Alpha and Omega, Part 1
“In the beginning …”
Genesis 1:1-5
Introduction
- Begin the year with “one purpose”: Knowing there is a God!
-- Resolutions change and fluctuate, so instead let’s go with “one purpose”
-- This will frame our year, word: GROW; and allow us to dive deeper
- Today we begin our series titled, “Alpha and Omega”; examine beginning to end
-- Study two critical questions: How did we get here? How does it end?
-- Have lots to get to today in order to set the foundation for entire series (2023)
-- I really want you to stick with me today and see how incredible God is!
- GET THIS: We must know there IS a God! (This is CRITICAL!!)
-- As a building requires a builder, a creation must have a creator
-- Kids learning same thing: bible, watch, and a pencil all needed a creator
-- Even the energy in the universe required a source … it required a beginning
- There is an irrational logic trying to prove something happened from nothing
-- Scientists will tell us to follow the science, but ignore their own rules:
-- ASK: “Even if it all started with a bang, what created the bang’s elements?”
- Somewhere between 7th and 4th century, B.C., Job pondered these words:
-- Job 26:8-10, “He wraps the rain in his thick clouds, and the clouds don’t burst with the weight. He covers the face of the moon, shrouding it with his clouds. He created the horizon when he separated the waters; he set the boundary between day and night.”
- Here are some facts (known things) we can ponder today:
-- The sun is our closest star; radius is: 432,690 mi, circumference is: 865,380 mi
-- In comparison, Earth is only 3,958 mi, circum. is 7,916 mi (1.3M fit into sun)
-- However, universally speaking, the sun is only an average size star
-- EX: Pistol Star, in Pistol Nebula, is 100 times larger & 10 million times brighter
- Our known universe has 1 septillion stars (that’s a 1 with 24 zeros after it)
-- Traveling at the speed of light, it would take 28 billion years or more to see it all
-- Now, consider the complete summation of God’s power in Psalm 147:4, “He counts the stars and calls them all by name.”
- Let’s get personal here: consider the foundation of humans (DNA)
-- A strand of DNA is known to be measured at 2.5 nanometers in diameter
-- There are 25,400,000 nanometers in one inch: 6’ person = 18,288,000,000 (18B)
-- God said to one prophet, Jeremiah 1:5, “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born, I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.”
- FACT: The knowledge & power of God must always be kept before us!!
-- This is what will draw our series together for the entire year
- Now, with all this as an introduction …
-- Let’s look at our passage for today … Read Genesis 1:1-5 / Pray
Point 1 – What is the foundation of our faith?
- Foundation of faith: if you cannot trust Creation, what can you believe in?
-- Settle: If we have a Creator, it must mean that the rest of God’s word is true
-- EX: Believers put their trust that God redeems in Christ; it is our HOPE
- Consider for a moment: Who other than your Creator could rescue you?
-- ASK: How can we be redeemed (which means to RESTORE something to its original condition) if the actual owner doesn’t do the saving?
-- Rephrase: How can we know that we are redeemed if no one is in charge?
- HUGE: If we cannot trust what Genesis says, we have a huge problem in faith
-- APP: Because, if there is no Creator there also cannot be a redeemer
-- This one change will affect all of human history (through Revelation 22)!
- (v1) “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”
-- Look at the factuality here: there is no middle ground on this issue (sets tone)
-- God created everything that we see and know
-- This is ultimate demonstration and revelation of authority for us
- The scientist and English philosopher Herbert Spencer said, “Everything that exists, exists in one of these five categories: time, force, action, space, and matter. (key scientific phrase) Nothing exists outside of those categories.”
-- APP: Very astute discovery that didn't come until nineteenth century (1800’s)!
-- But get this, Spencer was a huge evolutionist! doctrine: “social Darwinism”
-- He even introduced the phrase: “survival of the fittest” (credited to C. Darwin)
- TR: Might ask: But if he is wrong, why bring it up? Well, because …
Point 2 – Words (and facts) really do matter!
