Genesis Synopsis - The Beginning of Restoration

Ever try to fix something that seems to just keep breaking?

When we lived in Deputy, we were in the middle of nowhere.

I wanted to get into woodworking.

I loved John MacArthur’s pulpit at Grace Community Church

It became a place for us to put everything that we didn’t have a place for.

Then, I was going to restore it and make it something new.

I tried making a chair out of it that would hold books!

The more I tried to fix this thing, the worse it got.

The book of Genesis is a story of a really good thing progressing to get worse.

Every time we thought there would be an uptick, it’d go to crap.

The good news is, Genesis was only the beginning.

Let’s overview the entire book and see the most important thing about Genesis.

Big Idea: Genesis Overview - The Beginning of Restoration

Stand to read

Genesis 1:1 ESV

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

Leader: This is God’s Word

Everyone: Thanks be to God

The entirety of existence starts at this point in Genesis 1.

God spoke all things into creation.

He took six days to create the entire universe just by the power of His mouth.

Think about the power of Almighty God that He didn’t even have to lift a finger, but simply spoke everything that is into existence.

God’s creative beauty was put on display in nature.

He gave life to the universe.

He put stars in their place.

Covered the earth with water and told oceans where to stop.

He rose mountains.

He created varieties of animals and insects

He gave them plants designed to give beauty and nutrients to His creative order.

God created all things to display His glory to everything He created.

Then there’s this amazing moment when God takes a moment and says:

Genesis 1:26–27 ESV

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.

God took dirt and formed it with His hands

Then He got intensely close.

He didn’t speak the breath of life into His lungs—He breathed it into man’s nostrils.

This was the crown jewel of God’s creation.

Nothing else was created in God’s image to reflect His character and nature to the rest of the world.

God created humanity to reflect His glory in working and leading the rest of the created order in worship to the God who created them.

He created men and women to work in a complementary relationship with one another, in marriage, to reflect the beauty of God to creation.

They were to be stewards of His world.

Who is this God?

In the New Testament, the apostle John begins his Gospel going back to where Genesis begins.

John 1:1–3 ESV

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

“Word”??

Greek: Logos.

Say “Logos”

This is a title given to Jesus to communicate that He is God’s ultimate communication of truth about Himself.

God has revealed Himself in creation—General revelation.

Anyone is able to see that we have a Creator because of the wonders of nature.

God revealing Himself through creation is not enough to save someone.

Though we have a knowledge that there is a God, it is not a saving knowledge of Him.

John’s Gospel begins by stating that God has revealed Himself in another way—Jesus Christ.

God has revealed Himself in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

This brings about a saving knowledge because we can know God by knowing His Son..

This “Word” in the beginning is the eternal Son of God, the second of the Trinity, who has come to reveal Himself to us.

He ascribes to Jesus this title to reveal to us that He is more than just a moral philosopher or good teacher.

Jesus is the eternal Son of God, begotten of God the Father, who was in the beginning with God and through Him all things were made.

Church, Genesis teaches us that:

Jesus is God’s sovereign Word in the beginning

This reality emphasizes the greatness of Jesus.

Jesus is a man, just like us—But He is so much more.

Jesus was in the beginning, and Jesus was with God, and Jesus was God.

Jesus, is the eternal Son of God, who existed before His birth.

That’s amazing—This should stretch our imagination.

What was Jesus doing before His birth? Upholding the universe!

John 8:58 ESV

58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”

He does not have a beginning! He just AM.

Jesus always was wasing!

In the beginning of beginning before the beginning began, He already am!

Not good English, but that’s good theology.

God was always in an eternal relationship, Father/Son/Spirit

All together in perfect community as totally God.

In Genesis 1:26, God said, “Let us make man in OUR image.”

The never-ending, never-beginning, all-powerful Creator God is revealed in the face of Jesus Christ.

Colossians 1:16–17 ESV

16 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. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

In Christ, every bit of creation is held together by His power.

Without the eternal Son of God, the universe would collapse in on itself.

That’s just how powerful Christ is—He upholds the universe.

This should emphasize just how personal He is—He knows you intimately.

Transition

The Lord created humanity and gave them this beautiful garden to have dominion over.

It was perfect paradise.

Everything had life.

All the food tasted wonderful.

There was nothing sick, or dying

But there was a command that was lead to life: Do not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Then the serpent slither’s in and meets with Eve, while Adam stands by passively and watches.

Adam does not what He was created to do—He does not exercise authority over creation.

The serpent calls God’s goodness and authority into question.

“Did God really say..?”

The two disobeyed God by rebelling against His holy command.

