Genesis 1.1—2.25 Creation
Below are some notes on this week’s reading. I hope you will find them useful.
Each note is prefaced with a chapter and verse citation. For example, the first note is prefaced with a 1.1a. That means the comment refers to Genesis chapter 1, verse 1, and “a” means the first part of the verse.
I invite you to keep your own notes as you work through the passages. If you keep notes throughout the entire study you will finish with a pretty complete set of reflections on the vital passages of the Holy Bible.
Let’s begin:
Genesis
1.1a In the beginning God…
Before anything was created God already existed. God is eternal. That is to say, unlike anything else, God always was, always is and always will be. God was not created.
1.1b God created the heavens and the earth…
God is the source of everything in the universe, things seen and things not unseen.
1.2a The earth was without form and void, and darkness…
Apart from God nothing had being—just a black, shapeless, void. God created the world out of nothing, ex nihilo .
1.2b And the Spirit of God hovered…
That word “Spirit” can also be translated “breath.” The “breath” of God hovered. If anything comes alive, it is the consequence of this Spirit of God that was in the beginning.
1.3—1.26 And God said…And God saw that it was good…
God spoke the universe into existence. “Speaking” requires exhaling—breathing. So, the breath of God becomes the Word of God, God breathes out and the word is spoken and the universe is created. All that is created is good. God is not a malevolent God. He is the One who creates good things.
1.27 God created man in his own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them…
Humanity was created in God’s own likeness. We are created to resemble God, therefore to the extent that we are able to be godly we are living out the fullness of the human life He intended for us.
1.28 And God blessed them and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply…“
The momoent we are created God blesses us. God blesses. He does not curse. God never meant evil for us. God only ever wanted good for us. He wanted to see us reproduce and to prosper.
1.31 And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good…
Several times throughout the creation account God sees or says that his work is good. We do not live in an evil world. It is a world that was created good but has fallen. Nevertheless we can still see the divine hand of God in every aspect of His creation. This causes St Paul to comment that because of the Creation nobody is without knowledge of God. See Romans 1.18-23
2.7 God formed man out of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being…
The breath of God, the breath that hovered over the void, the breath that spoke the world into existence, that same breath is breathed into Adam’s nostrils and the humanity comes alive. Each of us contains the Divine breath of life.
2.18a It is not good for the man to be alone…
Man is a social creature by nature. We are intended for relationship. Isolation is not godly. Thus the Christian is called into community.
2.18b A helper fit for him…
A fit helper means a partner who is good for him, who completes his being. One partner brings characteristics that the other partner does not possess. Their gifts are complimentary. The fit helper for the man was a woman, not another man.
2.24 Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh…
Sex is not regarded as evil but as a God-given impulse which draws a man and a woman together so that “they become one flesh.”
2.25 And the man and his wife were naked, and were not ashamed…
The two were unashamedly naked, a symbol of their guiltless relation to God.
Sunday’s Prize Question (11/7/2010):
Two specific trees are named in the Garden. What are they?
Questions for study and review:
1. The beginning of Genesis assumes that God exists. Do you believe God exists? If so, what do you think God is like?
2. What evidence, if any, for God’s existence do you see in the world around you? How would you explain your “case for God” to a skeptic?
3. Do you think God loves you? Why or why not?
No comments:
Post a Comment