Genesis 1

In this episode we will discuss Genesis 1, and the beginning of all things. We will talk about creation, and God's power and His order. Join us in this all important study from God's Word. 

Transcript

 Hello, and welcome back to Cultivating Growth. Wanna thank everyone for joining us this week. We're at the beginning of a new month and a new topic for us. We're gonna be in Genesis chapters one, two, and three this month, the very beginning of the Bible. We're gonna talk through these first three chapters. We're gonna look at God's creation and his design, and we're gonna talk about some lessons that we can learn from those stories. And so with that, let's get right to it John, you made mention that we are truly here at the beginning of a new month, and you also made mention we are going to spend time talking about the very beginning. Not just as the beginning of this month, but we're gonna go back to the very beginning of everything, and that's really given to us in Genesis 1. It, it really becomes the answer to one of man's greatest, most philosophical questions- ... of w- where did we, where did we come from? Yeah. Y- when you're, you're making a list of, the great, philosophical questions, where did we come from? Why am I here? Where am I going? Now listen, the Bible talks about all, answers- Yeah ... all of those questions. But certainly that f- that first one of w- where did, where did I come from, or where did this tree come from- Mm ... or where did these stars come from, all of those things, the answer is given to us right here in Genesis 1. Yeah. It's, it's one of those chapters of, of the Bible, the beginning, that you can just go back to over and over and over again, and every time you do, y- you learn more about mankind, you learn more about God, you learn more about origin. You, you learn more about the nature and character of God, our creator. There's just so much to be taken from these first few chapters of the Bible. And, and even the way that it's be- the way it begins, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was on the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters." We could literally stop right there, two verses in, and spend the next 30 minutes to an hour just talking about everything that we learn in those two simple verses. We learn about the Godhead, about the fact that y- the Spirit and God were there together during creation. Of course, John chapter 1 tells us that Jesus was also there during creation. And so y- we're introduced to the Godhead right out of the gate in Genesis chapter 1, and that begins to then frame our understanding of God as we move through Scripture. A- a- and so we just begin to see h- how God introduces not just creation to us in Genesis chapter 1, He introduces Himself to us in Genesis chapter 1. And I think that's one of the biggest benefits of studying from this chapter and, and this portion of the Bible so frequently, is because we learn more and more about our Creator as we read through what He does here. And I'll tell you something else that we learn just here at the, the literal very beginning of just the first two verses. I- I- listen, i- in chapter 1, and we'll talk about it here in the next few minutes, I'm sure, w- we're going to see the, the power side of God. That just through His, His voice, He, He's creating everything that there is. And so y- you're going to see certainly His power and His authority, that nature of God will ring true throughout the entirety of chapter 1. But just in these first two verses, sometimes we miss, especially in verse 1, we're introduced to God, and the first thing that's pointed out to Him is, is eternal nature. That is the first thing. Yeah. And I think that's interesting, because l- you and I have talked a lot about eternity and, and those kinds of things, and how difficult of a concept that is for us to grab hold of because we have no comparables to it. A- and so you have that, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the Earth, and so what's being pointed to is the beginning of this world, is beginning of matter, is the beginning of the universe, is the beginning of those things. Not the beginning of God. God doesn't have a beginning. He doesn't have an end. He is eternal in nature. And so even at the very beginning of everything that we know and everything that we can see, God has always been. And so although this has a beginning, where we are and what, where we live, and even the creation of man itself- God has no beginning. So even in the beginning, God already there. And and, and that's interesting on really that is how, the Bible starts itself. Yeah, he'll, he'll help us a little bit to try to grasp that even later on in scripture. In Exodus chapter three when he introduces himself to Moses and gives his name Yahweh, and of course we know that that name itself means that he is, he was, and he will always be. It, it's that infinite, eternal being that God uses to describe himself to Moses, and we see that character of God here in the very beginning because, yes, it is the beginning of time, it is the beginning of space, it is the beginning of matter, but it is not the beginning of God. What we see God introducing to the creation are his characteristics and his nature as he begins to take all of these wild and disordered things and begin to create structure around them. That's God bringing his, him and the things that are important to him to this now created Earth. And so it's difficult, like you said, to try to imagine an eternal being because as you pointed out, rightfully we just don't have anything to compare it to But what God wants us to see is while we have a hard time understanding that aspect of him, we can understand so many other of his characteristics because we can relate to those. He takes something that is disordered and gives it order. He creates something that is undesigned and gives it design. He, he is beginning to form this earth into what he wants it to be, and those are things that we can learn about God and can begin to appreciate. Yeah, without going and reading the entirety of chapter one and really digging through the, the specifics from, day one to day two, three, four, five, and six, there, there really are a couple of big concepts that I think that we can talk about here in Genesis 1. And I think the first one is in, that phrase at the beginning of chap- chapter one of verse three that we see really play out through the, the entirety of chapter one. It says the way that God creates, he does so just by his words. Then God said, "Let there be light." And, and that will then be a phrase that will carry throughout chapter one. God said this, and it was god said this, and it was so as he creates. And, and that is a lesson really to be taken that will be applied throughout the entirety of scripture- Yeah ... and should continue to apply today. What the only way for us to operate, God said, and it was god said, and it was and to lean into that, a- and we're introduced to the power and authority