This fractures the relationship between God and His creation.

The creative order is now in all out rebellion against God.

Things will get sick and die.

There will be anger and disrespect.

Everything is broken.

God would have been just in destroying everything in His holy perfection, but He spoke a promise instead:

Genesis 3:15 ESV

15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

God said that from the lineage of the woman would come a Savior who would rectify everything the was broken

Throughout the rest of the book of Genesis, we’re seeing where God is being faithful to this promise.

The world became so evil that God judged the world by sending a global flood

But He saved Noah/family so that He would keep His promise.

Then God called Abraham and told him that He would be the father of many nations.

From this line would come a lot of bad men, but the promise still stands.

Through Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph—God keeps His Word.

God’s promise was not based on how impressive these men were, but how merciful and gracious God was to fulfill His promise.

The rest of the book of Genesis highlights about 2,300 years of brokenness.

From the first sin of Adam and Eve in the garden, Genesis is continually showing just how broken we are.

Paul talks about this in the New Testament:

Romans 5:12 ESV

12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—

In Adam, we all died and we all are sinners by nature.

When Adam and Eve sinned, all of humanity was plunged into sin.

We are participants in the sin of Adam.

We are sinful by nature.

No one is righteous/Everyone is guilty.

We were separated by God in our sin, but there is good news.

Romans 5:17–18 ESV

17 For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. 18 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.

Jesus was a man, just like us and Adam—But Jesus was a perfect and better man, because He was God!

Jesus is the fulfillment of what Adam had broken!

Church, Genesis shows us that:

Jesus faithfully restores our brokenness

How is this possible? You don’t know what I’ve done—God could never forgive me.

GET THIS.

Romans 5:19–20 ESV

19 For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. 20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,

If I’m in Adam—how could God ever forgive me?

Adam was a finite, fallen man.

He had an end.

Jesus is the perfect human.

When we feel as though Jesus doesn’t understand us, we must realize that we don’t understand us.

We are broken humanity.

He is perfect humanity.

Jesus is God in flesh—Infinite!

This means, in Adam as humans, we are finite sinners.

In Christ as Redeemer, His grace is infinite!

When Henry Ford started Ford motor company, an assembly line in one of the plants broke down.

He had a friend, Charles Steinmetz, who was a mechanical genius.

They said he could build a motor in his mind.

None of Ford’s men could fix the assembly line, so they called Steinmetz who tinkered for a few minutes, threw the switch, and fixed it.

A few days later Ford received a bill from Steinmetz for $10,000.

Ford wrote back, “Charlie, don’t you think your bill is a little high for just a little tinkering!” Steinmetz sent back a revised bill: “Tinkering—$10. Knowing where to tinker—$9,990.”

Jesus created us and knows us so intimately, that He knows where the tinkering in our lives need to be done to keep us in order.

Christ always knows which screw to turn, which belt to loosen, and what is most beneficial for us when we come to Him.

He’s our Creator.

Do you come to Him for rest? Have you entrusted your life to the Sovereign Word?

Only Jesus can restore the brokenness of creation.

Gospel Presentation

How does He do this?

God the Father sent God the Son to take to Himself human flesh.

He lived perfectly where Adam failed, Abraham failed, Jacob failed, Joseph failed, You/me failed.

Jesus went to the cross with His righteousness and traded it for your sin/shame.

Jesus exchanged His blessing for your guilt.

The blood of Jesus was the perfect sacrifice to atone for your sin before the wrath of God.

This was the only way for you to be forgiven.

Blood had to be shed for your sins and Jesus became the sacrifice for you.

Then, to show that sin was defeated, Jesus rose from the dead!

Securing eternal life in Him through faith!

What is required of you?

That you turn from your sin and begin following Jesus by faith.

Believe that He is the eternal Son of God who died for your sins and rose again so that you can be saved!

“But I’m way too sinful.”

The beauty of the gospel is that Jesus knows you’re broken.

That’s why He came.

He’s not looking forward to some future version of you—He loves you now.

He came to restore everything that was broken, and that includes you.

Surrender to the lordship of Jesus Christ by faith alone, and you’ll be saved.

We can step out of brokenness into a new life where we are reunited to a right relationship with our Creator.

All you need to do is to take the next step of faith.

Regardless of what that is

Becoming a Christian—Baptism—Learning to trust in the Lord.

Today is your day to be changed.

Take the Next Step

Pray that the Lord would reveal to you who He truly is.

Submit your life to Him.

Do: Invite someone into God’s story.

Jesus is the Word in the beginning who faithfully restores our brokenness.