The sacred account before us is the only intelligent answer as to the reason for our earth's existence as it is. d. “The story of human descent from apes is not merely a scientific hypothesis; it is the secular equivalent of the story of Adam and Eve, and a matter of immense cultural importance. It seems highly improbable that the creation of light merely means the making of light visible upon the earth. "And God said, Let the earth put forth grass, herbs yielding seed, and fruit-trees bearing fruit after their kind, wherein is the seed thereof, upon the earth; and it was so. And God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. The text does not state that God made light visible, but that He created it. It is said there would be at least 40 different stages of evolution required to form an eye. The heavens were created on Day 1, and this means that the sun, moon and stars were already created when this fourth day began. "[2] The Spirit here is the Blessed Holy Spirit, concerning whom much more information appears in the N.T. In those days, men worshipped the sun, moon, and stars. It is likely that light and darkness in some cosmic sense were divided on the first day. iii. And so mancan know God. God called, &c. — God distinguished them from each other by different names, as the Lord of both. Since He created them, the differences are good and meaningful. Certainly, we reject any view that puts God to work for uncounted billions of years in the production of that creation which is now visible to man. "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness ..." It is the kinship of humanity to God Himself that shines in this, a conception that is launched here and is never diminished until the God-Man Himself, "The Lamb standing as though it had been slain" (Revelation 5:6), is seen in the very midst of the throne of God! If this exceedingly complex and precise placement of the earth was not a special act of God, why is it, as far as can be determined, absolutely unique? These disagreements are signs not of crisis but of healthy creative ferment within the field, and in any case there is no room for doubt whatever about something called the ‘fact’ of evolution” (Johnson). Any basis for dogmatic assurance concerning exactly what is meant by the days of this chapter has eluded us; and we therefore leave it as one of the "secret things which belong unto Jehovah our God" (Deuteronomy 29:29). None of these specifically human dimensions of sex are required for reproduction, but all of them are useful for sex as a tool of bonding. —The conjunction “and” negatives the well-meant attempt to harmonise geology and Scripture by taking Genesis 1:1 as a mere heading; the two verses go together, and form a general summary of creation, which is afterwards divided into its several stages. i. The sheer supernaturalism of this entire narrative is its principal characteristic. The concept of man being created in the image of God is repeated to give emphasis to the idea. The great message of this day is that God created life, there being utterly no other possible source of it. In the new heavens and the new earth, there won’t be any sun or moon. The giving being to that which before was not. No matter how far back into the mists of prehistoric time men may postulate the point of origin for our universe, it is precisely THERE that they must confront God, the omnipotent, eternal, all-pervading, omniscient First Cause, known to Christians as the God of the Bible. We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. Study the bible online using commentary on Genesis 1 and more! This parallelism does not deny the chronological sequence of the six days. At the time, it was entirely good; there was no death or decay on earth at all. For example, if some theory regarding how our galaxy (the universe) began from the explosion of a dense star, should be received as true, then how did the dense star begin? And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.". Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. Jamieson pointed out that the term "firmament" carries the meaning of "an expanse ... the beating out as of a plate of metal,"[5] suggesting the utility of a shield, an apt figure indeed when it is recalled that the earth would long ago have been destroyed by showers of meteorites (as upon the moon) had it not been for the protection of our atmosphere. The completeness of these actions is also inherent in such a statement as this. It also requires a priesthood, in the form of thousands of researchers, teachers, and artists who provide realistic and imaginative detail and carry the story out to the general public… The scientific priesthood that has authority to interpret the official creation story gains immense cultural influence thereby, which it might lose if the story were called into question. Commentaries for Genesis Chapter 1 God creates heaven and earth. Man’s body is like an animal. But man’s spirit is like God. And God created the great sea-monsters, and every living creature that moveth, wherewith the waters swarmed, after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind: and God saw that it was good. Could any process of creating light gradually even be imagined? i. Additionally, God gave mankind a desire for sex, which would make the populating of the earth quick and likely. So God created man in His own image: God created man according to His plan as described in Genesis 1:26. i. God creates heaven and earth. Genesis 1:5. The holy scripture, being designed to maintain and improve natural religion, to repair the decays of it. Male and female He created them: This should not be construed to mean Adam was originally some type of androgynous being, being both male and female. