The Creator of the Universe Is Our God (Genesis 1:1-2:3)
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does God have anything to say about?
evolution
age of the earth
abortion
euthanasia
gender
marriage
A LOT!!! AND IN GENESIS 1
BUT…
Israel didn’t have even 1 of these things on their mind
Israel was faced with the different beliefs of everyone around them (US TOO!)
how will Israel (and you) view this world?
how many gods are there?
which ones created the earth?
do they care about us?
what do they need from us?
are the sun and moon gods?
Israel clearly heard from Genesis 1…
The Creator of the Universe Is Our God
The Creator of the Universe Is Our God
personal God
knowable God
He is our God
Genesis 1 is so important for our Biblical Worldview
worldview—how you see and interpret the world
predominant options in America
secular vs. Biblical (at war on so many fronts)
secular worldview—humans don’t need God
prioritizes science to explain world
Biblical worldview—humans need God
prioritizes the Bible to explain the world
so Bible may not answer our 21st century questions like we want
but will tell us what we need to know about God
Bible vs. science
our minds look for answers to our scientific questions
but not primary reason we have Genesis 1
we do not want to get sidetracked with our periphery interest and miss main point
BUT that doesn’t mean God’s Word has no interest in science
Christians don’t ignore science
God’s clear design of His creation justifies the scientific approach to nature
because God created our world with order (not randomness)
it can be studied (science)
order evidenced in solar eclipse
we want to be people that start with the Word, not science
science may eventually catch up to God’s Word
Robert Jastrow quote
our primary focus is understanding what the original audience heard
yet we will not ignore our 21st century (issues of the today)
The God of the universe created by His word
The God of the universe created by His word
God is the omnipotent (all powerful) Creator of the universe
no peer
no competitor
problems Moses addressed
God of Israel is God over all other “gods”
sun, moon, stars, and sea monsters are merely creatures
pagan mythology claimed these were powerful deities
God created from nothing
pagan mythology claimed the gods created from existing matter
God created man and food for man
pagan mythology claimed man was an afterthought to provide gods food
God declared the seventh day to be holy
Babylonian tradition claimed 7th, 14th, 19th, 21st, and 28th days unlucky
Genesis 1:1 pew Bible # 1
personal God
creation was not afterthought (as other religions taught)
heaven and earth likely means the whole universe
Genesis 1:2a conflict
formless, empty, dark, deep
utter chaos
pitch black like after Hurricane Rita
Genesis 1:2b hope
the Spirit of God—expectation about to bring order to chaos
more on 4/28
Genesis 1:3
God creates with His word
creation out of nothing
as NT Christians
understand Trinity all present
clearly God deeply cares about His creation
God said
10 times—Israel 10 Commandments
people prefer a God who does not speak
Peter Adam quote
but this is not our God
God creates His people by His Word
Israelites
Christians
1 Peter 1:23 “since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;”
James 1:18 “Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.”
God’s Word is powerful
He speaks and it is done
He commands and it happens
He wills and it comes to pass
our God is the sovereign Creator of the universe
nothing happens apart from His will
why we have Revelation
nothing happens by chance
doesn’t mean we understand it all
but we have a peace knowing He has a plan
Jesus is one with the sovereign Creator God
John 1:1-3
Jesus is the Word through whom all things were made
knowing the exalted nature of Jesus makes us more aware of His sacrifice
in becoming human
in becoming a lowly servant
in willingly laying down His life in our place
Jesus, the Word of God, created this world
Jesus, the Word of God, redeemed this world
do you know Him?
