SCRIPTURE: GENESIS 1
INTRODUCTION:
The word Genesis means “Beginnings”. The book of Genesis is about many beginnings:
- The beginning of the universe.
- The beginning of man and woman
- The beginning of human sin
- The beginning of God’s promises and plans for salvation.
- The beginning of a special relationship between Abraham and God.
“Pentateuch” means “five books” in Greek. They are books of law that contain God’s instructions for the people of Israel. Genesis is the first book that tells the history of how Israel became God’s special people. It reveals the person and nature of God as the creator, sustainer, judge and redeemer.
MEMORY VERSES:
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1)
“God created man in his own image, in the image of God, he created him; male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:27)
THE BEGINNING (vs. 1-31)
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
And God said, “Let there be light,”, and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day” and the darkness he called “night”. And there was evening, and there was morning – the first day.
And God said, “Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water.” So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so. God called the expanse “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning – the second day.
And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.
Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation; seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning – the third day.
And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as a sign to mark seasons and days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so, God made two great lights – the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning – the fourth day.
And God said, “:Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky.” So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” And there was evening, and there was morning- the fifth day.
And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind.”: And it was so. God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him, male and female he created them.
God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number, fill the earth and subdue it. rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground -everything that has the breath of life in it – I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.
God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning – the sixth day.
Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.
By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
SUMMARY OF GOD’S CREATION:
Day 1 – Light and Darkness
Day 2 – Sky and Sea
Day 3 – Land and Trees
Day 4 – Sun, Moon and Stars
Day 5 – Birds and Fish
Day 6 – Animals and Man
Day 7 – Rest
THOUGHTS: (From Life Application Study Bible)
God used the plural form, “Let us make people in our image” to refer to the Trinity – God the Father, Jesus Christ his Son, and the Holy Spirit. By “God’s image”, it does not mean that we are exactly like God because God has no physical body. Instead, we become reflections of God’s glory if we have His character of love, patience, forgiveness, kindness and faithfulness. Because we bear God’s image, we must feel positive about ourselves. Do not criticize or downgrade yourself. Show your worth by making valuable contributions to those around you. Remember that God made you for a good reason. You are valuable to him.
God made both man and woman in his image. They are both equal. Neither sex is exalted nor depreciated.
When God delegated some of his authority to the human race, he expected us to take responsibility for the environment and the other creatures that share our planet. We must not be careless and wasteful as we fulfill this charge. God carefully made the earth and we must not be careless in taking care of it.