Creation & Genesis, Part 3
Genesis 1:20-2:3 (ESV) ~ Creation Days 5 through 7
And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.” So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day. And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
Genesis 2:1-3 (ESV) ~ Creation Days 5 through 7
Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.
Purpose of creation account
- Identifies the Creator and sets him apart from all other gods.
- Explains the true origin of the world.
- Ties God’s past work with his future work.
Creation account notes
- “According to their kinds”
- Does God’s use of “kind” reveal foreknowledge?
- Kind roughly corresponds to Species (some cases Genera and even Family).
- Human history attests to this.
- Kind obviously conflicts with evolutionary
“Man in our image”
- Only humans share God’s breath.
- This indicates human’s physical and immaterial
- The immaterial sets humanity apart from the animal
- However, God is not physical – John 4:24
- What is different between human and animal?
- Advanced reasoning
- Intentional creativity
- Higher form of communication
- Free will
- Moral awareness
- Capacity to fully love
- New Testament writers have to remind us:
- 1 Corinthians 11:7 – Humanity needs to be ordered
- Ephesians 4:24 – Humans should be selfless
- James 3:9 – Humans should see each other blessed
- Rest
- God’s rest is symbolic
- Rest is for mankind and needs to be a regular part of our lives.
- God set the example and gave the prescription.
- Are you getting the required and needed rest in your life?
- God’s rest is also symbolic of an end of time.
- Human history inevitably comes to an end.
- Which side of rest will you be on?
- Have you done the “work” that precedes rest?
- Blessing
- God blesses that which has life with the ability to produce more life.
- Blessing becomes a major theme of the Old Testament.
- God promises to bless the world through Abraham’s offspring.
- Jesus fulfills this promise through his sacrifice.
- Today we are blessed with the ability to “reproduce.”
- Matt 28:18-20
- Are you living the “blessed” life?
Conclusion
“The account of creation…provides a vivid portrayal of the work of God in transforming chaos into a creation that is complete, fully blessed, and at rest.” ~ Allen P Ross, Creation and Blessing: A Guide to the Study an Exposition of Genesis
He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:6