with our modern scientific debates in mind. He also didn t write to silence critics who question the existence of God.

Transcription

1 SESSION ONE In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness covered the surface of the watery depths, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. Then God said, Let there be light, and there was light (Genesis 1:1-3). 13

2 When we hear the word gospel, we think about the first four books of the New Testament. When we hear the word gospel, we think about Jesus and the cross. When we hear the word gospel, we think about miracles, grace, and salvation. When we hear the word gospel, we don t think about the Book of Genesis. At least I (Matt) never did. Most people associate a study of Genesis with creation, evolution, intelligent design, the patriarchs, the usual. But did you know that the gospel can be seen just as clearly in Genesis 1 as Luke 19? Would it surprise you to hear that the cross is spoken of as early as Genesis 3? The truth is, you can t get three verses into the first chapter of the first book of the Bible before you see evidence of the gospel. The gospel refers to God s redemption and restoration of a rebellious people back to Himself for His glory and our good. It s about God taking a creation that has unraveled as a consequence of the sin of man and restoring it back to its original purpose and design. This is the message of the One Grand Story of Scripture, and it s the genesis of the Book of Genesis the beginning of the beginning. BEFORE WE BEGIN To begin a study of the Book of Genesis (or any book of the Bible for that matter), one of the most important things to keep in mind is the author s intended purpose for the book. Good hermeneutics, that is, good interpretation and study of God s Word, starts by taking into consideration the original author, audience, and historical context. Our natural reaction is to bring our expectations, thoughts, feelings, and culture to a text, so this can be a challenging starting point for us. We tend to view Scripture through the lens of our circumstances. Sometimes that s the only way we know how to approach the Bible. However, this approach is dangerous. When we open up the Word of God, the first thing we should do is lay our presuppositions aside in order to seek the true meaning of the text. Then we can apply that meaning to our lives. We can t shortcut this process. The Holy Spirit will work, not in spite of a biblical author s intended purpose, but through that purpose. Most theologians and biblical scholars agree that the author of Genesis is Moses, and no one questions that the original intended audience was not a 21st-century one. When we encounter passages like Genesis 1:1, we have in the back of our minds cultural influences such as the creation debates about when and how the universe came into existence. While contemplating the details of creation can be important and interesting, we must remember that Moses didn t write Genesis opening words 14

3 with our modern scientific debates in mind. He also didn t write to silence critics who question the existence of God. Moses original audience was a B.C. Jewish one the Israelites of the ancient Near East. They didn t have a scientific paradigm to ask the questions raised by later generations, and they weren t questioning God s existence or how the world came to be. Moses intent in the first verses of Genesis was to show the pattern for how God was going to deal with not only the formless and void world, but the formless and void hearts of the men and women who rejected Him. Genesis chapters 1 and 2 raise many disputed issues, from Young Earth to Old Earth creationism, to theistic or non-theistic evolution and the acceptance or rejection of intelligent design altogether. For those of you interested, a whole slew of books exist that address the many debates surrounding creation. 1 But for the purpose of this study, we re going to focus on the dominant theological emphasis in the text the evidence of the gospel. So we ll begin by asking ourselves, What is the context of this passage? But before we answer this question, consider the following illustration on the importance of context: I have three children. My third child has affectionately earned the nickname Hurricane Sammy. Imagine you re my neighbor, and you see me running around my front lawn chasing after Sammy. My face is bright red, and the veins in my neck are bulging as I m yelling at him. It s apparent that I ve completely lost my cool, and you don t know what I m going to do once I get my hands on him. If that s the only thing you see, you may wonder if I m an abusive father. You may even keep a close eye on me for fear that you need to turn me in to the police. And all of that is because you don t know my intention. Instead of keeping all of these suspicions to yourself, what if you talked to me to find out what was really going on? Then you d find out that I was angry at Sammy because he was running around with a stick trying to hit his sister on the head. Doesn t that change everything? Doesn t finding out my intent and purpose for acting the way I did clarify the situation? IDOL-WORSHIPING ISRAELITES The Israelites, Moses original audience for Genesis, were en route to the promised land. If they weren t asking questions about intelligent design and how long the earth had been around, what questions were they asking? What were the issues in their lives and hearts that would ve impacted Moses writing? 15

