Genesis – Origins – Genesis 1-2:3

Genesis – ORIGINS – Week 1 — “Knowing God at the Beginning”

Genesis 1:1–2:3 (CSB)

¹ In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

² Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness covered the surface of the watery depths, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.

³ Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

⁴ God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness.

⁵ God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” There was an evening, and there was a morning: one day.

⁶ Then God said, “Let there be an expanse between the waters, separating water from water.”

⁷ So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above the expanse. And it was so.

⁸ God called the expanse “sky.” Evening came and then morning: the second day.

⁹ Then God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so.

¹⁰ God called the dry land “earth,” and the gathering of the water he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.

¹¹ Then God said, “Let the earth produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds.” And it was so.

¹² The earth produced vegetation: seed-bearing plants according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

¹³ Evening came and then morning: the third day.

¹⁴ Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night. They will serve as signs for seasons^[c] and for days and years.

¹⁵ They will be lights in the expanse of the sky to provide light on the earth.” And it was so.

¹⁶ God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule over the day and the lesser light to rule over the night—as well as the stars.

¹⁷ God placed them in the expanse of the sky to provide light on the earth,

¹⁸ to rule the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good.

¹⁹ Evening came and then morning: the fourth day.

²⁰ Then God said, “Let the water swarm with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky.”

²¹ So God created the large sea-creatures and every living creature that moves and swarms in the water, according to their kinds. He also created every winged creature according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

²² God blessed them: “Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the waters of the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth.”

²³ Evening came and then morning: the fifth day.

²⁴ Then God said, “Let the earth produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that crawl, and the wildlife of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so.

²⁵ So God made the wildlife of the earth according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that crawl on the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

²⁶ Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, the whole earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth.”

²⁷ So God created man in his own image; he created him in the image of God; he created them male and female.

²⁸ God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls on the earth.”

²⁹ God also said, “Look, I have given you every seed-bearing plant on the surface of the entire earth and every tree whose fruit contains seed. This will be food for you,

³⁰ for all the wildlife of the earth, for every bird of the sky, and for every creature that crawls on the earth—everything having the breath of life in it—I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so.

³¹ God saw all that he had made, and it was very good indeed. Evening came and then morning: the sixth day.

¹ So the heavens and the earth and everything in them were completed.

² On the seventh day God had completed his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.

³ God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, for on it he rested from all his work of creation.

• Before we open God’s Word further this morning,
• I want us to do something intentional
• As we begin this new year.
• The opening words of Genesis remind us that
• God speaks first.
• Creation doesn’t begin with human effort
• It begins with God’s voice.
• And as a church,
• We want to start this year the same way
• Not by striving, but by connecting to God’s Voice.
• So before I teach,
• Before we plan or rush ahead,
• We’re going to pray—together.
• I would like you to take a moment,
• And to turn to one or two people around you.
• If you’re comfortable,
• Form a small group of two or three.
• As we pray, we will keep it simple.
• You can pray silently or out loud.
• And if you’re new or unsure what to say,
• Just listening is perfectly okay.

Here’s what I want us to pray for: Three things

• First – Thanksgiving
• Thank God for bringing you into a new year
• Second- Clarity to hear his voice speak first
• Ask Him to quiet competing voices
• Third- Trust
• Ask Him to help you trust Him as Creator and King (no matter what the days ahead hold)
• I’ll give you a couple of minutes to pray together,
• And then I’ll close us in prayer.

Intro:

• Sometimes
• When we sit down to read our Bible,
• We make a mistake.
• We read Scripture through our questions,
• And not through the lens of the original audience.
• Genesis is a perfect example of this

We can come to Genesis asking:

• How did matter come into existence? (i.e. Big bang)
• Was the world really created in 7 days, or was that symbolic?
• How does all this fit with science?
• Those are honest questions
• But they are not the questions
• The author Moses was answering.
• And if we aren’t careful,
• We can unintentionally make Genesis say things
• It was never meant to say
• Simply because we’re listening for answers
• It was never written to give.
• Genesis was written by Moses
• To the nation of Israel
• Shortly after God had rescued them
• From generations of slavery in Egypt.
• These people were not scientists.
• They were former slaves.

They had just walked out of a culture:

• Filled with competing gods
• Saturated with multiple creation stories
• Dominated by rulers who claimed divine authority

Egypt’s creation stories taught that:

• The gods were powerful but unstable,
• Creation came from chaos,
• And that human beings existed
• To serve the gods as expendable labor.
• So, Israel’s deepest question wasn’t,
  “How old is the earth?”
• Their deepest question was,
  “Who is our God—and why should we trust Him?”
• Genesis doesn’t begin by arguing creationism verses evolution.
• It begins by revealing.

It reveals a God who:

• Speaks without opposition
• Creates without struggle
• Rules without rivals
• That’s why,
• As we begin this Genesis series,
• We’re intentionally starting where the text starts.
• Not by ignoring modern questions
• Not by shaming curiosity
• Not by dismissing science
• But by being faithful
• To the purpose of the passage.
• Genesis wasn’t written
• To answer modern scientific debates.
• It was written to anchor God’s people
• In truth, identity, and trust.
• And here’s the important part:
• When we first understand
• What Genesis meant then,
• We’re far better prepared
• To understand what it means for us now.
• So if Genesis isn’t just answering how God created,
• What is it answering?

It’s answering this:

Who is our God—and can we trust Him?

