Genesis Session 1

Tonight we embark on a new study that I am super excited about. And this study takes us all the way back… to page one in the Bible. Tonight… we begin our study of the book of Genesis.

I enjoy studying this book as it reveals to us the origin… of everything.

Origin stories tell us how things came to be.

We now these kind of stories well. Think of fiction for a moment...

How was it that Superman made the earth his home?

How did Spider Man get his amazing abilities?

Before Rocky was a champ… he was kind of a chump.

Before Luke was a Jedi… he was a farm hand for his uncle on Tatooine

Origin stories help to fill in the blanks regarding the character and his or her situation. They add depth to the current narrative that is being told.

Most importantly… origin stories answer two very important questions:

They tell of HOW something came to be.

They tell of WHY something is the way that it is.

Origin stories serve to provide the proper foundation to the current situation.

So let’s consider the book of Genesis for a moment.

Genesis provides a necessary foundation for the rest of the Pentateuch as well as for the entire Bible.

It does this by providing the only trustworthy record about the beginnings of:

The universe.

Humankind.

Marriage.

Sin.

Cities.

Languages.

Nations.

Israel.

God’s plan to restore His personal relationship with people.

Through Genesis, God gives His covenant people a basic understanding of Himself, creation, the human race, the fall into sin, death, judgement, covenant and the promise of salvation to those who put their faith in Him.

If you want to know how… look to Genesis.

If you want to know why… look to Genesis.

Genesis also provides the prophetic history of God’s plan to bring people back into relationship with Him.

It tells of the original sin. It speaks of our inability to “cover” that sin. It foreshadows the work of God that will cover all sin.

Genesis foreshadows what God would later do through His Son. Jesus would come as our redeemer. He would come as God’s ultimate answer for our sin problem.

Jesus would come through woman’s offspring - Genesis 3:15.

Jesus would come through the family lines of Seth, - Genesis 4:25-26.

Through the family lines of Shem - Genesis 9:26-27.

Through the family lines of Abraham - Genesis 12:3.

God did NOT create this world for sin. Yet God provided His SON as an answer for our sin.

It is important for us to understand this origin story! It is important for us to know how things came to be… so we can understand what God offers to us today… as we hope and trust in the blessings He has in store for us tomorrow!

Tonight we are going to look at one verse… possibly the most well-known verse in all of Scripture.

It is known by believers and nonbelievers alike. It serves as the introduction to not only the Bible but to all that we have ever known in this world. That verse is Genesis 1:1

Genesis 1:1 NIV

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

What kind of information can we pull from a verse that is 10 words long? Quite a bit, actually. AND… I would suggest that if our world took these 10 words to heart… our world would look and sound completely different from how id does.

In the Beginning.

These three words take us all the way back to when there was nothing. no earth, no sky, no land, no sea, no air, no outer space, no time, no solar system, no universe. NONE of that existed prior to this verse.

I hear a common phrase used when folks begin to reminisce about the past… a phrase that simply says, “Back in the day...”

The idea here is to transport the listeners mind back to a different day… a specific day… that is pertinent to the information they are about to disclose. They are contextualizing the conversation. And… it highlights the differences between the way it is now to how it was then.

The verse was penned in this way on purpose in order that our minds might understand something very important: ALL things had a REAL beginning.

In the beginning… BEFORE ANYTHING EXISTED… before time was observable… that is where Genesis takes us.

Other ancient religions refer to things being created from something else that was already existing. But the Bible reveals God as the One who created everything out of nothing.

Genesis is the account of how things were from the very start. Before Genesis, there was only God. We don’t have to guess at what was before there was a heavens and earth… before there was time and space. It was God in His eternal existence.

Now… why is it important for us to understand that all things have a real beginning?

It tells us that all things were created:

On purpose.

With purpose.

It tells us that every single verse and passage of Scripture that follows is going to somehow coincide with the how and why from the beginning.

When we remove the intentional beginning from all things… all things lose their original purpose and lose sight of their design.

Consider this. My iPhone’s beginning came from a person’s desire to have a computerized mobile device that would help people to communicate via the telephone and give people access to the internet. It was designed on purpose, with purpose.

If I take this iPhone and use it for something it was not designed to do… like drive a nail in a 2x4 or pan fry some eggs… it would not fair well.

