Did Adam have a belly button?

Inigo Montoya-Don't kill his father

At last post I mentioned I would begin laying a foundation for understanding the Bible from the very beginning. Here is my first attempt to do so. Therefore, my loyal readers, (mom), we enter into the Biblical story, hoping to slowly but surely lay a framework from which we understand the book of the Bible as a whole. And where else do we start, but the beginning. As Inigo Montoya said in The Princess Bride, “I am waiting for you, Vizzini! You told me to go back to the beginning...so I have”.

  

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth,” Genesis 1:1

Think for a moment, that you have never read the Bible before. Maybe you haven’t. If so, that’s okay. We’re forgiving here at the SoWhatRamblings blog. It’s our motto, (maybe). But even if you have read the Bible, put yourself in a position of one who hasn’t. Imagine you are reading the Bible for the first time and you read Genesis 1:1. What would you think? 

The first sentence of the Bible is incredibly profound. Even more so, the first book of the Bible is foundational to understanding the rest of the Bible because in the first book the groundwork is laid for who God is, who man is, what is the problem with this world, what is the problem with mankind, what is man's purpose, how God dealt with man, how God cares for mankind, how God saves people, what God desires, and on and on and on. Picture a garden. Genesis is like the first planting of seeds in that garden. So much of what is planted is only in seed form and much more will be discovered, but the garden will never bear fruit, never accomplish anything without the planting of the seeds. (I'm quite proud of that analogy by the way). Picture a house. You cannot have a house without a foundation, a basic structure, a slab. Genesis is the slab of the rest of the Bible. If you don't properly understand Genesis you will not understand man, sin, salvation, the church, Israel, marriage, sexuality, law, grace, the covenants, or Jesus. Did I just drop the hammer? You bet I did. 

"Is this (Genesis) important? You bet it's important. Because every pagan philosophy that's ever been introduced clashes with Genesis 1:1." - Tommy Nelson (Full audio sermon on Genesis 1:1. Long, but good).

Genesis means "beginning". Therefore the book is appropriately, if not so creatively named, because it is the beginning of God's story of how he created and dealt with, the world. 

Without further ado, onto the verse...

Genesis 1:1 has incredible depth and profound impact for us as a reader. Let us consider the following: 

- God and his relation to time and space. "In the beginning" God stands outside of time. He is not confined by its boundaries and exists as the eternal being and Creator. All of us exist within time and space, but God exists outside of time. He has no beginning and no end. It is HE who creates beginnings and creates time. 

- The created world in all its wonder, has its origin in a divine designer. The worlds do not exist out of chaos or chance, but from the care, intelligence, and intricate planning of the mind of God. This means the world has amazing significance. The creation is significant because it exists out of the mind of a Creator. From the glory and strength of the great mountains and waterfalls to the intricacies of microscopic cells and atoms, God has worked purposefully and carefully. In our studies of science we can know that ultimately there is purpose and there is design by and all powerful, all wise God. 

- God created the world out of nothing. There was nothing before God. He was alone in his divine majesty. The Bible teaches, whether you agree with or not, that the world came into existence by God, out of nothing. This has life altering ramifications for humans. They are not the result of cosmic chance or beings that climbed out of the sludge pool of creation. Man and women are beings divinely made with purpose and design. They have inherent dignity. They are special. They were made by God. 

- As God is the creator, he is also the owner and Lord. If I make something, it is mine. I made, (to be crude), my son and daughters. By right they are "my" children. I can discipline, teach, and love them as I see fit because I am their Father and they are mine. If I build a bookshelf out of wood, I can choose to sell it, destroy it, or use it accordingly. As the maker, I have the right to determine what to do with my creation. These examples are crude and limited, but you get the point. God is the creator of all life, animate and inanimate. There is nothing that has come into being without his will. He therefore is the rightful ruler of what he has created. You may not like it and you may, as is your choice, reject his authority. But by divine right of the Creator, he is the Lord and owner of all that exists. 

- This answers the questions: How does the world exist? By the word of God. How does man exist? Because God created him. 

P.S. I use the word “man” and “mankind” in the sense that I’m talking about everyone, men and women. It’s not that I’m a sexist; it’s just that I’ve always used it that way and I figure most people know what I mean by it. If I’m offending anyone, I’m sorry, but it would be too taxing on my very feeble brain to remember to say “people” or “humankind” all the time.

 P.P.S. I am doing this as a 1^st attempt at possibly creating a curriculum for students to know the Bible, starting in Genesis. Therefore, I would appreciate any constructive criticism as to better ways to communicate the material. So if you read this and don’t understand something or it comes across as unclear, let me know. Just be nice about it. 

Genesis is AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!