In the Beginning God
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In the Beginning God
In the Beginning God
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
By faith we understand that the universe was created by God’s command, so that what is seen has been made from things that are not visible.
Do you believe that?
Is actual History?
Why?
“There’s no empirical evidence that’s what happened.”
The book of Genesis is foundational to the rest of the Bible.
This is what we are told by the culture who has bought into the evolutionary model.
“The evidence shows that evolution is how it all began.”
But here’s the thing, the evolutionary model does not show how it all began. The evolutionary model doesn’t even show that everything is billions of years old.
What about the fossil record?
Creation scientist have the same fossil record, but they don’t come up with millions or billions of years.
But Creation scientist are bias! We go by scientific facts.
Not so. The Creation scientist and the Secularist scientist actually have the same facts, the same fossil record.
What is the difference?
It’s not the facts, it’s the Paradigm.
Ea
The Creationist and the Secularist bring presuppositions to the facts.
We’re beginning a study in the book of Genesis. Over the next few months we want to study at least the first 11 chapters of the book of Genesis.
Why study Genesis?
We’re not studying the book in order to debunk the theory of evolution. They’re able to accomplish that on their own.
The reason we are studying the book of Genesis is because Genesis is the foundation of all Biblical truth. In other words, if the book of Genesis is not true, then how can we trust the rest of the Bible. If we cannot believe that God created the heavens and the earth, then how can we trust that Jesus raised from the dead? Or that Jesus is coming again?!? Are you justified before God? How can we know anything if we don’t trust what the Bible so clearly and simply says.
And what is utterly amazing is that we doubt the One — the only One who was there in the beginning!
Let me illustrate this.
We were told when Melissa was pregnant that one of our boys was a girl. The doctor did an ultrasound and told us we were having a little girl. And so we prepared accordingly, pink outfits and all. However, when the birth happened, It was a boy! And of course, we were thrilled. A few years after he was born, we told him what had happened that the Doctor got it wrong. But then when he was about 4 or 5 years old, he began telling people he used to be a girl. And so when we would talk to him about his misinterpretation, he was persistent in his belief that he used to be a girl but is now a boy!
We were there and in a consciousness of understanding the events. Our child was there, but did not have the understanding of the events of his birth.
We do not even have the advantage of being there. Nobody was there In the beginning — not even Adam and Eve!
But Someone was there — the Creator!
The Creator was there! And the wonderful thing about it is God told us what happened and He told us what happened by giving to Moses the Historical account.
And it really comes down to this. There are basically only two options. You either believe what Genesis says or you don’t. That’s no an over simplification. You either believe that a supernatural, creative, all powerful God made everything or you don’t.
Let me put it another way. Believing that an all-wise, all-powerful, eternal, creative God who made everything is the only possible rational explanation for the universe, for life, for your purpose and destiny in life. Here are the options again: Either there is nobody times nothing equals everything or there is the divine equation — “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
And here’s a very important thing — and this is what I want you to hear this morning.
If you do believe that God did create the heavens and the earth, then you are left with the only record of that creation, and that’s , AND (and this is so important, this is where the rubber meets the road) you are bound to accept the text of in its entirety and literally how it is expressed as the only and accurate description of the creative act.
In short, you have to accept the Genesis account as it is literally stated.
I. God told us what happened.
I. God told us what happened.
3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by God’s command, so that what is seen has been made from things that are not visible.
God did not just create the world, but the worlds. That is the physical universe and it’s operation and administration. He did it simply by His word — His Divine utterance. He created from nothing. This is an stupendous claim in such a short verse. It is the greatest claim, and one of the hardest for an unbeliever to accept. The origin of the universe has been a long-standing problem for philosophers and scientist. Centuries of investigation, speculation, and theories have brought the unbeliever no closer to the solution. They come to consensus, but every time a consensus is reached, someone discovers evidence that blows it out of the water and makes it less plausible.
For example, for some hundred years the nebula theory was the dominant scientific explanation for the origin of the universe. It was eventually replaced by the tidal theory, which was soon replaced by the steady-state theory, the super dense (Big Bang) theory, and so on. Clearly there’s a problem.
What’s the problem?
The secularist has rid himself of God.
7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and discipline.
If you refuse to believe what God, the Creator, the only One who was there, then your conclusions will always be wrong.
The writer of Hebrews brought the issue of creation up to Jews who had not yet trust Christ. “You already have a certain faith in God. You believe that God created the universe and everything in it.” They believed without a doubt, even though they were not there when God created it. They could not see His act of creating, but they could see His creation and believe in the Creator. They had a start of faith. They knew and accepted this truth by faith — not by sight.
How do we know what happened?
