Chapter One
We have made separate pages for the first three chapters of Genesis
because there is far more to them than meets the eye.
The first three chapters of Genesis are speaking of the creation but
each chapter focuses on a different subject concerning creation.
Chapter one lays out the order of creation. However, it should be
pointed out that the six creative days Genesis speaks of is not speaking of the creation of the
universe, as most people assume, but the creation of life here on earth.
These six creative days, of life, took place after the universe had
been formed in the first verse. You can verify this by the second
verse in the Bible for it tells us of our dark planet covered by water traveling through
our already completed universe just as the first verse said.
Chapter two details
the creation of mankind repeating the order of life as it appeared on this earth
giving more details and focusing on the creation of mankind. Chapter three explains the fall of
mankind from righteousness. All of which sets the theme of the
Bible as a whole. In the first chapter of Genesis we will look at
creation of life on this planet and the order in which it was conducted.
Few realize that both symbolic and literal language is used in the
chapters on creation and it is not too hard to separate them as to the intent of the
message. It is done here in Gen 1 because both were happening
simultaneously. So, let us start with a reference to Christ that
is overlooked by most at the very beginning.
(It is important that you read each scripture given carefully)
Genesis 1:1
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (NIV)
This scripture does not state a length of time for this overall happening. It most likely took billions of years just as the rocks on earth appear to testify to. The length of time the creation of the universe took here was not important. The fact that God created the heavens and the earth is the important thing to understand. Gen 1:1 is an overall statement, "God created the universe." Yet before that project was even begun God gave birth to His only begotten Son.
Colossians 1:15
And He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation. (NAS)
Now we know this is Christ the scriptures are referring to here for two reasons. First, if you go to Col 1 and read the whole chapter it is very clear that it is Christ being spoken of. Two, we know that God Almighty has no beginning or no end that we can understand. But Col 1:15 is clearly stating that Christ is the FIRST BORN of all creation. In other words, Christ had his beginning at his birth as the very first being begotten by God, all other beings were created but Christ was born, sired, produced by God just as we sire or produce children of our own. Now since this birth, by the Son of God, was before the universe was started it means that Christ was born of the same substance as His Father; or to put it more succinctly Christ was born a spiritual being just as his Father is. The fact that Christ is the only begotten Son of God can also be verify from John 3:16 along with other scriptures which refer to Christ as the first of creation such as:
Rev 3:14
"And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says this: (NAS)
Now if you start at the beginning of
Revelation you will find that the messages handed down came from God to Christ.
Christ sent it through an angel to John and John of course wrote it for
us as he was commanded to do. Therefore the above scripture (Rev 3:14)
is both God alone with Christ confirming what the scriptures say. The reason
this is pointed out is because from Genesis to Revelation the Word is always the
same, and from Genesis to Revelation Christ is a major part of the picture.
Verse one of the Bible has told us that it was God that
created the universe. Verse two now focuses our attention on the earth itself
and shows us it is not only dark and covered with water but has no land mass
exposed on its surface.
Genesis 1:2
Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. (NIV)
Now the Spirit of God, we know, is his
power or ability to do anything He wishes, whether that is visible or invisible to us.
Just as the ability to think, walk, and talk is our spirit or
power. Nonetheless,
it is not something separate from God anymore than our ability to function as an
individual is separate from us.
Now this power or Spirit of God is acting upon the face of the deep,
"Hovering over the waters" which is also born out in Romans.
Romans 1:20
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. (NAS)
(If you are wondering who those
without excuse are, read Rom 1 from 18 to 23)
It is here, with verse 3 that God now brings his only begotten Son into
the picture.
Genesis 1:3
Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. (NAS)
Verse 3 above is both a symbolic and literal statement because it is relating to a spiritual action that brought about a physical result. Let us deal with this symbolic and physical light first. In other words the light being spoken of in verse three is both spiritual and physical at the same time. The easiest way to understand this is with a verse from Revelation concerning a time yet to come, which also tells us who this light is.
Revelations 21:23
And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine upon it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp {is} the Lamb. (NAS)
Just a casual reading of Revelation reveals that it is Christ who is the lamb. We all know that Christ is our eternal high priest and as such supplies the spiritual light all mankind will always need and rely on. That Christ is also the physical lamp, as referred to in Rev 21:23, is also obvious because he is being equated to two heavenly bodies the sun and the moon; both of which, we are told, are there to supply physical light.
