GENESIS
CREATION
Genesis 1:1-2:4
INTRODUCTION
To Remind Israel of God's Dealings with Them in the Past
It is 1,400 years before the birth of Christ, and Moses looking out upon the Promised Land begins to write down an account of God’s dealings with His people Israel. In the past 40 years God has taken a race of slaves from the pits of Egypt, has revealed Himself to them, given them His commandments, and molded them into a kingdom. Even though they are a kingdom of priests (Exod. 19:6), they are nevertheless still a kingdom. Moses is writing down the history of his people, not in order to satisfy their curiosity but in order to remind them of all that God has done for them and expects of them. It is only by remembering that God’s people will remain God’s people.
Genesis: The Origins of God's Dealings with Israel and the World
The story of the Israelites, however, did not begin 40 years ago when God first appeared to Moses in the burning bush. His selection of the Israelites was not an afterthought on God’s part; rather it was a part of His eternal plan which He put into operation at the very beginning of creation. Genesis is the account Moses writes in order to show to the Israelites their origins (“origins” or “beginning” being the literal meaning of the word “Genesis”).
Genesis is the book which explains the origins not just of the Israelite people but also of the entire world. Since it explains our origins, it also gives insight into who we are, and also our purpose and place in this universe. Those who attempt to discredit Genesis have an ulterior motive in doing so; they basically have rejected its message about our purpose and place in the universe. By attempting to discredit Genesis, they have tried to discredit its message about who we are, our relationship to God, and our purpose in the world.
Setting the Stage for the Coming of Jesus
Something even more wonderful is happening here though. Genesis is setting the stage for the ultimate drama that is to unfold, the drama of the coming of God in Jesus into the world. When it is all said and done, the Bible gives the story of how God used the people of Israel to bring about the story of Jesus and what He has done for you and me. The great story is now about to unfold, the story of the people of Israel and their greatest descendant, Jesus. That story begins in Genesis.
THE CREATION (GENESIS 1:1-28)
The Existence of God
Moses begins with “In the beginning God . . .” Actually this is a wrong translation of the Hebrew. The Hebrew literally says, “In beginning God.” What is the difference between the 2 translations? There is no THE beginning because God has always been. There has been a beginning to the physical universe which Genesis describes but not a "THE" beginning. Before there was a beginning to the physical universe God existed. In fact because God has always existed, there was a possibility for the universe to exist. Without the existence of God, there would have been no universe.
People debate about the existence of God. Here we make 2 responses to this debate. First, the universe is only 13.7 billion years old (+ or - 200 million years); it is not eternal as people formerly thought. Since it is not eternal, it must have come from Somebody or Something. Something or somebody else greater than the universe must exist for the universe to have come into existence. Things don't just appear. Life teaches us that there has to be a Cause behind every occurrence.
Second, the complex nature of the universe argues for the existence of a Superior Being. Anthony Flew, foremost atheist of the 20th century and opponent of C. S. Lewis at Oxford University, recently expressed belief in God because of the complex nature of the DNA molecule. Why does the complex nature of the DNA molecule argue for God's existence? Because it is the basic building block of life. It is not the crowning touch of creation; it's the basic building block of life. In order for life to exist at any level (even the ameoba), the DNA molecule must exist. This is called irreducible complexity.] It would take Somebody or Something complex in order to start off complex life with the DNA molecule.
The Value of the Earth and Mankind
Notice that although Genesis mentions the creation of the entire universe (v. 1), Moses immediately focuses attention on the earth itself. Everything God does after this point in the creation account centers on the earth and how what God does affects the earth. God will create light for the sake of the earth; He will create the firmament for the sake of the earth; He will establish the dry lands and create vegetation upon the earth; the heavenly lights have the purpose of giving seasons and months to the earth; the fish and birds have their playground upon the earth; finally, man and animals have the earth for their dwelling place. God is interested in the universe only in the way it affects earth, more specifically, the way it affects man.