in the very words of God. And that, that is something that is so important for us to understand today because God's words still contain such power. And so when we open up scripture and we begin to read the words of God, they are the same words that have the power to create from nothing It's the same God speaking to His creation still today, and those words are just as powerful as the words that He spoke to create light when there wasn't any. And, and when we begin to think of it in those terms, man, all of scripture begins to be so much more important and valuable to me when I understand the power contained within the words of God. And I think you're, you're right. That, that's why God wanted us so early on to see the power of His words, because His words are gonna mean so much to His creation moving forward. He needs us to understand the power contained within every single one of them. Yeah, and that, again, plays throughout scripture. E- even to the point of when God begins to speak to man such as He will with the patriarchs and the, the forefathers in the Book of Genesis, where He'll speak directly to them, or as He does even face-to-face as Moses' relationship will be talked about, or through a written word such as He does in the law, or even through the pages of the New Testament, e- e- even through the words of His Son, Jesus, a- as He has spent time, here on Earth. It, it is God's words that really carry the weight. And so you get into other passages where Paul will write back to Timothy and talk about the importance of scripture and the importance of being God-breathed. God's words i- is equipping us for everything that we would ever need. A- and it is that idea that really begins here in Genesis 1 that tells me if I'm looking for direction in some capacity, what does God say about it? Yeah, yeah. If I've got a question, what does God say about it? If I'm looking to where to go, what does God say about it? That that has to be question number one in literally every circumstance, and in every scenario, and in every genre of life, and in every l- relationship that we have. It makes no difference. It all should start, what does God say? A- and that is because His words has power and authority. And if I begin to frame every decision I make, every word that I say through the lens of what would God say in this situation? What would God do in this situation? What would God want me to say in this situation? That is gonna have a profound impact, certainly on my relationship with other people. It's also gonna have the profound impact on my relationship with God that it's intended to have. When, when I begin to do and act in the way that God would do things and act, then, then I'm beginning to train myself to see the world around me the way that He sees the world. And that's really what He wants us to do at the, at the end of the day. And I think that's even b- brought to light here in this story. You get down to verse 26 after, the, the days of creation where God has created all the, the land, and the sea, and the, the light and the dark, and all of those things, and He gets finally to creating man. And he says, "Let us make man in our image- ... and in our likeness." He, he created mankind from the beginning to be like Him. And so in order for us to be like Him, we need to act like Him, like what He likes, dislike what He dislikes, treat people the way that He treats people. We need to begin to truly live life in the image of God, and that all starts with understanding the words that He has spoken, treating them with the respect they deserve, and recognizing the power that they contain. That is one step in the process of truly living into the image of God that He created me to live into. Yeah, and, i- i- it's such an important concept. He'll spend the entirety of the next chapter really talking about it and dealing with it, that i- i- all the circumstances surrounding the creation of man is the entirety of Genesis 2, where He'll reiterate that. But before we're done, just one other thing I wanna make mention of that I think is interesting in Genesis 1, the big picture is certainly the power and authority within God's Word. But there's one other thing, and you've alluded to it already, but you work your way through the six days of creation a- and there is a distinct order to it. For sure. A- and i- i- there's almost scientific order to it. A- and I, I think that that's important, and I think that's significant in that everything that He created was based off of w- what was there before. It, it was in order, it made sense there was logic almost behind it. It, it was not haphazard or chaotic. A- and again, that teaches us something about God and about how He operates. Yeah, it teaches us so much about Him. And a- again, I think one of the things we see about God is His passion, if you will, for order and structure. And, and that is something that w- when He talks about the design and the structure of the Lord's church and wanting things done properly and in good order that, that is God keeping consistency within the things that He creates. That He, He is, He is a God of structure, and He's a God of order. And so don't be surprised when later on He gives instructions about things that are important to Him remaining in a certain structure and with a certain order. That's part of His nature. And so I think that is an important thing to learn, because if we learn that in Genesis 1, it, it makes a lot of other s- things that we see throughout the scriptures make more sense to us, because this is God's nature. This is what He desires, a- and He made that clear from the very outset of all things. Yeah, yeah, I'll, we, we don't have the time to certainly dig into every nook and cranny that there is here in Genesis 1, and I'll close just with an admonition. I- i- if it's been a while for you since you've opened up Genesis 1 and read 1 to 31, I, I would encourage you to do that. I, it, it, it's one of those passages that it's easy for us to say, "I've read that before. I understand what's happening. God is creating the world." But there really is a beauty to Genesis 1. And it needs to be one of those passages that we regularly are, are reading and going through. It'll take you just a, a, a short amount of time, but I promise it'll be very, very helpful and certainly even for our study over the next several weeks. So let's close with a passage at the very end of this, at the end of creation, the six days. In Genesis 1:31, this first chapter will close with these words: "Then God saw everything that he had made, and indeed it was very good. And so the evening and the morning were the sixth day." Thank you for listening this week. If you haven't already done so, we'd appreciate it if you would take just a second to subscribe to the podcast on whatever platform you're listening, and rate and review the show so we can continue to spread the good news of Jesus as widely and effectively as possible. Thanks again for joining us this week, and we'll talk to you again next week