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Genesis - In the Beginning
Scripture Passage:
Genesis 1:1 - OUTLINE: THE ORIGINAL CREATION STATEMENT
- NOTE: In the King James Bible, Genesis 1:1In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
See All... has ten words. Other key verses in the Bible that have 10 words include the Jewish Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:
See All...) and the wonderful verse, 1 Chronicles 16:11Seek the LORD and his strength, seek his face continually.
See All.... The creation story in Genesis One has ten instances where the Bible says, “And God said.” These are the ten commandments of creation. - Its Time – “In the beginning”
- Its Author – “God created”
- Its Product
- “the heaven”
- “and the earth”
- NOTE: God always begins with that part which is closest to Him and comes toward us. We have a tendency to do the opposite. For instance, most men speak of the body, soul and spirit. However, when God names the three together in 1 Thessalonians 5:23And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
See All..., He places them in the order of spirit, soul and body. When God describes the articles in the tabernacle and its court in Exodus, He begins with the items in the Holy of Holies, proceeds out to the Holy Place and finally goes to the laver and brazen altar outside the tabernacle. You may have noticed that most teachers start teaching about the tabernacle by describing the articles outside and then going inside, leaving the Holy of Holies for last. This is only one example of God’s ways not being our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9 [8] For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. [9] For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
See All...). In this passage, God first creates the heaven and then the earth. The order is important. - IMPORTANT BEGINNINGS IN SCRIPTURE
- NOTE: The word beginning does not always refer to the same point in time or even to the same beginning. Here are several specific beginnings. Some are easy to pinpoint; others are not. But they are all a part of God’s truth and they make an interesting study.
- The Beginning of His Way (Proverbs 8:22-23 [22] The LORD possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old.
[23] I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was.
See All...) - The Beginning of Creation (Mark 10:6But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female.
See All...; Mark 13:19For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be.
See All...; 2 Peter 3:4And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.
See All...) - The Beginning of the World (Isaiah 64:4For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.
See All...; Matthew 24:21For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
See All...; Acts 15:18Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.
See All...; Ephesians 3:9And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
See All...) - The Beginning of Evil (John 8:44Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
See All...; 1 John 3:8He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
See All...) - The Beginning of Humanity (Matthew 19:4And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,
See All..., 8) - The Beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Mark 1:1The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God;
See All...; John 15:27And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.
See All...; Acts 1:22Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection.
See All...; 1 John 1:1-2 [1] That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; [2] (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)
See All...) - The Beginning of the Church Age (Acts 11:15And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning.
See All...) - The Beginning of Our Confidence (Hebrews 3:14For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;
See All...; 1 John 2:7Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning.
See All..., 24) - The “Beginning” (Colossians 1:18And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
See All...; Revelation 1:8I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.
See All...; Revelation 3:14And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;
See All...; Revelation 21:6And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
See All...; Revelation 22:13I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.
See All...) - Without beginning of days (Hebrews 7:3Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually.
See All...) - Who was in the beginning (John 1:1-2 [1] In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
[2] The same was in the beginning with God.
See All...) - DOCTRINAL IMPORTANCE OF GENESIS 1:1The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see.
See All... - Refutes Atheism (Psalm 14:1The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.
See All...); it begins with God - Refutes Pantheism (Isaiah 45:5-9 [5] I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:
[6] That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.
[7] I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.
[8] Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I the LORD have created it.
[9] Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands?
See All...); God created. Therefore, He transcends His creation - Refutes Polytheism (Deuteronomy 6:4Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:
See All...); there is only one God - Refutes Materialism [Uniformitarianism] (2Peter 3:1-7 [1] This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance:
[2] That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour:
[3] Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,
[4] And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.
[5] For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:
[6] Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:
[7] But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
See All...); matter and creation had a beginning; therefore, there was a time when they were not - Refutes Dualism [the idea that good and evil co-existed before creation and will continue to exist eternally] (Revelation 20:10And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
See All...); God is alone at the time of creation - Refutes Humanism (Psalm 39:4-6 [4] LORD, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is: that I may know how frail I am.
[5] Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah.
[6] Surely every man walketh in a vain shew: surely they are disquieted in vain: he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them.
See All...); God, not man, is the ultimate reality - Refutes Evolutionism (Psalm 33:6-9 [6] By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.
[7] He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap: he layeth up the depth in storehouses.
[8] Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.
[9] For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.
See All...; Genesis 1:24And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.
See All...); God created by the word of His mouth - BIBLICAL SYNONYMS FOR CREATE
- NOTE: The Bible has three common words for making something: create, make and form. These words are similar and their meanings often overlap. God created the world (Genesis 1:1In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
See All...); He made the world (Genesis 2:2And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
See All...); He formed the world (Psalm 90:2Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.
See All...). You might assume that this makes the three words identical in meaning. However, this is not the case. They are distinct words having distinct shades of meaning. The notes below will help you to understand how they compare and how they contrast. - How They Compare: create, make, form
- Both create and make (made) are used in reference to general creation (Genesis 2:3-4 [3] And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
[4] These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens,
See All...; Genesis 5:1; Genesis 6:6-7) - All three words (create, make, form) are used to describe the creation of man (Genesis 1:27So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
See All...; Genesis 2:7; Genesis 5:1) - The common thought in all three words is to bring something to a finished or completed state of being
- How They Contrast
- Create
- Means to bring into being; to cause to come into existence
- Emphasizes origin and the originator (Creator)
- Use exemplified in Genesis 1:1In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
See All..., 21, 27; Psalm 89:12The north and the south thou hast created them: Tabor and Hermon shall rejoice in thy name.