4 We learn from various passages in the Bible that the Israelites had a problem with building and worshiping idols. They were quick to worship gods they believed had the power to save and rescue them, despite their relationship with the one true God. They had a deep and constant inclination of their hearts toward evil, and idolatry is a natural overflow of this sinful state. 2 All the writers of the Old Testament, Moses included, repeatedly had to remind the people of God that the God of Israel is the Lord, and their idols could never match His power. God alone is uncreated. He created the heavens and the earth and every molecule and atom they (and we) encounter. For the L ORD is great and is highly praised; He is feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the L ORD made the heavens (Psalm 96:4-5). The root of Israel s problem was a lack of belief and trust in the power and might of God. Throughout the Old Testament, including Psalm 96, writers knitted together stories, poems, and exhortations to remind the Israelites that their God is powerful and mighty; that He alone is able to save. Moses introductory sentences in the Book of Genesis reveal to the Israelites the power and might of their God. His intent was to help his Jewish audience understand that the God of their bedtime stories, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the God of Moses was the very same God who created the world. Moses said to his audience, He is your God, the God of Israel, who was the catalyst for, and the Author and Creator of, everything. So, if Genesis was written for idol-worshiping Israelites, how does it intersect with our lives? Answering that question is the purpose behind this study. Because of our unique position in history, we re able to hold the completed Bible in our hands. When we read Genesis, we do so in light of all of Scripture, including the New Testament. Genesis doesn t mean less to us than it did to the Israelites; it means more. Moses original intent for writing Genesis still remains applicable for us. The pages of this book reveal who our God is and remind us that above all else, He s our God. But with the completed Scripture in our hands and the Holy Spirit bringing it to life, we see that not only is our God a God who speaks into a formless and void world to create light, but He also speaks into formless and void hearts to create the light of the knowledge of God s glory in the face of Jesus (2 Corinthians 4:6). FORMLESS AND VOID From the very beginning, thousands of years before the name of Jesus was uttered, we 16

5 see echoes of the gospel. In Genesis 1:3 we get a glimpse of the One who would come to this earth and shine His light into the darkness of our hearts. Listen to how the earth is described in Genesis 1: 2. The apostle Paul gave a powerful condemnation of idolatry and the sins it leads to in Romans 1: 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, ESV). In the beginning the earth was formless. God had not yet established the earth, or fixed its dimensions, or stretched a measuring line across it (Job 38:4-5). There was no order; chaos reigned. In the beginning the earth was void. It was empty. God had not yet filled the land with vegetation and livestock, the ocean with fish, or the heavens with stars. The Hebrew wording for formless and void (tohu and bohu) is very specific, conveying the idea of utter chaos and complete disorder. 3 On top of that chaos, we read that it was dark. So, God created the heavens and the earth, but the earth was chaotic, dark, cold, and uninhabitable. The world was lifeless. ECHOES OF THE GOSPEL That remained the state of the earth until God spoke into the darkness and chaos: Then God said, Let there be light, and there was light (Genesis 1:3). God spoke! And when He spoke, light appeared. And from this light came life. Life started springing up in every shape, form, and color. God looked at what was once dark, cold, and chaotic and said, Now that is good! Do you hear the echo of the gospel in God s command for light in the midst of darkness? Do you see God setting the stage for a greater plan through those simple words in the very beginning? The Israelites continually struggled to worship the Creator instead of their creations. Why? Because their hearts were filled with darkness and void of goodness: When the L ORD saw that man s wickedness was widespread on the earth and that every scheme his mind thought of was nothing but evil all the time (Genesis 6:5). And in truth, humanity hasn t changed in that regard. We may live thousands of years later, but Paul s description of human life apart from God still fits: 17

