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The God of Creation

The God of Creation. Genesis 1-2. Objectives. You will understand that the Old Testament presupposes the creation of the universe and assigns this creation to the Lord alone. You will identify the differences in the portraits of God the creator in Genesis 1 and 2

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The God of Creation

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  1. The God of Creation Genesis 1-2

  2. Objectives You will understand that the Old Testament presupposes the creation of the universe and assigns this creation to the Lord alone. You will identify the differences in the portraits of God the creator in Genesis 1 and 2 You will appreciate the significance of these two portraits of God and be challenged to integrate both visions into your own thinking and relationship.

  3. Introduction Welcoming of Visitors Announcements Prayer Requests Beginning Prayer Free Association Exercise What is your first thought when you hear these words? N-Sync, Bible, Judas, David, Sermons, Youth Ministers, New Testament, Old Testament

  4. Introduction Today, we will start a 13-week study entitled “The Story of the Old Testament” My goals for this study include: A basic understand of the “story line” of the Old Testament A greater appreciation of the significance of the Old Testament

  5. Let’s set the Stage The ancient world surrounding Israel presupposed that a god/gods created the universe. For example, in one ancient tale (The Epic of Creation), the creation of the Earth was the result of a fight between two gods. One god (Marduk) defeated the goddess (Tiamat) and then cut her body in half. With half her body he formed the sky and with the other half he formed the earth. The Bible, consequently, doesn’t begin with any argument or defense of creation v. evolution. Rather, the Bible begins with the “hot issues” of its own day: Who was the God(s) that created the world? What’s this God like? So, while our questions about evolution and the Bible v. science are good and important questions, this isn’t where the Bible itself begins. Today, we want to start where the Bible itself starts and seek to understand what it has to say about the God who created the universe.

  6. Part I We’re going to read the account of creation in Genesis 1:1-2:3 First though, I want you guys to focus on these questions as we read this scripture: What is the scope or extent of creation? How does God create? Is there any plan to creation?

  7. Introduction & The First Day 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

  8. The Second Day 6 And God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” 7 And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so. 8 And God called the expanse Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.

  9. The Third Day 9 And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. 11 And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so. 12 The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.

  10. The Fourth Day 14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. 16 And God made the two great lights - the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night - and the stars. 17 And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18 to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day

  11. The Fifth Day 20 And God said, “Let the waters swarm the swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.” 21 So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” 23 And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.

  12. The Sixth Day 24 And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds - livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. 25 And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

  13. The Sixth Day 28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29 And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. 30 And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. 31 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

  14. The Seventh Day (Gen 2) 1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them 2 And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. 3 So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.

  15. More information for you...YAY!!! There appears to be several direct attacks on ancient Near Eastern gods in the creation account of Gen 1:1 - 2:3. For example: Students have question the logic “light before the sun.” In its ancient context, this claim would be a strong rebuke of the Egyptian sun god (Ra) and those who worship this God. The Lord, God of Israel, can provide the light without the sun. The emphasis on plants yielding seed and bearing fruit with the seed in it (1:11-12) may be a rebuke of idolatrous religions that emphasized the need to satisfy a “fertility” god or goddess for the crops to produce. Genesis 1 claims that no such god or actions are needed. The Lord created plants with seed within them and they reproduce according to his blessing and created order.

  16. Return to the Questions Let’s discuss the questions and with the answers to go with it: What is the scope or extent of creation? The scope or scale of creation in Gen 1:1-2:3 is universal or cosmic. How does God create? God “speaks” creation into existence. Here God is “transcendent” - a great and powerful king who stands apart from the creation. Is there any plan to creation? The creation follows a perfect predetermined plan. Notice the correspondence between the days. On days 1-3, God creates environments. On days 4-6, God ills the environments with the appropriate objects or life forms. Based on this account of creation, what is God like? Let’s discuss.

  17. Part II We’re going to read the account of creation in Genesis 2:4-25 LIke before, I want you guys to focus on these questions as we read this scripture: What is the scope or extent of creation? How does God create? Is there any plan to creation?

