Biblical Worldview in Genesis- Genesis 1

Worldview

-We all have one, whether you are aware of it or not. Each one of us has our own perspective of the world that we live in.

-As you all know by now, I used to live in China. I was there during the election of Trump and Hilary Clinton. Every time I got into a taxi the taxi driver would ask what I thought about American politics. I would tell them, I don’t know what to think. They would often say that American politics looked like a circus, and I would often agree with them. With the way the media portrays American politics, it is a circus! If you think about it, American politics usually has a ring leader or two, wherever you look there is drama, and then there are the clowns… I would tell the taxi drivers, yes it is a circus, but I’m glad that we as Americans have the right to vote, something Chinese taxi drivers do not have the right to do. China is a communist country and is run by dictators. Even for local officials, they are placed there by the government, there are no elections. Something that surprised me was that the taxi driver would think about what I said about being able to vote and respond with, “I’m actually thankful we don’t have to vote, then our politics would look like yours.”

-As an American, I was shocked by his answer. Growing up in America we think that voting rights are the most important part of our governmental system, and I still think it is. People fought off the British, the Spanish, and the French throughout the American Revolution so that we could live in a democracy where we could have the opportunity to have a voice in electing our government officials.

-His answer saying he wouldn’t want to vote shocked me because from my Caucasian, middle class, American, who was about 30 years old, my worldview was different than this Asian, lower class, Chinese, who was about 65 years old.

This is just one example of worldview. On Sunday morning in The Good Fight life group we are in a parenting series. It’s amazing how each family in our life group has a different perspective on how to parent children. When it comes to disciplining their kids, some spank, some do not. Some use the “time out” technique, and some just allow the kids to get their way. Every family has their own worldview, their own experience with parenting. I have a child with special needs, so my parenting style may look different to someone else’s. We all have different perspectives and different worldviews on parenting.

-We aren’t saying one worldview is better than the other. The Chinese taxi driver grew up reading different history books than me. He grew up with a different perspective on individual rights.

-*People have different values, different sets of rights and wrong, and different realties that they use to live life. They have different worldviews. A worldview is simply a way of viewing the world. It is the perspective that we bring to every situation.

I want you to think of worldview as different sets of glasses. You see everything in this world through your glasses, this is your worldview.

-You may use blue screen glasses, which make everything seem a little more mellow.

-You may use Virtual Reality glasses, which makes everything a little more intense.

Our worldview causes us to see things differently.

-What comes to mind when you think about these words: headscarfs, rainbows, guns, tattoos. Our worldview is tied to different emotions because of our perspectives on everything we experience in our life.

Our worldview reflects our answers to life’s most important questions like:

-Is there a God? If so, what is He like?

-Where did we come from? Why are we here?

-What makes a human a human?

-What is wrong with this world? How can it be fixed?

-What makes a good life good?

-How can we determine right and wrong?

The reality is we all wear different sets of worldview glasses and you know what? All of our glasses are broken. No matter which pair of glasses I put on, they are damaged and broken. Humanity is broken. Our perspectives, our values, our worldviews are all altered by the reality we are human. The only glasses that are unbroken is God’s. God has a worldview. He has formed this world to be seen and experienced in a certain way, and He defines reality. He has formed you and me to see it a certain way. Not only are our glasses broken, but we are blind. We are born broken and unable to see or accept the things of God.

- Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2:14 that an unbeliever:

1 Corinthians 2:14 ESV

14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.

-Our hearts are naturally deceitful and untrustworthy. Proverbs 28:26 says:

Proverbs 28:26 ESV

26 Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.

The reality is that we are in a desperate situation. We need God’s help to take off our glasses, give us the ability to see and see through His lenses, with his understanding of reality.

So, how can we get our hands on God’s glasses? We can build up a Christian Worldview by reading Scripture. Through the Word of God. The Bible.

And we find the frame for those glasses in the beginning pages of Genesis.

In Genesis we are introduced to God in all of His glory. Over the next few weeks we are going to be introducing three key stages of a Christian Worldview-through Creation, Fall, and Redemption.

-We are going to see God as the Creator of all things.

-We are going to be introduced to sin and how it infects every human and every part of creation.

-But we are also going to find hope and learn of a redemption plan to restore our brokenness.

-We are also going to see God as the grandmaster of it all, showcasing His character and delighting in our delighting in Him.

