Introduction

• 1^st – Who was the author…
  • Genesis is the first of 5 books that together are called the Law of God (Torah)…
  • Most conservative scholars credit the entire Pentateuch (first 5 books) to Moses…
  • Even more compelling Jesus himself credits the books to being written my Moses…
  • There are at LEAST 14 references in the Gospels where Jesus credits Moses as the author!
  • Jesus clearly credits the Torah (first 5 books) to Moses!
  • Luke 24:27 – “Beginning at Moses [a reference to the Torah] and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.”

• 2^nd – When the book was written…
  • Written around 1500 B.C. (roughly 3,500 years ago)
  • Thought to have been written during the 40 years Israel was in the wilderness…
  • Although Moses would have been an eyewitness to the events of Exodus onwards…
  • There are two possibilities as to how he acquired the information in Genesis
    • By direct revelation – God told him – Moses spoke face to face with God – Exodus 33:11
    • Moses recorded the oral history that was passed down (still inspired by God)

• 3^rd – Why Genesis was given to us…
  • 1^st – It is NOT just a collection of moral stories – but the History of creation!
    • There are many today – even within the church – who do not believe…
    • They would teach that Genesis is on the par of the mythology of the Greeks…
    • Just stories that were recorded to teach us lessons of right and wrong…
    • Wrong!  Genesis is the very real history of our world!
    • If you take away the reality of Adam – then sin never really entered the World!
    • If you take away sin then there is no reason for a savior – Jesus!
  • 2^nd – The importance of knowing / understanding / and believing the book of Genesis…
    • The Book gives us the foundation for our faith and understanding our world
    • We live in a world that questions everything about the truth!
    • Many believe that we are here by accident / random chance (Evolution)
    • Many believe that God does not exist – he is not real (Atheists) – Psalms 14:1
    • Many believe that life is all about living for today – (Humanists) – I Corinthians 15:32
    • Many worship the creation rather than the creator – (Pantheist) – Romans 1:25
    • Many worship many gods never knowing the true Lord – (Polytheists)
    • All are misled because they do not know or believe what Genesis says!
    • Genesis (just the first verse) disproves every cult out there today
    • If we know and believe what is said here the rest of the Bible is easy!
  • 3^rd – If we do not know where we came from – we cannot know where we are going…
    • The word Genesis (Gk.) means – ORIGIN (where something comes from)
    • The name of the book in Hebrews is – בְּרֵאשִׁית – Bereshit (literally in the beginning)
    • Genesis records for us the beginning of many things:
    • Origin of the universe / Origin of order and complexity / Origin of our solar system / Origin of the atmosphere (air) / Origin of life / Origin of man / Origin of marriage / Origin of evil / Origin of sin / Origin of language / Origin of government / Origin of culture / Origin of nations / Origin of religion / Origin of the Chosen people / THE Origin of our hope of our Salvation!
    • And all of that is just found in the first 11 chapters!
    • Why is there evil / where did we come from / why did God create Marriage…
    • By knowing where we have come from – we better know what comes next…
    • We study Genesis to find out why God made us and what He wants from us!
  • 4^th – Anticipation of Eternity…
    • The book of Genesis lays out for us truths that are fulfilled in Revelation:
      • Division of light and Dark – Genesis 1:4 / No night there – Revelation 21:25
      • God in the Garden Genesis 3:8 / God with His people – Revelation 21:3
      • Cursed ground Genesis 3:17 / No more curse – Revelation 22:3
      • Redeemer promised Genesis 3:15 / Redemption finished – Revelation 5:9-10
    • It is hard to get excited about the solution till we know the problem
      • You might not be excited if I told you I had a cure to cancer…
      • But if you first were told you had cancer – you would get really excited!
      • Genesis gives us the problem so that we look forward to the solution…
      • We gain an eternal perspective looking to the hope of salvation in Jesus!
      • II Corinthians 4:16-18 – “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.  For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

• 4^th – Outline of the Book of Genesis
  • 1^st – Chapters 1-11 – Origins of the World
    • Chapter 1-2: Creation
    • Chapter 3: Fall of man
    • Chapters 4-5: Pre flood
    • Chapters 6-9: Flood
    • 10: Table of nations
    • Chapter 11: Tower of Babel
  • 2^nd – Chapters 12-50 – Origin of the Nation of Israel
    • Chapters 12-23: Abraham
    • Chapters 24-26: Isaac
    • Chapters 27-36: Jacob
    • Chapters 37-50: Joseph

