Bible Study (July 9) - Genesis 1

Here are the highlights on Genesis 1:1-8 (NKJV):

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Comments:

We need to acknowledge that GOD exists, even before we were created. He is from eternity to eternity, and He is timeless. Next, GOD is the Creator of the heavens and the earth, and all the things we see and feel. Nothing happened by accident, but designed by an Intelligent Designer - GOD Himself. Huge explosion do not create, but it destroys. GOD in this text is a compound unity (Elohim - plural form) - it expresses the grandeur of GOD. With reference to John 1, it may imply the Trinitarian nature of GOD - One GOD in three distinct Persons. The mystery of the Trinity cannot be explained by our limited knowledge of GOD. And we dare not compare and explain with simple things such as egg, water (forms of gas, liquid, and solid), office positions, and others.

Important thought:

If Christians fail to defend the fact that GOD exists, and GOD created all things, then we are giving the atheists and evolutionist the upper hand to disprove the Christian faith. And everything about the rest of the Bible is simply not true, and our faith are just in vain.

2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

Comments: Verses 1 and 2 have time lapsed in a sense. God cannot create something and it is still void and without form. Verse 1 seems to be the summary of all succeeding verses describing the process of creation.

3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.

Comments:

A day in Hebrew "yom" - is a sequence of darkness and light, or day and night. And we prefer a 24-hour period as verses 3-5 exactly refers to, day and night. Evolutionists imply that "yom" is longer from several days to even billion years, simply adjustable so that it can support the forming of one thing to another (i.e. monkey to human), while they're buying time - and we know it will never happen.

6 Then God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” 7 Thus God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so. 8 And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day.

Comments:

Many teachers believe that God created a canopy of water above the sky, and water down below which we know as the seas and oceans. The waters above served as filter and temperature control to provide human beings a good or even perfect environment to live on earth (somewhat same function as the ozone layer). Making it possible for human to live hundreds of years - like Methuselah who lived 969 years. During the great flood - God opened up the heavens and released the floodgates of heaven (Gen 7:11). Many teachers believe that the layer of protection was removed, thus fulfilling what God said that life span will only last 120 years (Gen 6:3).

Spiritual Application (verses 2-5):

We all know that we were once in the darkness, under the dominion and control of Satan. We were "wild and wasted" or without form and void. But at some point in time, the Lord created us into a wonderful creation. When God's Spirit was hovering over the emptiness of mankind, the Lord found us and made us into new beings - people that reflect His beauty and majesty. We became new creation in Jesus Christ, when we responded to His love and grace (2 Cor 5:17). Do you want to be renewed and find new meaning in life? Ask God to make you new a new being, a new creation by inviting Him into your heart - and to make you a new person. As He promised, He will.