Genesis 1 Creation Week

[mark kennedy]

How many times have we started threads on the general topic of origins and forgot the text that all the controversy is over in the first place, Genesis 1 itself. This thread is not intended to be an interpretation, it's an exposition of the message of Genesis 1 and the theological foundations that transcend the rest of Scripture.

We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds (æons), Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father;

by whom all things were made; (Nicean Creed)​

Notice that sandwiched in between to confessions of creation is a proclamation of the Incarnation. That's because the Incarnation and Creation are inextricably linked:

You may be wondering why we are discussing the origin of men when we set out to talk about the Word's becoming Man. The former subject is relevant to the latter for this reason: it was our sorry case that caused the Word to come down (Athanasius: On the Incarnation)​

I do not intend to tell you what the opening chapter of Genesis means, I want to show you what it says and how it relates to the Gospel. One reason is that the Genesis 1 narrative presents no real interpretive challenges, the message is clear from the content of the text.

Three words are key to the opening:

Beginning (7225 reshith: beginning, chief : רֵאשִׁית )
God (430 elohim: God, god אֱלֹהִים )
Created (1254 bra': choose בָּרָא )

When it starts off with the creation of the heavens (the universe) and the earth (this planet), I think it means the entire universe. Obviously that covers everything. How and what God created becomes very important since the text is explicit in this regards. There is a reason Creationists are called literalists, it's because we believe what the Bible literally says. Just as it must be believed that the eternal Son of God became man, and died for our sins, it's literally true that God created the universe and everything in it.

This creation 'bara' is from nothing and only used of God 'Elohim'. In this chapter it is only used three times:

• The heavens and the earth (Gen. 1:1),
• Sea creatures and birds (Gen. 1:21)
• Adam and Eve (Gen. 1:27).

That covers the universe and all life on this planet being created by God, as opposed to evolved by natural elemental phenomenon. That's not my interpretation, that is what the text actually says and as I said before, this 'creation' is inextricably linked to the incarnation. Not much attention is paid to the impact of this clear statement of Scripture for one reason, it requires no great effort to understand. You either believe it or you don't.

I won't go into further expositions at this point, I'm interested in hearing from others who study Scripture and have something to contribute to the discussion. I have learned most of what I know about the Bible in open forum Bible studies, something about the fellowship of other believers that improves the level of understanding. That's when the richest insights come out, when the learning of one believer becomes a tool that builds up other believers in their faith.

The thread is open to whosoever will, I only ask that you confine your focus to Genesis 1 and treat the other posters with respect. Forum rules demand a level of civility and I assure you this thread is not intended to be a debate thread. What I hope to encourage is both expositional and devotional lessons, maybe even a sermon or two.

Just a couple of references to get us started:

• Genesis 1:1
• Did God create (bara) or make (asah) in Genesis 1?

When all is said and done I'd like to put together an exposition of Genesis 1 for the resource thread at the top of the forum. Over time the thread will get buried in the stacks, that and it's hard to predict what the posters will pick up on and run with. So the OP is just a couple of random quotes, a few links to the key words in the opening line and an invitation to share you thoughts and insights into this vital proclamation of God's work of creation. Our TE brethren may even visit us with their many corrections and criticisms, I see that as no great obstacle if we stay focused on the message and the meaning of the text. This we will do, God willing. Amen.

Grace and peace,
Mark

 

[Martyrs44]

How many times have we started threads on the general topic of origins and forgot the text that all the controversy is over in the first place, Genesis 1 itself. This thread is not intended to be an interpretation, it's an exposition of the message of Genesis 1 and the theological foundations that transcend the rest of Scripture.

We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds (æons), Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father;

by whom all things were made; (Nicean Creed)
​

Notice that sandwiched in between to confessions of creation is a proclamation of the Incarnation. That's because the Incarnation and Creation are inextricably linked:

You may be wondering why we are discussing the origin of men when we set out to talk about the Word's becoming Man. The former subject is relevant to the latter for this reason: it was our sorry case that caused the Word to come down (Athanasius: On the Incarnation)
​

I do not intend to tell you what the opening chapter of Genesis means, I want to show you what it says and how it relates to the Gospel. One reason is that the Genesis 1 narrative presents no real interpretive challenges, the message is clear from the content of the text.

