Genesis

Writer: Moses

Time: BC1450-1410

The Book of Genesis explains the origin of many important facts

about the universe, the earth, mankind, sin, and God's plan of

salvation. The world God created is beautiful and in His eyes

mankind is unsurpassed. God created life and provided for its needs.

God creates the heavens and the earth and places humanity at earth’s

pinnacle with a commission to populate the earth as his image-

bearers.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the

Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all

things were made; without him nothing was made that has been

made. ...The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We

have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from

the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:1-3,14 NIV)

■ Trinity

God the Father is the Creator(Gen1:1) works with the Spirit(Gen1:2)

by the power of his Word(Gen1:3) to create the heavens and the

earth. All three persons of the Trinity are at work in this opening

chapter of Scripture. A glimpse of the Trinity can perhaps also be

after our likeness.” , and also in other Scriptures(e.g, Clo1:15-16).

While some see this plural referring to God speaking to his heavenly

of angels participated in the creation of human beings. This glimpse

of the Trinity is filled out with more detail through the progressive

revelation of Scripture.

■The power of God’s Word

Repeated words or phrases indicate their importance. One repeated

phrase is, “And God said” throughout this

passage(Gen1:3,6,9,11,14,20,24,26,29). This word which God speaks

creates. God creates by the power of his Word(cf.John1:1-3). This

same Word “became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his

glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and

truth”(John 1:14). The Word active in creation is revealed as Person

who becomes flesh and blood in redemption to come and save.

(1Pet1:23, John3:16)

■ Creation

God surveys his creation and calls it “good”(Gen1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21,

25) and “very good”(Gen1:31). God’s good creation calls for

humanity’s wise stewardship(Gen1:26-28). We can worship God not

only by looking at his Word but also by appreciating his works

demonstrated throughout all creation. “The heavens declare the

One knows the creator of a work through the work. The great

variety, the beauty and order of nature, the harmony and excellence

of design, the fact that everything has a purpose, and that each part

is an indispensable part of the beautiful whole, are all sufficient

evidence of a Creator. God has shown us some of His eternal power

and divinity through the things He has made. He has given universal

revelation, both in the creature and in the mind of man. For since the

creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and

divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has

been made, so that people are without excuse. (Romans1:20)

■ Humanity

The climax of the first chapter is found in the creation of humanity.

The largest number of verses is devoted to this day of creation. Only

humanity is created by God in community(Gen1:26), in the image of

God(Gen1:26-27). This image is expressed in the use of God-given

rational and relational power and also in ruling and subduing the

creation. This image of God is passed down the generations through

the line of Seth(Genesis5). However, this image was distorted by the

fall and is not seen in fully reconstituted from until the coming of

Jesus Christ, the ultimate “image of God”(2Cor4:4, Col1:15). Those

who believe in Christ are being recreated and transformed into that
image(2Cor3:18), and this process of transformation will be made

complete when we rise again(1Cor15:49). Presently, we know “all

things work together for the good of those who love him, who have

been called according to his purpose, ” a purpose which is “to be

conformed to the image of his Son” (Rom8:28-29) Humanity is also

given dominion over the animals(v. 28) and the fruits of the earth for

food(Gen 1:29). No wonder the psalmist celebrates, “ You have made

them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and

honor. You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put

everything under their feet: all flocks and herds, and the animals of

the wild, the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea, all that swim the

paths of the seas.” (Psalm 8:5-8)

■ Sin

Any violation of or failure to adhere to the commands of God, or the

desire to do so. Sin is preceded by temptation and resulted of being

enticed and so drawn away by heart based evil desires(James 1:13-

15).

