A.There is nothing more important to the foundation of the Christian faith than the truth of Genesis 1:1 – "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”
1.Without this truth, the most important tenets of the Christian faith become meaningless.
a.How can we believe that Jesus is the Word who was responsible for everything that has come into being (John 1:1-3) if we do not believe that God created everything by His word?
b.How can we believe Scripture’s message that "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son…” (John 3:16) if we do not believe Scripture’s message that God created the world?
c.How can we believe that there is a God with the power to raise His Son from the dead (Rom. 1:4; 1Cor. 15:1-4; Eph. 1:19-20) if we do not believe that He had power to create the world?
2.It is no accident that the very first verse of the Bible contains the truth of God’s creation, for everything that follows in the Scriptures depends on this fact.
B.Even though this truth is vitally important, it is often neglected or even denied by some who claim to be Christians.
1.Because so many people have been seduced into the false beliefs of evolution, they have turned away from the creation account of Genesis.Many do not consider the facts of creation to be of any consequence to the Christian faith whatsoever.
2.Some have attempted to make a compromise between the truth of God and the wisdom of men, and others have rejected the creation account altogether.Either way, the results are the same – weak and failing faith.
3.It is no wonder that faith and morality in our culture are crumbling around us, for the foundation of Genesis 1 has been removed, and our nation is attempting to stand on a pack of godless lies.Notice Psalm 11:3 – "If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?”
C.Presently, let us give this subject its proper attention and focus our minds on the God of creation.
II.THE CREATION ACCOUNT OF GENESIS
A.The first chapter of Genesis gives a day-by-day account of God’s creation of the world.
1.Day 1 (vv. 1-5) – God created a "formless and void” earth.He then created light and separated it from the darkness.
2.Day 2 (vv. 6-8) – God created an "expanse in the midst of the waters” called heaven, which is the sky.
3.Day 3 (vv. 9-13) – God separated the dry land from the seas, and He commanded the earth to bring forth vegetation.
4.Day 4 (vv. 14-19) – God created the sun, moon, and stars to provide light and to govern the days, years, and seasons.
5.Day 5 (vv. 20-23) – God created the sea creatures and the birds, and He commanded them to "be fruitful and multiply.”
6.Day 6 (vv. 24-31) – God created the beasts of the earth and "everything that creeps on the ground.”He also made man in His own image, and He created them both male and female. He then commanded the man and woman to "be fruitful and multiply” and to subdue the earth.
B.Notice a few points regarding the Genesis account of creation.
1.The English word "created” is translated from the Hebrew word bara' (בָּרָא), which means to create, shape, or form.When used in such a context, this word always has God as the subject in the Scriptures.In other words, only God has the power to create something from nothing.
2.The Scriptures do not tell us how God made the world other than saying that He spoke it into existence.Notice Psalm 33:6, 9 – "By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of His mouth all their host…For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.”No further explanation is necessary.
3.God’s creation was completed in only six days, and on the seventh day God rested from His work (see Gen. 2:1-3; Ex. 20:11; 31:17).Belief in this timeframe is essential to the Christian faith (see Part 2 of this lesson).
4.Everything God created was good (Gen. 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25).
a.At the conclusion of His work, "God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good” (Gen.1:31).
b.It was not until sin entered that the world was changed (Gen. 2:17; 3:19; Rom. 3:23; 6:12-21).
i.Sin, death, and all of their consequences have altered the world and its creatures so that they are not the same now as they were when God made them (consider the effects of the flood also – Gen. 6-9; 2Pet. 3:3-7).
ii.Notice Romans 8:20-22 – "For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.”
III.CREATION TEACHES US ABOUT GOD
A.The Genesis account of creation teaches us that God is powerful.
1.Anybody who can create something from nothing by merely speaking has immeasurable power.God created everything by this method, and therefore His power is beyond our capacity to understand.He "is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think” (Eph. 3:20).
2.The created world stands as evidence for those who deny the God of creation today.Notice Romans 1:19-20 – "…that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.”
B.The Genesis account of creation teaches us that God has authority.
1.By virtue of being the Creator, God has the right and the power to rule as He pleases.It is His divine right to determine the laws that govern His creation and to judge His creation.
2.The account of God’s creation demonstrates His authority, for all of His creation obeyed Him when He spoke.
3.Notice that God delegated some authority on earth to man by telling him to "subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth” (Gen. 1:28).
C.The Genesis account of creation teaches us that God is gracious, loving, and favoring toward man.
1.The fact that God created man in His own image shows that He favors man over the rest of His creation.None other in God’s creation has an eternal soul or the abilities to reason and communicate in words in the likeness of God.
2.The fact that God provided man with everything needed shows that He is concerned for man’s wellbeing.For this reason, He has given the abundance of the earth to supply man’s needs.
3.The fact that God gave man dominion over the earth shows that He created man to be dominant.Rather than enslaving man to the world, he gave man a trusted stewardship over all of creation.
IV.CONCLUSION
A.It is truly an amazing thing that our God created this world in such a spectacular and powerful way.Of course, our God is an amazing God, and all the inhabitants of the world should stand in awe of Him (Ps. 33:8).
B.In Part 2 of this lesson, we will examine more closely the importance of believing in the Genesis account of creation.