However, do we have any other examples in the Bible of Christ acting as a physical light? Yes we do. In Acts chapter nine Paul, who was named Saul at the time, was stopped on his way to Damascus by a physical light so strong it literally blinded him for three days. When Paul asked who it was that was doing this to him he was told in no uncertain terms, in verse 5 of Acts 9, that it was the Creators Son.
Acts 9:5
"Who are you, Lord?" Saul asked. "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," he replied.
NIV
We all know that photosynthesis is required for grass, trees and plants to grow. But it was on the third day that vegetation was brought forth from the earth. However, that required light and God did not put the sun and the moon into position until the fourth day. Therefore back in Gen 1:3 it is still the first day of creation and God is preparing the earth to accept the creation of life on it. Therefore Christ was called upon to supply the physical light needed for photosynthesis to function. This came about when God said:
Gen 1:3
"...Let there be light," and there was light.
The sun and moon were put in place on the fourth day for our benefit not God's. The Almighty already had all the illumination He required from His only begotten Son.
By the way, this should not be too hard to understand when we realize that spiritual beings have always had the ability to manifest themselves into other forms, such as angels materializing as men; just as they have always been able to recognize each other as spiritual beings no matter what form, they had taken on. This is why God knew it was Satan that tempted Adam and Eve even though Satan came in the form of a serpent for his true identity was always clear to God regardless of the shape he disguised himself in. This was shown to be true by demons centuries later as Christ simply walked near them.
Matt 8:28-29
28
And when He had come to the other side into the country of the
Gadarenes, two men who were demon-possessed met Him as they were coming out of the tombs;
{they were} so exceedingly violent that no one could pass by that road.
29 And behold, they cried out, saying, "What
do we have to do with You, Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the
time?" (NAS)
Notice these fallen angels or demons
recognized Christ immediately even though he was only walking towards
them. Also, just in passing, it might be noted
that the demons also recognize or realize that their time is limited and there will come a day when
it will be all over for them.
But in the first days of creation what else was Christ
doing? We can get a good look at this from Proverbs.
Christ was the workman or craftsman at the side of his Father doing whatever God
wanted him to do. How do we know this? Because the Hebrews always
knew there was a Messiah due to come. Just the same they did not know all the details
that we today know of the Son of God but they equated the Messiah with God's
wisdom and as such they spoke of Christ.
Prov 8:22-32
22 "The LORD brought me forth as the first of his works, before his deeds of old;
23 I was appointed from eternity, from the beginning, before the world began.
24 When there were no oceans, I was given birth, when there were no springs abounding with water;
25 before the mountains were settled in place, before the hills, I was given birth,
26 before he made the earth or its fields or any of the dust of the world.
27 I was there when he set the heavens in place, when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep,
28 when he established the clouds above and fixed securely the fountains of the deep,
29 when he gave the sea its boundary so the waters would not overstep his command, and when he marked out the foundations of the earth.
30
35 For whoever finds me finds life and receives favor from the LORD.
NIV
Life comes from Christ not from wisdom. Now there is no denying that it is wise to seek Christ and the truth of the word but eternal life is a gift of God and comes only through His Son and that only through the second covenant. The prophets of old knew there was to be a new covenant (Jeremiah 31:31) But, contrary to what most believe eternal life was never promised in the covenant given to the House of Israel in the Old Testament.
Ex 19:5-6
5 Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine,
6 you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites."
NIV
Eternal life was implied through Adam and Eve (Gen 2:17) but never
stated to them as such. Adam was told that if he ate from the forbidden
fruit he would die. This implies that if he never ate the produce from
that specified tree he would continue to live endlessly. If this
were not so then the penalty of death, which is the wages of sin, would
have been a hollow empty threat. This is why the restoration of eternal life is one of the main themes of the new
covenant.
But we digress, this discussion was to find out what Christ was doing
during these six creative days of life on the earth which was explained in verse
30.
30 Then I was beside Him, {as} a master workman;
and I was daily {His} delight, rejoicing always before Him,
NAS
This therefore explains and clears up the verses that follow
Col 1:15-19
15 And He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all
creation.
16
For by Him all things were created, {both} in the heavens and on
earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-- all
things have been created by Him and for Him.
17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold
together.
18 He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the first-born
from the dead; so that He Himself might come to have first place in everything.
