God set up the institution of marriage (2:24)

Genesis 1-2 determines so much of how we view the world

Biblical worldview

the creation account corrected Israel’s worldview too

also gave them hope

they were not at the mercy of fickle gods

but under the protection of their sovereign God, the creator of the universe

do you believe the same for you?

Genesis 1:1

God’s Word assures us that God is in control

greater than anything that He created

The Creator of the Universe Is Our God

is He your God?

redemptive-historical approach to preach Christ

created perfect

sin

restoration in Christ

back perfect