The Creation of the World
1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
And God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so. And God called the expanse Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.
And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.
And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.
And 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, and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.
And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.” So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.
And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
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 on the earth.”
So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
Genesis 1 Commentary
by Hank Workman
There is a sense of awe and wonder of the entire creation of the world. The details here are gripping as we read God meticulously working on all aspects of creation itself. For Believers, it is an assurance that God is over all and in control of all. We sometimes lose that concept as realities of everyday life bombard us. For the skeptic, this chapter confronts the modern mind in believing in a God who preexisted and great debates have followed from the big bang theory to evolution – which both undermine the aspect of faith. But let’s not focus our thoughts there. Simply consider the majesty of the creation itself – incredible!
There are some statements I love within the opening chapter of the Bible.
“The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.”Genesis 1:2
There is a theology in the timeline of God that when the Great War in Heaven broke out between Lucifer, his angels and God and His, Isaiah and Ezekiel tell how they were cast to earth. Many place the timeline, of which we honestly will never know, of their fall in the initial stages of creation. Through their resisting God’s plan in the initial stages of creation, their presence brought the darkness and void to this planet. It’s a powerful thought that God’s Spirit was actively hovering/moving over the waters. As one writes, it is the same verb used of a mother bird caring for and protecting its young. The beauty here and absolute mind-bending thought is the Holy Spirit was here actively involved in creation and already working at the care and protection of what God had in mind to follow.
Is that not a beautiful thought or what?
As we read further in verse 26 it states:
“Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness…”Genesis 1:26
Plural verbiage – is absolutely consistent with the Trinity being there, preexisting before the world began. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were all in place, all there before anything even came to be. Being made in the image of God, we were created in the likeness of Jesus, the Holy Spirit and God Himself.
Here’s our encouragement for today. Consider the absolute beauty of this world which so often we overlook through our busy lives. It is astounding that all things, still functioning today came from the hand of God; the mind of God; the will of God. So many times the darkness of our life, the darkness of our situation is overwhelming. The Holy Spirit is there hovering over that darkness just like in the beginning – and actively working. Hold onto that concept and hope! Finally, we see the fact all 3 of the Trinity were present in the very beginning. It shows how Jesus was there from the very beginning and ultimately left that throne room of glory to come as a man and bring ultimate reconciliation to His Father through His death and resurrection.
Genesis 1 Commentary
by Brad Boyles
In his book, The Good Book, author Deron Spoo gives us perspective on what we should treasure about Genesis 1. In his opinion, the primary purpose of this first chapter is to affirm that we are more like God than anything else in creation.
We bear His image.
“When we read Genesis 1, it’s easy to become sidetracked from this truth by focusing on lesser ideas. For instance, people have long debated the age of the universe. If it were essential to our faith to know the exact date of creation, I suspect God would have share it with us. He didn’t. Nevertheless, many modern readers and heavy thinkers dig into Genesis 1 and immediately debate the age of the cosmos. Answers range from billions of years to a mere six thousand.
Entertaining such theories will distract you from the wonderful truth in the first chapter of the first book of the Bible: you bear a striking resemblance to your Creator.”Deron Spoo, The Good Book
This is such a refreshing angle. It’s sad to think about how we spend a lot of our time focused on questions we can’t answer instead of absorbing what God is actually communicating through His Word. God made us in His image. The characteristics we possess are not random. In fact, even angels take on the “appearance of man” when they come to Earth. Our bodies are the perfect vessel to contain the spirit of our being, all fashioned by an infinitely creative God.
The Hebrew word for image is ‘tselem’ which actually means “to shade.” When the first man (Adam) had his son (Seth), the Scriptures use this exact same term. It’s fascinating to consider this same word is used to describe the idols (images) fashioned out of wood that served to draw humans away from God. Think about this. God created man in His image and we worshiped Him. After sin, man created images of little gods and worshiped them instead of the Creator.
But the focus here in Chapter 1 centers around God’s prized possession. There is incredible variety and complexity that exists within creation. Think over the details of His universe and let it lead you to awe and wonder. Then, once again consider that you are a unique part of His creation that distinctively bears His image. Even on our worst day, we are more like our Creator than anything else on the planet.
When we realize God is our creator and sustainer, we are able to set ourselves free from the temptation to control our own lives and fashion our own false images. If we were made according to God’s design, we are surely made with a purpose. Our future is securely in His hands. Trying to figure out God and reduce Him to a controllable, completely understandable Being only breeds more stress and anxiety that we weren’t made for. Standing in awe and wonder at His amazing creation and believing that we are the most treasured of everything postures us to receive from Him what we long for the most. We were created for relationship and purpose!