Series: Chaos to Covenant

Title: “How did the universe begin?" Part 2

Scripture: Genesis 1:3-31 NIV

Bottom line: "God established his kingdom by speaking the universe into existence. He designs creation to reflect his glory and goodness as humanity takes leadership over it." -Bethancourt.

"Genesis 1 is doing way more than telling us how everything was made. Genesis 1 is designed to show us that God's purpose is to share creation with his images o so they can rest and rule it with him forever. And that purpose is what the rest of the Biblical drama is all about." -Tim Macke, The Bible Project

1. INTRODUCTION
2. CONTEXT
3. SERMON OUTLINE
4. CONCLUSION
5. NOTES
6. QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER
7. OUTLINES
8. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
9. MAIN REFERENCES USED

INTRODUCTION

Lego Table

I was riding through my in-laws neighborhood and I felt a nudge to turn and go out a different way than usual. Now, I have a confession. I am a bit of a dumpster diver. I like to find treasures on the side of the road. And it was a Saturday. The day when people clean out their garage and put things on the side of the road. So I'm driving along looking for treasure and get that nudge to turn and go a different way. I felt a distinct impression that God was nudging me. So I turned, not that I always do. I often ignore those nudges, unfortunately. You never know what's on the other end and it's often not convenient. So I'm driving and I see Lego green in the side of the road. I have four grandkids and we love Legos and I had been talking to Anita about getting a Lego table. I'd decided that they were too big and too expensive. So what do I find on the side of the road? I small, free Lego table. It's used, and has some scrapes, sure. But it's study and complete.

I share this to remind us that God is always speaking. Not just when we sit for a sermon or read the Bible. He is always speaking. "The heavens declare the glory of God." (Psalm 19) Are we listening? And, when we hear, are we obeying? This is what we're about at Grace. Hearing from God and doing what he says. We show our love for God when we obey his commands (and respond to his nudges in faith).

Let's look at Genesis and ask ourselves 2 questions as we do:

1. God, what are you saying to me today?
2. God, what do you want me to do about what you're saying to me today?

CONTEXT

Last week we began with God forming the universe from nothing. God is the main character and point of creation. He creates for his glory and our good. He first began forming our universe by inserting his presence and perspective. Today we'll see how he framed creation, filled creation and then next week how he finished creating.

Genesis (beginning) is a book of beginnings.

It's primeval history (universal world history) of the world (universe) made up of 5 stories with the same structure. (1-11)

• The Fall
• Cain
• Sons of God marrying daughters of man
• The Flood
• Tower of Babel
• They all follow this 4-fold pattern/cycle:
• Sin: the sin is described
• Speech: There is a speech by God announcing the penalty for the sin
• Grace: God brings grace to the situation to ease the misery due to sin
• Punishment: God punishes the sin

Patriarchal history (12-50) or the history of Israel's founding fathers. It continues to reveal the many graces of God based on the gracious promise God made to and through Abraham in Genesis 12:3.

"There's only one way fallen humanity can be saved--the Genesis way--by faith. There has never been another way." -Hughes

Who wrote Genesis? According the Old and New Testaments, by and large it was written down by Moses with help from oral and written sources protected and provided by the Spirit of God c. 15th century BC. Jesus confirms this.

SERMON

I. Primeval history (1-11)--God and the world

II. Patriarchal history (12-50)--God and Abraham's family

Outline & notes for (based largely on Bethancourt)

Main idea: "God establishes his kingdom by speaking the universe into existence. He designs creation to reflect his glory and goodness as humanity takes leadership over it."

Some of his introductory thoughts...

• Main character of Genesis and the Bible is God himself.
• It reveals his goodness and his glorious purpose and person.

• The goodness of God includes both the physical and the spiritual.

• Genesis demonstrates God's authority over creation.

• Genesis demonstrates God's creativity in creation too.
• Age of the earth approaches can be diverse without Christians breaking fellowship over. That said, 3 non-negotiables are central to Christian doctrine of creation:
• 1- "Sound doctrine must recognize the VIRGIN BIRTH of creation, acknowledging that God creates ex nihilio. Before he speaks the universe into being, there is nothing in existence other than God."
• 2- "Such a doctrine must affirm the VIRTUOUS BIRTH of creation, that is, the goodness of all creation before the fall. Genesis 1 repeatedly declares that what God makes is 'good.'" (7X)

• 3- "Sound doctrine must affirm the VERIFIED 'BIRTH' of a historical, literal Adam. As Jesus affirms in the Gospels, there is one man, created by God, from whom the entire human race descends (see Acts 17:26 where Paul makes this statement to the Athenians)."