Such an attitude flies in the face of modern science. With all the technological advances in the last 400 years we’ve been able to get an idea of the scope and breadth of the universe. For example, we believe that the Milky Way alone is 100,000 light-years in width and 10,000 light years in depth. Our response to the immensity of the universe has been to belittle the earth and the human race. Science has taught us to consider ourselves as being little more than mere specks in the vast expanse of space. The movie Contact based upon the book by the scientist and atheist Carl Sagan basically affirms this by claiming that if no other life exists in universe, then the universe is just a waste of space. Such an attitude might be true if man is not valuable. If he is valuable, then the vastness of space has nothing to do with value.
Scientists have convinced us that because we are small, we are of “small” value.” Yet we don’t live life like that, do we? We don't base the value of something based on its size. There are some diamonds valued in hundreds of thousands of dollars—4x the value of my house, and yet my house is hundreds of times bigger than those diamonds. By the reasoning of scientists my house would be far more valuable than those diamonds. Moses claims there is value and meaning to life, and yet value and meaning do not depend upon the immensity of space but upon the God who placed this value upon the earth and man. Man and the earth, not outer space, are essential elements to understanding the purpose of existence.
If Moses emphasizes the importance of man, how much more does Christianity? Whereas Moses makes man important by making him the crowning achievement of creation, Christianity makes him even more important because it claims that 2,000 years ago God Himself became a man, not an alien, not any other animal, but man. This fact alone elevates man to a status higher than anything else God created, including angels themselves.
Subduing Creation and the Kingdom of God
Something interesting occurs after Moses writes that God created the heavens and the earth. He states that the created earth was without form and void, and that the Spirit of God was moving upon the face of the deep. The language Moses uses depicts the earth as a raging sea with the Spirit Himself blowing with hurricane force upon the waters. Many feel that something is wrong here because they feel that God would never create something without form and void. Various hypotheses have risen to explain this. Some claim that Gen. 1 speaks of a second creation, that the first creation was destroyed in the conflict between Satan and God, and that now we see God starting all over again. Moreover, according to this view during the first creation dinosaurs roamed the earth. The conflict between God and Satan destroyed the dinosaurs.
While all this may be true, something else may have happened which does not account for the existence and demise of the dinosaurs but yet seems to be more faithful to the text. When looking closely at the 7 days of creation, you notice that on 2 of the days creation per se does not occur. On day two and day three God takes what He has created and develops it. For example, God “creates” the firmament on the second day by separating the waters; one set of waters remains on the earth while the other He places in the sky as the firmament or atmosphere. The same with the “creation” of dry land. God “creates” the day land on the 3rd day by separating the waters and allowing dry land to emerge. What seems to be occurring is the taming of the earth with its raging seas.
Taming of the earth and subduing it seem to be a major element in the story of creation. God subdues the sea and creates the firmament. God subdues it once more and creates dry land. Finally, God instructs Adam himself to subdue the earth. What we are seeing here is the subjection of creation under the lordship of God. If you remember in the introduction we spoke of Moses informing his people how God created them into His people, the kingdom of God. Subjection and subduing are necessary elements in any kingdom. Well, the kingdom of God includes creation, and in the first chapter of Genesis itself we see God’s rule and kingdom being imposed upon the physical creation by subduing it. When God gives man dominion over the earth, He is involving him in the very act He is engaged in, the subduing of the earth and bringing all creation under the lordship of God.
The Events of Creation
Moses describes the events of creation as following:
| THE DAY | CREATIVE ACTIVITY | RESULT |
| Day One | God speaks and there is light. | God says that it is good. |
| Day Two | God speaks and forms the atmosphere from the seas. | God says that it is good. |
| Day Three | God speaks and creates dry land. | God says that it is good. |
| Day Four | God speaks and creates the heavenly bodies. | God says that it is good. |
| Day Five | God speaks and creates the fish and the birds. | God says that it is good. |
| Day Six | God speaks and creates land animals and man. | God says that it is good. |
| Day Seven | God rests. | God says that it is very good. |
(Notice that one day four God says that He creates the heavenly bodies for the seasons. The sun is essential for the creation of seasons, and the moon especially is for the creation of months. Both months, seasons, and years would play pivotal roles in Israel’s life. Three times a year the men were to approach the tabernacle and celebrate the Feasts of Passover (spring), Pentecost (early summer—late spring), and Tabernacles (winter). Even at the very beginning God is preparing creation for the purpose of bringing His people closer to Him.)
