20240908 Genesis 1:1-2:3 – In the Beginning God Created.

For some, Genesis 1 is all they needed to confirm they should never touch a Bible again. Some Christians insist that if you do not interpret Genesis 1 their way, you do not believe the Bible as much as they do. For Christians and Non-Christians, Genesis 1 is controversial. Sadly, often the controversy is misguided because it does not seek the author’s meaning.

Tim Mackie describes the debates over Genesis 1 like two people who stand in front of the Mona Lisa and debate whether it was painted in 1503 or 1506. If that is all they do, they fail to appreciate it as a work of art and marvel at a work of genius.

Interpreting the scripture is an act of worship. We worship by humbling ourselves and seeking God’s message in the text. Instead of reading the Bible on our terms, we try to enter its world. Genesis 1 is God’s word. It is also an Ancient Near Eastern text by an ancient Near Eastern author to Ancient Near Eastern readers. We get to the meaning of a text by studying the text’s structure, patterns, breaks in the patterns, repetition, and where the author spills the most ink. God’s message to ancient people has the same meaning for us today and for God’s people throughout all ages.

I want to do four things. First, we will go through the text. Second, we will look at three applications of Genesis 1. Third, we will look at seeds of the gospel and new creation in Genesis 1. Fourth, we will talk about what beer has to do with Genesis 1 and the gospel.

First, we go through the text.

In Genesis 1:1-2:3, Gen 1:1-2 are background information. Genesis 1:3-31 describes the six days of creation and ordering. Genesis 2:1-3 is the day of rest.

Genesis 1:1-2 is the background.
Genesis 1:1 describes a period of time called “Beginning.” Genesis 1:1-2 present background information to set up the creating and ordering. God creates the heaven and the earth. That is what is up there, and what is down here. According to Gen 1:2, the earth, what is down here was formless, void, and dark. This background offers tension and outlines the rest of the chapter. God shines light into darkness. He gives a form to the formless. He fills the emptiness.

In Genesis 1:3-31 God shines light, shapes, and fills the earth.
Genesis 1:3-5 describes day one and the ordering of time. In Genesis 1:3, in response to the darkness, God says, “Let there be light.” A pattern begins. When God decrees something, it happens. What happens is good. In Gen 1:5, God calls the light, day. God calls light, a period of time. In the first day, God provides light and orders time with periods of light and periods of darkness. This is day and night.

Genesis 1:6-8 describes the second day and the ordering of the weather.
God separates the waters above from the waters below with an expanse, or dome, or firmament. The Hebrew word Raqia refers to a solid dome that supports the water in the sky. Ancient people explained the world by what they could see and experience. The waters above refer to water that is stored up there so that it can rain. This Raqia/dome holds the waters and also releases it for the formation of clouds and rain. The expanse orders the weather.

Genesis 1:9-13 describes the third day and the ordering of food.
God gathers the waters below and dry ground appears. The earth was without a form because it was covered. As the water is gathered in one place, the dry ground takes its form. Then God decrees the sprouting of plants and fruit trees for food. In days 1 to 3, God has ordered the world for it to be suitable for human life with time, weather, and food.

Genesis 8:22 confirms this interpretation.
The flood in Genesis 6-8 is a picture of undoing the work of creation. When the flood recedes, it is like a New Creation. The Lord promises, “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest (food), cold and heat (weather), summer and winter, day and night (time), shall not cease.” The same world order established in days 1-3 of Genesis 1 are re-established after the flood.

Genesis 1:14-19 describes day 4 and the appointment of timekeepers.
In Gen 1:2, the earth was dark, formless, and empty. By day 4, there is light, and a form. Days 4-6 are about the filling of the sky, the sea, and the dry ground. Days 1-3 find their parallel days in days 4-6. Day 4 is parallel to day 1. God ordered time on day 1. On day 4, God establishes the sun, moon, and stars to be lights in the sky to be timekeepers. They separate the day and the night, as well as the change of seasons and the passing of years.

Genesis 1:20-23 describes the filling of the sky and sea on day 5.
On day 2, God separated the sea from the sky. On day 5, God makes the fish of the sea and the birds of the sky.

Genesis 1:24-31 describes the filling of the dry land on day 6.
On the third day, God made the dry ground appear. On day 6, God fills the earth with beasts. There is light, form, and fullness. There is time, weather, and food. Last of all, God creates rulers to rule in his name. Genesis 1:26-31 teaches that God made humankind in his image. We will look at this in-depth next time.

Genesis 2:1-3 describes the seventh day as a day of rest.
Following the 6 days, God’s creation is complete. The word Sabbath comes from the verb “to rest” in Gen 2:2. This Hebrew word means to stop working. The emphasis is more on what you stop doing than what you do. In Gen 2:3, God blessed the seventh day and made it Holy. There is no evening and there is no morning as if this day goes on forever. This pattern of 6 days for work and one day of rest is the pattern God's people have observed when they are not slaves. There is also a sense that because the seventh day has no end, that this Creation week reflects world history. There will one day be a day of rest for God’s people that will have no end.

Second, we look at 3 applications.

The first and most basic way to apply Genesis 1 is worship.

God created everything out of nothing. Without him there would be nothing! We have him to thank for everything we enjoy! Psalm 148 goes through the elements of creation calling all things to worship. Rev 4:11 connects creation to worship. 11 “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”

Second, Genesis 1 is a call to worship that confronts other worldviews.
It confronts polytheism, pantheism, atheism, and idolatry. There is one God who is Lord of all. There is no sun god, no harvest god, fertility god. God is separate from his creation. Matter is not eternal. The forces of nature did not accidentally bring us into existence. We are not the result of unintended, accidental, and meaningless events.

