Genesis 1:1-8 Part 1

Genesis 1:1-8 Part 1

Genesis: origin, beginnings; thus the book of Genesis is the record of the beginning not only of mankind but also the creation of the universe and all that dwells therein, including all manner of plants, the animal kingdom, birds of the air, aquatic life, and the heavenly bodies.

Genesis, being the first book of the Bible, begins with absolute declaration that God created everything. It asserts and leaves nothing to the imagination as to its origin and divine Creator.

Genesis is most generally accepted as one of the five Old Testament books penned by Moses by inspiration of God the Creator. It is in fact God’s history, covering as it were prehistoric times. That is before there were any humans present to record it.

Genesis 10:1 “In the beginning God created the heaven and earth.”

            Here in the first verse lies the answer to the controversy of the existence of God. Once again it is a statement of undeniable fact—God.  Compare with John 1:1-5; Heb. 1:2b.

            One might ask the question—where did God come from? The answer is simply –God was. Before the heavens and earth were created…God. God has always existed and always will. By studying the seven names of God one quickly discovers that He uses one term numerous times to describe himself—I AM that I AM which by definition means—self existent one or eternal one. I AM really reveals the fullness of His nature and being, for God is not God’s name, rather it is what He is. The Hebrew name for God is YHWH [vowels were withheld in reverence to God’s name; pronounced YAWEH] which means God is light, darkness is not light—God is.

 In order for there to be a creation there must first be a Creator! Creation simply cannot and does not exist without a Creator. Just as with any painting or work of any kind there must be first an artist by whom the painting is created. It is creation by divine design and not by any cataclysmic explosion nor process of evolution.

·         It is a declaration of His eternal existence before anything existed.

·         It is a declaration of divine intelligence.

·         It is a declaration of creation by intelligent design, not some catastrophic explosion as some suppose.

Divine evidence:

Psalm 19:1-1-6 “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth His handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath He set a tabernacle for the sun, which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race. His going forth is from the end of heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.”

This is perhaps one of the most prolific passages affirming the creation story for it describes God’s creation as having speech to give glory to God declaring His marvelous creation. Once again, it leaves no doubt to mankind concerning God’s existence and how the earth began.

            So why do so many refute the creation story? Why do so many spend so much time and energy trying to disprove the creation account. [Notice I use the term account and not theory because to the Christian it is not a theory but fact].

Romans 1:18-23 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; because that which may be known of God is manifest in them: for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so they are without excuse: because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleaness through the lusts of ther own hearts, to dishonor their own bodies between themselves. Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.”

This passage answers the preceding questions.

·         Man holds the truth, in unrighteousness.

·         God’s power and Godhead are clearly seen and understood, but they refuse to acknowledge it and worship God as for who He is.

·         Even as Adam and Eve knew God’s power and Godhead in the garden, yet they fell prey to the subtly of Satan choosing rather to experience knowledge and “become” like gods. (Gen.3:1-7)

The exact same thing happens every day, for people everywhere are choosing to refuse to acknowledge God as declared by His creation. Instead they seek out ungodly explanations of science, myths, and human intelligence thus thrusting themselves further from the truth and deeper into idolatry, for to deny the existence of God is idolatry. The next logical step in denying God is idolatry see Romans 1:18-23.

Genesis 1:2 “And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.”

The description of the earth, at this point:--without form and void. That is it had no form; it was not round, nor square…it had no shape. It was void… no life existed at this time, whether plant, animal, vegetable, or human. [Simply reading the text as is, without attempting to read anything else into it]  The Spirit of God moved [or brooded or hovered]. Some might say the Spirit was contemplating or planning.

At this point it is vital to say that God is a Spirit. He has no visible form that one might behold Him. In John 4:24 Jesus told the woman at the well, God is a Spirit, and that they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

What is the deep?

Deep: Heb., the-home; an abyss (such as a surging mass of water). I think it could also mean the great expanse of space or perhaps both.  At any rate the Spirit of God was there planning the creation.

God never does anything by chance. Everything He does is by wisdom—carefully thought through and planned. Every plant, every animal, every human is by divine wisdom and planning. You and I are not afterthoughts or accidents. We are carefully thought out and planned by our Creator God. Premeditated!

Darkness

Darkness ruled—no terrestrial or stars, sun or moon—just darkness so God created the heavens—meaning the celestial planetary solar system to give light. In this context darkness is not referring to sin.

