Affirm God's Good Plan: Introduction to Genesis Chapters 1-3

I have reproduced a copy of the chronology of dates and events in order of the early world events using my Life Application Study Bible as the source. I believe that this will help you as we start our study in Genesis. I will finish the dates and events through Old Testament times. Hopefully before we get back into NT study, I will be able to complete the dates through the NT writers. Please copy and keep the CHRONOLOGY.

The Bible teaches us that a day with the Lord is as a thousand days with man. This tells me that man should not get hung up, discouraged, or become disbelieving simply because he can not understand the exact time and place that all events took place. We should use the dating that we know about through the Bible and through the history books of all times to help us understand. When we do not fully understand; we must accept God’s word through our faith.

This will be our first lesson based on Genesis, which is best known for its explanation of creation. The first fact that we should realize is that no one knows when creation took place; neither do we know how much time elapsed during that period that is said to be from the first day to the sixth, and that God rested on the seventh day. The first question that can arise is: was these seven days, God’s days—or could one or more of them been a thousand days as man would count. I do not know, and I do not believe that it was meant for me to know; further-more I do not believe it matters.

As we study on through Genesis we will find that the world was populated with people born in sin because of Adam’s sin, who continued to wax worse until God used all of his patience toward them. He decided that the time had come for a new start. Though all had sinned, there has always been a remnant of his people that loved him and worshipped him—Noah and his family was one such family on the earth that God could depend upon. He made Noah responsible as the one who would build an ark and save the seed necessary to start a new and more ‘God fearing’ world on earth. We do not know how long these first generations lived, nor when Noah started and finished the Ark, and we are really not sure of the exact time the flood subsided; nor how long the earth was submerged in water.

Everything we know about what may have been eons of time is that “I AM” was and has always been and that He accomplished all of the things recorded in the Bible that happened before the time when God’s chosen authors began to place dates on thing that happened. It seems trite for me to tell you but there were no radios, television, phones, and of course no news papers or any way to keep a written report prior to the 25th century. It was at that time that the Egyptians invented writing on papyrus with ink and established libraries to store the new information.

Moses was born in 1626 and is believed to be the one that wrote the first book in the Bible. Moses got the authentic information about happenings that took place in the times undated from men that lived much longer in that day and had excellent memories and could tell about their experiences. But even more important than these witnesses, Moses and all other inspired writers had a direct line of spiritual communication with God. They learned through dreams, visions, and spiritual experiences such as through the burning bush—about the past—and about the future so that they could predict with absolute accuracy things that would happen thousands of years in the future—and these things did happen as prophesied.

I have been a born again Christian every since I was saved in 1947; and that is when I became a member of the Church that Christ established and commissioned just prior to his ascension into heaven as it is describe in the four Gospels. Since that date I have attended and worshipped with Southern Baptist believers. Having said that, I think you may be surprised when I tell you that I do now and have always believed in the “Big Bang” theory of creation. My guess is that you will soon agree with me. Please note that I did not say just the big bang theory! But, I added of creation.

At a time in the past, while attending the University, I remember that the professor posed this question. “If lightening strikes causing a tree to crash and fall somewhere in the middle of a huge desert where no one lives within hundreds of miles—does it make a sound? Can a sound exist in a place where there are no human or animal ears to hear? Would a flash light shine in darkness where there is no human or animal eyes to see? There was always an argument with some saying yes and others answering no. Based on what I believe about the omnipresent God which I serve, my answer has always been yes. God was there and he heard the sound and saw the light if they existed because He hears and sees things even before they exist. He knew you by name before you were conceived in your mother’s womb. In fact, he made you on that sixth day before he rested and established the month, day and year that you would be born.

Based on my kind of reasoning [based on Bible teaching] the “Big Bang” sound was the voice of the Trinity. God the Father, Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit, [three in one] were all present when God SPOKE the entire universe into existence and they heard his voice. And then God ‘made’ man and the Trinity observed and pronounced that all was good. God’s voice is the big bang that the unbelieving searching scientist thought was TNT. I wish they would explain the origin of their explosive material and tell us who, where, and how it was placed correctly and detonated timely, in order to make all of the things that were made. My dear people—it requires a lot more faith to believe what scientists say than it does to believe what God says about creation. With God, all things are possible—which is surely not true with man.

Genesis is first therefore the oldest of all books that speak specifically regarding the origin of all things [every-thing that exists] and the orderly development of every thing that has happened since the day of creation. Chapter one verse one gives the origin of the universe that contains our little world, the sun, moon, stars and unnumbered other galaxies as to this date even now undiscovered.

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” God was, therefore time was of his own making and it indicates that the word ‘beginning’ here means the commencement of time, and it shows that the ‘matter’ of the universe had a definite origin. Only God is eternal. Matter is not eternal because it did not start itself but was created by God. God created matter and more matter cannot be created—neither can the matter that God created be destroyed. Man can change matter, but cannot destroy it.
The word created means that matter was brought into existence without the use of any pre-existing material. It is distinguished in the Bible from other verbs such as to make, shape or form anything from pre-existing material.

There was no human witness when the foundation of the universe was laid, therefore we must accept it by faith. Human science, history and tradition are based upon the observations made about things that already exist. Paul. Heb.11: 13 says, “By faith we understand that the worlds have been framed by the word of God, so that what is seen hath not been made out of things which appear.” The term “Heaven and earth” means the whole universe.

Matter is inert of itself. It is the stuff from which all things are made. Therefore there is indication that there were two steps to the final creation. God made the stuff. Then the Holy Spirit moved upon the stuff and became the second creative activity. This book says that matter alone is chaos. However when given the power, intelligence, and omnipotent work of the Spirit it was formed into a well-ordered and unbelievable world.

God spoke and there was light. “God is light and in him there is no darkness at all.”
Jesus Christ is “The true light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” And his people, reflecting his image, are “the true light of the world.” This story of the creation of light illustrates another creation—the conversion of the soul is made by the same spirit. 2nd Cor. 4: 6 says,” God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness [in Genesis] hath shined into our hearts, giving the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” Scientists call it cosmical light which means that they name it but do not explain it. There is only one explanation and that is that light was because of the quickening made by the Holy Spirit. When we accept Christ we become a new man because of the quickening made by the Spirit.

Each one of the other specific steps in creation can be explained much like those explained above. Time does not permit us to take each one individually at this time. We will step forward to verse 24, where we find a distinct difference from the creation of everything but man. And God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over the earth, and over the creatures that move along the ground.”

In all creation before man God allowed the earth, sea and etc. to bring forth plants and animals. Now he says “Let us” make man.” Who are us? Some say that kings referred to us as they speak of themselves. Some say that the Hebrew word for God is “Elohim” which is plural and he may be taking counsel with himself. These could be true and nothing would be lost, but I believe that the Trinity was there taking part in the creation of man and I believe he said “Come on Jesus, you and The Holy Spirit, this man will soon be your responsibility, so you need to be involved as he is being made.

What is meant by man being made in the image of God? John says God is spirit. Paul says he is the father of spirits. Zech. 12:1 says, “The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord.” Proverbs 20: 27 says, “And Jehovah God breathed into man’ nostrils, the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” The Bible says that the spirit returns unto God who gave it. So, we see that it refers to man as a spirit as God is spirit. Being in his image reflects to other things such as the fact that we should have knowledge and reasoning; we should live upright and holy; we are a free moral agent; we are to worship and commune with God; and we have the capacity to become an immortal soul that will live along with God.

He made male and female and gave them their commission to multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. There is no place in Genesis where a family is spoken of in any other way except just ‘male and female’ who could multiply…have children.