He is called by many different names in Islam, and one of them is “The Loving.” But how could love exist before there was anything for him to love? And if Allah needs a creation to be who he is, then he becomes dependent on his creation. This is a major distinction with Islam: Allah is a singular god. Because the God of Genesis 1 is plural, he did not have to create in order to love. The Bible present all three persons of the Godhead involved in creation.ģ.
Throughout the chapter the word “God” is plural.
God eternally exists in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He is uncreated and he was before all things.Ģ. When there was nothing else there was God. There are several other important theological truths presented in the first chapter of the Bible:ġ. Genesis 1 Presents Important Theological Truths "But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’" (Mark 10:6) Furthermore, since Jesus clearly stated that God created man, to reject creation is to reject our Lord’s own testimony. Throughout the chapter it states repeatedly, “And God said.” Other scriptures also affirm that creation was by divine fiat. We could argue as to whether or not the six days were literal 24-hour periods, but all conservative scholarship upholds the historicity of creation.Īmong believers, there may be arguments of interpretation about how God actually formed the universe and his creative process, but there can be no denying that he created it, and that he created it by the power of his Word. Creation declares the glory of God, and Christians believe that he has given us a factual and historical account of how the world began. There is an intended focus on the Creator God in this chapter, revealing him in glorious power and majesty. From the immeasurably small to the seeming infinitude of space, the Lord made it all. Genesis 1 Establishes God as the Creator of All ThingsĪs you read Genesis 1, God dominates the entire chapter as he speaks the universe into existence. No human was there in the beginning to witness and record what happened. Whenever you address the subject of man’s origin, you are dealing with philosophy and not science, which is based upon empirical evidence and observation. We accept God’s record of our origin by faith-just as other views of origins are embraced by faith. Genesis 1 is a vital pillar on which the entire Bible stands. On the face of it, this chapter, and the lines of thought it develops, establish that God is different from the universe that he creates, and therefore pantheism is ruled out that the original creation was entirely good, and therefore dualism is ruled out that human beings, male and female together, are alone declared to be made in the image of God, and therefore forms of reductionism that claim we are part of the animal kingdom and no more must be ruled out that God is a talking God, and therefore all notions of an impersonal God must be ruled out that this God has sovereignly made all things, including all people, and therefore conceptions of merely tribal deities must be ruled out. And on that note, allow me to quote one of my favorite Bible teachers, D. The question of origin is one of the critical issues of our day, and the first verse of the first chapter is a rejection of all other philosophical ideas about our existence. If you cannot accept this simple statement there is simply no good reason to proceed any further. The very first verse of the very first chapter of the Bible has been called the most important verse in all of Scripture: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1) This is the foundation stone of a biblical worldview. Let me just encourage you to dive into Genesis 1 and exult in our glorious God who created all things for his own pleasure. I’ve also included some examples at the end of how I might answer these study questions myself. I’ve designed this piece to be used as a Bible study companion, providing some questions to help guide your meditations on this chapter. (If not, click here to get your copy.) In this article, I dive deeper into Genesis 1, which is one of the chapters mentioned in the e-book. If you’ve subscribed to my weekly update, first let me say thank you, and secondly, you should have already received my e-book, 10 Chapters of the Bible Every Christian Should Know and Understand.
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