New Beginnings Part 2
Notes
Transcript
Flow
Flow
Groups starting back
Next Steps coming up
Our kids are studying the creation account as well.
Prayer
Big Idea: Why does Genesis matter?
Big Idea: Why does Genesis matter?
Why does this matter? Why does Genesis matter? Why does it matter how God created all things or how long He did it in? Why does it matter the pattern in which He did it? Why study Genesis?
There is a direct line from the garden to the cross. You take away the garden there becomes no need for the cross of Christ. Take that away and Christianity ceases to have any true importance. We become a fellowship of people with some good music that meets in a School.
But, if we see the importance of the Garden and we trust it’s legitimacy then we better understand the path to the cross and we then have a people who are chosen by God that are filled with life, hope, and purpose. The Garden is the foundational to what we believe.
V.1-2
Last week we spent most of our time talking about what was happening before creation. Now we see what happens at creation. God creates the heavens and earth. Out of nothing heaven and earth are created but are without form. Then we see the Spirit of God hovering over this formless earth that was filled with water
God creates the heavens and the earth. But earth is this formless, empty, dark surface of water.
Earth is created but it is without order, it’s empty, and dark. Some may say that it is chaos. But what we will see is that God steps in and brings order and purpose.
God is a God of order and we see it from day one. He lets nothing go to waste. He doesn’t let even one molecule be without purpose.
If that is true of God from the beginning and we know that God is the same today as He was then and He will be that way forever more then we know that God is still in control today.
It makes Romans 8:28 make much more sense. It’s just who He is.
So, heavens and earth are created and now we move into God bringing order.
V. 3-2:3
As we read this text and this account of creation we are going to see certain patterns and correlations. First we will see a pattern of God forming and then filling. . Then we will see a correlation between days 1 and 4, 2 and 5, and 3 and 6. God will form on days 1, 2, and 3 and then he will fill on days 4, 5, and 6.
We will also see a pattern of how God works. He will work days 1 through 6 and on the seventh He rests.
We will also see the process of creation typically follow a specific pattern of announcement, commandment, report, evaluation, dominion, time marker.
Announcement: And God said
Command: Let there be light
Report: And there was light
Evaluation: God saw that the light was good
Dominion: God called the light day and the darkness he called night
Time Marker: There was evening and there was morning - the first day
I think this is intentional for a couple of reasons. #1We have to remember the historical context in which this was written. The Israelites would not have had a bible sitting on their lampstand, one in their car, one on their phone. They would have had this read over them with the challenge to memorize it. Now it doesn’t take away from the validity of the Word because it could have been written to say the same thing only in a different way. #2 you once again see that God is a God of order.
So, continue to look for this pattern as we dive in
We also see that the way God creates is by speaking it into existence.
9 times in Genesis 1 will we see the phrase “God said.” It’s called creation Ex Nihilo, creation out of nothing. The only word that we have to describe this is miracle. This is extremely important when we think about the relationship between science and the Bible. The earth had a miraculous beginning. Even the best scientific theories only have but a sliver of what really happened during creation. The Bible tells us that God spoke and the universe came into being. You’ll never be able to prove that in a lab but it's what the Bible says.
6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
their starry host by the breath of his mouth.
9 For he spoke, and it came to be;
he commanded, and it stood firm.
5 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for at his command they were created,
5 But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water.
3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
DAY 1: Formed
3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he 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.
Light is created.
It’s important to notice that the first thing God does in creation is create light and separate light and darkness.
Light and darkness is symbolic throughout Scripture. It’s a symbol of good and evil
This initial act of creation finds its final and complete parallel in the age to come when there will be no darkness
5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.
It was also God’s light that led the Israelites through the wilderness and so the association between God and light would have already been very apparent.
It’s also what we see God do with us today
He takes us, those who are dead, evil, sinners, plagues with darkness and he brings light and life
8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light
We can also notice that light is created but the Sun is not. We know the sun to be the source of our light so how can there be light without sun? No sun (day 4) yet but God himself is the provider of the light and more specifically the glory of God is the provider of the light.
5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.
23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.
Day one is complete
Now if you were to begin to study Genesis, which I hope you would, it’s not going to take you long to come across different interpretations of what it means by “day”
The Hebrew word there is “YOM” which can be translated into “ a unit of time.” So it could refer to a 24 hour time period or to an age or just a time stamp without a specified period.
I’ll share with you what I believe upon studying but arguments could be made on either side.
It clearly states throughout the creation account that there is evening and morning. The only references made throughout Scripture to such a thing is referring to a 24 hour time period. So for it not to be 24 hours we would have to have a different understanding of what that means. You would not be able to take it literally.
Whenever there are numerals joined with the word YOM throughout the rest of Scripture it refers to a literal day.