When God’s command to Adam and Eve in Genesis 2:16-17 is

disobeyed in chapter 3, at the instigation of the serpent, consequences

ensue for everyone involved. Sin invades the universe. Sometimes sin

has immediate consequences; sometimes it does not. In chapter 4, we

saw sin’s immediate consequences. Adam and Eve are sent “out from
the garden of Eden”(Gen 3:23-24). They lost innocence- the

knowledge of good & evil with responsibility to always choose

good(not designed to do this). The fellowship between man & women

was broken- shame(recognized nakedness) followed by complete

breakdown with blame. The fellowship with God was broken-

fear(recognized nakedness). Nevertheless, God’s grace still abounds

in his judgment, as the offspring of the woman will conquer the

serpent(Gen3:15) and procreation and dominion will continue,

though only through pain(Gen3:16-19).

■ Death

God told Adam that, if he ate of the tree of the knowledge of good

and evil, he would “surely die.”(Gen2:16-17) Some skeptics have

tried to use this verse to show an inconsistency in the Bible, because

Adam and Eve did not die the very day they ate of that fruit.

However, there are different types of life, and there are different

types of death. A person can be physically alive and spiritually dead

(Ephesians 2:1, 5) and vice versa (Matthew 22:32). When they sinned

(Genesis 3:7), Adam and Eve immediately lost their spiritual life, they

become “dead” to godliness, they forfeited Eden, and they came

under God’s judgment (eternal death). Their shame triggered a

correlating action, as they hid from God (Genesis 3:8)—their internal

separation from God manifests itself in an external separation from

In addition to the immediate spiritual death they experienced, they

also began the process of physical death, even though it took many

years for death to have its full effect. This can be better understood

with the example of a flower. When you see a flower growing in a

garden, you know it is alive, because it is connected to the stem and

the roots, and is receiving nourishment from the ground. When you

separate the flower from its life source, it still has the appearance of

life, and can maintain that appearance for several days, depending on

the conditions. Regardless of the care it is given, though, it is already

dying, and that process cannot be reversed. The same is true for

mankind.

The physical death that entered into the world with Adam’s sin

(Romans 5:12) affected all living things. It is difficult for us to

conceive of a world without death, but that is what Scripture teaches

was the condition before the Fall. All living things began the process

of dying when sin entered the world. When physical death occurs,

there is a definite separation of the life force from the body. When

that separation occurs, there is nothing man can do to reverse it (even

the medical community acknowledges the difference between a

(Romans 6:23), and death comes upon all men because all have

sinned. Everyone is subject to physical death because of the presence

of sin in this world, as well as their own personal sins. From a human

perspective, physical death seems to be the ultimate punishment, but

the Bible teaches there are deeper meanings of death to be

considered.

The life that God breathed into Adam (Genesis 2:7) was more than

just animal life; it was the breath of God, resulting in a being with a

soul. Adam was created spiritually alive, connected to God in a

special way. He enjoyed a relationship with God, but when he sinned,

that relationship was broken. Spiritual death has implications both

before and after physical death. Though Adam was still physically

alive (but beginning the dying process), he became spiritually dead,

separated from relationship with God. In this present life on earth,

the effect of spiritual death is the loss of God’s favor as well as the

knowledge of and desire for God. Scripture is clear that everyone

begins life “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1-5), resulting

in a life focused on our sinful desires. Jesus taught that the remedy

for spiritual death is a spiritual rebirth (John 3:3-5) through faith in

Him. This rebirth is a re-connection to the source of life, which Jesus

Without being connected to Him, we have no life in us, but when we

have Jesus, we have real life (1 John 5:11-12).

For those who refuse to accept God’s salvation, physical death and

spiritual death culminate in the “second death” (Revelation 20:14).

This eternal death is not annihilation, as some have taught, but is a

conscious, eternal punishment for sins in the lake of fire, described as

being separated from the presence of the Lord (2 Thessalonians 1:9).

Jesus also spoke of this eternal separation from God in Matthew

25:41 and identified the conscious torment of individuals in the story

of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31). God is not willing that

any should perish, but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter

3:9), so they do not have to remain spiritually dead. To repent means

to turn away from sin, and includes confessing sin to God with

sorrow for violating His holiness. Those who have received God’s

salvation have turned from death to life (1 John 3:14), and the second

death has no power over them (Revelation 20:6).