Creation
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
BEGIN W/ BIG PICTURE ILLUSTRATION
SCRIPTURE PRESENTS: HISTORY = LINEAR
HAS DEFINITE BEGINNING
MOVING TOWARDS DEFINITE/PLANNED ENDING
MAKER/MOVER/CREATOR = GOD.
SERIES = TRACING the “BIG PICTURE” of SCRIPTURE
METANARRATIVE
BIBLE’S PLOT LINE
GOD’S PLAN of REDEMPTION for AGES
&& WHERE WE FIT INTO IT.
----------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------
FRAMEWORK “C.F.R.R.” COMES from DAVE HOCKMAN
CREATION
FALL
REDEMPTION
RECREATION
SERIES GOAL = COMPREHENSIVE,, NOT EXHAUSTIVE.
**WE WON’T HIT EVERY VERSE & EVERY CHAPTER
AIMING for 30,000 FT VIEW… “BIG PICTURE”
AIMING to STAY OUT of WEEDS...
BUT ASK QUESTIONS
WE’LL FINISH SERIES WHEN WE FINISH the SERIES!
----------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------
BEGINNING W/ the BEGINNING…GENESIS
BACKGROUND:
GENESIS = BOOK of ORIGINS...
HEBREW TITLE: בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית… MEANING “IN BEGINNING”
ENGLISH TITLE COMES from GREEK TRANSLATION… γένεσις of בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית .... ESSENTIALLY MEANING “ORIGINS”
Gordan Wenham, bible scholar, FRAMES GENESIS, W/ NUMBER of ORIGINS:
· Gen. 1 = Origin of the World
· Gen. 2-11 = Origin of the Nations
· Gen. 12-50 = Origins of Israel
GENESIS = EXPLAINS WHERE EVERYTHING COMES FROM…WHY WE’RE HERE...
BEGINNING STUDY… KEEP TWO WORDS in MIND:
CREATION
COVENANT
MAJOR THEMES in GENESIS.
GENESIS = ESSENTIAL to BIBLICAL WORLDVIEW,, SO LET’S BEGIN...
(T) GOING to SURVEY/OVERVIEW GEN. 1-2 TONIGHT...
🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢
🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢
Text
Text
TURN & READ (VS.1-2):
TURN & READ (VS.1-2):
Genesis 1-2 ESV In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
SCRIPTURE BEGINS BY ASSUMING,, NOT DEFENDING the EXISTENCE of GOD.... && WE’LL SEE HE is THE MAIN CHARACTER of the SCRIPTURE!
GOD = ETERNAL…OUTSIDE of TIME
HE’S ALWAYS EXISTED
**NOTE TIMELINE PICTURE,,
PRE-EXISTENCE = HARDEST THING to GRASP,, ESP. FOR KIDS...
---> EVERY WORLDVIEW HAS THIS PROBLEM!
NATURALISM ASSERTS,, “IN the BEGINNING THERE WAS MATTER (of SOME SORT)”
EVERYTHING DOESN’T COME FROM NOTHING UNLESS THERE is AN OUTSIDE, SUPERNATURAL FORCE @ WORK...
I DON’T HAVE ENOUGH FAITH to BE an ATHEIST...
----------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------
SCRIPTURE PRESENTS GOD CREATING HEAVENS & EARTH… ESSENTIALLY the SEEN & UNSEEN… EVERYTHING!
&&& EVERYTHING,,, OUT of NOTHING...
HE’S the SOVEREIGN,, ALL-POWERFUL,, OMNIPOTENT GOD!!!
“ELOHIM”
WE DON’T HAVE ANY COMPARISON...
WE CAN “MAKE” “FORM” “FASHION”....BUT CAN’T “CREATE”
I LOVE STRAWBERRY SMOOTHIES...
DO I CREATE THEM??
W/ STRAWBERRIES… THAT EXIST...
EVEN if I PLANT STRAWBERRIES, I NEED a SEED!
YOU CAN BUILD a DESK…CHAIR…HOUSE… ETC. FROM WOOD…BUT IT’S NOT “CREATING”
----------------------------------------------
SO THERE’S an INITIAL ACT of CREATION,, BUT the WORLD ISN’T FINISHED...
(v2) EARTH = WITHOUT FORM,, VOID… THERE’S DARKNESS...
BUT THERE’S HOPE for THERE’S MENTION of the SPIRIT of GOD...
SCRIPTURE WILL NOW CONTINUE to UNFOLD GOD’S CONTINUAL PROCESS of MAKING OUR WORLD...
@ OUTSET… GOOD CHRISTIANS DIFFER on HOW ‘LITERAL’ WE MUST INTERPRETS the DAYS....