TEACHINGS ON GENESIS 1:1-28
Everything Belongs to God--Not to Us
First, man does not belong to himself. Because God created everything, God owns everything, including man himself. This includes my body, my mind, my time, my money, my reputation, the world, other people, etc. Since they don't belong to me, I don't have control over them. If I do "own" anything, the reason I do is that God has entrusted these things to me. I am merely a steward of all that God owns. I am responsible to Him for the way I have used all the things He has entrusted to me.
Progression in the Act of Creation
Next, we notice the element of progression in the story. God creates the earth with its raging sea and from it comes the firmament. He proceeds to form the dry land, next the heavenly bodies, next the land animals, and finally man himself. There is also progression in the days as well. Notice that whereas there is day one, day two, day three, etc., there is no day eight. The days climax with the seventh day. For God there is no other day. He lives eternally in the Sabbath and desires us to live in it too.
What does this progression mean? It means that there are TWO GOALS to creation: the physical and the temporal. First, the creation of the earth is not the goal of creation. God creates the earth on day one. Man who is created on the sixth day is the goal of creation.
(This is a real slap against modern environmentalists. Man is the goal of creation, not the white spotted owl. God gave the earth to mankind to subdue it, not for it to subdue mankind.)
Second, the Sabbath is the goal of the 7 days. After He created all things, God entered into eternal rest and wished for mankind to live in that rest with Him. Actually when you read the first of Genesis you see Adam and Eve doing just exactly that, resting. Yes, they were taking care of the Garden of Eden, yet they were at rest, they were at peace. Why? Because they were at peace with God. It is only after the 2 sin that the Sabbath rest of God is broken forever on this present earth. Christ’s work on the cross and resurrection begins to restore that Sabbath rest of God. At present we experience the beginning of that rest and peace because of our relationship with Christ and because of the Spirit’s presence in our lives. When Christ returns and re-creates the earth, we shall experience that Sabbath rest and peace completely (Heb. 4:1-9, especially v. 9).
The Goodness of Creation
Next, notice the emphasis on the word “good” in Gen. 1. After God creates each thing, He declares that it is good. The light is good, the firmament is good, the dry land is good, etc. In fact after God creates everything, He declares that it is all very good. Many times, however, when tragedy befalls a person I feel that creation is not good. The “not good,” however, is the result of man’s sin in the Garden, not a result of what God did. In fact what God did was so good we still see His goodness at work in people today. You must receive Christ to be saved—that is true; however, you see many people today who are not Christians and yet good. They are good because of the good creation God made. What is sad is that these people think that being good is all that matters. Unfortunately a lot of good people will spend eternity away from God because of their false hope. Nevertheless their goodness stems from God’s good creative act.
Creation by Means of the Word
Finally, you will notice an emphasis on the words “God said.” Each day God created, He spoke and something was created. He did not form the earth and heaven from already existing materials. He spoke and they were created. In the same way He did not use His hands to separate the waters; He spoke and the firmament was created.
From this we see that God's word is not only creative, it is also life-giving. So many times we fear that if God speaks to us, He is going to kill all the joy we have in our lives. The truth though is that God's word is the only life-giving entity in the world. Responding positively to God and His word benefits us, blesses us, not harms us. As a result we should welcome God speaking to us so that we might obey Him and enjoy life fully.
Moses claims that God created and gave life by means of His spoken Word. The apostle John informs us that the Word God used to create the universe was none other than Jesus Himself (John 1:1-3). He was the agent God used to create the universe.
"In the beginning was the Word . . .
all things came into being through Him
and apart from Him NOTHING came into being that has come into being.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us."
The Father planned out the universe; however, it was Jesus the Word who was the agent who put God’s plan into action.
As marvelous as this is, it pales in comparison to what God has done recently. The God who spoke billions of years ago through Christ Jesus, has spoken recently once more in Christ Jesus. The first time God spoke, He created the universe; this second time though God is speaking in Jesus not to create us but to re-create us. He is taking those He created and is now re-creating them into sons and daughters of God, all because of Christ Jesus (John 1:12). Genesis one tells us only about the beginning of God's plan for creation; John 1 tells us the purpose and goal of God's plan for creation, a suitable dwelling place for the re-created sons and daughters of God through Christ Jesus.