Tonight, we are going to delve into the first chapter of Genesis. For some background information on the book:
Now that we are acquainted with the book, let us now delve into the first chapter of Genesis: [Genesis chapter 1, verse 1 NIV version]:
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 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.
The importance of these two verses cannot be stressed enough. Far too many people read the Bible, or claim that they understand it, and yet completely ignore the truths of these foundational statements. Within verse 1, in this tiny and simple, yet powerful and informative sentence, we find out what brought this whole physical universe into existence, how it was created, and, most importantly, who created it. We are informed that we are not the result of some random and near-impossible event, but are the beautiful and delicately crafted masterpiece of an omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, and infinite Creator that lovingly brought into existence a universe that He knew would become corrupted with sin and rebellion, and yet still chose to create everything because He loved us, the crown of His Creation, even before the foundations of the world were so perfectly laid.
These two verses, particularly verse 2, contain some very interesting facts about both the Creation and its Creator. It could be argued that the first thing God ever created was water, and it was definitely the first thing created in the physical universe. When the Earth was initially created, it was completely covered in water, with the Lord forming and molding it. Even before there was light to shine on our planet, it was being carefully and lovingly molded by the Lord. Another thing to point out is that these two verses are the earliest reference to the Trinity. The Spirit of God mentioned in verse two is taken to be the Holy Spirit, due to comparisons made between this passage and others throughout the Scriptures, such as John 3:8 and Acts 2:2. The main similarity here is the association of the Holy Spirit, the third member of the Godhead, with the element of wind. The Hebrew used in Genesis 1:2 is ruach, which means "the spirit of God." Further adding to the reference to the Trinity is Genesis 1:1, which uses the Hebrew word Elohim, which is a plural word for the Lord. It does not refer to there being more than one god, but rather is another reference to the multipart Godhead.
3 And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning--the first day.
It should be noticed here that this light that the Lord created was not from a star or other physical heavenly body, because He created those three days later. How the Lord lit the universe at this point is not clearly understood. There have been many different attempts to explain this light, with it having been described as fire, a lightsome cloud, the sun, or even angels by many scholars and theologians. The truth of the matter is that we cannot truly know what this light was that the Lord created. However, what can be known is that it was definitely not the sun or any other physical heavenly body, and from the usage of the words "morning" and "evening" in the text, it can be assumed that the Lord established the Earth's rotation, and created a form of light to implement the cycle of day and night.
In addition, an important use of language that is used in verse five, along with five other verses throughout this chapter, is the use of the word "day." While many people have attempted to argue that the word was not used literally, this is not the case. There is far too much proof from the Hebrew text that the word "day" in the Creation account was referring to a literal, twenty-four-hour day. For example:
6 And God said, "Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water." 7 So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. 8 God called the vault "sky." And there was evening, and there was morning--the second day.
9 And God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear." And it was so. 10 God called the dry ground "land," and the gathered waters he called "seas." And God saw that it was good.
11 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. 12 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. 13 And there was evening, and there was morning--the third day.
In verse 10, God referred to what He created as being "good," which is a description that He repeats throughout the Creation account. The word comes from the Hebrew word tob, which means to be pleasing or good. This is very important, as it signifies the absolute and infallible perfection in His work. When the Lord created the universe, it was completely sinless prior to the fall of man. If it were otherwise, God would not have used the term "good." Sin, suffering, death, bloodshed, and fossil records were not apart of universe before Adam and Eve brought sin into the universe, and thus cannot be shoehorned into the Bible with man's rebellious interpretations and theories.
In verses 11 and 12, we see the first usage of the word "kind" in the Bible. This term refers to the fact that the Lord created plants and animals to reproduce within the boundaries of their kind. Although today's plant and animal species have experienced multiple changes and variations within a matter of about 4,300 years, they have all remained within their own kinds, and have not turned into or created other species.
14 And God said, "Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth." And it was so. 16 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. 17 God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morning--the fourth day.
Interestingly enough, it is possible that God established a form of light before He created the sun on the fourth day as a means to demonstrate that our solar system's star is not as important as many people have believed it to be. Many pagan cultures throughout the ages, including the Egyptians, have worshiped the sun as a god. Shockingly in vein with this foolishness, many scientists believe today that the Earth came from the sun. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Perhaps the Lord created the sun three days after He made the Earth to demonstrate that it is not the creator of all things, but He is.
20 And God said, "Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky." 21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 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." 23 And there was evening, and there was morning--the fifth day.
24 And God said, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind." And it was so. 25 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.
In the fifth and sixth days, the Lord brought forth the first living creatures to ever dwell in Creation. After spending the first four days making the perfect habitat, the Lord created the miracle of life, having provided the animals everything they could ever need to survive. In addition to this, God even planned ahead for when sin would enter into the world and the consumption of meat would be necessary. The most amazing example of this is that He filled the oceans with innumerable kinds of fish and microorganisms, and created them to reproduce at an extremely quick rate. The most shocking example of this is the cod, which has the estimated potential to lay over 9 million eggs! Fish remain an extremely common part of the diet of millions of people and animals to this day. In His infinite wisdom, the Lord prepared an abundant and healthy staple for an imperfect and carnivorous world.
26 Then God said, "Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."
27 So God created mankind in his own image,in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
28 God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground."
29 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. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground--everything that has the breath of life in it--I give every green plant for food." And it was so.
31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning--the sixth day.
Verse 26 has yet another reference to the Trinity. When the Lord said, "Let us…," He was not referring to the angels. Rather, He was speaking of God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
This portion of the account is also noteworthy due to what is created in it. The saying "the best for last" can apply here, as the Lord brought forth His most impressive, complex, and blessed creation: humanity. Unlike everything else He made, He created man to be the crown of His creation, and the center of His attention and interest. It is humanity that He gave the exclusive blessings of having a spirit and being created in His image, allowing its members to have an exclusively deep access to creativity, emotions, intellect, and decision making. Furthermore, it is the human race that God based His entire rescue plan around, just to save its members from eternal separation from the Father.
Also noteworthy are the establishment of some extremely important principles that are applicable to this day. One of them was marriage. The Lord created two genders, male and female, in order to establish the perfect combination for such a relationship to be successful and productive. He established this one-man-one-woman relationship to be the standard of marriage and reproduction for all humans and animals, with no exceptions. Another is dominion. The Lord gave the human race dominion over His whole creation, from every plant and animal, to every inch of land and water. Although He has given humans the freedom to do what they want with Creation, it is their responsibility to take care of it properly, with negative consequences for failing to do so. One other is the consumption of food. In the perfect creation, the Lord gave all creatures the ability and need to eat. However, they were created vegetarian because there was no death and bloodshed at the time. However, this was reversed when the fall occurred, and the Lord then permitted the consumption of meat.
As a final side note, it is interesting to point out that throughout this chapter, along with the remainder of the Creation account, that there is absolutely no mentioning of the Lord creating the angels. However, the book of Job does give some insight into this. In Job 38:4-7, God tells of the angels singing His praises when He was creating the universe. Although this seems to imply that they were made before the Lord created the heavens and the Earth in verse 1 of Genesis chapter 1, this cannot be fully determined. Nevertheless, the angels were created at some point, and have always had major roles in God's dealings with humanity.