- Ref his quote: Everything that exists is right here in Genesis, Chapter 1, Verse 1
-- Notice how it is written … every phrase is scientifically confirmed:
• Time – In the Beginning
• Force – God
• Action – Created
• Space – the Heavens
• Matter – the Earth
- Spencer wrote the blueprint of how the Earth was created, but totally missed it!
-- He did not see that what he wrote confirmed God’s word (re: favored evol. view)
-- APP: What we find ourselves in then is a situation that defines all of us today
- If you do not believe in Creation, you fall into one of these two categories:
1. Theistic Evolutionist: Believes that God is real, yet somehow God used evolution to evolve all things in this world (to include mankind)
2. Naturalistic Evolutionist (which most non-believers are): Believes that everything evolved by accident, and that there is no God (or Creator)
-- This supports the equation: “Nobody times Nothing equals Everything!”
-- I’m not a math major, but nothing times nothing always equals nothing!
- Consider for a moment the idea of evolving via evolution:
-- FACT: Inorganic matter cannot organize itself to become organic! (ref: tree)
-- FACT: Inorganic matter cannot evolve to reach the level of human intelligence
- We have a Creator that cared so much for us, that He created everything we see
-- The theory of evolution violates the entire 1st sentence of the Word of the Lord
-- APP: If you can dismantle what God did, you can discard the entire Bible
-- But remember what the science shows? Everything exists (see above) …
- When we start trying to explain how we got here without recognizing God …
-- … we are assuming that we are god-like and can be God (dangerous)
-- God is specific: Exodus 20:3 says, “You must not have any other god but me.”
- Gen 1:1 gives us complete insight into knowing who the Creator is
-- It shows what our Creator is possible of – which then affects our course in life
TR: So, this brings us to a very relevant (and hotly debated) big question …
Point 3 – Big question: How old is the earth?
- Let’s set this up properly in order to define this answer biblically
- You either believe that God created it all or He didn’t. (Period)
-- APP: As believers must be prepared to defend this – to include right here / now
- The big question we come to then is this, “How did God do all these things?”
-- David exemplifies in Psalm 33:6-9, “The Lord merely spoke, and the heavens were created. He breathed the word, and all the stars were born. He assigned the sea its boundaries and locked the oceans in vast reservoirs. Let the whole world fear the Lord and let everyone stand in awe of him. For when he spoke, the world began! It appeared at his command.”
- Many want to debate the timeline of the creation; we must know what we know
- The bible records that God created the Earth in 6 days … however …
-- Scientists use something called “the gap theory” to explain a timeline of millions of years mysteriously inserted between verse 1 and verse 2 … this is FALSE!
-- The gap theory was an attempt by Christian theologians to reconcile time
-- Show world history with a worldly belief that geologists provided
-- Called it “undeniable” evidence that the world is very old (billions of years)
-- BIG: Christian attempt to “water down” Bible to fit society’s view of God
- How can we know the age? Must trust God’s word! So, let’s do the math!
-- The writer of Genesis defines the times of the Patriarchs (actually born/death)
-- Genesis 5 gives ages of dates when people were born & how old Patriarchs were
-- This allows us to do the math, working back, from the time of Christ …
- When we apply timeline before Christ to creation (genealogy) = ~ 4,000 years
-- We know the timeline between Christ and us, this is clear = ~ 2,000 years
-- Add those two together: The Earth is approximately 6,000 years old!
-- IMP: The reason we need to know this is: So others cannot violate God’s truth
- One quick thought to give you to shoot things down quickly in this debate:
-- “What about fossils? How do we explain fossils?” (re: millions of years old)
- OK, let’s keep it simple: What are fossils? Bones of things that have died!
-- Romans 5:12 says, “When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned.”
-- Hebrew: hamartia; sin Hebrew: thanatos; death
- APP: So what? Why is this important?
-- Death came because of (through) sin; well … there is no sin until Gen, Ch. 3!