6 3 Or confusion and emptiness, as the words are rendered in Isaiah 34:11 (ESV). In verse 2, the reference to the Spirit of God moved literally means continued brooding over it, as a fowl does when hatching eggs. ii They are darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them and because of the hardness of their hearts (Ephesians 4:18). Just as in the beginning God commanded light to shine in the midst of utter darkness, He has shone the light of His Son Jesus into our darkened hearts: For God who said, Let light shine out of darkness, has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of God s glory in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6). In addition to light in the darkness, the second echo of the gospel we see in creation is that God speaks form into the formless and creates order from chaos. In the first three days of creation, God addressed the formlessness of the earth: Then God said, Let there be light, and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light day, and He called the darkness night. Evening came and then morning: the first day. Then God said, Let there be an expanse between the waters, separating water from water. So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above the expanse. And it was so. God called the expanse sky. Evening came and then morning: the second day. Then God said, Let the water under the sky be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear. And it was so. God called the dry land earth, and He called the gathering of the water seas. And God saw that it was good (Genesis 1:3-10). To bring order to the chaos of the world, God created time periods of day and night. He also gave the unruly waters boundaries and said, Only this far will you come and no further, so that order exists between the water and heaven and the water and dry land. Again we see in creation the foreshadowing of the gospel in our lives. Read how the apostle Paul described the chaos that results from his wrestling with sin: For I do not understand what I am doing, because I do not practice what I want to do, but I do what I hate. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree with the law that it is good. So now I am no longer the one doing it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my 18

7 flesh. For the desire to do what is good is with me, but there is no ability to do it. For I do not do the good that I want to do, but I practice the evil that I do not want to do. Now if I do what I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but it is the sin that lives in me. So I discover this principle: When I want to do what is good, evil is with me. For in my inner self I joyfully agree with God s law. But I see a different law in the parts of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and taking me prisoner to the law of sin in the parts of my body. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this dying body? (Romans 7:15-24). One word describes the state of Paul s heart chaotic. He knew what was right, but he couldn t do it, and he knew what he was doing was wrong, but he couldn t stop. From within his struggles and the turmoil of his soul, Paul asked one question. His was the same question every person wrestling with sin has cried for generations: Who will rescue me from this dying body? Thankfully, Paul gave us an answer: I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with my mind I myself am a slave to the law of God, but with my flesh, to the law of sin. Therefore, no condemnation now exists for those in Christ Jesus (Romans 7:25 8:1). Jesus is the answer to the chaotic struggle with sin in the human heart. The Word of God made flesh. It s true now, and it was true in the beginning. Only one thing can bring form and order in the midst of chaos the Word of the Living God. I challenge you to find one Christian whose story doesn t look like Paul s. No matter what country, culture, or century believers are from, if you ask them to describe their conversion experiences, they will speak stories of a God who brought joy into their sorrows, peace into their calamity, and order into their chaos. The third echo of the gospel evident in the creation account is the way God dealt with what Scripture calls the void. After remedying the darkness and the formlessness of the world, God addressed its emptiness. According to verses 11-25, He filled the earth with three different things fruit, light, and life. These are the same things God uses to fill the void in our lives when we come to Him in faith and trust Christ s completed work on the cross for our salvation. Let s compare the Genesis verses with a few passages from the New Testament. FRUIT Then God said, Let the earth produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit with seed in it according to their 19

8 kinds. And it was so. The earth produced vegetation: seed-bearing plants according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. Evening came and then morning: the third day (Genesis 1:11-13). Remain in Me, and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in Me. I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in Me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without Me (John 15:4-5). In a 2007 Barna Group survey, 60 percent of the adult population questioned said they take Genesis literally when it says God created the universe in six days. iii LIGHT Then God said, Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night. They will serve as signs for festivals and for days and years. They will be lights in the expanse of the sky to provide light on the earth. And it was so. God made the two great lights the greater light to have dominion over the day and the lesser light to have dominion over the night as well as the stars. God placed them in the expanse of the sky to provide light on the earth, to dominate the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. Evening came and then morning: the fourth day (Genesis 1:14-19). You are the light of the world (Matthew 5:14). LIFE Then God said, Let the water swarm with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky. So God created the large sea-creatures and every living creature that moves and swarms in the water, according to their kinds. He also created every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. So God blessed them, Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the waters of the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth. Evening came and then morning: the fifth day. Then God said, Let the earth produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that crawl, and the wildlife of the earth according to their kinds. And it was so. So God made the wildlife of the earth according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and creatures that crawl on the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good (Genesis 1:20-25). 20