R.C. Sproul and Robert Wolgemuth respond by saying, “I find that it is always dangerous to shout where God has whispered. Either way, the Bible is crystal-clear as to the “Who” of creation, and ultimately that will have to be enough” (p. 5).
CREATION ACCOUNT is HERE to SPECIFY WHO MADE it ALL, AND WHY...
(T) Specific things of creation:
🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢
🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢
READ (V3-25):
READ (V3-25):
3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And 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, the first day.
6 And God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” 7 And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so. 8 And God called the expanse Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.
9 And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.
11 And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so. 12 The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.
14 And 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 lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. 16 And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. 17 And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18 to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.
20 And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.” 21 So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, 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.” 23 And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.
24 And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. 25 And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
SCRIPTURE OUTLINES HOW GOD BRINGS GOODNESS & ORDER from CHAOS...
GOD DOES THIS BY SUBSEQUENTLY, “SPEAKING” THINGS INTO EXISTENCE!!
GOD’S AUTHORITATIVE WORD = SO POWERFUL,, THAT CREATION OBEYS & COMES INTO ORDER.
SUPER IMPORTANT: WE SEE in GENESIS…HOW 1 GOD MADE EVERYTHING.
HE ISN’T #1 of MANY. HE’S IT.
MANY ANCIENT RELIGIONS BELIEVED in PLURALITY of gods...
SCRIPTURE OPENS & CLAIMS 1 GOD MADE IT ALL!
§ Gorden Wenham: MANY ancient RELIGIONS… SUN & MOON.. ETC = GODS...
SO BIBLE PRESENTS the CREATOR & the CREATURE...
EVERYTHING ELSE = CREATED… & CREATED BY HIM,, FOR HIM...
HE MAKES EVERYTHING,, AND HE MAKES IT GOOD
& HE MAKES it W/ PURPOSE....
PLANTS = FOOD
LIGHTS in HEAVENS SEPARATE DAYS/SEASONS, ETC..
(T) And last, we’ll see the HIGHLIGHT/ CROWN/ CLIMAX of GOD’S CREATION...
🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢
🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢
READ (V26-30):
READ (V26-30):
26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and 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 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29 And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. 30 And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so.
GOD CREATES W/ PURPOSE… & ESP. FOR MANKIND...
MANKIND = CREATED in IMAGE of GOD...
REPRESENTATIVE on the EARTH
TO RULE in GOD’S CREATION & SHOW CREATION WHAT GOD is LIKE...
R.C. Sproul and Robert Wolgemuth outline that mankind was created in a place of favor with
intelligence, with the ability to think, reflect, the ability to learn, likewise with moral capabilities where we can determine right and wrong, and with a capacity for relationship (pp. 6-7, 18).
GOD HAS MADE US to BE ABLE to KNOW HIM! WOW!
**ANIMALS DON’T PRAY**
2. MANKIND = CREATED to BE FRUITFUL & FILL the EARTH
3. SUBDUE & HAVE DOMINION OVER EARTH...
RULING CREATION…IN GOD’S HONOR...
WE’RE CREATED to REPRESENT & REFLECT GOD to the WORLD AROUND US...
—>> WE AREN’T JUST the BEST APES/MONKEYS THAT WON & UPGRADED...
HUMANKIND = MADE SPECIAL BY GOD
SPECIAL PLACE of HONOR & PRIVILEGE
WHAT AWESOME RESPONSIBILITY!!
🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢
🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢
READ (V31)
READ (V31)
31 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
(Q)HOW DID GOD MAKE THINGS?
·VERY GOOD....
PEOPLE ASK: HOW GOOD GOD COULD CREATE WORLD W/ SO MUCH SUFFERING....
HE DIDN’T.
GOD CREATED EVERYTHING GOOD…CONCLUDING W/ VERY GOOD.
HIS WAY WORKS.
(T) NOW the WEEK is GOING to FINISH…
🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢
🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢
READ: CH. 2:1-3
READ: CH. 2:1-3
The Seventh Day, God Rests
2 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2 And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. 3 So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.
GOD FINISHES & RESTS...
1ST THING in SCRIPTURE THAT’S MADE HOLY = 7TH DAY!
GOD WORKED & GOD RESTED
LIKEWISE MANKIND is TO WORK & to REST & WORSHIP...
SABBATH = GIFT to SERVE US
🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢
🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢
READ (V4-9)
READ (V4-9)
The Creation of Man and Woman
4 These are the generations
of the heavens and the earth when they were created,
in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.