19 For it was the {Father's} good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him,
(NAS)
Notice "For it was the Father’s good pleasure that Christ would do all this. It is for this reason that Christ is equated as the light of the world. Many scriptures bare this out such as:
John 1:4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. (NAS)
Now what is being said here is not meant to contradict the physical creation of life in any way. That is quite clearly, what was happening in Genesis chapter one. What is being pointed out is that there is also a spiritual side to most things said in the Bible and they, like the scriptures themselves, must harmonize with the Word as a whole. In short, the Bible is telling us that it was the spiritual, which was bringing into existence the physical and explaining it in a manner we could relate to, in simple form, as to how this was happening. It is for this reason that light is equated to day and darkness to night after God said let there be light in Gen 1:3.
Gen 1:4-5
4 And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light
from the darkness.
5 And God called the light day, and the darkness He called night.
And there was evening and there was morning, one day. (NAS)
It might be noted here that Christ was not only the source of physical light that God called for but also referred to as the light of life, meaning he is the carrier of Gods word therefore the spiritual light as well. Let us look as some scriptures that verify that statement.
John 8:12
Again therefore Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life." (NAS)
John 1:5
And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. (NAS)
Those without God in their life are spoken of as being in darkness. When a human being desires to follow his spiritual desires and is attempting to serve God, the Bible speaks of that person as being under light. When a person is not concerned with spiritual needs his physical side, or what the gods of this world have to offer, is what captures that persons desires. Those that see only the physical are without any spiritual guidance and described as being in darkness. This is because most everyone can comprehend the difference between light and darkness.
Acts 26:23
That the Christ was to suffer, {and} that by reason of {His} resurrection from the dead He should be the first to proclaim light both to the {Jewish} people and to the Gentiles." (NAS)
There are two other things to be noted about the above scriptures relating to the creation of life here on earth. Both concern the usage of the word "Day." First, note again that the sun and moon were not physically put into position until the fourth day. Therefore, a 24-hour day was not established on the physical earth until that fourth day. This means we are being told about how God views His day, not how man views a day. At this point in creation mankind was not on the scene yet. This is verified in Hebrews 4 for we are told that we are still in God's rest day or the seventh day of creation. The Hebrew language also verifies it. The word for a 24-hour day in Hebrew is "YOWM." pronounced yome. However, as an Interlinear Bible will show, in the passages used in Genesis, the Hebrew word written is "BEYOWM." Beyowm is used to clearly express an undefined period of time . This, in fact, is true of the word "Yowm" also. How the Hebrews understood it depended on what that word was connected to. Yowm, if connected to daylight hours meant a twenty four hour day. Connected to anything else meant an unspecified period of time that could cover millions or billions of years, and most likely did. In Gen chapter one and two after each use of the word Yowm it says:
"... and there was an evening and there was a morning" in other words night time.
The word
"Beyowm" also brings into harmony what science can pretty much prove of the age of the
earth; namely, that it is four and a half billion years old. Science
arrives at this figure from the decay rate of argon in the earth's rocks. A decay
rate established by the laws God set in motion at creation.
Time is a dimension of our cosmos and began when the Creator
combined the first two atoms of our universe. The details of how
this all came about, I personally would find fascinating, but it is not necessary for me to
understand that "In the beginning God created the heavens and the
earth." That opening scripture of the Word also points out
something else that is obvious. God was there before time, or this
universe as we know it, began. Therefore, we have no real
comprehension as to how God,
Himself, views time. Indeed, we are told in 2 Peter 3:8 and Psalms 90:4
that God equates a thousand of our years as being like one day to
Him. Now understanding this lets us comprehend why Adam lived to be
930 years old before he died. God had told him that if he ate from the
tree of knowledge he would die the very day he broke that command. Since a
thousand years of mans life is like one day to God, then Adam died seventy years
short of living one day as far as God was concerned.
At this point in chapter one of Genesis the Creator continues His preparations for the earth to accept life.
Gen 1:6-8
6 And God said, "Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water."
7 So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so.
8 God called the expanse "sky." And there was evening, and there was morning--the second day.
Now verses 6 through 8 are explaining a physical separation of water from
that was completely covering the earth. That is why verse 2 is
saying, the earth was "formless and void." The
earth was void because it was not exposed on the surface but completely covered
by water. But remember light was being supplied by Christ from the
first day and light in space means fire or heat which causes evaporation of
water. Because of this during this period, or second day, the earth developed a cloud
covering like Venus exhibits today. We now reach the
beginning of the third day.
