Answers for a study in the book of Genesis, Chapter 1

“Answers for a study in the book of Genesis” is a weekly post in addition to the regular “apologetics” posts on the weekend where the original questions can be found at the bottom of the study, and then answers appear here mid-week. This gives you time to do your own research, and then check your answers. Keep in mind these will be basic answers with a little depth, but you can go much deeper for discussion if you’d like.

1.  Review of Class Topic:

With your table group, discuss today’s presentation by summarizing what you learned, commenting or asking any questions.

 Answers will vary…

Read Genesis Chapter 1 with your group then, to the best of your ability, answer the following questions:

2.  After reading Genesis 1, re-read Genesis 1:1-2 and cross-reference by reading John 1:1-5, Colossians 1:15-20, John 14:16-17 and Matthew 28:18-20. What do these passages tell us about God’s Triune Nature? Why is the Trinity foundational to the Christian faith?

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.”  Genesis 1:1-2

When we look at these other passages, we see where there are specific persons responsible for specific tasks in the Creation. And so, it is throughout Scripture in reference to the “One True God” we often call the “Godhead.”

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.”  John 1:1-5

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.”  Colossians 1:15-20

“I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.”  John 14:16-17

““And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.””  Matthew 28:18-20

The Importance of the Trinity:

These passages are just a few of the many examples that evidence God exists as one being, three in persons. It gives us insight to God’s character. Each of the persons in the Godhead have special roles. They all existed before Creation, at Creation, and have roles in our lives today and in the Kingdom to come.

The Trinity is not a problem for Christianity, it is the solution to what we read in Scripture, from the beginning to the end. Our finite minds created by an infinite God cannot, nor should not, be able to comprehend His entire being, yet as a loving Father, He has given us a way to know Him personally, and that is through His Son, Jesus; and, Jesus has given us the Holy Spirit to teach us through the Scriptures, that guide us during our time here on this earth.

A little more on the Trinity:

The Trinity

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God…

• God = The Hebrew word used here is the noun Elohim, which is plural (three or more)
• It is a term that denotes majesty and all-power within
• The verb (action) Elohim is singular when used with the word bara (create/created from nothing—bara is only used in the act of creation)
• This is the normal usage when referenced in the Old Testament for the one true God
• Elohim indicates the Trinity working together from the very beginning and the active participation of Father, Son and Holy Spirit in creation, from the beginning

The Trinity:

One in Being: God

Three in Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit

Biblical names give us a glimpse into God’s character:

• Elohim = God, The Triune All-Powerful Creator of the Universe (Genesis chapter 1)
• YHWH (LORD) = The “I AM,” the LORD, the personal God of the Bible who loves and interacts with His creation (Genesis chapter 2)
• LORD God = YHWH Elohim (personal and powerful)

There is one God

Examples from Scripture:

• Deuteronomy 6:4 (THE SHEMA) 
• 1 Corinthians 8:4
• Galatians 3:20
• 1 Timothy 2:5

Each Member of the Trinity is God

Examples from Scripture:

• The Father is God (John 6:27; Romans 1:7; 1 Peter 1:2)
• The Son is God (John 1:1, 14; Romans 9:5; Colossians 2:9; Hebrews 1:8; 1 John 5:20)
• The Holy Spirit is God(Acts 5:3-4; 1 Corinthians 3:16)

The Members of the Trinity are distinguished from one another

• In the Old Testament, “LORD” is distinguished from “Lord” (Genesis 19:24; Hosea 1:4)
• The LORD has a Son (Psalm 2:7, 12; Proverbs 30:2-4)
• The Spirit is distinguished from the “LORD” (Numbers 27:18) and from “God” (Psalm 51:10-12)
• God the Son is distinguished from God the Father (Psalm 45:6-7;  Hebrews 1:8-9)
• *In the New Testament, Jesus speaks to the Father about sending a Helper, the Holy Spirit (John 14:16-17)

*This shows that Jesus did not consider Himself to be the Father or the Holy Spirit

The Person of the Father is the Authority, Perfect in Holiness, Receiver of Worship in Heaven

The Father:

• He is the ultimate source or cause of the universe (1 Corinthians 8:6; Revelation 4:11); divine revelation (Revelation 1:1); salvation (John 3:16-17); and Jesus’ human works (John 5:17; 14:10)
• We pray to the Father through Jesus (Matthew 6:9-13; John 14)

The Father initiates all things

The Person of the Son is the Redeemer, Source of life for humans, Intercessor with the Father

Jesus the Son:

• The agent through which the creation happened and through which it is maintained (1 Corinthians 8:6; John 1:3; Colossians 1:16-17)
• The agent of Divine revelation (John 1:1, 16:12-15; Matthew 11:27; Revelation 1:1)
• The agent of Salvation (2 Corinthians 5:19; Matthew 1:21; John 4:42)
• The agent of prayer (John 14)

The Father does all these things through the Son, who functions as His agent

The Person of the Holy Spirit is the Counselor, Comforter, Agent of the Father’s Will

The Holy Spirit:

• The power behind the creation and maintenance of the universe (Genesis 1:2; Job 26:13; Psalm 104:30);
• The power of Divine revelation (John 16:12-15; Ephesians 3:5; 2 Peter 1:21);
• The power of Salvation (John 3:6; Titus 3:5; 1 Peter 1:2)
• The power through which Jesus works (Isaiah 61:1; Acts 10:38).

