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Scripture reading – Genesis 1

An Introduction to The First Book of Moses Called Genesis

The Bible is the most influential book in history, and Genesis is its foundation. The Book of Genesis explains the origin of all things, and is the basis of our understanding of the universe, the earth, its atmosphere, and life itself. For example, Genesis 1:27 presents us with the complexity and uniqueness of man, who was created in the “image of God.” In Genesis 2:24-25, God established marriage and family as the foundation of human society.

The origin of sin and its consequences are revealed in Genesis 3. Genesis 3 also unveiled the commencement of God’s answer to man’s wickedness: A son who would be born of a woman (Genesis 3:16), of the lineage of Abraham, and through whom all nations and people of the earth might be blessed (Genesis 12).  The basis of language, culture, and the existence of the nations are all stated in Genesis. (Genesis 11:1-9).

Warning: Reject the Genesis account of Creation, and you must reject the Scriptures entirely!

The New Testament quotes from, or alludes to one hundred sixty-five passages recorded in Genesis. In fact, more than one hundred direct quotes or references to Genesis 1-11 are found the New Testament.

Genesis 1 – “In the Beginning God Created”

Creation declares the person and existence of the God of Creation (Romans 1:20-27), and what you believe regarding the existence, and origin of life shapes your philosophy of life and worldview. Accepting or rejecting the Genesis account of Creation will influence the value you place on human life. If you believe, “God created man in His own image,” meaning in His spiritual likeness (1:26-27), you must conclude that human life is sacred. Reject creation, and you will inevitably come to the conclusion human life is not sacred, and some lives are expendable (for instance, the life of the unborn, elderly, or physically dependent).

To believe God is Creator, and the Genesis account of Creation is true (Genesis 1), you must accept God is Sovereign of all things. He has authority to declare right and wrong. God alone has the right to establish that which is moral and define what is immoral (1:29-31).

When you read the Genesis account of Creation, you must come to the conclusion there is only one of two explanations for the origin of life. Either God is Creator and He has revealed Himself to man in His Word and in His creation, or life and the universe are the result of chance. It behooves us all to ask the question: “Who can be trusted in the matter of the origin of life? Is evolution an unproven theory, or a scientific fact? Can we trust the Bible when it states simply, “In the beginning God created” (1:1)? Can the Scriptures and evolution (chance) co-exist?

The Biblical account of Creation affords no compromise with evolution, and evolution offers no worthy answer to the Biblical account of creation.

If interpreted literally and without prejudice, Genesis 1 gives us an explanation for the world around us, as well as, God’s purpose for our life and existence (1:31-2:2). As Creator, God is Sovereign, and He is providentiallyinvolved in His creation, preserving and sustaining the universe. The Book of Job, believed to be the most ancient of the books of the Bible states of God: “He looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth under the whole heaven” (Job 28:24). “His eyes are upon the ways of man, and he seeth all his goings” (Job 34:21). Solomon warned, “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good” (Proverbs 15:3).

If you believe God is your Creator, you must accept He has authority to oversee every facet of your life. He has the right to reward, or punish as He deems just. In the words of the psalmist, “Our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased” (Psalm 115:3).

Reject God as Creator, and a man, society, and nation will be overcome by all manner of wickedness and sorrows (Romans 1:28-32).

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