GENESIS: THE BEGINNINGS!
Genesis is the book of beginnings. Within the fifty chapters that make up this fascinating book of the Old Testament God exercises His creative power to bring the universe into existence by simply telling it to do so. Later we will see the creation of a special people with the calling of Abram. The Law is given later. Sadly, sin mars God’s ‘very good’ creation and so we also see the creation of a plan to redeem mankind back to the One True God. This very old book is very relevant to today.
Studying the Bible will transform your life. Before you open your Bible, pray and ask the Holy Spirit to open your heart to help you to be more like Christ.
**All Scriptures are given in the New King James Version unless otherwise noted.
26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
29 And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. 30 Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food”; and it was so.
Genesis 1:26-30
Genesis 1:26-30
- Day six continues
- Now we come to the creation of humans – men and women
- As a general rule I don’t spend a lot of time pondering upon my reflection in the mirror
- Someone is probably thinking – that is obvious!
- I would like you to think about this next verse then next time you are standing in front of a mirror
- Genesis 1:26-30
- If you are not opposed to writing in your Bible you ought to circle the word ‘man’ in verse 26, draw a line out to the margin, and then write your name
- You were made in the image of God, according to the likeness of the Triune Godhead
“Being in God’s image means that humans share, though imperfectly and finitely, in God’s nature, that is, in His communicable attributes (life, personality, truth, wisdom, love, holiness, justice), and so have the capacity for spiritual fellowship with Him.”
- Every human is an image-bearer of God – we carry the image of God out into the world
- The next time you look into the mirror, remind yourself that God made you like Himself
- We will see in chapter three that the image has been marred by sin, but it is still God’s image and likeness
Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed; for in the image of God He made man.
- It is verses like this one that are the foundation to how we feel about abortion
- Every aborted baby is the murder of an image-bearer of God
- It should also be the foundation for other beliefs we should have
- If every human is an image-bearer of God than racism in any form is evil, wicked, and blasphemous
- There is no question that there is a racism problem in this nation
- It is a very deep-rooted and complex issue – I don’t know what the answer is
- My concern is that the response we have seen over the last couple of weeks will not make things better – likely to make things worse
- I don’t have the answer to systemic racism – it is a generational problem that is likely to take a generation to fix
- All I can do is examine my own heart
- I am an image-bearer of God
- And as an image-bearer, I have intrinsic value not in myself but in how God made me
- And every other human I come into contact with is an image-bearer of God as well with the exact same intrinsic value
- God created all the races – He doesn’t differentiate between one race over another – with the exception of the Jews – His Chosen People
- God is colorblind and we should be also
- Let’s get back to our text
- God made man is His image and then gave him dominion over the other creatures God created
- Verse 27 says God made them male and female – two genders
- In God’s economy two genders was enough – no need for more
- ‘Be fruitful and multiply’ – every new baby is an act of faith and obedience to this command
- Verses 29 and 30 tells us that humans and animals were vegetarians
- That changed after the Fall
Download Pastor Rick's study notes for Genesis 1