If you’ve just
joined us here at the SoWhatRamblings blog we are doing a series on the first
books of the Bible, with the intent of laying a solid foundation for
understanding the Bible as a whole. If this is your first time reading this
blog, make sure to let one of our ushers know[i]
so we can give you a welcome packet and a coupon for a free toaster and a
cookbook by the author.[ii]
We are going
through Genesis at this point, trying to go step by step through the beginning
stories and truths of God’s Word. My goal is to lay
out this information in such a way that a non-believer, or a person with very
limited Bible knowledge, can begin to gain an understanding to the foundational
truths of the Bible. That being said, if you read this and have questions, let
me know. If I’m doing a bad job, let me know. In my heart I am a teacher,
(either that or a taxidermist), and I want to do my best to communicate clearly
both what the Bible says and how to understand and read it for yourself.
So what we’re going
to do here is go through Genesis 1 and see what it has to say. This blog is a bit
different than my past ones because it is more instructional and “teachery”
than before. But my goal is to get you in the Bible and get you thinking about the
Bible, so that takes a different approach than former blogs. With that said,
let’s dive in. I would encourage you to read through the passage beforehand. If you don't have a Bible, you can go to BibleGateway.com by clicking the hyperlink.
Here are the
different and important things seen in Genesis 1. This is by no means
exhaustive, but I am trying to cover the major points:
The Identity and Person of God. The Spirit of God is seen in the very
beginning of the Bible, (v2). There is also some distinction that begins to be
seen about the character of God. This is first seen between God and the Spirit
of God in verse two. Then in verse 26, God says, “Let US make man in our image…”
Questions arise, “Is God schizophrenic? Are there two parts to God? What does
this ‘us’ mean? What is the significance of ‘the Spirit of God’?” There is
something unique about the person of God. The answers are not clear at this
point, but it does lay some “truth seeds” which will germinate throughout the
rest of the Bible. Like I said in a previous blog post, the book of Genesis
begins to lay seeds of information which come to fruition later in the Bible. It
begins to lay a foundation for Biblical truth. At this point we are just in the
planting or the first building stages. But we need to begin noticing these
truths, or seeds, so as we go along in our reading/study we can gain a fuller
understanding of what has been laid out in the initial stages.[iii]
God creates out of nothing. He creates by the Word of his mouth. Again
we see the all-powerful nature of God. We see over and over again in Genesis 1,
“And God said…and there was”, “And God said…and there was.” “And God said…and
there was”. God creates out of the Word of his mouth. There is no one like him,
who can create life and existence out of nothing. He is all-powerful. He is a
worthy God and only HE is the creator of all life.
Creation was made in a seven day period. The days were recognized by evening and
morning. How does this affect our understanding of creation? How does this
information contrast with an evolutionary viewpoint? (Again, keep asking
questions and making observations).
All that God made was good. The creation of God reflected the nature of
God. There was nothing God made that was not good and blessed. Each living
thing created produced offspring “according to their kinds”. In other words,
the plant life reproduced similar plant life. The fish and water creatures
reproduced other fish and water creatures. The animals produced other animals
like themselves.[iv]
In the same way, God produced things according to his character, which was good
and glorious.
The creation of Man is significant. In verse 26-27, it reads, “Then God said,
‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion
over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens, and over the
livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps in
the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created
him; male and female he created them.”
- There are several
things to note here. One is the “us” that is used the verse. I mentioned this
previously in the post, but keep in the mind as you continue to read the Bible.
Secondly, just as the animals, fish, plants, and birds all reproduced “according
to their kinds”, God now makes man “in his image”. I won’t go into detail as to
what “in his image” means here, but it is enough to note that there was no other being or creation made in the
image of God, but man. There is no fish, animal, plant, or bug that carries
the image of the Almighty. There is no other creation with the dignity,
uniqueness, and blessedness as man because no one else was made in the image
and likeness (somehow) of God.
- Thirdly, man was
the only being given rule and authority. Man was called by God to rule over the
creation, to have dominion over all. God didn’t say for fish to have dominion.
God didn’t ask a horse to have dominion over all creation. God didn’t ask an
oak tree to exercise dominion over the creation. He told man and man alone. Man was the
only one given the unique responsibility to have dominion over the earth.
