Something Out Of Nothing Series

BEGINNINGS

INTRODUCTION

Genesis is a universal, historical, and theological account of God, his creation and man. The new is as old as the Bible, the more things change the more they remain the same, whatever will be has been, and there is nothing new under the sun. People repeat themselves tediously, predictably, and laughably. Chapters 1-11 talk about who God is, what He did, and why he did it.

SOMETHING OUT OF NOTHING (GENESIS 1: 1-2:3)

One day a group of scientists got together and decided that man had come a long way and no longer needed God. So they picked one scientist to go and tell Him that they were done with Him.

The scientist walked up to God and said “God, we’ve decided that we no longer need you; We’re to the point that we can clone people and do many miraculous things, so why don’t You just go and get lost.”

God listened very patiently and kindly to the man. After the scientist was done talking, God said, “Very well, how about this? Let’s say we have a man-making contest.” To which the scientist replied, “Okay, great!”

But, God added, “Now we’re going to do this just like I did back in the old days with Adam.” The scientist said, “Sure, no problem” and bent down and grabbed himself a handful of dirt. God looked at him and said, “No, no, no. You go get your own dirt.”

God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. The world that God created is beautiful, rich, and matchless. It’s a wonderful world, a strange planet, and an earthly paradise. The song, “It’s a Small, Small World” expresses this thought:

“It’s a world of laughter, a world of tears.

It’s a world of hope, and a world of fears.

There’s so much that we share

And it’s time we’re aware it’s a small world after all.”

How did God create the world? What did He supply it with? And why did He give life to man?

God Ordered the World from Chaos to Creation

1:1 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 God saw that the light was good, and he 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. (Gen 1:1-5)

On day one of creation, God created the light, and God saw that the light was good (1:4) - the word “good” is repeated daily – once for each day, no more, no less (Gen 1:4, 10 , 12, 18, 21 , 25). The world is suited for us, its properties are jarring, and the conditions are right.

Encyclopedia Britannica says that the earth is a terrestrial body whose solid surface, abundant waters, and oxygen-rich atmosphere have combined to create conditions suitable for life…The Earth is a nearly spherical body with an equatorial radius of slightly more than 6,378 kilometers (3,963 miles)…The Earth’s magnetic field shields the planet from the most direct effects of the ionized gas that constitutes the solar wind, carving out a cavity known as the magnetosphere.

http://www.britannica.com/bcom/eb/article/4/0,5716,108974+1,00.html

Earth’s enormous size keeps it from losing its interior heat so that it remains geologically active. Its density provided enough gravity to hold onto a substantial atmosphere and a large ocean. Its distance from the sun, around 93 million miles, keeps the earth at an average temperature with which life can exist - between the freezing and boiling points of water. If it’s too hot, we become barbecue; too cold, we become Popsicles.

The 23.5 degrees tilt of its axis gives earth her seasons. We can go surfing and scuba-diving in the summer, and skiing and skating in the winter, slipping and sliding all the way.

The earth spins around like a top. It is like a huge spaceship rushing through space at about 60,000 miles per hour. (Understanding the Earth 8, Tom Williamson Morristown, NJ/Macmillan Publishers Limited/84).

Without the Creator, everything was chaos: “the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep” (v 2). It was without shape or content, distinctiveness or quality, time or space – unshaped, uninhabited and unruly. We call this “chaos” – disorder, discord or disaster.

Without God, the earth is a place of darkness, disarray, decay, death and destruction. But God called creation good after he placed His signature on it. Derek Kidner says, “God knows nothing of either conflict or chance in this: only of the watchful Creator who assigns to everything its value (4a), place (4b) and meaning (5a) (Derek Kidner, Genesis 47, Tyndale Old Testament Commentary, IVP).