God told us.
12 I made the earth, and created man on it. It was My hands that stretched out the heavens, and I commanded all their host.
Jeremiah
5 By My great strength and outstretched arm, I made the earth, and the people, and animals on the face of the earth. I give it to anyone I please.
We even have evidence of what happened and who did it.
II. Creation tells us.
II. Creation tells us.
Psalm 19:
1 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky proclaims the work of His hands.
2 Day after day they pour out speech; night after night they communicate knowledge.
3 There is no speech; there are no words; their voice is not heard.
4 Their message has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens He has pitched a tent for the sun.
5 It is like a groom coming from the bridal chamber; it rejoices like an athlete running a course.
6 It rises from one end of the heavens and circles to their other end; nothing is hidden from its heat.
1 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky proclaims the work of His hands.
2 Day after day they pour out speech; night after night they communicate knowledge.
3 There is no speech; there are no words; their voice is not heard.
4 Their message has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens He has pitched a tent for the sun.
The heavens declare the glory of God.
God has revealed to us what happened. God gave us the answer to origin. There is no way to understand or know origin apart from God, the One who was there. Science can never answer the question of origin, because science is observation of something. No one observed the beginning. But there is something we have to understand about Divine Revelation.
There are two ways in which God reveals. These two ways of revelation are called:
General Revelation and Special Revelation.
This is why it’s important, it’s so vital that we know and understand theology.
General Revelation is that revelation that is available to all persons at all times, particularly the physical universe.
Special Revelation is God manifests Himself at particular times and places through particular events — for example, the Scriptures.
So according to , God reveals Himself as Creator by His creation in a General way. This is General Revelation. No one could look at the physical universe, the stars, their immense expanse, day and night, the fish, the birds, the crawling things, the creeping things, the plants, the insects, the animals, man himself — no one can reasonably look at everything in creation and come up with something other than — God!
Well, you say, “People do. People have!”
Why do people deny there is a God?
Why do people not believe God has created the heavens and the earth.
Romans 1:18-
18 For God’s wrath is revealed from heaven against all godlessness and unrighteousness of people who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth,
19 since what can be known about God is evident among them, because God has shown it to them.
20 For His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, being understood through what He has made. As a result, people are without excuse.
21 For though they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God or show gratitude. Instead, their thinking became nonsense, and their senseless minds were darkened.
22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools
This is why I said, secularists and creationists have the same evidence, the same facts, but they come to different conclusions because they have different paradigms. They have different worldviews. And we make the mistake of arguing the facts as Christians, when we should not give up the ground of Biblical authority.
Look at again — God said they know He created everything. The problem isn’t that they don’t know.
What’s the problem then?
They suppress the truth.
They suppress the truth because they love their sin.
You say, “Well, that’s offensive. How can you say they are suppressing the truth?”
And this is the whole issue. I didn’t say they suppress the truth. God did. I just quoted for you Scripture. And this is the whole issue. When we consider the issue of Origin, we have one record — the Bible, God’s word.
The issue is not the evidence. According to God, the issue is sin. The issue is not science. The issue is rebellion against the Creator. This is their worldview, the paradigm which they bring to the evidence.
So, why do we study the book of Genesis?
We study the book of Genesis for our benefit. We study Genesis not to debunk Evolution. The evidence debunks evolution and the theory of millions and billions of years sufficiently.
We study Genesis to understand God’s word, what God said, who was here in the beginning.
III. How do we approach the book of Genesis.
III. How do we approach the book of Genesis.
Now this is absolutely important. We approach the book of Genesis how it was written. We must always approach the Bible as it is literally written. In other words, we have to understand the genre of any book. The Bible has various genres. There is historical narrative, poetry, prophecy, gospels, letters, apocalypse.
Do you remember what the book of Revelation is? It’s apocalyptic material, an intensification of prophecy like Daniel, Ezekiel, and Zechariah. So, it’s a picture book with images of numbers and colors and creatures — and we saw that last week.
The book of Genesis is a historical narrative and should be interpreted as such. Let me repeat that. The book of Genesis is a historical narrative. It is not poetry in nature. It’s not allegory. It’s not mythical or symbolic in nature. The book of Genesis is a historical narrative. That means that everything is a historical record.
This is a historical narrative.
The word Genesis means origin. This is God’s historical record of origins.
It’s the Origin of the Universe
The Origin of Order and Complexity
Origin of the Solar System
Origin of the Atmosphere and Hydrosphere
Origin of Life
Origin of Man
Origin of Marriage
Origin of Evil
Origin of Death
Origin of Language
Origin of Government
Origin of Culture
Origin of Nations
Origin of Religion
Origin of the Chosen People
The book of Genesis gives vital information concerning the origin of all things. It’s an origin at the hands of an omnipotent, holy, loving God who sovereignly began all things, sustains all things, moves all things, and has determined how all things will end — All to His glory.