• That was Israel’s question in the wilderness.
• And in many ways,
• It’s still ours today.
• Genesis doesn’t answer it with a definition.
• It answers it with a declaration.
• Before Israel hears a command,
• Before they receive a law,
• Before they are given an identity or a mission,
• Moses shows them who God is.
• And the very first thing Genesis wants us to know is this:

God Is the Only True Creator — There Is No Rival to Him

(Genesis 1:1–5)

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

• No origin story.
• No genealogy.
• No explanation.
• Just God.
• Always being…
• In Egypt,
• Creation stories involved gods fighting,
• Bleeding, and
• Struggling for power.
• Order came from chaos through violence.

But in Genesis:

• God speaks
• Creation obeys
• Light appears
• Darkness retreats
• There is no struggle.
• There is no rival.
• There is no threat.
• Israel’s God is sovereign.
• So, What This Meant for Israel then was
• The God who defeated Pharaoh
• Wasn’t just stronger than Egypt
• He was before Egypt and above Egypt.
• Showing them and us that:
• God is eternal
• God is sovereign
• God rules without resistance
• If God is truly the only Creator
• If He speaks without opposition,
• Creates without struggle,
• And rules without rivals
• Then the next question naturally follows.
• What does that mean for us?
• Because if this God created everything,
• Then creation is not random.
• And if creation is not random,
• Then human life is not accidental.
• Genesis doesn’t just tell us who God is.
• It tells us who we are because of Him.
• So after showing us God’s unmatched power,
• Moses turns our attention to God’s intentional design.
• And that leads us to the second truth Genesis reveals:

God Is Good and Intentional — Creation Is Not an Accident

(Genesis 1:10–31)

• Over and over again,
• God looks at what He has made and declares it good.

1. Genesis 1:4
   “God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness.”
2. Genesis 1:10
   “God called the dry land ‘earth,’ and the gathering of the water he called ‘seas.’ And God saw that it was good.”
3. Genesis 1:12
   “The land produced vegetation… and God saw that it was good.”
4. Genesis 1:18
   “…to rule the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good.”
5. Genesis 1:21
   “So God created the large sea-creatures and every living creature that moves and swarms in the water… And God saw that it was good.”
6. Genesis 1:25
   “God made the animals of the earth according to their kinds… And God saw that it was good.”
7. Genesis 1:31 (Climactic Statement)

“God saw all that he had made, and it was very good indeed.”

• This was world-shattering for Israel.

In their former culture:

• Humans existed to serve their gods
• People were expendable
• Life had little inherent value

In Genesis:

• Humans are created in God’s image
• Humanity is blessed, not exploited
• Purpose comes before productivity
• They are not slaves.
• They are image-bearers.
• Now they began to understand that
• Their value did not come from what they produced
• But from who created them.
• Telling them that
• God delights in His creation
• God gives dignity before responsibility
• God assigns purpose and intentionality
• If creation is good
• And human life is intentional,
• Then the next question isn’t about value
• It’s about trust.
• Because knowing you are created with purpose
• Doesn’t automatically tell you
• What kind of God you can rely on.
• So Genesis presses the question further.
• Is this God distant or near?
• Demanding or generous?
• Driven by power—or marked by faithfulness?
• Moses doesn’t answer that question
• With another act of creation.
• He answers it with something unexpected.
• By telling us that God stops.
• And in that moment,
• Genesis reveals not just a powerful God
• And not just a purposeful God
• But a trustworthy one.
• Which brings us to the third truth:

God Is Worthy of Trust — He Finishes His Work and Invites Rest

(Genesis 2:1–3)

• After creation is complete,
• God rests.
• Not because He is tired
• But because the work is finished.
• For people fresh out of slavery,
• This mattered deeply.
• Slaves never rest.
• Their value is tied to their output.
• But God finishes His work,
• Blesses the seventh day,
• And calls it holy.
• And now their God was not demanding endless labor.
• He was inviting them into trust.
• Telling Us that
• God completes what He begins
• God invites rest, not fear
• God is dependable and faithful
• When Genesis tells us
• That God finished His work and rested,
• It’s not just describing the end of creation
• It’s revealing the kind of God He is.
• A God who completes what He begins.
• A God who doesn’t demand endless striving.
• A God who invites His people
• To trust Him enough to rest.
• But Genesis also leaves us with a tension.
• Because if we are honest,
• This is not the world we experience.
• We don’t live in a world where rest comes easily.
• We live in a world of
• Striving, anxiety, and unfinished work.
• Which means Genesis is doing something else
• It is pointing us forward
• To a greater rest
• That creation alone could never secure.
• The same Creator
• Who finished His work in the beginning
• Would one day step into His creation
• To finish the work we could never do.
• And that’s where the gospel comes in.
• Everything Genesis reveals about God
• Finds its fullest meaning in Jesus.
• The God who spoke light into darkness
• Later sent the Light into the world.
• The God who declared creation “good”
• Sent His Son to redeem what sin had broken.
• The God who finished His work and rested
• Sent Jesus to finish the greater work of salvation.
• John 19:30 tells us that Jesus would later cry out
• “It is finished.”
• He was echoing Genesis.
• Creation was completed.
• Redemption was accomplished.
• Rest was secured.
• The phrase “it is finished” means:
• Paid in full
• Brought to completion
• Accomplished perfectly
• We do not strive to earn God’s favor.
• We rest in Christ’s finished work.
• So then What does this passage demand of Us?
• Genesis 1 doesn’t demand scientific precision.
• It demands trust.
• Trust the Creator instead of competing voices
• Trust His design over our confusion
• Trust His finished work instead of our striving
• The same God who created the world
• Is the God who saves His people.
• And He is worthy of your trust.
• The gospel tells us
• That the Creator who finished creation
• Has also finished our redemption.
• Jesus did not come to give us another burden to carry.
• He came to carry the burden we never could.
• Which means the most honest response to the gospel
• Is not striving
• It’s resting.