Three words are key to the opening:

Beginning (7225 reshith: beginning, chief : רֵאשִׁית )
God (430 elohim: God, god אֱלֹהִים )
Created (1254 bra': choose בָּרָא )

When it starts off with the creation of the heavens (the universe) and the earth (this planet), I think it means the entire universe. Obviously that covers everything. How and what God created becomes very important since the text is explicit in this regards. There is a reason Creationists are called literalists, it's because we believe what the Bible literally says. Just as it must be believed that the eternal Son of God became man, and died for our sins, it's literally true that God created the universe and everything in it.


This creation 'bara' is from nothing and only used of God 'Elohim'. In this chapter it is only used three times:

• The heavens and the earth (Gen. 1:1),
• Sea creatures and birds (Gen. 1:21)
• Adam and Eve (Gen. 1:27).

That covers the universe and all life on this planet being created by God, as opposed to evolved by natural elemental phenomenon. That's not my interpretation, that is what the text actually says and as I said before, this 'creation' is inextricably linked to the incarnation. Not much attention is paid to the impact of this clear statement of Scripture for one reason, it requires no great effort to understand. You either believe it or you don't.

I won't go into further expositions at this point, I'm interested in hearing from others who study Scripture and have something to contribute to the discussion. I have learned most of what I know about the Bible in open forum Bible studies, something about the fellowship of other believers that improves the level of understanding. That's when the richest insights come out, when the learning of one believer becomes a tool that builds up other believers in their faith.

The thread is open to whosoever will, I only ask that you confine your focus to Genesis 1 and treat the other posters with respect. Forum rules demand a level of civility and I assure you this thread is not intended to be a debate thread. What I hope to encourage is both expositional and devotional lessons, maybe even a sermon or two.

Just a couple of references to get us started:

• Genesis 1:1
• Did God create (bara) or make (asah) in Genesis 1?

When all is said and done I'd like to put together an exposition of Genesis 1 for the resource thread at the top of the forum. Over time the thread will get buried in the stacks, that and it's hard to predict what the posters will pick up on and run with. So the OP is just a couple of random quotes, a few links to the key words in the opening line and an invitation to share you thoughts and insights into this vital proclamation of God's work of creation. Our TE brethren may even visit us with their many corrections and criticisms, I see that as no great obstacle if we stay focused on the message and the meaning of the text. This we will do, God willing. Amen.

Grace and peace,
Mark

I concur. May the Lord give you many readers who are not already Orwellianized by neo-Darwinian dogma.

 

[Keachian]

Lord create (bara) in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me

 

[samaus12345]

KJV

"And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters."

"Without form and void" I picture our earth as like wet-unmolded clay on a wheel without form and not a finished product.

"And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good." I get wet fleshy fish healthy and plum full of life abounding everywhere

"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth."

I picture Adam and Eve in the garden but i picture Eve reaching for the apple doh

 

[mark kennedy]

Lord create (bara) in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me

Amen, that is the same miracle.

 

[mark kennedy]

KJV

"And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters."

"Without form and void" I picture our earth as like wet-unmolded clay on a wheel without form and not a finished product.

Well, add pitch black darkness, thick toxic clouds and water across the face of the earth and you have it. What I think was going on is after the original creation everything just kind of sat there, probably cooling and forming over who knows how much time. The reducing atmosphere (hydrogen rich) that geologists say was the climate of earth in it's primordial stage was probably what is being described here. God's Spirit (the Holy Spirit) is hovering (some say brooding) over the face of the deep. Then God speaks, 'Let there be light'. At this point the earth is covered in darkness described this way:

Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb? When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it, And brake up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors, And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed? (Job 38:8-11)​

When the light shines, I don't think it's natural light at first, I think it's the Shekinah, (Hebrew: שכינה&#8206 glory of God.