For that reason — the book of Genesis is probably the most important book ever written. Think about this. What if we did not have the book of Genesis. We could not understand life without the book of Genesis. We could not understand sin, death, the need for redemption, justification, forgiveness. Can you see it? Genesis is that important.
Francis Schaeffer, the Christian apologist, said if he had an hour to spend with someone on an airplane, a person who didn’t know the Lord, he would spend the first 55 minutes talking about man being created in the image of God, and the last 5 minutes on the presentation of the Gospel.
We have two options: Either we evolved from slime and can be explained in a materialistic sense, meaning we are made of nothing but the material — OR we have been created by God and made in His image in a heavenly pattern. The debate is not merely biological or geological. It is moral and spiritual. It comes down to questions about man’s dignity, man’s nature in the image of the heavenly pattern, the image of God. It answers the questions of who is in control, who is sovereign, who is the judge of all things, who is the giver of moral law. Evolution and the belief of millions and billions of years to support the assumed evolutionary process were both invented to kill God! They did not want to answer to God as judge. And the way to attack God is to question His Word.
1 Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You can’t eat from any tree in the garden’?”
3 But about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God said, ‘You must not eat it or touch it, or you will die.’ ”
Did God really say?
That has always been the attack. If man can get rid of God’s word, he can get rid of God. If he can rid himself of God, he has rid himself of one to answer to, no law giver, no judge, no judgment. I can do whatever I want. This was the commentary of the age at the end of the book of Judges.
Judges 24:2
25 In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did whatever he wanted.
By the way, there had never been a king in Israel at this time — no human king. Israel’s king was God.
This is what sinful man wants. This is all summed up in the two alternatives. Remember there is only two: Secularist, materialist or the Christian, Creationist view:
The materialist secularist view says Ultimate reality is impersonal matter.
The Christian view says Ultimate reality is an infinite, personal, loving God.
The Materialist view says the Universe came about by chance without any ultimate purpose.
The Christian view says the Universe was lovingly created by God for a specific purpose.
The Materialist view says Man is the product of impersonal time, plus chance, plus matter. As a result, no man has eternal value , dignity, or worth.
The Christian view says Man was created by God in His image and loved by God. The result then is all men, women, and children have an eternal valued, dignity, and worth.
The Materialist view says Morality is defined by every individual according to his own views and interests.
The Christian view says Morality is defined by an all wise God and immutable because it is based on His unchanging, holy character.
The Materialist view says there is no afterlife, only eternal annihilation or personal extinction.
The Christian view says, there is an afterlife with God if you are in Christ or eternal separation from God — either the glories of heaven or the terrors of hell.
Henry Spencer, an evolutionary philosopher and an early Darwin enthusiast outlined 5 “Ultimate Scientific Ideas.” According to Spencer these five comprise everything susceptible to scientific examination — everything that can be known or observed by science fits into one of these 5 categories:
Time — Force — Action — Space — Time
Time — Force — Action — Space — Time
Go back to
Time — Force — Action — Space and Time
“In the beginning” that’s Time
“God” — that’s Force
“created” — that’s Action
“the heavens” — that’s Space
“and the earth” — that’s Matter.
God laid out profoundly and succinctly the explanation of everything as if He knew this would be attacked.
Isn’t that amazing?
There’s no explanation of the universe without God. There’s no explanation of man without God.
16 For everything was created by Him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities— all things have been created through Him and for Him.
17 He is before all things, and by Him all things hold together.
Colossians 1:16-
Let’s Pray.
Father in heaven,
We yield to Your revelation of Yourself as the truth. Thank You for the glories revealed in the very first book. We praise You as Creator. We pray that You would guid us so that we might understand just exactly how we should think by Your Scripture. Protect us from any thought or belief that would equivocate with Scripture, that would deny its straightforward statements. Protect us from the absurd, the irrational, or any failure to use our minds wrongly and as You created and intended us to use them.
I grieve this morning over the tragic, disgraceful, eternal consequences of naturalism and materialism. I grieve over the lostness of those who believe in evolution. I grieve over the meaninglessness, the emptiness of life that belongs to those who want to live any way that would like without guilt, without responsibility and accountability to You. I grieve over the consequences of such thinking and life that leads to eternal damnation.
We dare not NOT believe Your word. We dare not deny Your word. We dare not NOT trust Your word as it is simply written.
We worship You, our Creator.
In Jesus name, Amen