• Moses is the writer and editor while God is the author.

• Moses gives us a summary overview of how it all came to existence.
• "Most 'creation' narratives from the ancient Near East assumed the universe itself had always existed." In fact, until relatively recently, our own scientists believed this until they discovered the "Big Bang" based on infrared light readings and such. now most acknowledge that the universe is expanding from a point in time when it began (somehow).

I. God FORMS the Created Kingdom (1:1-2)

• Not sage or myth like other Near Eastern versions of creation. It is history.
• It "reveals that God forms the created kingdom with his purpose and his presence."
• "In the beginning" often causes us to wonder how long ago. But it is there to remind us that God was actually there and active 'in the beginning.'"
• How should we think about Genesis and the age of the earth? Several points should be emphasized consenting the age of the earth:
• "First, God is the Creator, and the creation exists solely because of the creative work God began 'in the beginning.'"
• "Second, the Bible offers no precise timelines concerning the age of the earth...Genesis clearly affirms that everything that exists only does so because of God's creative act."
• "Third, any interpretation of Genesis that rejects God's role as the Creator, or Adam and Eve as literal, historical human beings, is in conflict with the Bible's teaching."

• "Finally, ...Christians may reach different conclusions about the earth's age while still enjoying fellowship."

• Genesis 1:2 speaks of the "Spirit of God" hovering over the waters.

• The Spirit brings order out of chaos (here and throughout the Bible).
• "When Gabriel tells Mary that the Spirit of the Lord will overshadow her" this is another time when he brings order into our universe. He launches a "new creation" through Jesus at that time.
• When Jesus is baptized, the Spirit descends on him like a dove while in the waters.

• The Spirit raises Jesus from the dead, bringing him back to life.

• "After God forms the created kingdom, he frames it with light, with limits, and with land." P. 9

II. God FRAMES the Created Kingdom (1:3-13)

A. The first day of--"God frames the kingdom with light."

1. God's words bring something from nothing. We see this throughout the 6 days of creation.
2. God creates light on day 1 separating it from darkness and giving the names day and night.
3. Interestingly, he hasn't created sun, moon and stars yet so this seems premature. But God is making a point here. He's saying that he's the source of light and doesn't even need the stars to light our universe.
4. This powerfully spoke to the other nations who worshipped the sun, moon, and stars in Moses' day (and ours) showing that God is sovereign over all light.
5. This theme of the kingdoms of light and darkness carries over throughout scripture.

B. The second day of creation--"God frames the kingdom with limits."

1. Theme of water is introduced. We take water for granted with our endless supply of clean water. They saw water as
2. A blessing--drinkable, washing, watering fields
3. A danger--floods that drown people, famine caused by flooded fields, sea monsters, storms at sea, dying of thirst
4. God separates waters from the sky.
5. New creation, new heaven, new earth--river of endless, life-giving water (Rev 22:1)

C. The third day of creation--"God frames the kingdom with land."

1. God divides the land from the waters he just divided from the sky. This created earth/land, seas and vegetation.
2. 2 sources of fear in ancient culture: sea and land:
3. "Anxiety about the sea was related to protection."

4. "Anxiety about the land was related to provision."

5. God's role in creating the seas reshapes our understanding of baptism too:

6. New believers are baptized when they are plunged into the waters representing judgment (watery grave; wages of sin is death)
7. And brought through and out of that watery grave raised to walk a new life with him--as a symbol of God's victory of sin and death.
8. Vegetation holds a privileged place throughout the scriptures
9. The garden of Eden was full of trees
10. Noah's ark
11. Moses' staff
12. Ark of the Covenant
13. The coming Messiah
14. A root
15. A branch
16. A stump
17. A shoot
18. A vine
19. A cross

III. God FILLS the Created Kingdom (1:14-31)

A. The fourth day of creation--God fills the kingdom with life.

1. God creates vegetation on the third day before creating the sun to once again show that he alone is the giver and sustainer of life. This would speak to the nations who had fertility cults/idols/gods.
2. "The creation story was intended to shatter the allure of the false gods of Israel, and it should do the same for us today."

B. The fifth day of creation

1. God doesn't actually need 6 days to create the universe. God is using a process to show the glory of his creation.
2. Creation is more than a place for animals and humanity to live. It's his temple! Where God lives with his creation where Eden was the holy of holies. God creates the universe and then fills it with his presence.