9 A thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance (John 10:10). Before God produces fruit, light, and life in us, our hearts are void and empty. Our lives are devoid of anything good, joyful, or fulfilling, even if we ve fooled ourselves into believing they aren t. The life of one of our greatest church fathers, St. Augustine of Hippo, is a great example of this point. He left this world as one of the godliest men of faith who ever lived, but that wasn t always the case. His life was filled with emptiness and void, and he was plagued by sexual sins. But a day came when everything changed. Listen to the cry of his heart as he describes how God filled the void in his life: How sweet all at once it was for me to be rid of those fruitless joys which I had once feared to lose! You drove them from me, you who are the true, the sovereign joy. You drove them from me and took their place, you who are sweeter than all pleasure. 4 THE CREATION OF HUMANITY Up to this point in Genesis, God had repeatedly foreshadowed the gospel in His creation of the universe, the plants, and the animals. Starting in verse 26, He shifted gears and focused on the creation of those who would be the recipients of the gospel. Then God said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, all the earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth. So God created man in His own image; He created him in the image of God; He created them male and female (Genesis 1:26-27). Prior to these verses, God had created in a third person kind of way. He spoke a command to let there be, and the universe obeyed. But God created differently when it came to humanity. Instead of saying let there be, He said let Us make. His creation of humanity was also distinct from the creation of the animals. While God created each of them according to their kind, He created man and woman according to His very likeness. Special emphasis was given to the creation of humanity, the future recipients of the gospel: God blessed them, and God said to them, Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls on the earth. God also said, Look, I have given 21

10 you every seed-bearing plant on the surface of the entire earth and every tree whose fruit contains seed. This food will be for you, for all the wildlife of the earth, for every bird of the sky, and for every creature that crawls on the earth everything having the breath of life in it. I have given every green plant for food. And it was so. God saw all that He had made, and it was very good. Evening came and then morning: the sixth day (Genesis 1:28-31). 4. As quoted in John Piper s The Legacy of Sovereign Joy: God s Triumphant Grace in the Lives of Augustine, Luther, and Calvin (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books, 2000), 57. In verses 28-31, Moses used poetic language to describe what God said to the first man and woman. The English translation of this passage makes the poetry difficult to see, but hints of it seep through. Notice the repetition of the word every. This repetition mimics the stanzas of a poem or song. Imagine God singing a song over His most prized creation, and the only created being that He saw fit to wear His image us. When my (Halim) first child, Malachi, was born, I stood in that hospital room and held him in my arms. And even though up to this point all he had done was cost me a lot of money and caused my wife a lot of pain, as I held him in my arms for the very first time, I was crazy about him. I always wondered what my first interaction with my first child would be like and what my first words to him would be. In that moment I could only think of one thing to say to him: Everything I have is yours. Holding His most prized creation, His own children, in His arms, God sang over us and told us that everything He created was created for our benefit, and it was good. The word good shows up several times in the creation account. Out of God s own goodness, He created good things, and when He was finished, He reflected on His work: God saw all that He had made, and it was very good (Genesis 1:31). In the midst of a dark, formless, and void world, God created light, order, and life. But what happened next in the history of this newly created world is what created the need for the gospel that we ve been talking about: humanity s rejection of the goodness of God and the subsequent unraveling of all the good found in creation. 22

11 CONSIDER THIS According to the New Testament passages we examined in this session, the gospel produces fruit, light, and life in the lives of its recipients. With this in mind, reflect on the following questions: Where do you see spiritual fruit in your life? Where do you see spiritual light in your life? Where do you see spiritual life in your life? God creates order where there s chaos. What would your life be like if God hadn t saved you? What do you think you d be doing, and how do you think you d be living? 23

12 Consider the echoes of the gospel in the creation account as you think about the following questions: Is it hard to believe your heart was dark and empty apart from Christ? Why or why not? Think of non-christians in your life. In what ways do you expect them to behave as if they have life in their hearts? In what ways have you put the pressure on yourself or on them to come to know God instead of acknowledging that He alone is capable of making life? God s work alone makes dead hearts alive. Is that frustrating to you or relieving? How does it make you feel and why? 24

13 Other than God, what do you worship? Do you look to relationships to make you feel safe and secure? Do your possessions give you worth? Do your skills/abilities or the roles you re in provide you with security, approval, or power? Compare the things or people you listed in the previous question with the God of creation. How might His power over creation lead you to worship and trust in Him instead of idols? What are the dark places in your heart? How does God s power to create something from nothing give you hope of change in those areas? 25