Genesis

-Genesis is a book of beginnings. It is foundational for the rest of the Bible and it is foundational for us as we build our own Worldview.

-This book written by Moses devotes these first two chapters on Creation. Creation is described in such a way as to show God to be the sole cause behind the creation of the universe and of humankind. Genesis 1 and 2 reveal that God is the powerful Creator and also that men and women are his dependent creatures.

-Keep in mind that the theme of Genesis 1 & 2 is not how God created, but that God created the creation, and that he made it from no preexistent stuff.

-Another thing to keep in mind as we read this first chapter, is when God created creation he pronounced it as good.

-Remember, this book was written during at a time when creation was anything but good; it was filled with sin and injustice. We should all come to the same conclusion that the present sinful world is not the result of God’s activity but of the activity of his creatures.

Before we read, let’s try our best to take off our worldview glasses. Let’s read this passage with fresh eyes, like we have never read it before.

Let’s Read Genesis 1-2:3.

Genesis 1–2:3 ESV

1 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. 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. 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. 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. 1 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.

Question to Group:

-Looking at this passage with fresh eyes, what do we learn about God?

-God was already existing “in the beginning”

-God in verse 1 is elohim and it is plural

-God is a creator-creates things out of nothing -ex nihilo -

Hebrews 11:3 ESV

3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

-God has a Spirit

Genesis 1:2 ESV

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.

-We see God having authority over nature- we see God announce (God Said), give a command (Let there be), give a report (And it was so), and an evaluation (It was good).

-We see God is creative

-Like an artist before a blank canvas, God creates then God fills

-Day 1 he creates Day/Night and on Day 4 he fills them with the Sun, moon, and stars

-Day 2 he creates Sky/Seas and on Day 5 he fills the sky with birds and the seas with fish

-Day 3 he creates land/vegetation and on Day 6 he fills it with animals and humans

-We see God as someone who thinks through every detail.

We see this as he shows himself as a provider and sustainer

-in Verses 11-12 we see vegetation producing fruit and seed-the ability to reproduce

-We see God create man.

-verse 26 says:

Genesis 1:26 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.”

-Again we see the plurality of God.

-”Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.”

-Notice he didn’t say, “let the earth bring forth man”. He says, “Let us make man.” Not only make man, but “in our image, after our likeness.” God only did this for man, not for any other being.

-This word, image in Hebrew is: selem. It means a representative in physical form, not a representation of the physical appearance.

*If you ever go to Thailand or any Asian country you will see many idols. These are images of a god that people have in their homes, businesses, and places of worship.

-These hollow wooden images is not what God meant by let’s make man in our own image. We aren’t just a representation of the physical appearance of a god. We are a representative of God in physical form.

-You see, we have the unique capacity to know God and to walk with God and to worship God, as a reflection of his character.

-We have the ability to reflect the character and attributes of God.

-In a similar way a child will mirror the attitudes, expressions, and character traits of his or her father, we likewise have the capacity to become more and more in the image of God; that is, we were created with the potential to mirror divine attributes. We bear the essence of God, reflect his attributes, and act on his behalf. People act on God’s behalf by ruling and subduing. This is how He created us.

-And Finally God created hierarchy and order-God gives man 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.

-dominion here means rule, to rule over; to be responsible for

-we as humans are at the top of the earthly hierarchy, we are made in the image of God to reflect his glory as we rule over every living thing on earth.

-God gives us authority to rule, to subdue, to be responsible for all living things.

-God rested. He blessed the seventh day.

-We see that God made everything good. Up to this point, there is no pain, there is no selfishness

So how should this chapter build up our worldview?

-If you talk to people you will find that they think God is careless.

-In this first chapter of the Bible do we see a careless God?

-Some people think the world is a chaotic place.

-In this passage do we see the newly created earth as chaotic?

-Some people think God is evil and doesn’t care for his creation

-In this passage, does God seem evil? Does he not provide for his creation?

-Some people think God is angry.

-Is God an angry God in this passage?

-Is this a God you would want to trust, submit to, and follow?

This first chapter of Genesis is so important because we have the opportunity to see what God’s original design was. He created and saw that it was good. This is the first perspective we should have with a biblical worldview-God created and his creation was good.

We will build off this perspective as we continue studying Genesis.