Genesis 1 does not just confront those outside of the church. John Walton writes, “We too often … banish [God] to the hidden corners of our lives while we amble through life, pursuing our own ambitious goals driven by narcissism, hedonism, and materialism and refusing to allow God to bridle our self-sufficiency.”

Third, Genesis 1 teaches that God has ordered the world for us to thrive.
This means life is worth living. Scientists can discover God’s processes and order. Engineers can apply science to design and build. Working with your hands, teaching, reporting, writing, raising children, cultivating, being involved in culture making, arts, music, and governing in politics are all meaningful worthy things we can pursue for the glory of our creator God.

Genesis 1 calls us to worship, repent, and live in submission to the creator God.

Third, I want to highlight gospel hints in Genesis 1.

Genesis 1 was placed at the beginning of our Bible. It is a great set-up. It contains gospel seeds that will later bloom into gospel flowers in the story of the Bible. These gospel seeds are themes that the Biblical authors use to portray salvation and new creation in Christ.

The first gospel seed is what God does with the “Formless and Void.”
The words “formless” and “void” appear again in the Bible. Every time, God takes the formless and void, he shapes it and fills it. Deut 32:10 describes the wilderness where Israel spent 40 years as formless. In context, God is taking them from the desert to the beautifully ordered, Promised Land. In Jeremiah 4:23, it is the promised land that has become formless and void because of Israel sin and God’s judgment. And still Jer 31:38 declares Jerusalem will be rebuilt. We learn that: God takes the formless and void, he gives order and fullness. This repeated pattern teaches us that this is how God works in our own lives. Whether it's sickness, sin, anxiety, or family problems. In this life, through his Spirit, his church, the proclamation of the gospel, God changes hearts and brings order. We look forward to the new creation, in which we will experience order in its fullest expression.

The second gospel seed is the light that shines in darkness.
Isaiah 8-9 uses this image in anticipation of the Messiah’s work. Isa 9:2, 6 read “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light ...Isa 9:6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” John says about Jesus in John 1:4-5, “In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” Paul writes in 2 Cor 4:6, “For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” Gen 1:3 is used to share the gospel!

The third gospel seed is the dry ground.
The flood, the crossing of the red sea, and baptism are pictures of death with water. In Genesis 1, when the dry land appears God says it is good. When the flood comes, it undoes creation and brings death. Once the dry ground appears again, it becomes fit for life again (Gen 8:13). Dry ground is a sign of salvation and life. It is through the dry ground that the people of Israel are saved from the Egyptian army in Exodus 14. It is on dry ground the Joshua enters the Promised Land through the Jordan River.

Paul parallels Israel’s salvation through the Red Sea to Christian baptism (1 Cor 10:1) and Peter compares Noah’s salvation through the flood to baptism (1 Pet 3:21). Baptism symbolizes salvation from death. Christ's work allows us to go through the waters to find life. He is our dry ground through the deadly waters.

The fourth gospel seed is the Image of God.
Even after sin, people still have infinite value. Col 3:10 teaches that sin does affect our image-bearing quality in some way, and Christ renews that image in us. Genesis 1 teaches we are the image of God. Our experience teaches us something is wrong with us. For us to fulfill God’s call on our lives, we will need saving and transforming. The Bible teaches us Jesus does just that.

The fifth gospel seed is the parallel between Genesis 1 and the Temple.
The description of the temple is full of allusions to creation. Also, Isa 66:1 and Ps 132:14 call the temple, God’s place of rest. This is like Genesis 1. With these parallels, it is like Genesis 1 presents a cosmic temple for humanity to live in harmony with God. This points to Jesus who is Immanuel, God with us. It also points forward to the New Creation. We read in Rev 21:3 “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.” These parallels teach that from the beginning, God wants to be with us.

The sixth gospel seed is rest.
God’s work week ends with rest. Rest is what we all long for. In Deut 5, a day of rest/sabbath is the sign of salvation. It is the sign that the people of Israel are no longer under the bondage of slavery. The ultimate rest God has for us is rest in Christ. In Matt 11:28, Jesus says “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” In the creation week, the seventh day has no end and so it will be in the New Heavens and New Earth our rest will never end.

Conclusion

Genesis 1 is a call to worship that sows gospel seeds that find their fulfillment in Christ.

Now, a true story about beer. There is a book called, “The Search for God and Guinness.” It is about the son of the founder of Guinness. This son was the Second Arthur Guinness. He took over the company from his father.

Towards the end of his life, he wrote to his son:
“The continued good account of our business calls for much thankfulness to Almighty God. Where does the ability to do this come from? From where do great customers in Dublin come from? Where do our employees come from? From God. While we humbly ask for the infinitely higher blessings of his grace in the Lord Jesus Christ, surely it becomes me to speak of the Lord's patience and long-suffering towards one so utterly evil and sinful. Pray that I might be enabled through grace to live every hour under the teaching of the Holy Spirit, patiently abiding his time for calling me to that place of everlasting rest, the purchase of the precious blood of the Lamb of God for saved sinners.”

This sounds like one who understands God as creator and Jesus as savior and the implications of living life for the glory of God. The second Arthur Guinness instilled this kind of business culture. He communicated that if God gave them the ability to do this in Dublin, then they are to be a blessing to Dublin. If God gave them employees that enable them to do this, they should take care of these employees.

A hundred years later, in the 1920s, a Guinness worker enjoyed full medical and dental care, massage services, subsidized meals, a company-funded pension, subsidies for funeral expenses, educational benefits, access to sports facilities, free concerts, lectures, entertainment, and a guaranteed 2 pints of Guinness Beer. Amazing! When the second Arthur Guinness died, the city of Dublin said they had lost their greatest citizen. Many of his descendants were pastors. God created all things so now, all things exist for his Glory!