- What does this
tell me about man? Man is special. Man is unique. Man and women have inherent
dignity and specialness before God and all creation. Man is not special in what
he can do, be, think or achieve, though those things are nice. Man is special
because he is made in the image of the Almighty God and Creator. This also tells
me man is greater than the summation of atoms and primordial ooze that somehow
gathered itself together at the beginning of time. Man was made by God, in his
image, and is incredibly significant.
- Man is also, by
design, under the authority of His Creator. Man was made to be under the rule
of God. In the very first chapter of the Bible, man is given responsibility and
commands from his Creator. God was meant to be the Lord over man. Man was meant
to submit himself to his Creator. If man rejects the divine authority and his
divine design, what will become of him?
The image of God is seen in both of the sexes. Both male and female bear the image of
God. God’s image is seen not only in man. Therefore the male cannot be exalted
as the supreme creation to authoritatively dominate and rule over woman as God’s
image bearer. Nor can woman be seen as the uncorrupted species or sex who alone
knows and exhibits God’s character. The female has glorious significance before
God the creator because she was made in his image. Man has dignity and
significance because he was made in God’s image. Man with all of his strengths
and woman with all of her uniqueness both exhibit the image and glory of God.
This also means
that a person’s sex is sacred. A person being male or female is because of the
sovereign will of God. You may ask about transgender, gay, or bisexual people
and it is a fair question. But at this point, in Genesis 1, we are just trying
to see what the Bible has to say. And right now it shows us that the image of
God is seen in both sexes, and each individual sex, (male or female), is sacred
to God.
What does this tell me about God? At this point, one chapter into the Bible,
I’m not totally sure, (remember the seeds analogy). But it does tell me that
God must have some significant purpose for humans. Only upon humans does he
place his image. Only to humans does he give instruction and rule over
creation. What will this lead to? Who knows?
- It does tell me
that God is awesome and powerful. He is unique in his power, intelligence,
design, and character. He is good and his creations are good. He is distinct
above all Creation. He is the Lord and ruler of what he has made. He can create
simply by issuing a command. He is glorious in the diversity with which he
creates. Men, fish, bugs, trees, mountains, sun/moon, starts, galaxies, oceans,
rivers, not to mention subatomic particles were all made by the mind and voice
of God. The laws of gravity, physics, electrons, neutrons, and all of the
random sciences of the universe that hold our bodies together, allow us to
grow, help us breathe, eat, sleep, recreate, think, work, etc. are all
purposefully created by God.
What does this mean for men? It means that all men, all women, and all
races have dignity and significance. The sick, elderly, mentally ill, and
broken, are yet made in the image of God. They may not have any uniqueness or
dignity in and of themselves in what they can accomplish, say, think or buy,
but they are made in God’s image and are inherently special. Black, white, red,
yellow, and brown all are made in his image. Race does not define a person, but
being created by God and bearing his image, does.
Okay, thus ends a
review of Genesis, chapter 1. What I’ve covered here is only a small sampling
of what the chapter contains, but I hope I have hit the highlights. Stay tuned.
Next week I’ll be doing a raffle to win a new car[v]
for charity.[vi]
[i]
We don’t have ushers.
[ii]
I only know one recipe and I got if off the back of a Campbell’s soup can.
[iii]
A few notes on how to study the Bible: Ask questions and make observations.
Ask lots of questions. It’s okay to study the Bible and
not necessarily have all the answers. It’s very good to ask questions if you
don’t understand something. Some people who read the Bible feel like they have
to immediately have the answers while they are studying when it fact it may
take years to gain understanding of what the Word is teaching about a subject.
It is okay to ask questions not always have the answers when studying the
Bible. Always ask who, what, where, when, why, and how.
Secondly, make observations like the ones I mentioned
earlier. Note the use of words and what meanings it could possibly have.
Picture studying the Bible like you are piecing together a puzzle. (It’s a
flawed analogy, but roll with me for a second). There are incredible truths to
the Bible that we have to learn bit by bit. As we study through a passage or a
book of the Bible, we will begin to “pick up the pieces” here and there as we
learn. Eventually, those pieces will be put together to clarify a subject,
book, paragraph, or context. But we won’t gain understanding if we’re not
observing.
[iv]
Look for key words or repeated phrases as it will naturally highlight something
the author wants you to see. In this passage we see several phrases or words
over and over again, “And God said”, “And it was good”, “According to their
kinds”, etc. Repeated words or phrases show us something important that we, as
the reader, should pay attention to and learn from.
[v]
There will be no raffle.
[vi]
The charity is for the parents of difficult children…mostly this includes my
wife and I.
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