Shechinah – a Chaldee word meaning resting-place, not found in Scripture, but used by the later Jews to designate the visible symbol of God's presence in the Tabernacle, and afterwards in Solomon's temple. When the Lord led Israel out of Egypt, he went before them "in a pillar of a cloud." This was the symbol of his presence with his people. God also spoke to Moses through the 'shekhinah' out of a burning bush. For references made to it during the wilderness wanderings, see Exodus 14:20; 40:34-38; Leviticus 9:23, 24; Numbers 14:10; 16:19, 42. It is probable that after the entrance into Canaan this glory-cloud settled in the tabernacle upon the ark of the covenant in the most holy place. We have, however, no special reference to it till the consecration of the temple by Solomon, when it filled the whole house with its glory, so that the priests could not stand to minister (1 Kings 8:10–13; 2 Chr. 5:13, 14; 7:1–3). Probably it remained in the first temple in the holy of holies as the symbol of Jehovah’s presence so long as that temple stood. It afterwards disappeared. (Easton's Bible Dictionary)​

It would not be until the 'firmament' above and below separated that the light of the sun finally reached the earth. It is probably sunlight looking closely at the text but I have often wondered, for one reason:

Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. (Romans 6:4)​

I have an image in mind of the glory of God literally filling the tomb at the resurrection. That imagery seems associated with the creation, Tabernacle and the return of Christ. I might be taking some liberties with the text here but that's the picture I get.

"And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good." I get wet fleshy fish healthy and plum full of life abounding everywhere

All water dwelling creatures and birds, the land dwelling creatures wouldn't be till the sixth day.

"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth."

I picture Adam and Eve in the garden but i picture Eve reaching for the apple doh

I'll get to that one, trust me on that.

Grace and peace,
Mark

 

[Metal Minister]

A (very) brief sermon on Genesis 1


When I consider Genesis 1 my first thought is a quote by the late J. Vernon MacGee. "All the great themes of the Bible have their origins in Genesis, "The Book of Beginnings." The first appearance of a word, a subject, or a theme deserves special note throughout Genesis. Biblical themes come back together in the Book of the Revelation, like trains rushing into Grand Central Station from all points of the compass (J. Vernon McGee)." Most people don't realize, but in ignoring or discounting Genesis 1 they cause the whole of the bible to be suspect. Either it says what it says, or it doesn't. Either God created in 6 literal days or he didn't. Let's take the first verse. "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." Here, in this first verse, in plain speech even a child could understand, we see the depth and profundity of God. How profound? Well consider this. Dr. Herbert Spencer's (no fan of God) greatest "gift" to science was the categories of the knowable. They are:
Time, force, action, space and matter. And God, in the first verse of scripture, showed it all.

"In the beginning( time ) God (force) created (action) the heavens (space) and the earth.(matter)"

Now, I must warn people here, the bible is NOT a science book. It makes no reference to science, yet every word it speaks on, it is true and correct. The reason I say this? God did not use the natural, or anything related to the universal laws we know today to create! The universal laws ARE His creation, but the creation is not scientific. It is a series of supernatural events brought forth by His will ALONE! Science, no matter how advanced cannot speak unto the beginning, because it cannot be proved or disproved. You cannot look at it after the fact and determine that because it is this way now, it was always this way. Let's look at it another way. Say you were to meet Lazarus a few days after Jesus brought him back to life, and you followed him everyday after until the end of his life, documenting and studying every aspect of his life. No matter what you found out it would not tell you how Jesus brought him back! Or what about the wine Jesus made from water. You could ask every patron of that wedding, how it tasted, how they felt after drinking it, but no matter what you found it would never tell you HOW HE DID IT!

Science only works with what can be seen, tested and duplicated. Creation cannot be seen, no one was there. It cannot be tested, its in the past. And it for certain can NEVER be duplicated by the hand of man! Now what does this say to us about God? That He is all powerful? Most assuredly. That He is worthy of our worship? Unquestionably. But also something man has become arrogant about over the centuries...HE DID NOT HAVE TO CREATE US! We are guests in The Almighty's creation to live and exist by His grace ALONE! And what did we do with that grace? We all sinned. Through Adam we all died in our sin nature. And what did the most Gracious, Most High God do? He gave up his Son Jesus, who became sin and again, through His unimaginable GRACE CREATED US ANEW! In us, those who have chosen to set aside the ego we have accrued over the millennia, the one that says man is in charge, that man is most high, He created in us a new spirit. Don't think we've become arrogant? Let's look at Job for a moment. When we read Job 38-40:2 what do we see? God rebuking Job, humiliating him for his arrogance in thinking he knew the workings of God and the universe. And what do we see in Job 40:3-4? 3 Then Job answered the LORD,and said,