Genesis 1:9,10
9 And God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear." And it was so.
10 God called the dry ground "land," and the gathered waters he called "seas." And God saw that it was good.
NIV
explain the raising of the continent.````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
( It also explains where the water came from for the flood in Noah's time. When God brought the earth up out of the water he did so by allowing water to run under the continents. This was how the earth was watered in the beginning and explains why we are told that it did not rain on the earth at that time but that the earth was watered by dew and springs from under the earth.
Genesis 2:5-6
5 Now no shrub of the field was yet in the earth, and no plant of
the field had yet sprouted, for the LORD God had not sent rain upon the earth; and there
was no man to cultivate the ground.
6 But a mist used to rise from the earth and water the whole
surface of the ground. NAS)
So by the end of the second day and early into the third day The Almighty had finished the
preparations for this planet to accept and house life. The earth was
now ready to accept and be host to life. Therefore God on the third day began creating that
life.
Gen 1:11-12
11 Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds." And it was so.
12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
Is there anyone reading this that doubts this is exactly what happens. The earth produces plant life from seeds. An acorn produces an oak tree. Peach seeds produce peach trees. Apple seeds produce apple trees etc, etc, etc. This is not a debatable issue it is a basic fact of life that anyone in the world can verify. Now, as has been said before, Christ being the first of creation was, during the first three days, the physical light needed to power photosynthesis for this production of plant life. Christ became the spiritual light after this when mankind appeared.
Having explained that Christ was the physical light for the first three days of creation perhaps here would be a good a place as any to explain some basic things concerning time during this creative process of six days. Contrary to what many religions say the Bible is not speaking of a twenty four hour day. The Hebrew word for day as we have shown is yowm, which is the word used each time it concludes a day. Look at Strong's definition of the Hebrew word yowm.
OT:3117
yowm (yome); from an unused root meaning to be hot; a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative
(a space of time defined by an associated term), [often used adverb]:
As you can see there are two definitions for the word
"Yowm". One, if associated with daylight, means 24 hours. The
second, if associated with night hours, means an indefinite period of
time. Since each creative day is preceded by a statement of an evening and a morning,
which is night-time, the word would have been understood by those reading it in
that day as being an undefined period of time. (Notice the word
day I just used, is describing a period of time far longer than 24 hours.)
2 Peter 3:8 tells us that a day is like a thousand years in Gods time.
Does this mean that each creative day was 1000 years long? The answer to
that is No. Why? Because we are also told about Gods Sabbath or rest
day which also uses the word yowm. Now if that word meant 24 hours or even
a thousand years we would have a huge Biblical puzzlement because in the second chapter of
Hebrews we are told that God is still in His rest day and we are roughly six
thousand years away from the time that Sabbath began in the Garden of
Eden. Since Hebrews is telling us that God's rest day or Sabbath is not over yet we have no way of
knowing how long each of the creative days was. Nonetheless, each day
could not have been shorter than 6 thousand years because we today are six
thousand years into Gods Sabbath. That rest day of God might be longer but
it cannot be shorter which means God began the growth of vegetation at least
24000 years ago which is quite adequate for all the forests and plants to have
developed to the stage we see them today. To point this up there are,
right now today, living trees in the Redwood forests of California that were already full grown
when Christ walked this earth.
Genesis 1:13
And there was evening, and there was morning--the third day.
NIV
Gen 1:14-15
14 Then God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the
heavens to separate 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 expanse of the heavens to give light on the
earth;" and it was so. (NAS)
Gen 1:16
And God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; {He made} the stars also. (NAS)
Verse 15 and 16 have been
separated simply to allow an explanation for what evolutionists call an error in the order of
creation. Notice that "He made" is in brackets.
That is because the translators added those two words
"[He made]" to make it easier to understand; at least they thought so. But if you read
the verse without the
brackets, you will see that God knew exactly what he was talking about.
Without the brackets, the verse is saying the sun and the moon govern the
daylight and the night light, which anyone with sight can confirm.
The meaning here was that by God allowing the earth to capture the moon and
the sun to capture the earth placed the light the earth needed right where is
did the most good. As an after thought the verse is reminding us that our sun is a star
and it was created during the very first verse of the Bible. Placing the sun, earth,
and moon in relative positions within our solar system was
accomplished, by God, on the fourth day.
