This is the only definitive record of origins. Everything else is merely human speculation of alternative faith systems. God has provided all the essentials we need to know.
1. God created.
"In the beginning God..." The account begins with the Who of origins not a process. The Hebrew word is Elohim; a plural that is stated in verse 26. The God of the Bible is one and reveals Himself in three distinct personalities of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each is present in creation. Colossians 1:16 credits the Son (Jesus) as the Creator of all things in heaven and earth. Jesus, then, is fully God.
2. God's method of creation.
"And God said..." He called things into
existence out of nothing. He spoke and
"it was so." This method is
not only stated in Genesis but is consistently upheld throughout the Bible. God "...calls into existence the things that do not exist." (Romans 4:17b) "By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible." (Hebrews 11:3)
3. God's timing of creation.
After calling light into existence, each period of His work is indicated by "evening and morning." Earth's 24-hour rotation was already active. This is authenticated in the 10 Commandments. "For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day." (Exodus 20:11a)
4. God's created things with maturity.
When God called something into existence it was already
mature and functional. He did not create seed and then
wait for it to grow, or eggs and hope they would hatch on their own. He created vegetation, creatures, and humans
with seed within their kind to reproduce.
5. God created with uniqueness.
Referring to reproduction of living things, no less than five times in this first chapter the phrase "according to its kind" appears. In other words, sea life did not produce human life, etc. "...to each kind of seed its own body. For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish." (1 Corinthians 15:38b-39)
6. God created human life after Himself.
When God created humans, it was a unique work over all previous creation. There are distinct characteristics about human life that separates this work of God from all others. Adam was a special creation in God's image. Humans were charged with having dominion over and a stewardship of the Owner's creation. Humans are the only ones of with the capacity to know and have a personal relationship with God. Humans are the only ones with an eternal soul. Each person will spend eternity somewhere, depending how they respond to God in this life.
7. God is the source of all that is good.
When God created, each day was followed by the same
declaration, "And God saw that it was good." And, at the completion in verse 31, "God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good." God is good. It is His nature.
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