4 Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth.
Job knew he could not answer God, because God was right. Now let's get back to Genesis 1. Look at verse 2: And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. This part here, that said the Spirit moved upon the waters, a better translation may be that the Spirit "brooded" or "hovered" over the waters, like a mother eagle over her young. Even from this early stage God was brooding over His creation. This leaves no room for God ignoring or leaving the earth for billions of years. It leaves no room for life to have sprung up on its own! Even looking at verse 3-5: And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

This also shows God used nothing natural to create light or place it in the heavens! HE SPOKE AND IT WAS DONE! He saw that it was good. Does that leave room for evil or sin or death to already be? Could Satan have already fallen? No, if God has declared it good, no evil can reside in it!

I could continue for days on the first 5 verses alone, and what they mean, but I will move on to verse 26, the one most people are concerned with. 26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

I will break in here to prove a point. This verse is true Hebrew poetry of parallelism. Until this point, and even immediately after does any other part of Genesis 1 read like this? No. Why does it stick out? Because it is the only part of poetry in all of the first chapter of the bible! Continuing:

28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

Again, let me break in here. The word replenish in old English means to fill, not refill. Continuing:

29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.

30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.

31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

Again, Very Good. No sin, no evil. God would never call evil good.
As I said before, God does not equivocate with Himself. Where in the first chapter of His Word do we see evolution? Remembering that God has worded this so even a CHILD can understand it, where does HE SAY HE STARTED WITH A SINGLE CELL AND LET IT SUFFER FOR MILLIONS OF YEARS UNTIL HE DECIDED IT WAS THEN WORTHY OF HIS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT? He doesn't. He says in plain speech how He did it, and now, we simply read into it what we think because modern science seems to say it. SCIENCE HAS GIVEN US NO INFORMATION ON ORIGINS! And it can't as I said before. Science can no more prove or disprove the miracles God wrought than I can prove or disprove the speed of light with the naked eye. We as humans may quibble about what God "meant" in Genesis 1, but we don't know anything more than what He has told us in plain speech. Anything beyond that is speculation. Now how does this tie in with rest of the Gospel? Well in this first chapter we see God's Grace and Love in our creation, which is reiterated in the New Testament by Jesus's death to give us a new spirit through him. 1 Corinthians 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be MADE alive.

And how easy it is to be made alive? To be reborn to salvation? It is by far the easiest and hardest thing you will ever have to do. The hard part? Setting aside your sin nature, your flesh, to follow Jesus. The easy part? Simply ask God for the forgiveness and salvation he freely offers through His Son's death and resurrection. Simply say:" " Dear heavenly Father, I know I am a sinner, please forgive me. I ask you Lord Jesus, to come into my heart and change me. I know you suffered and died on the cross for me. Reside in my life so that all I do can glorify you. In Jesus sweet, precious name, Amen." That's all. If you've prayed that prayer with an honest heart, then you my friend have been born again, and saved by the blood of the lamb. All your sins, those once a crimson stain, His blood has washed you white as snow. Welcome brother or sister! Now my fervent prayer is that even if you do not make this prayer, that God will use these words to plant a seed in your heart, that will soften it to His voice so that perhaps one day you will know the hope and love found only in Jesus Christ. Amen, and God bless all those who reads these words.

May God Richly Bless You! MM

 

[jilfe]

Wow, that was a beautiful sermon on Genesis 1
looking forward to more of the in depth study your doing in this.
Thankyou for sharing this with us.

 

[samaus12345]

yes thank you

 

[Metal Minister]

I admit I was very much afraid that it would not translate well from spoken word to text like this...I'm not used to writing them only...thank you for the kind words!

May God Richly Bless You! MM

 

[samaus12345]

Yes was good MM thanks mate.

 

[samaus12345]

What about the word "yom" then and how that fits in with the format of genesis 1?

 

[Keachian]

What about the word "yom" then and how that fits in with the format of genesis 1?

While yom in other contexts can be interpreted to mean other lengths of time in the specific context of Genesis 1, especially with the refrain: "there was evening and there was morning the Xth yom" it can only really be understood as an evening to evening day.