The fifth day brought about the creation of sea creatures along with the birds and
beasts of the earth.
The sixth day, of course, is telling us when man appears on the scene. Since the creation of mankind was the purpose behind creation, the focus now falls on Adam and Eve and how they were created. Now, since man was given both a physical and a spiritual side the narrative again gives us both.
Genesis 1:26-27
26 Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to
Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and
over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the
earth."
27 And God
created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He
created them. (NAS)
"Let us make man in our
image…" The question here is, how would God go about that?
Most give this little thought, but God is stating it definitively, and
there must be a reason for it. Does this mean that God resembles us,
with two legs, two arms, two ears etc.? Would that mean he has to shave in
the morning and eat corn flakes for breakfast? Or does it have
something far deeper to its meaning?
Let us look at the obvious difference between God and man. God is
spiritual; not at all physical. God exists in a dimension or realm we
know as heaven yet as physical beings we cannot enter that realm of God. Yet the physical heaven we can see with our eyes and the heaven God exists
in are two different things. We also know that man's physical body
was not designed to exist in either our own heaven or the heaven or realm of God. In
order for man to enter the realm of the earthly heaven he has to carry his
earthly atmosphere with him or else he will perish. In fact, God told Moses
that
no man can see Him and live.
Exodus 33:20
But He said, "You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!" (NAS)
Why can’t we see God? Because it is not physically possible to see Him with the eyes and bodies we possess on earth. Any more than it would be possible for a physical body to stand on the surface of the sun. The physical bodies that house our life are not compatible for the spiritual realm or world. This explains why Christ, when He was on earth, told us we "Must be born again." It is clearly stated that a man who overcomes and becomes part of the body of Christ will be resurrected in spiritual form in the likeness of Christ.
1 John 3:2
Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
NIV
Well then, if it is not a
physical image what is this image of God
and His Son that man was made in? That is not too hard to find either.
The word tells us that God has love. Man was
also given the ability to love. God has anger, and so does man.
God can be jealous, as can be man. God can be
vengeful and have wrath, as does man. God exhibits mercy and justice as
man can when he desires to. You can find all of these attributes of God
exhibited in the word. So it becomes clear that it is these attributes that man
was given that makes him the
image of God. It has nothing to do with physical bodies but in
attributes that we can mirror God. Even though we might be
able to mirror or resemble Gods attributes we are very limited in
this. That is because mankind does
not have the control over these attributes that God does. God may
exhibit wrath, but that wrath never overrides His love, His justice, His mercy or His
understanding. Therefore, whatever punishment is given from God, is
tempered by all the other attributes he has. This is not true of
mankind: when someone cuts you off in traffic, love is not one of the things
that pops into your mind.
Again, there are other things noticeable about Gen 1:26:
Mankind
was given dominion over all the earth, above all the fish, animals and creatures of the
earth. This was done because man while on earth was designed to be
the overseer of the life that populates this earth. He was to be fruitful and multiply, and to subdue
the earth and rule over every living thing.
Genesis 1:28
And God blessed them; and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and 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." (NAS)
Just as God rules the universe, man was created with the image of God’s attributes to rule over and subdue the earth. Michelangelo painted God as a man touching his finger to man’s finger, assuming that the image spoken of was physical. However, a physical image cannot be so because there are many animals with two arms, two legs and two eyes etc., such as gorillas, chimpanzees, and monkeys, BUT, only man is specified as being made in God’s image.
Genesis 1:27
And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. (NAS)
There are two things left in the first
chapter of Genesis that are to be observed.
1. The first, a dietary law was given. And it was given to all the
creatures of earth.
Genesis 1:29-30
29 Then God said, "Behold, I have given you every plant
yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit
yielding seed; it shall be food for you;
30 and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and
to every thing that moves on the earth which has life, {I have given} every green plant
for food"; and it was so. (NAS)
2. The second thing was that God was quite content with everything that had been created. Notice in the last verse of chapter one God declares "… And behold it was very good".
Gen 1:31And God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. (NAS)
Chapter one lets us know what we need to know about the creation of the universe. As a closing comment on chapter one of Genesis, in scanning through what has been said above, one cannot help but notice something that Luke has told us.
Luke 8:17
"For nothing is hidden that shall not become evident, nor {anything} secret that shall not be known and come to light. (NAS)
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