In the beginning

• 1^st – In the Beginning… vs. 1
  • 1^st – A young earth…
    • When was the beginning – the Bible does give us a relatively good chronology…
      • Going through the history of the Bible we can come up with a date…
      • There are differing views – but about 4004 B.C is a reputable approximation…
      • Making the universe ONLY about 6000 years old!
      • Laughable to modern science that proposes dates in excess of 10 billion years…
      • Yet when we study the history of mankind – it would seem to agree…
      • There are no records of any ancient civilizations that predate 3000 B.C.
      • All of our records of ancient civilization correspond to the Biblical timeline!
      • Of which the Bible is certainly the most complete and accurate!
      • Scientists only come up with exaggerated dates to support Evolution…
      • Using potentially flawed assumptions about physical processes (C14 dating)!
    • Today the smartest – most educated men in the world – believe in Evolution…
      • There are only two possibilities for the origin of life – design or accident…
      • Because they choose to deny the creator – they instead believe life is all an accident…
      • I wear a watch on my wrist so I can tell the time – it is relatively simple device…
      • But suppose I tried to convince you it was the result of an accident…
      • I threw up some gears up in the air – and they fell down as a working watch – foolish!
      • How much more foolish to think we are an accident – deny the God who created us!
      • Psalms 14:1 – “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’”
  • 2^nd – The beginning of everything – only God pre-existed Genesis 1:1 – ONLY He is eternal
    • Before Genesis 1:1 there was nothing but God – no space / no stars / no time
    • The Heavens / earth / angels / and everything had its beginning here…
    • Our universe is made up of 3 essential elements…
    • Space / Matter / Time – all have their origins here in verse 1…
    • In the beginning (time) / God created the heavens (space) / and the earth (matter)
    • Secular scientists try to say the universe began with a BIG BANG…
    • What they cannot answer is what came before that – where did the BANG come from…
    • Only the Bible explains the origin of all things – the universe that we live in!

• 2^nd – God… vs. 1
  • 1^st – There are several names used in the Old Testament for God…
    • El – translated God – is the name god (not a title or description)…
    • אֲדֹנָי – Adonai – Lord – used over 400x in OT – refers to His AUTHORITY…
    • יְהוָה – YHVH – Lord – used over 5300x in OT – refers to His CHARACTER…
    • Side note – we do not know the pronunciation of YHVH
    • The Jews had such reverence for the name they did not write down the vowels!
  • 2^nd– The name used here in Genesis 1:1
    • אֱלֹהִים – Elohim (the plural of El) – God – used over 2300x in OT – refers to His POWER…
      • The Rabbis say that it is plural to add emphasis to the name of God…
      • We know better – it is plural because God is triune – three in one!
    • Deuteronomy 6:4 – Shema Yisroel – the declaration of the faith of the Jewish nation…
      • Every Sabbath day – in every synagogue – in every nation of the world…
      • This verse is ready by every Jew – the statement there is ONLY ONE God…
      • Hear, O Israel:  The Lord (Yahweh) our God (Elohim) is one Lord (Yahweh)…
      • The word ONE is the Hebrew word echad – properly interpreted united as one!
      • It could read: Hear O Israel – YAHWEH our Gods is untied into one YAHWEH!
      • One of the great mysteries of our Faith – there is only One God…
      • Yet God exists in 3 distinct persons – God the Father / God the Son / God the Spirit…
      • The Bible makes no effort to explain how this is true – only that it is a fact!
      • What makes a religion a cult – rather than a denomination – Mormons / Iglesia…
      • Is there denial of this KEY doctrine – rejecting the divinity of Jesus Christ!

