Journey Through the Bible - 5 - In the Beginning - continued (1).ppt

Creation

1. In the Beginning
(Continued)
Genesis 1
Journey Through the Bible (5)

2. •We began addressing the
1
st
period of 17
•Genesis 1-5
•We presented reason to accept
Genesis was written by Moses
Last week

3. •We noted “In the beginning” –
Genesis 1:1 - The beginning of
EVERYTHING physical.
- We introduced God presenting some
reasons to believe in God, an external
force that SPOKE the creation into
existence
- We also briefly addressed – the
Hebrew for God in this text being a
plural word, and then identified
the triune God
Last week

4. •Finally, we noted that God is
our eyewitness –
Naturalism does not have a
definitive answer for the beginning
of the world, only theory and
speculation. We have THE witness
– YHWH who told Moses about it
and what to write
Last week,

5. •Create – a word that means to
create something from nothing.
Before God spoke, there was
nothing!
God, the Holy Spirit – Genesis
1:2,
The word in the OT (48x), is always
attributed to God, and most often
refers back to His creation
“Created”

6. •“the heavens and the earth”
IN Genesis 1:1, we have the 5
“building blocks” of the universe
- Time – beginning
- Force – God
- Action – created
- Heavens – space
- Earth - matter
“Created”

7. •“the heavens and the earth”
The 5 “building blocks” of the
universe were advanced by a
Darwinian evolutionist named
Herbert Spencer (1820-1903)
which he described as the 5
manifestations of natural
phenomena (i.e. that which is
responsible for the creation of
anything
“Created”

8. •“the heavens and the earth”
The expression is a merism (a
literary device where two
contrasting parts of the whole
refer to the whole)
Together – heaven and earth
constitute the universe
“Created”

9. •“the heavens and the earth”
Mike Willis in his commentary on
Genesis (vol. 1) notes there are several
things logically established in Genesis
1:1
1) It denies atheism/humanism
2) Denies polytheism
3) Denies materialism (naturalism)
4) Denies pantheism
(Pg. 124)
“Created”

10. •“the heavens and the earth”
Genesis 1:1, also assumed the
existence of God. This is a clear
theme throughout scripture
“Created”

11. •“the earth was without form
and void”
Without form – means formless.
Something not yet shaped.
Void – empty and implies there
was nothing on the created planet
“Created”

12. •“the earth was without form
and void”
Some desire to insert a “gap”
here and try to reconcile it with
evolution and an old earth
(billions of years).
Some contend during this time, there
was plant, animal and possibly even
pre-adamic man.
For some reason, God destroyed the
world and began again
“Created”

13. •“the earth was without form
and void” – a “gap”?
Problems with the “gap” theory:
1) It reads into the text what is
not stated.
The theory is HIGHLY speculative.
“Created”

14. •“the earth was without form
and void” - a “gap”?
Problems with the “gap” theory:
2) Scientists are constantly modifying their
dating (almost always make the universe
older).
- Problem: Constancy is assumed.
Natural catastrophe is ignored
- Dating methods have proven inconsistent
(hence unreliable)
- They have problems with the fossil
record
“Created”

15. •“the earth was without form
and void” - a “gap”?
Problems with the “gap” theory:
3) Exodus 20:11 notes that in 6
days God created all things
- The word for “day” (yom) used in
our text is the same word
- Every time a number is associated
with the word it is
an ordinary day
“Created”

16. •“the earth was without form
and void” - a “gap”?
Problems with the “gap” theory:
3) Exodus 20:11 - 6 days
- Evening and morning (with or
without day) (~60x) is ALWAYS an
ordinary day (cf. Exodus 18:13-
14, Numbers 28:4, 1 Kings
17:6, Psalm 55:17)
“Created”

17. •“the earth was without form
and void” – a gap?
Problems with the “gap” theory:
3) “day” and “night” (~52x),
always a 24-hour day or portion
thereof. Genesis 8:22, Exodus
13:21, Psalm 1:2
“Created”

18. •“the earth was without form
and void” – a gap?
Wayne Jackson noted 3 things
about Genesis 1 as it relates to
this discussion:
1) Genesis 1:2 begins with the
Hebrew word for “and” which
grammatically ties it to the
previous verse.
“Created”

19. •“the earth was without form
and void” – a gap?
Wayne Jackson - 3 things about
Genesis 1:
2) Genesis 1:26, man created in the
image of God and given dominion
over EVERY creature and ALL creation.
Gap implies that MOST of world
history, man had no control.
“Created”

20. •“the earth was without form
and void” – a gap?
Wayne Jackson - 3 things about
Genesis 1:
3) Genesis 1:31, when God
finished, He saw that it was VERY
good. No death or reworking
implied.
“Created”

21. •“the earth was without form
and void” – a gap?
Thought about a theistic gap:
IF God created, destroyed and
then created again, why could He
not create the world “as is” the
first time? Why can Genesis 1
NOT be literal, as recorded?
“Created”

22. •“the earth was without form
and void” – a gap?
WHY would anyone make this
argument?
To reconcile a supposed
contradiction between Genesis 1
and naturalistic science.
What would this say about one’s
view of the rest of scripture?
“Created”

23. •“the earth was without form
and void” – a gap?
To read “gap” between 1:1 and
1:2 requires help, and an extra-
biblical agenda.
Would a true believer DENY that
God can do what is recorded?
“Created”

24. •“the earth was without form
and void” – a gap?
There is plenty of evidence
pointing to a “young earth” that is
consistent with Genesis 1.
“Created”

25. •“the Spirit of God was hovering
over the face of the waters”
As previously noted, Holy Spirit
had his part in creating the world.
“Created”

26. •“The God said, ‘Let there be
light!’”
His word associated with creation
He creates light in the midst of
darkness –
NOTE: light precedes the sun,
which plant life and animal life
need light to survive
(Genesis 1:14)
“Created”

27. •“The God said, ‘Let there be
light!’”
NOTE: Here we are speaking of
physical light.
Spiritually, light associated with
God and good, 1 John 1:5,
James 1:17, 1 Timothy 6:16
Darkness with evil and the
absence of God – John 3:19-21
“Created”

28. •“And there was light”
Consider the power of God in
that expression.
He speaks, it happens!
It was good – Genesis 1:4
He divided light from darkness –
and can do so spiritually as well
“Created”

29. •“So the evening and the
morning were the first day”
(1:5)
Here we are introduced to the
concept of day.
“evening and morning” clearly
points to a 24-hour day
(see also Exodus 20:11)
“Created”

30. •Genesis 1:1-31, These fit
nicely into 2 groups –
Days 1-3 – preparatory, Days 4-6 –
their use and habitation
The 6 days of creation
Day 1 – Day & NightDay 4 – Sun, moon and
stars
Day 2 – Firmament,
waters above and
below
Day 5 – Fish and birds
(in water and sky)
Day 3 – Sea and land
separated
Day 6 – land creatures
and man

31. •Observations:
- Kind – the law of reproduction is
introduced and stands to this day
(used 10 times in Genesis 1)
- God saw that it was good (7x).
After He finished, He saw that it
was VERY good (1:31)
The 6 days of creation

32. If God can speak this
amazing universe and world
into existence, what does that
say about how we ought to
consider what He tells us
spiritually?

33. Will you accept
what He says?

34. Let us pray!