  18. Genesis 2:4-25 4 These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens. 5 When no bush of the field was yet in the lands an no small plant of the field had yet sprung up - for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground, 6 and a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground - 7 then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature 8 And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed.

  19. Genesis 2:4-25 9 And out the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil 10 A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers. 11 The name of the first is the Pishon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 And the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there. 13 The name of the second river is the Gihon. It’s the one that flowed around the whole land of Cush. 14 And the name of the third river is the Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

  20. Genesis 2:4-25 15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” 18 Then the Lord God said, “It’s not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” 19 Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was his name.

  21. Genesis 2:4-25 20 The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. 21 So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. 22 And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. 23 Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” 24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

  22. Return to the Questions 2.0 What is the scope of creation? The scope or scale of creation in Gen 2:4-25 is limited to plant, animal, and human life. How does God create? Here, unlike Gen 1:1-2:3, God “gets his hands dirty.” Like a potter, God “forms” humans and animals (2:7, 19) Like a farmer, God “plants” a garden (2:8, 9) God isn’t distant or aloof (as in 1:1-2:3), but very close and personally involved.

  23. Return to the Questions 2.1 Does there seem to be a predetermined plan? In Gen 2:4-25, God doesn’t appear to be following a predetermined plan, but working things out as he goes along in response to the needs of his creation. God forms a man, then plants a garden. God sees that it’s not good for his man to be alone and determines to make a partner for the man God makes animals, brings them to the man, but none are found suitable as a partner. God forms a woman and brings her to the man. The main point is that His activity in creation is intimately responsive to human need as it arises. Based on this account of creation, what is God like?

  24. Summary The two accounts of creation in Genesis 1-2 affirm the same basic point: The Lord, God of Israel, is the creator! However, the two accounts of creation in Genesis 1-2 present two rather different portraits of God. In Gen 1:1-2:3, God is the divine sovereign who follows a perfectly predetermined plan and speaks the universe into existence. In Gen 2:4-25, God is the potter and farmer who is intimately involved with and responsive to the needs of his ongoing creation.

  25. Application Which portrait of God is the most attractive to him or her today and why? Honestly, we all tend to prefer one portrait of God over another...and it is for this very reason that it is so important that we are given both portraits in Genesis 1-2. God is not one or the another (transcendent or immanent) God is both -- at the same time, at same moment of creation!

  26. Picasso and the Bible Who can describe the artwork of Picasso? Why is his art so strange? Picasso’s art is strange because he attempted to picture on object from different perspectives at the same time. This is similar to Genesis to Gen 1-2. An attempt to “picture” the impossible, the character of God and creation, from two different perspectives.

  27. More information again...WOO HOO!!! The Old Testament consistently credits the Lord, God of Israel, as the creator of the universe. However, the writers of the Old Testament use various metaphors to describe the process of creation. For example: God the sovereign king who speaks the universe into existence (Genesis 1; Ps 33:6-9) God the potter & farmer who fashions & plants the creation (Genesis 2) God the architect and builder of creation (Ps 104:5) God the divine parent who fathered & gave birth to creation (Ps 90:2) The variety of metaphors to describe the act of creation seems to suggest that no one image can adequately describe creation. God’s great act of creation is indescribable.

  28. Back to the Application at hand What happens if we ignore one or the other of these messages about the nature of God? Let’s discuss. Both portraits of God the creator are vital. On the one hand, Gen 1:1-2-3 without 2:4-25 will lead to “deism” (a clock-winder view of creation; God set the world in motion and stepped even further back from it.) On the other hand, Gen 2:4-25 without 1:1-2:3 will lead to a view of God that embraces God as close friend, but with no sense of God’s majesty or otherness.

  29. Assignment Reread Genesis 2 Identify the four different relationships created or established in this text. Describe what these relationships are like (good or bad) at the end of Genesis 2.

  30. Wrap-Up Prayer that acknowledges both God’s greatness and his choice to be our close friend.

  31. KEEP SPREADING POSITIVITY!!! It can go a long way...

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