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. (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. I’ve designed this piece to be used as a Bible study companion, providing some questions to help guide your meditations on this chapter. I’ve also included some examples at the end of how I might answer these study questions myself.

Let me just encourage you to dive into Genesis 1 and exult in our glorious God who created all things for his own pleasure. (Revelation 4:11)

In the beginning...

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. If you cannot accept this simple statement there is simply no good reason to proceed any further.

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. And on that note, allow me to quote one of my favorite Bible teachers, D. A. Carson:

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.¹

Genesis 1 is a vital pillar on which the entire Bible stands. We accept God’s record of our origin by faith—just as other views of origins are embraced by faith. 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. No human was there in the beginning to witness and record what happened.

Genesis 1 Establishes God as the Creator of All Things

As you read Genesis 1, God dominates the entire chapter as he speaks the universe into existence. From the immeasurably small to the seeming infinitude of space, the Lord made it all. There is an intended focus on the Creator God in this chapter, revealing him in glorious power and majesty. Creation declares the glory of God, and Christians believe that he has given us a factual and historical account of how the world began. 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.

Among 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. Throughout the chapter it states repeatedly, “And God said.” Other scriptures also affirm that creation was by divine fiat. Furthermore, since Jesus clearly stated that God created man, to reject creation is to reject our Lord’s own testimony.

"But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’" (Mark 10:6)

Genesis 1 Presents Important Theological Truths

There are several other important theological truths presented in the first chapter of the Bible:

1. God is eternal. When there was nothing else there was God. He is uncreated and he was before all things.

2. The Trinity. God eternally exists in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Throughout the chapter the word “God” is plural. The Bible present all three persons of the Godhead involved in creation.

3. God is love. Because the God of Genesis 1 is plural, he did not have to create in order to love. This is a major distinction with Islam: Allah is a singular god. 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 contradicts Islam’s teaching that Allah is dependent on nothing.

Because the God of Genesis 1 is plural, he did not have to create in order to love.

Aristotle, the famous 4th century Greek philosopher, struggled with this problem. How can God be good when goodness involves being good to another? The way he reconciled this was to admit an eternal creation. Therefore, he deduced that the Lord and his creation have eternally coexisted. Either way, if God needs to the universe to be who he is, then he is dependent on something else. Singular gods create because of some need or desire and for their own gratification, not for love.

If you’ve ever wondered what God was doing before Genesis 1, Jesus provides the answer in his high priestly prayer: “Father, I desire that they also, who you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me, because you loved me before the foundation of the world.” (John 17:24 [emphasis mine]) Before the world came into existence, God was pouring out love upon the Son, and the Son delighted to reciprocate that perfect love.

To Study Genesis 1:

• > Read it three or four times.
• > Make a list of everything it says about God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit).
• > What does this chapter show me about God for which I should praise or thank him?
• > List anything that it tells you about yourself.
• > What false attitudes, behavior, emotions, or idols come alive in me whenever I forget these truths?
• > What does the text show me about a need that I have?
• > Choose the verse and truth that is most striking and helpful to you. Paraphrase the thought or verse in your own words.

To give you an example of how I might walk through these questions:

• > Genesis 1:2 tells us that the Spirit brings order out of chaos.
• > This verse shows us that the Spirit is concerned about creation, loves creation, and cultivates creation.
• > We see toward the end of the chapter that God first put man on the earth as a gardener and gave him dominion and responsibility to cultivate His creation. A gardener tries to bring order out of chaos, to cultivate, and to bring out the potential of God’s creation. God intended work to be that.
• > When I forget this truth, I see work as a curse and not a calling.
• > I need to thank God daily for the gift of my work and the work of others that is useful to me. I need to approach my work as serving God’s call to cultivate and draw out the potential of His creation.

To Dig Even Deeper

Most believers are unaware of the great importance the doctrine of the Trinity holds to the Christian faith. Michael Reeves, in his excellent work Delighting in the Trinity, has done a wonderful job explaining the significance of the Trinity to our lives as Christians. Far from being a dull theological treatise, this book will thrill your heart and impart a fresh appreciation of who God is.

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Paul Andrews has been a pastor for over 30 years and currently is the senior pastor of Faith Family Church in Finksburg, Maryland. This site exists to help men know Jesus Christ so they can more effectively lead themselves and their families. You can get Pastor Andrews' latest posts delivered straight to your email inbox by subscribing here.

¹ For the Love of God: A Daily Companion for Discovering the Riches of God's Word. (Wheaton, IL, Crossway Books, 1998), p. 26.