This device has a clear beginning to serve a specific need in our world.

Here’s the deal: Everything we have ever known has a beginning… and it can ALL be traced back to this one point in history… to these three words that serve as the introduction to the Bible… in the beginning.

So verse one provides for us a time stamp.... we know the starting point. Next, it introduces the main character.

God Created.

These two words might just be the most contested words in all of Scripture. And church, that is not by accident. The enemy is desperately attacking this truth today.

before all of this… there was God. And none of this would exist if not for God. For God created all things. Nothing has EVER been made outside of God.

God is the one and only true and eternal, self-existent God (having forever existed in himself) who reveals himself in the first verse of the Bible as the Creator of EVERYTHING.

The remaining books and verses of the Bible will further explain God’s character, His nature, His love, His attributes, etc. But verse one identifies Him… as Creator. And this truth can be seen all throughout His creation.

God in Creation.

Consider this. When an automaker creates a car or a truck or concept vehicle and presents it to the world… you can bet that the identity of the company who designed, developed, and created that car will be found somewhere on its frame.

Why? Because the auto maker wants the world to know where that particular car came from! When someone sees it driving down the road and they like what they see, they will know who made it and where they can go to get one for themselves.

Every car company has their own “mark” on their product. And… that car is going to carry the values and the characteristics of its creating company.

There are certain things a guy can look at that will give the identity of the car’s maker away. Often times, I don’t need to see the badge on the front grill to know who made it.

I can tell by the sound of the starter, by the look of the interior, by the rev of the engine, by the design of the taillights and such. THE CREATION CARRIES WITH IT THE ATTRIBUTES OF THE CREATOR.

If that is true when it comes to cars… how much more true is that with this world?

God’s attributes are seen and revealed in His creation! Let’s look at Romans 1:20

Romans 1:20 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.

When you look at creation… you can see God all over it! it is NO SECRET who created the amazing world that is around us!

Even after sin entered this world, the attributes of God are clearly visible.

Why This is so Important.

Consider again the first ten words of Scripture. Why are these words so important? Because every word that follows depends on the truth they convey.

If you take God out of the beginning of all things… then nothing matters anymore. If you take God out of the beginning of all things, then you remove all purpose and worth from creation. If you take God out of the beginning of all things, you might find yourself in a world Romans 1:21-25 describes it.

The New International Version Chapter 1

21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.

24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.

The first verse of the Bible contains several important truths.

Since God is the source of all that exists, human beings and nature are not self-existent, but rather owe their ability to live and exist to Him.

Everything that exists is good if it is in right relationship to God and dependent on Him (for its highest purpose).

All life and creation can have eternal meaning and purpose.

As the creator, God has sovereign rights, such as complete authority and control over all creation. This means He can do whatever He desires in relation to all He has made.

Watch this: In a fallen, or damaged world, one in which people have chosen to defy God and go their own way, God exercises His rights by offering redemption. Redemption refers to God’s plan to “reclaim” or “restore” individuals - bringing them back into right relationship with Him!

If you take God out of the beginning of all things, you are left with nothing more than man’s understanding and foolishness.

The same God that spoke this universe into motion is the same God that meets us in our troubled times. He is the same God who carries us when we are down. He is the same God that has given us identity and purpose.

Take God out of that picture and you are left with an inexplicable void to contend with! No amount of human reasoning could ever take the place of God’s truth.

Belief in the first ten words of the Bible makes all the difference in the remaining 727,959 words that follow them! If you drop those ten words, you might as well drop the rest.

Genesis begins the story. Genesis lays out the foundation of God’s plan. Genesis starts on day one… when there was only God.

The rest… is His story. The rest tells how the creator interacts with his creation. And as we talked about regarding the purpose of the book, Genesis provides the prophetic history of God’s plan to bring people back into relationship with Him.

God created us… created you… to be in fellowship with you. You are no accident, you were created on purpose. You are more than a product of your parents, you were woven together by God in your mother’s womb.

We have the opportunity to know the same God who created it all! He knows your name! He knows how many hairs are upon your head!

Drop all that the world would try to tell you regarding the origin story… receive the truth from the One who was there… IN THE BEGINNING!