 

[samaus12345]

ahah dude i wouldnt expect that but ty hi good talkin to you again :) lool

also i tried to identify this painting one day so i could win it (they changed the prize now to a dinosaur tooth) i spent over an hour on google and lucked out

Creation-Research-Needs-Page

 

[mark kennedy]

While yom in other contexts can be interpreted to mean other lengths of time in the specific context of Genesis 1, especially with the refrain: "there was evening and there was morning the Xth yom" it can only really be understood as an evening to evening day.

Sometimes the beginning of a day was dusk (Esth 4:16) or maybe dawn (Deut 28:66-67). Generally the day was considered to start with dusk and thus, the evening and the morning of the 1st day (Gen. 1:5).

 

[mark kennedy]

I admit I was very much afraid that it would not translate well from spoken word to text like this...I'm not used to writing them only...thank you for the kind words!

May God Richly Bless You! MM

If you wanted to record a verbal form of the sermon we could always link to it. Some people might prefer it and since you wrote it to be preached that might be better anyway.

Grace and peace,
Mark

 

[Philis]

When it starts off with the creation of the heavens (the universe) and the earth (this planet), I think it means the entire universe. Obviously that covers everything. How and what God created becomes very important since the text is explicit in this regards. There is a reason Creationists are called literalists, it's because we believe what the Bible literally says.

You translate earth and heavens into "entire universe" right before saying that you take it literally. Think about that.

I won't go into further expositions at this point, I'm interested in hearing from others who study Scripture and have something to contribute to the discussion. I have learned most of what I know about the Bible in open forum Bible studies, something about the fellowship of other believers that improves the level of understanding. That's when the richest insights come out, when the learning of one believer becomes a tool that builds up other believers in their faith.

Yet, if someone makes a post about the cultural context you brand them TE and despise their view. I don't think you're as open as you'd like to think you are.

The thread is open to whosoever will, I only ask that you confine your focus to Genesis 1 and treat the other posters with respect. Forum rules demand a level of civility and I assure you this thread is not intended to be a debate thread. What I hope to encourage is both expositional and devotional lessons, maybe even a sermon or two.

Sounds like a good idea, I'll let my other thread be where my ideas reside.

I see that this is the creationism subforum so I'm not sure to what extent I can post in here. Since you (MK) referred me here I thought I could post at least something.

 

[Metal Minister]

If you wanted to record a verbal form of the sermon we could always link to it. Some people might prefer it and since you wrote it to be preached that might be better anyway.

Grace and peace,
Mark

Ah, good idea! I'll do that today! Thank you!

May God Richly Bless You! MM

 

[mark kennedy]

You translate earth and heavens into "entire universe" right before saying that you take it literally. Think about that.

Think about what, every commentator has said as much and that's just the ones who don't think it's too obvious to mention.

Yet, if someone makes a post about the cultural context you brand them TE and despise their view. I don't think you're as open as you'd like to think you are.

I'm open to different views if they are informed and cultural insights if they are based on more then assertion. No, I'm not open minded to the approach of Theistic Evolutionists who treat creationism as if it were something ignorant when it's essential Christianity.

Sounds like a good idea, I'll let my other thread be where my ideas reside.

I see that this is the creationism subforum so I'm not sure to what extent I can post in here. Since you (MK) referred me here I thought I could post at least something.

There are no restrictions against posting in here but you are generally expected to behave as a guest. That's not a rule of the forum, just a reasonable expectation. When you respond to a post in a subforum you should at least offer something of value with regards to the subject matter, not some personal remark based on what you consider to be 'literal'.

I've been reading the Scriptures from a literal frame of reference for decades, I know what it means and exactly how it's done.

 

[Metal Minister]

Something you may find fascinating Mark, but the translation of Genesis as the book of beginnings is incorrect.

The Jews designated Genesis according to its initial word, bereshith which is almost always incorrectly translated in English by the phrase "In the beginning." In Talmudic times the work was known as the "Book of the Creation of the World," while the English title "Genesis" was actually derived from the LXX rendering of Genesis 2:4a, "This is the book of the geneseos of heaven and earth," and from the subsequent headings (Gen. 5:1; 6:9; 10:1; 11:10; 11:27; 25:12; 25:19; 36:1; 36:9; and 37:2

http://ldolphin.org/Introgen.html

And yes, thee is no ancient Hebrew word for universe, so they used heaven and earth. It's a fairly well known thing...

May God Richly Bless You! MM