Season 1/Episode 1 - Genesis 1:1-25 "In the beginning..."

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Seeking guidance from the only source that knows.

Legend:

Reference to God

God speaking

Day references

Genesis 1:1-25 (NASB95)

1In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

2The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.

3Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.

4God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.

5God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.

6Then God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.”

7God made the expanse, and separated the waters which were below the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so.

8God called the expanse heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.

9Then God said, “Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so.

10God called the dry land earth, and the gathering of the waters He called seas; and God saw that it was good.

11Then God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit after their kind with seed in them”; and it was so.

12The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit with seed in them, after their kind; and God saw that it was good.

13There was evening and there was morning, a third day.

14Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years;

15and let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so.

16God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also.

17God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth,

18and to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good.

19There was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.

20Then God said, “Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the heavens.”

21God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind; and God saw that it was good.

22God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.”

23There was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.

24Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind: cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth after their kind”; and it was so.

25God made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and the cattle after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind; and God saw that it was good.

VERSES 26-30 will be discussed in Season 1/Episode 2 "The First Day of Mankind"

31God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

TRIP PLANNING

Considering where we are going by knowing first, where we are.

Survey Question:

How Much Time Do You Believe the Genesis Creation of the Universe Took?

• Billions of Years
• Six 24 Hour Days
• Six Long Periods (Millions of Years) of Time
• I Do Not Know

POINTS OF INTEREST

Some considerations from the text.

The Way God Originally Made It

The creation of the universe is something so great and powerful that it ultimately defies our intellect. It is not just the magnitude of the creation that is unfathomable, it is the nature of the creation that came from God Himself. The nature of the creation was good because it was created by a good God. Five times in Genesis 1, the creation is described as "good" (verses 10,12, 18, 21,25). At the end of the sixth day, God looked at the whole of the creation and proclaimed that it was VERY good. The goodness of the almighty God exists within the creation that was brought about by the exertion of His good power. Therefore, the purpose for this earth was for the goodness of God to be expressed through it's existence.

Each of us is a part of God's great creation. We belong to Him and not ourselves. Our purpose in this life is not for us to decide, it is decided by the One who created each of us. If this creation was "very good", then it is clear that God's intention for it was to be that which is good. Our lives are to be in service to the good that God is (Mark 10:17-18). That is why the wise man stated that the every person's whole duty was to "fear God and keep His commandments" (Ecclesiastes 12:13). The creation is not about what was made, but instead, Who made it, why He made it, and for what it was made - it was for good. That is our reason for existing in this moment and for all time.

The Heaven's Declare His Glory and Works

Psalm 19:1 states, "The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands." I have loved astronomy since I got my first telescope when I about 12 years old. I have seen the Orion nebula, Jupiter and it's moons, and Saturn's rings many times. Yet, every time I see them I am still filled with wonder and awe at the universe. Many years ago, NASA released the wide aperture picture of hundreds of galaxies beyond our own vast galaxy. Billions of stars at distances that are hard to even comprehend. It is amazing to think about that our small yellow sun is not even visible from the red giant Betelgeuse in the Orion constellation. Our whole existence is so small in relation to the over all creation of the universe.

Colossians 1:17 states that Jesus holds all things together by His power. When we consider the vastness of this universe, then we see the enormity of God Himself. If He created it and holds it together, He is bigger and more powerful than all of it. With that kind of power, what is impossible with Him? The answer is the same as Gabriel told Mary, NOTHING is impossible (Luke 1:37). Looking at the creation gives us a clear insight into all that God can do for us. That should give each person that looks to Him an incredible hope for now and the future.

ALTERNATE ROUTES

Other places to learn more about the Biblical text.

World Video Bible School -- Kyle Butt provides a Biblical understanding of the length of each day of creation. See more video lessons on the Creation vs. Evolution debate provided by World Video Bible School -- www.wvbs.org.

World Video Bible School -- Don Blackwell provides a Biblical understanding of the Godhead in this short video. There are many other lessons on God and the Godhead provided by World Video Bible School -- See them at www.wvbs.org.