See All...; Isaiah 42:5Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein:
See All...; Ephesians 2:10For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
See All...; Revelation 4:11Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
See All...; Revelation 10:6And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer:
See All... - Make
- Means to put together; to produce an end result by putting parts or ingredients together
- Emphasizes process
- See Genesis 1:7And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
See All..., 16, 25, 31; Genesis 2:2, 22; Genesis 3:1 - Form
- Means to give shape; to bring to its final form
- Emphasizes finished product
- See Genesis 2:7And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
See All..., 8, 19; Job 26:13By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed the crooked serpent.
See All...; Psalm 90:2Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.
See All...; Psalm 94:9He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? he that formed the eye, shall he not see?
See All...; Psalm 95:5The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land.
See All... - NOTE: Pay close attention to how these words are used in scripture. They can all be applied to the same item but they emphasize different aspects of the act. In other cases, the distinction is very important. A man can make a chair because he can put the pieces together. However, he cannot create a tree. Always notice what God is saying.
- THE TRINITY IN THE BEGINNING
- In the First Three Verses of the Bible (Genesis 1:1-3 [1] In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
[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.
[3] And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
See All...) - The Father (Genesis 1:1In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
See All...) – God created - The Spirit (Genesis 1:2And 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.
See All...) – The Spirit moved on the face of the waters - The Son (Genesis 1:3And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
See All...) – “And God said”; Christ is the Word of God (John 1:1-3 [1] In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. [2] The same was in the beginning with God. [3] All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
See All...; 14); God created by His word (Psalm 33:6By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.
See All...) - In the Work of Creation
- The Father (Genesis 1:1In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
See All...; Exodus 20:11For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
See All...; Isaiah 40:28Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.
See All...) - The Son (John 1:3All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
See All...; 1 Corinthians 8:6But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.
See All...; Ephesians 3:9And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
See All...; Colossians 1:16For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
See All...) - The Spirit (Genesis 1:2And 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.
See All...; Job 26:13By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed the crooked serpent.
See All...; Psalm 104:30Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth.
See All...) - THE THREE HEAVENS
- The Bible Declares the Three Heavens in 2 Corinthians 12:2I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven.
See All... when Paul speaks of going up to the third heaven—God’s abode. - The Three Heavens are Illustrated in Scripture
- Amos 9:6It is he that buildeth his stories in the heaven, and hath founded his troop in the earth; he that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is his name.
See All... speaks of God building “his stories in the heavens” - Noah’s ark has three stories (Genesis 6:16A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it.
See All...) - The Three Heavens Defined in Scripture
- The third heaven
- The divine heaven
- The place of God’s abode (Psalm 11:4The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD's throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men.
See All...; Jeremiah 17:12A glorious high throne from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary.
See All...) - Created in the original creation (Genesis 1:1In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
See All...) - Located on the sides of the north (Isaiah 14:13For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
See All...; Psalm 75:6-7 [6] For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. [7] But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.
See All...) - The second heaven
- The starry heaven
- The place of the lights of the sky: sun, moon and stars (Genesis 1:14-16 [14] And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:
[15] And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.
[16] And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.
See All...) - Called “the firmament of the heaven” (Genesis 1:14And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:
See All...) - Created on the second day (Genesis 1:6-8 [6] And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
[7] And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
[8] And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
See All...) - The first heaven
- The atmospheric heaven
- The place where the birds fly (Genesis 1:20And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.
See All...) - Called “the open firmament of heaven” (Genesis 1:20And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.
See All...); it is open to flying fowl - Created on the second day (Genesis 1:6-8 [6] And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
[7] And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
[8] And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
See All...) - SPIRITUAL APPLICATION OF GENESIS 1:1The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see.
See All... - The Preeminence of God
- God’s preeminence in creation
- He needed no matter from which to create but framed the worlds “by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear” (Hebrews 11:3Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
See All...). - He is the beginning and therefore the purpose of all things (Revelation 4:11Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
See All...). Nothing is completed or fulfilled until God has His proper place. - God’s preeminence in Genesis, chapter one
- The name God is mentioned 32 times in this chapter. This is more than in any other chapter in the Bible.
- By application, all things must begin and end with God.
- The Order of Creation
- Statement: First, heaven was created and, then, the earth
- Illustration: Man refers to his body, soul and spirit because that is his point of view. God refers to man’s spirit, soul and body – in that order – in 1 Thessalonians 5:23And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
See All... because that is His point of view. - Application: Take care of heavenly things first because that is what is most important to God (Matthew 6:33But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
See All...; 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 [16] For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. [17] For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; [18] While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
See All...; Colossians 3:1-2 [1] If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. [2] Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
See All...); the others things will then follow in proper order
Proverbs 28:28
When the wicked rise, men hide themselves: but when they perish, the righteous increase.