Part 1: Genesis 1

Genesis 1–2:4 NASB95

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 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. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day. Then God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” 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. God called the expanse heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day. Then God said, “Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so. God called the dry land earth, and the gathering of the waters He called seas; and God saw that it was good. 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. 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. There was evening and there was morning, a third day. 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; and let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so. 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. God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good. There was evening and there was morning, a fourth day. 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.” 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. God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” There was evening and there was morning, a fifth day. 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. 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. Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you; and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to every thing that moves on the earth which has life, I have given every green plant for food”; and it was so. God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts. By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made. This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made earth and heaven.

Exodus 20:11 NASB95

“For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.

Proverbs 30:5–6 NASB95

Every word of God is tested; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him. Do not add to His words Or He will reprove you, and you will be proved a liar.

Order of Service:

Starting Prayer and Reading of a passage

Any questions about the FAQ?

Communion

Worship

5. Prayer time as a group

6. Teaching

7. Fellowship / Discussion

Review of past sermon

Overview of Genesis 1-2:4a

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Chapter 1

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

We discussing the literal use of this this past week.

Psalm 90:2 “Before the mountains were born Or You gave birth to the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.”

God was present before time, and will be present at the end of time.

God created time, “In the beginning,” space, “the heavens” (Not meaning the stars, but the space the universe dwells, and matter, “the earth.”

Opposing Views: We will discuss these next week

People will deny God’s creation and the flood.

2 Peter 3:5–6 “For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water, through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water.”

Day Age Theory: A day is like a thousand years.

Psalm 90:4 “For a thousand years in Your sight Are like yesterday when it passes by, Or as a watch in the night.”

2 Peter 3:8 “But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.”

Gap Theory: Scoffield Reference Bible

Evolution

Big Bang Theory

Structure of the text:

God said...

God saw...

In some, God called...

God saw that it was good...

There was evening and there was morning, a … day.

After each kind

God blessed....multiply

Biblical View:

Yom means a 24 hour period in Genesis 1–2:4. How do we know this?

The difference in views is Eisegesis vs. Exegesis

Hermeneutics:

The overall methodology to study texts. Exegesis is part of hermeneutics.

Eisegesis:

When a person uses an outside idea to interpret the text. This can come from other texts or other ideologies and belief systems, such as evolution.

Exegesis:

This is start of hermeneutics. Exegesis is understanding the text from the point of view of the author with a specific audience in mind in a way familiar with their time. Once a text is understood in accordance with the context of the text, we can then see if anything applies to us.

We need boundaries on how we interpret the text, and Prov 30:5-6.

When we look at words from Scripture, they have a specific syntax. Meaning depending on the usage of the word, its definition can have different meanings. So, what are the different words for day:

Yom: Used 2,301 times in the OT.

1. The Day of the Lord: Meaning Time

2. Circling Jericho for seven days: Literal 24 hour periods

Why is it we understand every time day was used in every other place in the old testament, we don’t seem to understand the definition of “Day” in the Old Testament, why is this?

Lexicons, definitions of a language, state the word yom is a 24 hour day.

Uses of “Day” outside of Genesis:

“Day” (Plural or singular) + Number (410 times) = Ordinary Day

“Evening” and “Morning” Together without “Day” (38 times) = Ordinary Day

“Evening” or “Morning” with “Day” (23 times) = Ordinary Day

“Night” with “Day” (52 times) = Ordinary Day

So, when does “Day” qualify, from the language, and ordinary day? When it is qualified with a number, when it is with “Evening” or “Morning,” or when it is used with “Night.” So, we know when a day means an ordinary day.

God’s Daily Creations

What they were:

Day 1: Light (Day & Night), but not the sun, moon, or stars

Day 2: Land (Not earth like Gen 1:1)

Day 3: Vegetation

Day 4: Sun, Moon, and Stars, as signs for seasons, days, and years.

Day 5: Sea Creatures

Day 6: Everything that creeps on the earth, and Adam

Day 7: God rested and created the seven-day week

What they ate:

Vegetation:

Genesis 1:29–30 “Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you; and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to every thing that moves on the earth which has life, I have given every green plant for food”; and it was so.”

Genesis 2:16 “The Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely;”

They started eating meat:

Genesis 9:3–4 ““Every moving thing that is alive shall be food for you; I give all to you, as I gave the green plant. “Only you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.”

The Summary of Genesis 1:1-2:4: Genesis 2:

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Chapter 2

4 This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made earth and heaven.

According to Henry Morris, this could be restated to say “The generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created...”

“This section, describing the initial Creation and the work of the six days, has no human name attached to it, for the obvious reason that no man was present at the time to record what happened. It must either have been written directly by God Himself and then given to Adam, or else given by revelation to Adam, who then recorded it.” (Page 28, The Genesis Record, Henry Morris)

Application:

Exegesis is the start of studying Scripture. Do not start with applying it to yourself, start with the author, the author’s intent, the original audience, and understanding the way language worked at the time - the original context.

Exegesis demonstrates God created time, space, and matter, and they are all linked together. God created all things and God owns all things.

Trust what you understand the text to say: When Genesis 1-2:4 speaks of a “Day” it is a literal 24 hour period. We have no other time in Scripture where we question what a “Day” means, why should we question it here?