The Father does all these things by the power of the Holy Spirit

3.  Make a chart, or list, for each day of the creation week and summarize what God made on each day, then discuss the creation week with your group. How did God describe the events of His creation, especially at the end of the sixth day (1:31)?

DAYS OF CREATION	EVENTS
First Day	Heavens, Earth and light •       the universe was formed •       light and darkness were established •       the Earth’s rotation and the beginning of time was instituted
Second Day	Sky and water •       the waters separated creating the atmosphere that is divided from water on the earth
Third Day	Land, seas and vegetation •       dry land formed •       oceans/seas formed •       plants and trees were created
Fourth Day	Sun, moon, and stars •       the great lights were created to fill the universe, govern day and night, and to mark the seasons, days and years
Fifth Day	Fish and birds •       fish were created to fill the seas •       birds were created to fill the sky
Sixth Day	Animals •       the second wave of animals were created to fill the dry land Man and woman •       the best for last—the image of God was given to humans (rulership) to care for the earth and all it had been filled with, and to be in relationship with God
Seventh Day	God rested •       He modeled the importance of rest •       He declared all He had made, “very good” •       He set a model for our work week

God said “it was good” seven times in Genesis Chapter One. Specifically, in 1:31 God said it was very good:  “God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.”  This is an indication that the creation was perfect at this time. This is important to understand as later on God will say something is not good and He provides for that. However, the perfection will be completely damaged at the “Fall” and what follows is still seen today.

God is purposeful in His Creation – we see this in the pattern of Creation, the order of Creation, and the intention of Creation. It is also a model for humans to use in their work model (the seven-day week). It is a “chiastic” narrative in literary form, and it is scientifically plausible.

4.  Discuss: What is different in the description given about the creation of “mankind” as compared to all the other things God created? Why do you think that is an important concept to understand?

“Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you; and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to every thing that moves on the earth which has life, I have given every green plant for food”; and it was so. God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.”  Genesis 1:26-31

There are some important things to note in the creation of mankind from this passage on the sixth day of creation that is not said of any other created Kind:

• Humans are made in the image of God, according to God’s likeness (the “Us” is the reference to the Godhead and the Triune nature of God)
• Humans are to be the “rulers” of the other living things God created (we are not equal to, but above, therefore we have a responsibility in taken care of this creation)
• God blessed humans specifically
• God told humans to be fruitful and multiply
• God told humans to fill the earth, subdue it, and. Rule over all creation
• God said all He made, on the final day creating humans, that it was “very good”

This is an important concept to understand because God placed us in a “rulership” position over His creation. Later we will see that rulership get wrestled away by Satan (Genesis 3). However, the original command should cause us to, 1) understand how special human life is to God; 2) our role in leadership over the earth; 3) God’s plan (as laid out through the Bible) to return us to this perfect (very good) relationship we had with Him in the Garden before the Fall.

5.  Going Deeper: How many times is the word “kind” used in Genesis chapter 1? Why might that be important to understand in light of what we know about biology today (specifically in genetics), and in the argument against evolutionary theory for the origin of life?

The word “kind” is used ten times in chapter one of Genesis.

• In light of what we know from biology today, there is a genetic barrier in living things, where cross-breeding cannot naturally occur, and this barrier just so happens to line up with God’s created “kinds.”
• In biology, the Biblical “kind” would fall in the taxonomic level somewhere between family and order, although biologists today are still in flux concerning the taxonomic chart and placement of many organisms therein, “kinds” are set in the barrier of breeding capabilities.
• Because of this genetic barrier, the theory of evolution for the origin of complex life is impossible because you must have new genetic information to “jump” from one “kind” to another, and this has never been observed.
• In addition, the fossil record shows the same body plans in the earliest known fossils to be the same in “kind” as to what we see today, there are no gradual transitional forms as should be expected if evolutionary processes were the mechanism for life we see today.
• Finally, life has never been observed to come from non-life, which is part of the abiogenesis theory in evolution for origin of life, therefore evolution cannot be taken seriously for the origin of life and complexity of life we see today.

Please continue to join us as we read and study the Bible as part of our Christian Apologetics’ class each week!

Note: Class presentation, videos, reflections and Bible study questions are posted on the weekend – Bible study answers (like these) are posted mid-week.

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You will not find this material in the public school curriculum even though it is based on solid evidence and grounded in research. It is ironic that following the evidence to where it leads stops at the door of our public schools as they will not let a “Divine footprint” in!  Join us as we examine evidence for Christianity and learn how to become a thoughtful defender and ambassador of your faith.

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Teri Dugan

TeriDugan@truthfaithandreason.com

1 Peter 3:15