5 When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground, 6 and a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground— 7 then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. 8 And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9 And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
**NOTE HOW in THIS RECAPITULATION.... GOD HAND-CRAFTS MANKIND...
NAME SHIFTS from “ELOHIM” to “YAHWEH ELOHIM”
NOT JUST TRANCENDENT & ALL-POWERFUL…BUT ALSO PERSONAL!!
FOR BEASTS,, GOD SPEAKS for THE EARTH to SPRING FORTH....
BUT FOR MAN…GOD MAKES HIM…HIMSELF.
GOD LIKE a POTTER,, CRAFTS MAN & BREATHES LIFE INTO HIM!
MANKIND NATURALLY = COMPOSED of ELEMENTS...
HYDROGEN
CARBON
OXYGEN
ETC.
BUT GOD - the LIFESOURCE!
& GOD PLACED MAN in A PERFECT ABODE FOR HIM
(T) WE’LL SEE MORE…
🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢
🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢
READ (V10-17)
READ (V10-17)
10 A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers. 11 The name of the first is the Pishon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 And the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there. 13 The name of the second river is the Gihon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Cush. 14 And the name of the third river is the Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.
15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
AGAIN, MAN = MADE W/ PURPOSE...
HERE ADAM = STEWARDING THIS GARDEN
BUT in the MIDST of A PERFECT WORLD & PERFECT ABODE… THERE’S BOUNDARIES GIVEN BY GOD...
🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢
🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢
READ (V18-25)
READ (V18-25)
18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” 19 Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. 20 The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. 21 So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. 22 And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. 23 Then the man said,
“This at last is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called Woman,
because she was taken out of Man.”
24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.
CREATION & GARDEN…WERE NEARLY PERFECT...
MAN NEEDED COMPANIONSHIP
GOD CREATES WOMAN, EVE,,, ESTABLISHES MARRIAGE...
EVE CREATED to COMPLEMENT ADAM,, TO HELP HIM...
-----------------------------------
SO THINGS ARE GOING GREAT… THINK of the BEAUTY & WONDER of GOD’S CREATION
IT’S “VERY GOOD”
COUPLE in GARDEN,, IN PERFECT FELLOWSHIP W/ GOD...
UNAFFECTED BY SIN
NAKED & UNASHAMED… EVEN BEFORE GOD!
-----------------------------------
COUPLE = in GARDEN W/ FOOD… W/ PURPOSE...
MOST IMPORTANTLY W/ GOD!
-----------------------------------
🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢
🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢
-----------------------------------
Concluding Thoughts:
Concluding Thoughts:
o Genesis is essential to our worldview as Christians, as the story of origins it presents the foundation of our faith… AN ETERNAL, & GOOD GOD...
GENESIS = ORIGINS…BOOK of FOUNDATIONS
The foundation of who God is and the beginning of what God has done.
The foundation for the purpose of mankind.
The biblical foundation of marriage
The foundational knowledge that God’s creation was good.
LATER WE’LL SEE HOW THINGS GO AWRY & WHAT GOD PLANS to DO ABOUT IT...
--------------------------------------
TWO THOUGHTS to DWELL on THIS WEEK:
GOD = WORTHY to BE PRAISED IN LIGHT of HIS WORK in CREATION! & IN THE FACT THAT HE CARES ABOUT US.
Psalm 8:3–6 (ESV)
3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
4 what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?
5 Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.
6 You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet,
GOD = GREAT BEYOND OUR COMPREHENSION....
HE’S AMAZING,, LOOK @ WHAT HE’S MADE...
&& HE CARES FOR ME????
INSIGNIFICANT LITTLE ME??? IN the SCOPE of CREATION???
--------------------------
--------------------------
2. GOD MADE US in HIS IMAGE...
TO BE REPRESENTATIVES of HIM on the EARTH...
CHRISTIAN LIFE = JOURNEY to BE MOLDED in the IMAGE of CHRIST....THE PERFECT IMAGE of GOD...
HOW DO I REPRESENT GOD??
BECAUSE ALL HUMANKIND BEARS the IMAGE of GOD…HOW OUGHT WE TO TREAT OUR FELLOW MAN?
QUESTIONS/THOUGHTS/REFLECTIONS??
CLOSE in PRAYER
-------------
--------------
--------------
Additional Material:
Additional Material:
· “Order, not chaos, is the hallmark of God’s activity. This chapter is as much concerned with the implications of God creating the world as with the how and why of creation. Modern readers tend to be preoccupied with scientific and historical questions about the origins of the world, whereas the OT in describing how our world came to be is at the same time suggesting a moral stance to be adopted toward the natural order. Things are the way they are because God made it so, and men and women should accept his decree.”
[6]Wenham, G. J. (1987). Genesis 1–15 (Vol. 1, p. 21). Word, Incorporated.