-- So, how can we have bones of dead things before there is even death?? (pause)
- HUGE: Understanding God’s Word isn’t a mystery because it says what is says!
-- Yes, we’ll talk about dinosaurs (those are mentioned in oldest book, Job, Ch 40)
-- But here is a simple fact to remember: you can’t have dead things before death!
- TR: So, if we know the age and science, let’s get down to the specifics …
-- Side note: Who knew a preacher could make three points from one verse?
-- Well, just wait until we do Genesis 1:26 (go ahead and look … 4 weeks away)
- Check: Still with me? Hang in there, almost done … this is really the good stuff!
Point 4 – Know this: God spoke, and the universe responded
- FACT: God spoke all these things into existence, so we’d have a clear record!
- In the beginning, there was clear and unmistakable darkness in the universe
- We see v2 giving us a clear description of the Earth: “formless and empty”
-- There was “darkness on the face of the deep” and God’s “Spirit was hovering”
- At the beginning of Day 1, we have nothing except for God, and His Spirit (IMP)
- Hebrew phrase used “tohu wa boho”; tohu wa is wasteland; boho is empty
-- The Earth, in the very beginning, was nothing; even without form / shape
- Picture it: The Earth was simply a vast expanse of empty, formless, liquid
-- The word “deep” used in the scripture refers to the “sea”, or waters covering
-- Hebrew: tehom; deep, sea, abyss
-- Water is a central element of life; the beginning of everything is: water
- Says the Spirit of the Lord hovered over the water
-- Hebrew: rachaph (raw-khaf); relaxed, soft (implied: not rigid or active)
- Watch this: God physically ENGAGED the Earth through the Holy Spirit
-- He moved the Spirit to work, signifying His investment in everything
- And if that were not enough … look at His power: v3 said, “Let there be light”
-- Don’t miss: The sun, moon, and stars were not created until Day 4 (v14-19)
-- This light that was spoken separated day from night … immediately!
- FACT: Without light, life is impossible – all life dies without light
-- This critical observation is that God knew this, and He spoke light into existence
- In v4, God saw the light, and said, “it was good”
-- Hebrew word “towb” (pronounced “tow-bee”) which is “pleasant”
-- It represents how God felt about what He has just spoken into existence
- Upon seeing that this light was beautiful and separated the darkness …
-- He names the first day – which becomes the foundation for days today (v5)
- IMP: If you get nothing else, please get this: v5 gives us a defined timeline:
-- It is a literal translation of the Hebrew word for order (word is: yom; day)
-- It doesn’t describe a long billion-year process; it describes one day
-- One cycle of light and dark – one evening and morning
-- APP: What we have just unpacked happened in one 24-hour timeframe
- HUGE: This happened by the hand of the same God who wants to redeem you!!
-- The same God who would one day send His Son to die, is the one who spoke!
-- You and I must never lose sight of this … it’ll frame the entire year for us!
-- Want to grow? Let this take root in your soul and your perspective will change!
Big Idea
1. Understanding creation IS critical for all of us
-- God created, based on His power and authority, and set our foundations in place
-- IMP: If we have no Creator, we have no Redeemer – only Creator can redeem!
2. Creation causes us to marvel at who God is; to see His complete authority
-- Psalm 14:1, “Only fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, and their actions are evil; not one of them does good!”
3. When we recognize what God has done, we must stand in AWE of who He is
-- He did not overcomplicate this, in order that you and I could comprehend this!
-- God has a mind, a will, and emotions -- He communicates and reveals Himself
-- Psalm 33:8 encourages our response, “Let the whole world fear the Lord, and let everyone stand in awe of him.”
- The challenge for you is this: have you settled this matter in your heart?
-- Have you settled it in a manner that will allow your faith to grow (ref 2023)?
-- Or are we still trying to be the ones in control even in the face of His power?
- Pray for:
• Willingness to believe that God has done what He said
• Which includes our redemption IF we will call upon Jesus as Lord
• Give us a desire to want to know more because of incredible God is