C. The sixth day of --capstone of creation

1. God declares all of his creation good (1:25). And that's before he creates humanity. Creation with humanity is "very good."
2. Humanity becomes his capstone as the creates them in the image of God. Trinitarian overtones:
3. We see the unity or oneness of God "he" "his"

4. We see the unity and community of God "us" "our"

5. IDENTITY: "Being sinners is a secondary truth. Being created in the image of God is a primary truth." -Deb Hirsch; Find the imago dei and let God deal with the sin.

6. ILLUSTRATION: When we look at an ultrasound, we're always looking to see which parent the child looks like. It's innate. And as humanity, we also look like our Creator. Each of us, in a sense, looks like our Heavenly Father.
7. In contrast to the animals, we're designed to reflect who God is and what he's like.
8. Paul calls Jesus the "image of the invisible God." (Colossians 1:15-17)
9. "Jesus is both the architect and the blueprint for what it means to be made in the image of God."
10. Not only are we to image our creator, we're to rule, subdue, be fruitful and multiply, and to lead over all creation on God's behalf.
11. Adam and Eve reject this in disobeying God's command.

IV. God FINISHES the Created Kingdom (2:1-3)

A. God finishes with his own rest.

B. The climax of the creation story is rest.

C. Creation is completed and lacks nothing. God accomplishes what he sets out to do. And yet day 7 continues.

D. Rest

1. God celebrates his completion of creation by resting in it, blessing it, and declaring it holy. It is his temple.
2. After the Fall, Jesus rebuilds the temple through his death, burial and resurrection ultimately restoring all things in the new heavens and the new earth.
3. Genesis 2 beings by declaring creation completed. In other words, God looks at his creation and says, "It is finished."

CONCLUSION

Bottom line: God established his kingdom by speaking the universe into existence. God designed creation to reflect his glory and goodness while humanity takes on leadership over creation on his behalf.

Remember the Lego table. Are you listening to God speak? What is he saying to you?

Do you love God? Do you realize that we express and prove our love and trust for him when we obey? And we show our distrust of him when we delay obedience, obey partially or disobey?

Invitation

““Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.” When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”” ‭‭Acts‬ ‭2‬:‭36‬-‭39‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Bottom line:

1. What is God saying to me right now?
2. What am I going to do about it? Write this down on a sheet of paper.

What I hear you saying, Lord, is ___________________.

[my name] is going to believe/do __________________________________________________ as a result.

Finally, share this with your Home or Mission group this week when you gather as a testimony about what God is doing in your life. You don’t have to get too specific to give him praise.

Pray

NOTES

Sabbath/Rest

Hebrews 3:15-4:11

Graham's newsletter about rest.

Truths to note

• God existed and exists eternally
• God exists in plural unity as the Holy Trinity
• God was in the beginning
• God was before anything existed in our universe and the universe itself
• God created everything that exists in the universe and the universe itself
• God creates something from nothing Latin ex nihilo

• An atheist scientist came to God and said, “We’ve figured out how to make a man without you.” God said, “OK, let me see you do it.” So the atheist bent down to the ground and scooped up a handful. But God stopped him and said, “Oh, no you don’t. Get your own dirt!”

• God creates with words. He spoke creation into existence. His words still have power.

• God creates purposefully for his glory and our good.
• God starts with light to display his creation and provide an essential ingredient for life.
• God only creates things that are good. Together it was all very good and will be again.
• God is a God of order and moves from chaos to order.
• Elohim (gods) intensifies God's divine majesty, when used as a noun. When used as a verb, it's singular for there is only one true God.
• God created all things. "Heavens and earth"
• God created an "open" universe, not a "closed" one where he never interacts

Notes from Bible Project Videos

1-11 God and the world

12:3 Hinge verse

12-50 God and Abraham's family

Disorder --> Order

Adam = human

Humanity created to:

1. Reflect God's character (image)
2. Represent God's rule (reign)
3. Harness creation's potential and create beauty and order

"Blessing" is a key word here

Heavens and earth aka skies and land

Formless and empty aka wild and waste

Deep abyss = dark, chaotic ocean

Days 1-3 God splits apart and forms this disordered waste into 3 ordered realms:

1. Realm: Time. God splits darkness and light on Day 1.
2. Realm: Sky & Seas. God splits the waters into water canopy or clouds (or both) and sea on Day 2.
3. Realm: Land. God brings land out of water and includes vegetation on it on Day 3.

Days 4-6 God

1. Day 4 brings lights--sun, moon and stars to reflect his light in space.
2. Day 5 brings creations to fill the sky and sea
3. Day 6 brings land animals and humanity to fill the land.

