THE FIRST THREE CHAPTERS
The Story of God
CHAPTER 1
From Chapter 9 of According to Plan Creation by Word In the beginning was the Word, and the
Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. (John 1:1-3)
FOR BY HIM ALL THINGS WERE CREATED…ALL THINGS WERE CREATED BY HIM AND FOR HIM. (COLOSSIANS 1:16)
Outline of Biblical History (Genesis 1-2) In the beginning God created everything
that exists. He made Adam and Eve and placed them in the garden of Eden. God spoke to them and gave them certain tasks in the world. For food he allowed them the fruit of all the trees in the garden except one. He warned them that they would die if they ate the fruit of that one tree.
(This would be excellent test material!)
GOD CREATES BY HIS WORD
Through the gospel we learn the purpose of creation and the meaning of the universe.
What is the Bible saying in Genesis 1-2? How can I know there is a God? Where did God come from? What was before the beginning? How can God create out of nothing? What was before the beginning?
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE MEAN WHEN IT SAYS THAT GOD CREATED BY HIS WORD?
John 1:3 Colossians 1:16 Hebrews 11:3 2 Peter 3:5-7
SOVEREIGNTY
Sovereignty means exercising kingly power.
Creation is a demonstration of this sovereignty.
Ex Nihilo The supremacy of the word of God in
the world goes back to creation. Transcendence
GOD THE LORD
chooses to relate to his creation by means of his word.
(Another good point for a test!)
THE WORD AND ESTABLISHED ORDER Why does Genesis 1 describe creation
having taken place in six days?1. The passage is unique and thus presents
some difficulties in interpretation. It is a historical event according to the N.T.
2. The gospel must instruct us since it is God’s final and fullest word to man. The question is not whether the Bible tells the truth, but how it tells it.
TRUTH FROM GENESIS 1 - 2
Creation is not only a question of beginnings, but of purpose and relationships.
The good (harmonious) order of the universe is good because God declares it to be so.
Providence – God not only creates the universe but he governs it.
BY HIS WORD
God established all things in ordered relationships.
God continues to uphold order in the universe.
(Good points for a test!)
GOD LOVES HIS CREATION
How can I know God exists? His Word and his creation prove it. Accurate but not convincing… God is self-evident. The creator may be described as king. The focus of the kingdom of God is on
the relationship between God and his people.
THE GOODNESS OF CREATION
In the universe he has made for them, God rules over his people in continual and loving self-commitment to the whole creation. This is the kingdom of God.
(Good points for a test!)
MAN MADE IN GOD’S IMAGE
Genesis 1:26 Genesis 1:27 Genesis 9:6 Psalm 8:5 – Humanity is the special
focus of God’s care. Romans 8:19-23 – God works through
his Son who becomes a man to restore mankind.
THE IMAGE OF GOD IN MAN
Mankind is created in a unique relationship to God. Man also is addressed personally by God as the highest creation and the focus of his purposes.
(Good point for a test!)
MAN A CREATURE WHO IS RULED
The uniqueness of the human race lies not in our having developed more or survived better, but in being created in God’s image.
Man does not live by bread alone. (Deut. 8:3, Psalm 104:24-30)
Christ sustains all things by his powerful word. (Hebrews 1:3)
In him all things hold together. (Col. 1:17)
MAN A CREATURE WHO IS RULED
The creation accounts teach us that no attempt to define human beings is adequate unless it at least includes the recognition of our creation in the image of God.
The image of God tells us that humanity does not truly exist apart from a special relationship with God.
RESPONSIBILITY
Man is uniquely responsible to God.
Responsibility means being answerable to someone for what we do.
FREEDOM
At the heart of human responsibility lies freedom.
With freedom and responsibility comes a test of obedience in the prohibition placed on eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
The choice was not between ignorance and knowledge but between remaining good and becoming evil.
THE RULE OF GOD
and the image of God in mankind mean that we are uniquely answerable to God for all that we do.
(Good point for a test!)
THE PATTERN OF THE KINGDOM
It is the word of God which informs man that he is to be a scientist and loving caretaker of the world rather than a magician and power-motivated exploiter of the world.
Creation reminds us that theories which suggest that life, personhood, love and moral value are all the result of chance, have long since abandoned the realm of science.
THE PATTERN OF THE KINGDOM
God establishes a perfect creation that he loves and over which he rules.
The highest honor is given to mankind as the only part of creation made in God’s image.
The kingdom means that everything in creation relates perfectly (as God intends it should) to everything else and to God himself.
THE KINGDOM OF GOD AT CREATION
was everything in existence: God, mankind, and the rest of creation, all relating perfectly as god intended.
(Good point for a test!)
CREATION OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD
Summary Creation results in the kingdom of God,
mankind and the rest of creation all relating perfectly.
Kingdom
God Mankind World
Creation
God Adam & Eve
Eden
MAIN THEMES
Sovereignty of God Creation ex nihilo (out of
nothing) by the word of God Order and goodness of creation Image of God in man Responsibility of man before
God
KEY WORDS
creation/generation sovereignty image kingdom
THE PATH AHEAD
The first Adam – The last Adam (1 Corinthians 15:45)
Creation – New Creation (2 Corinthians 5:17)
Heavens & earth – New heavens & earth (Isaiah 65:17, 2 Peter 3:13, Revelation 21:1)
WRITING ASSIGNMENT
from first exercise on page 101 of According to Plan
Read Genesis 1 and 2. List the things mentioned which seem
to you to be most important in the teaching of these chapters.