the HS revealed to Moses that God did all of this in 7 days
The God of the universe created everything in seven days
The God of the universe created everything in seven days
7 is significant in Gen 1
Gen 1:1 has exactly 7 Hebrew words
Gen 1:2 has exactly 14 (2 x 7) Hebrew words
7 is the number of completeness/perfection
chaism—literary device which mirrors earlier ideas
Unproductive becomes productive
1st 3 days—making the uninhabitable earth productive
Day 1—light and darkness (1:3-5)—separating light from darkness
Day 2—sky and waters (1:6-8)—waters separated to form expanse (heaven)
Egypt—waters personified as god, Nun, to create universe
other belief—creation comes from gods of watery chaos
not with our God
water is simply something God creates
notice 2 acts of creation on day 3…and day 6
Day 3—a. land and seas (1:9-10)—separating water and land
Day 3—b. vegetation (1:11-13)—plants that sprout vegetation
Uninhabited becomes inhabited
2nd 3 days—filling the uninhabitable earth with life
Day 4—sun, moon, and stars (1:14-19)
lights (stars) and 2 great lights (sun and moon)
why not name sun and moon?
Egypt—Re
“powerful gods” are only lights made by our God
Christians look to the God who created the universe
not celestial beings, astrology, or horoscopes (His created things)
Day 5—sea creatures and birds (1:20-23)
even the Loch Ness Monster and Sasquatch are no match for our God because He created them
Day 6—a. land creatures (1:24-25)
Day 6—b. humans (1:26-31)
do you see the order and purpose in creation???
one act of creation was in preparation for the rest of the acts
7th day not like the rest
Genesis 2:1-3
Day 7—God rested and blessed His creation (2:1-3)
not because God was tired
but to set the 7th day apart as holy
we do more in 6 days than in 7 if we only work, work, work
ask Chick-fil-A
back to outline slide
God (not man) dominates the first chapter of the Bible
though man is the pinnacle of His creation
so this is an account about the God of the universe and His highest creation
so begins the relationship of the Bible
but many may ask about the age of the earth?
Biblical worldview is clear
God created the universe
not accident or REALLY long process called evolution
even Biblical scholars are divided on how old the earth is
old earth problems (4.5B)
yom = long periods of time (eons)
text = “And there was evening, and there was morning…”
represents a Hebrew 24-hour day
plants
plants=day 3
sun=day 4
if sun not created until 4th eon, how did plants survive?
young earth problems (6K-10K)
scientists claim dinosaurs roamed earth millions of years ago
yet humans appeared thousands of years ago
but Gen 1 states land animals and humans were created on day 6
text problem
text = “And there was evening, and there was morning…”
how does that reconcile with first 3 days before sun created
why am I persuaded that God created universe in 6 days
default to literal interpretation unless reason not to
I look at the world primarily through the Bible
not ignore science
but default to Bible if any apparent contradiction between Bible and science
morning and evening more persuasive
Adam and Eve mature
earth mature
appears older than it looks
majesty of God
The God of the universe created everything very good
The God of the universe created everything very good
6 times—and God saw that it was good
7th time—And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. (1:31)
even though things are not good now (more on invasion of sin next week—Gen 3)
God did create everything very good
throughout creation, God speaks and creation happens
then Moses slows way down
1:26-27
do what???
other religions portrayed humans as slaves to the gods
our God says we are created in His image
male and female
humans are climax of creation
imago Dei
humans have capacities the animal kingdom does not have (reason, morality, language, relationships, creativity)
resemble (like God is some ways—more in attributes of God on 4/28)
represent (dominion and stewardship of creation)
relationships (with God, one another, and rest of creation)
both male and female
why do we stand against abortion and euthanasia???
because all humans are created in the image of God from womb to tomb
why do we believe that biological sex and gender identity are the same?
because God created us male and female
we have no right to change how God has created us
if you are created by God, you are to embrace His purpose for your life
not try to trail-blaze our own thinking that we are autonomous from God
why do we believe that marriage is between a man and woman?
because God set up the institution of marriage (2:24)
Genesis 1-2 determines so much of how we view the world
Biblical worldview
the creation account corrected Israel’s worldview too
also gave them hope
they were not at the mercy of fickle gods
but under the protection of their sovereign God, the creator of the universe
do you believe the same for you?
Genesis 1:1
God’s Word assures us that God is in control
greater than anything that He created
The Creator of the Universe Is Our God
The Creator of the Universe Is Our God
is He your God?
redemptive-historical approach to preach Christ
created perfect
sin
restoration in Christ
back perfect