Genesis 1:3 “And God said, Let there be light, and there was light.”

It is very interesting that the first thing God created was heaven and earth. The second was light. At this point we must be careful to point out that God created light before He created the sun, moon and stars (14-19). The creation account must be taken literally for to think otherwise is to water down the power of God into human perspectives. Even at this point light existed without the sun, moon and stars (14-19).

Revelation 22: 5 “And there shall be no night there; they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign forever and ever.”

It is indeed an awesome thing to understand that God needs no sun or moon to give light. But that He himself is the light of the world. Even as in the creation God created light before He created the sun, moon, and stars; so also in the New Heaven and New Earth will He also be its light. Not only that, but we will have no need of candles [or technology] our God is greater than all the technology man can invent. The technology we know will be far surpassed by God’s technology soon to come!

First Day (yom)

As we begin the study of the seven creation days it is important to clarify the length of a day in the creation account.

Yom in the Hebrew language is always translated to mean a 24 hour period of time.  It could refer to the 24 hour period of time it takes the earth to rotate on its axis.  But in the creation account it is used in conjunction with morning and evening. It makes no sense to have the terms morning and evening if it were to mean an undetermined vast amount of time. It also severely waters down the power of God. Why can’t God create His creation within a 6 day time frame of literal 24 hours per day? Why do we need millions and millions and billions of billions of years to explain creation? Answer: evolution. Evolution’s answer to everything is time. The more time the better. In other words it goes back to Romans 1:18-23—they refused to acknowledge God, His power and majesty.

Even some well meaning Christians, yet misguided have fallen into this heresy by somehow reinterpreting day to be some vast unknown period of time.

In conclusion day always indicates an ordinary 24 hour day.

Genesis 1:5 “And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.”

God’s first day at work was a busy one as were all the other days.

Remember: up until now earth still does not exist, as we know it. It is not until vs.9 that the earth is made manifest. Therefore, up until now water is all there was.

Second Day (yom)

Genesis 1:6-8 “And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and morning were the second day.”

 Let    

Perhaps one of the most powerful words in the creation account is the word let. God’s word is so powerful all it takes is one word—Let. It speaks of God’s awesome power, His controlled behavior and emotions. So many times I hear various ministers shout, scream, jump up and down, pound their fists on the lectern and literally make a scene of one sort or another. But God simply says Let—and it happens, it comes to pass, it comes into existence or manifestation. Why is it that we humans feel compelled to create scenes? Are we attempting, by our own frailness, to accomplish the work of God that we inadvertently forget Him? When praying for the sick we often work ourselves into a frenzy trying to make it happen, as if it all depended on us, when in reality it is God who holds the power! We have to shout and scream at the evil spirits, rebuking them etc., are they [evil spirits] suddenly dull of hearing? Have sickness and disease also turned a deaf ear?

How did Jesus deal with demons, sickness, disease, death? Did He scream and froth at the mouth? Did He throw a tantrum or beg the adversity to depart? Did He tear His clothing from Himself? Did He cut himself or make wild threats?

Let is the releasing of God’s power to accomplish His will. There was no opposition to His Word…it came to pass because He commanded it to. Creation did not refuse His command. The sun, moon, and stars did not refuse to shine at His Word. The Seas did not refuse His command to depart and the dry ground did not refuse to show itself at God’s Word.

Perhaps that’s why we have so little success. We’re so accustomed to screaming that we lose the true power. It’s as if we are begging evil spirits to leave or begging sickness and disease to leave. Is that what Jesus did? Has He not given us of His Spirit? Is not the power in His Spirit and not us?

Friends, the power rests not on anyone of us—but only of God! That’s why it’s so important to be in perfect harmony with God’s word before attempting such divine interventions.

Let us get our flesh out of the way and crucify it giving way the Spirit.

Firmament: Heb. Raqiya—raw-kee-ah: expanse (visible arch of the sky)

Notice: after each day of work God said it was good. That is important for evil did not show up until after the fall. Everything was good!

Faith Building Practice and Review

1.    What is “the deep”?

2.    How is it possible for God to create light without the sun and moon?

3.    What did God create the first day?

4.    What did God create the second day?

5.    What form did the earth have in verse 2?

6.    Define: firmament

7.    What does Let suggest to you?