When the 10 commandments are legislating the keeping of the Sabbath day it is assuming a 6 days of creation and it is how the Israelites interpreted that law.
DAY 2: Formed
6 And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” 7 So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. 8 God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.
Separation of sea and sky.
announcement, commandment, report, evaluation, dominion, time marker.
DAY 3: Formed
9 And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.
11 Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. 12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.
Dry land is made. Continents were formed and the first vegetation appears
DAY 4: Now God is going to be filling. He’s formed these “kingdoms”
14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. 16 God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.
The sun, moon, and stars. A distinction between day and night. To signify the difference in time and seasons.
DAY 5: Filled
20 And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” 21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” 23 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.
God created the birds and fish
DAY 6: Filled
24 And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
27 So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.
God creates land animals and man.
Livestock, small animals that crawl on the ground, and wild animals.
Then he creates man as His crowning jewel of creation. We know this because they are distinct
We also see that we are made in His image. Everything else is made “according to it’s kind”
There are many implications to this but a couple of really important ones are
that our being and function come from God’s image. We have been created to become mirrors or reflectors of God.
We are distinct in that we are given the choice to sin.
that we are given the ability for the Holy Spirit to reside in us.
31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.
We have seen God say 6 times before that what He creates is good. After all has been created He looks and says “and it was very good.”
The way this is written in the Hebrew means that at this moment God’s creation is complete and it is perfect.
So, the King has made all of these kingdoms and hands dominion over to man.
1 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.
2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
We see God rest. I believe for a couple of reasons.
Not because He needed to but because His work was fully done.
It's also done as a model for us. Six days to work and one day to rest with an emphasis of the seventh day spent with a focus on the Creator.
As we think about each day in terms of announcement, commandment, report, evaluation, dominion, time marker. The seventh day is the only day that does not have a time marker. It’s given a numerical day but not a beginning and end.
All other days are completed by “and there was evening, and there was morning.”
Why I believe this to be is because I believe the Sabbath is to be less about one day out of the week and more about how we live our lives
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
So with this in mind the author of genesis is painting this picture that as believers our lives are to be dominated by the idea that we are to rest in God.
The message of Genesis 1:1-Genesis 2:3
First, God is the theme of Genesis 1.
He is mentioned 35 times in 31 verses. Creation is God’s work. He starts with nothing and creates all that exists around us. What starts as a mass of unformed material covered with water, in just six days is transformed into the beauty of the world around us.
Second, we learn from this the fundamental unity of the human race.
All humans are descended from the first couple, the first man and woman, Adam and Eve. All of us are related to each other because we all come from the family tree of Adam and Eve.
Though we have divided into groups and clans and tribes and ethnic origins, and though we have different languages and cultures and patterns of speech, and though we have different skin tones and different physical features, it is still true that “from one man He made all the nations” (Acts 17:26). So there is no room for racial prejudice or bigotry. We’re all in the same boat together, created by the same God, all fallen into sin, and all able to be saved by the blood of Jesus.
Third, we learn that man is the apex of creation.
When he created Adam and Eve in his own image, he forever separated the human race from the animals around us. You can do all the DNA testing in the world and the conclusion will stand. Our genetic code may be similar to the chimpanzee or to the koala bear, but we are not like them and they are not like us. We are not just “one of the animals” or the product of eons of evolution. We did not evolve upward from the amoebas and the mollusks. We were created by the hand of God. And unlike all other creatures, we alone were given the capacity to know him and to love him and to serve him.
Think about this…You and I were created by a Creator out of nothing and then given the capacity to know the creator, love the Creator, and serve the Creator. Not only were we given the capacity to do it but it is His desire and our design.
Take Away: We serve a God who is able.
Take Away: We serve a God who is able.
Creation should cause us to worship the Creator from every crevice of our soul. It may not provide us a full understanding in our minds. Just because we can not make complete sense of how God did it does not give us the freedom to resist that He did.
We should honor God with our minds. We should dig and study and learn but we must also understand that God wouldn't be much of a god if we could fully understand Him.
3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
tells us that it is “By faith that we understand.” How did God create everything out of nothing? How can He speak things into existence? How can living creatures be given life? These questions should lead us to God, not away from Him.
Maybe you could say it this way. Although the creation account may blow you mind what it’s intended to do is cause your heart to explode.
The fact that the Creator of all things desires a relationship with me after everything I’ve done should cause our hearts to explode and our lives to become a continual track of worship.
After reading Genesis 1 we should find ourselves in awe and worship of a God who is able to do things that we will never comprehend. We must know, no matter how we view it and break it down, that He is able. If He is able to create the world as we know it in 6 days then He is able to accomplish all that Scripture says and He is able to save. If we believe that He is able then let’s start acting like it.
Let’s stop forgetting that God is able to step in even today
He’s able to heal
He’s able to provide
He’s able to forgive
He’s able to save