First poem in the Bible (1:27) celebrates God's creation where he completed the skies, land and inhabitants. God completes and rests and dwells in this sacred space he treats as a temple. The world or at least the garden of Eden is his temple.

Notes from Bethencourt

Outline for Genesis 1-2:3

Main idea: "God establishes his kingdom by speaking the universe into existence. He designs creation to reflect his glory and goodness as humanity takes leadership over it."

Some of his introductory thoughts...

• Main character of Genesis and the Bible is God himself.
• It reveals his goodness and his glorious purpose and person.

• The goodness of God includes both the physical and the spiritual.

• Genesis demonstrates God's authority over creation.

• Genesis demonstrates God's creativity in creation too.
• Age of the earth approaches can be diverse without Christians breaking fellowship over. That said, 3 non-negotiables are central to Christian doctrine of creation:
• 1- "Sound doctrine must recognize the VIRGIN BIRTH of creation, acknowledging that God creates ex nihilism. Before he speaks the universe into being, there is nothing in existence other than God."
• 2- "Such a doctrine must affirm the VIRTUOUS BIRTH of creation, that is, the goodness of all creation before the fall. Genesis 1 repeatedly declares that what God makes is 'good.'"

• 3- "Sound doctrine must affirm the VERIFIED 'BIRTH' of a historical, literal Adam. As Jesus affirms in the Gospels, there is one man, created by God, from whom the entire human race descends (see Acts 17:26 where Paul makes this statement to the Athenians)."

• Moses is the writer and editor while God is the author.

• Moses gives us a summary overview of how it all came to being.
• "Most 'creation' narratives from the ancient Near East assumed the universe itself had always existed." In fact, until relatively recently, our own scientists believed this until they discovered the "Big Bang" based on infrared light readings and such.

See D. J. A. Clines, Catholic Biblical Quarterly, No. 38 (1976), pp. 487, 488. Clines explains that Gerhard Von Rad initially observed a pattern of sin, mitigation, and punishment. Then Claus Westermann discerned another element, that of divine speech. Though he did not include it in the pattern, Clines does. Thus the following chart:

I.

II.

III.

IV.

SIN

SPEECH

GRACE

PUNISHMENT

1. FALL

3:6

3:14-19

3:21

3:22-24

1. CAIN

4:8

4:10-12

4:15

4:16

1. SONS OF GOD

6:2

6:3

6:8, 18ff

7:6-24

1. FLOOD

6:5, 11f

6:7, 13-21

6:8, 18ff

11:8

1. BABEL

11:4

11:6f

10:1-32

11:8

Preach the Word, Genesis, Kent Hughes, chapter 1, note 3, p. 625

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER

1. Who is God?
2. What has he done/is he doing/is he going to do?
3. Who am I? (In light of 1 & 2)
4. What do I get to do? (In light of who I am)
5. How do I do it?

OUTLINES

See above

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Discovery Bible Study process: https://www.dbsguide.org/

1. Read the passage together.
2. Retell the story in your own words.
3. Discovery the story
4. What does this story tell me about God?
5. What does this story tell me about people?

6. If this is really true, what should I do?

7. What is God saying to you right now? (Write this down)

8. What are you going to do about it? (Write this down)
9. Who am I going to tell about this?

Find our sermons, podcasts, discussion questions and notes at https://www.gracetoday.net/podcast

Alternate Discussion Questions (by Jeff Vanderstelt): Based on this passage:

1. Who is God?
2. What has he done/is he doing/is he going to do?
3. Who am I? (In light of 1 & 2)
4. What do I do? (In light of who I am)
5. How do I do it?

Final Questions (Write this down)

• What is God saying to you right now?
• What are you going to do about it?

MAIN REFERENCES USED

“Genesis,” by R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word Commentary, Edited by Kent Hughes

Exalting Jesus in Genesis, by Bethancourt

The Genesis Record, by Henry Morris

The Genesis Factor, by David Helms & Jon Dennis

“Look at the Book” by John Piper (LATB)

“The Bible Knowledge Commentary” by Walvoord, Zuck (BKC)

“The Bible Exposition Commentary” by Warren Wiersbe (BEC)

Outline Bible, D Willmington (OB)

Willmington’s Bible Handbook, D Willmington (WBH)

NIV Study Bible (NIVSB) https://www.biblica.com/resources/scholar-notes/niv-study-bible/

Chronological Life Application Study Bible (NLT)

ESV Study Bible (ESVSB) https://www.esv.org

The Bible Project https://bibleproject.com

“The Bible in One Year 2023 with Nicky Gumbel” bible reading plan on YouVersion app (BIOY)

Claude.ai