• 3^rd – Created… vs. 1
  • 1^st – How God created…
    • There are two Hebrew words that can be translated create…
      • Asah – עָשָׂה – to assemble from pre-existing elements – making panyaga would be asah
      • Bara – בָּרָא – to create from nothing (a word that is only associated with God)
      • The idea here is that God created the heaven and earth from nothing…
      • Before He created them nothing existed – God alone preexisted them!
    • Here we get some insight into the character and nature of God…
      • So often we think of God within the limits of His creation…
      • We think about WHERE is God / WHAT does He looks like / what is He doing NOW
      • We try and define God by space / matter / and time…
      • Yet He created all of these things – and was there before they were…
      • They do not define Him – He was the one who made them!
      • When we face the inevitable challenges of life its good to remember God…
      • He is the one who made all heaven and earth – what is too hard for Him…
      • He is the God of the impossible – the God who created all things from nothing!
  • 2^nd – Who did the creating…
    • 1^st – Immediately after the word God you find an Aleph and Tau…
      • They are the first and last letter of the Hebrew Alphabet (A and Z)…
      • They are a Hebrew preposition that is not translatable into English…
      • But there is some speculation that their position in the sentence has a double meaning…
      • Aleph and Tau or Alpha and Omega or First and the Last!
      • Revelation 22:13 – “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.”
    • 2^nd – Who created the Heavens and the Earth – The First and the Last!
      • Jesus was WITH the Father in the beginning – because He IS God…
      • John 1:1 – “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
      • And it was through Jesus that God created ALL things…
      • Colossian 1:15-16 – “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.  For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.”
      • Also seen in Ephesians 3:9 / Hebrews 1:2 / John 1:3
      • Here in Genesis 1:1 we see the Bible agrees – Jesus was the creator!
  • 3^rd – What He created…
    • The Heavens…
      • The Hebrew word הַשָּׁמַיִם – used 420x in OT – it is the dual of the root word שָׁמֶה shâmeh…
      • Meaning to be lofty – perhaps alluding to space above / as well as the dwelling place of God!
      • Paul would do on to tell us in that there are 3 heavens – II Corinthians 12:2
      • The 1^st heaven – is the sky above us / the 2^nd heaven is outer space…
      • The location Paul describes – the 3^rd heaven – is the dwelling place of God!
    • The earth…
      • The Hebrews word אֶרֶץ – used over 2500x in OT – is the contrast of heaven…
      • In a universe with 200 BILLION galaxies – each with BILLIONS of stars…
      • And more than likely each of those stars has numerous plants (ours has 8)…
      • ALL of those are included in the phase the HEAVENS…
      • Only our little blue green spec in the cosmos gets the honor of its own mention – the earth!
      • Because the earth is SPECIAL / UNIQUE – there is nothing else like it!
      • From our liquid water / to our perfect placement from the sun / to our 23.5-degree tilt!
      • Everything about the earth is perfectly DESIGNED to sustain life!
      • Oxford university study 2018 – concluded we are likely alone in the knowable universe!
      • They used realistic variables for the Drake equation – 1×0.8^-34 probability of alien life!
      • From a Biblical perspective there CANNOT be aliens – other inhabited planets…
      • Because ALL of creation was cursed at the fall of Adam – Romans 8:20
      • One day ALL of creation will be wiped out when God recreates the Heavens and Earth!
      • II Peter 3:10 – “The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.”

• 4^th – Without form and void… vs. 2
  • 1^st – There are two theories about what this verse means…
    • The Gap theory – which states that the earth BECAME without form and void…
    • Supposing that some earlier creation was removed – and God was remade the earth…
    • This first creation would include a satanic empire / dinosaurs / early man / EVOLUTION…
    • The sole reason for the theory is to try and reconcile the Bible with an OLD earth…
    • The problem with this view is it directly contradicts the Bible!
    • Romans 5:12 – “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.”
    • The Bible teaches there was no death UNTIL Adam sinned!
    • Never change the Bible to fit the views of the World
    • We need to let the Bible change how we view the World!
  • 2^nd – Without form and void…
    • The idea being all the elements for creation were there – but not assembled…
    • They had no FORM yet / the earth was a VOID / and DARKNESS was on the face of the deep…
    • The face of the deep likely refers to water – see the end of the verse (face of the water)…
    • So there was a water planet – but nothings else – NO land NO lights!
    • Think of it like having all the ingredients for dinner – but it is not yet cooked!
    • That same Spirit who created all things wants to live in and help us!

• 5^th – The Spirit of God… vs. 2
  • 1^st – The Spirit of God hovered over the face of the water…
    • The word Spirit of God is רוּחַ אֱלֹהִים – is the third person of the Godhead…
    • The word ruwach literally means wind – it is the same as in the NT (pneuma) – John 3:8
    • The Holy Spirit was the one powering creation (He is doing the cooking)…
    • The same Holy Spirit that we need today so that we can serve God!
  • 2^nd – The results of being filled with the Spirit…

The disciples spent 3 years with Jesus (the best seminary / Bible college ever)…

Jesus tells His disciples to wait!  DO NOT go anywhere or do anything!

Acts 1:5,8 – “And being assembled together with them, Jesus commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father… But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

The best training in the world does not fully prepare you to serve the Lord!

The difference – Peter from pitiful to powerful

Denied Jesus 3x in His hour of need cursing/swearing – Luke 22:56-62

Washed up he went back to the only thing he thought he could do…

Fishing in Galilee – though we never see him catching many fish until…

John 21:15-17 – Jesus came to restore Peter to the ministry…

Less than 50 days later Peter preaches a message that gives birth to the Church!

Peter in his own Strength could only deny Jesus

Filled with Spirit he boldly preached to thousands and the church was born…