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. iii. "One day ..." Significantly, the entire six days of creation are spoken of as a SINGLE DAY in Genesis 2:4, "In the day that Jehovah God made earth and heaven." "And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. Without the goodness of God’s blessing, human life would be not only unbearable but also impossible. God alone is revealed here as the Source of life as well as the Source of all material things. If God did not indeed do this, then who did? We should be sure we understand both Nature and Scripture before we pronounce certainly on their agreement or disagreement, and it can hardly be said that either is quite understood. The following cookies are also needed - You can choose if you want to allow them: You can read about our cookies and privacy settings in detail on our Privacy Policy Page. The primary reason God created sex was to contribute to the bonding of a one-flesh relationship. "And the earth was waste and void; and darkness was upon the face of the waters: and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.". Propagating the story requires illustrations, museum exhibits, and television reenactments. "Divide the waters from the waters ..." Water exists upon earth in both liquid and vapor forms, and it is precisely the atmosphere which separates these. And we do not knowwhen that person wrote the book. The only intelligent answer to questions of this type appears in this verse. What possible benefit could there be for the first 39 stages? "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.". f. In Our image, according to Our likeness: The terms for image and likeness are slightly different. The diurnal revolution of the earth, excluding the sun's light at night, is usually cited as the explanation of this; but we reject such an explanation, preferring to view it as something beyond the ability of men to understand it. But we can see thatGenesis is a very old book. ii. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. Cotterill, just quoted, saw their meaning as an implication, that "each day had its beginning and its close.". Nothing is more unreasonable and ridiculous than the various hypotheses of evolution. Again from Jamieson: "By the creation of an atmosphere, the lighter parts of the waters which overspread the earth's surface were drawn up and suspended in the visible heavens, while the larger and heavier mass remained below. The arguments among the experts are said to be about matters of detail, such as the precise time scale and the mechanism of evolutionary transformations. All of God's creative actions were well-pleasing to their Creator; and God recognized them as perfect and entire. In fact, Genesis is a very carefulaccount, which teaches the main principles in … There was light: Genesis tells us that light, day, and night each existed before the sun and the moon were created on the fourth day (Genesis 1:14-19). The intent of the creation story is not to give a lesson in physics or biology, but a lesson in the theological order of things. It is clear in this six-day sequence that, "The progress of God's creative activity was upward toward man. The source of that beginning was in the will and the power of the Eternal God. When God pronounced the creation good, He really meant it. If one would know the truth of how our universe began, and of the origin and responsibility of human life upon our planet, let him read it here. Ulam argues it was highly improbable for the eye to evolve by the accumulation of small mutations because the number of mutations must be so large and the time available was not nearly long enough for them to appear. He thought the “days” of Genesis referred not to 24-hour days, but to historical ages of indefinite duration. (6-13) God forms the sun, moon, and stars. But when a man tries to be a woman or a woman tries to be a man, you have something inferior. This account does not allow any thought of so-called "spontaneous" or "naturally developed" life. Although this verse appears to mean that the separation of light and darkness was the same as creating Day and Night, this meaning is not consistent with the appearance of the sun and moon on the fourth day. die Erde aber war wüst und wirr, Finsternis lag über der Urflut und Gottes Geist schwebte über dem … (26-28) Food appointed. Exploring the first book of the Bible as "theological literature," Waltke illuminates its meanings and methods for the pastor, scholar, teacher, student, and Bible-lover. Others connect the words with progression from darkness to light, a movement upward to higher and higher forms of life in the cycle of creation. ii. [1] Despite the plurality of this name, it is connected with verbs and adjectives in the singular. (3-5) God separates the earth from the waters, and makes it fruitful. It was not merely a beginning of life, or of material things, but a beginning of ALL THINGS. The fidelity of each species to this God-ordained law is constant. and supply the defects of it, since the fall, lays down at first this principle of the unclouded light of nature: That this world was, in the beginning of time, created by a Being of infinite wisdom and power, who was himself before all time, and all worlds. Check to enable permanent hiding of message bar and refuse all cookies if you do not opt in. Bryan believed in the Bible, but not literally. Men are not women, and women are not men. God made all things "ex nihilo. He will certainly not find it anywhere else! In our day, many say there is no real difference between men and women. Biblical Commentary Genesis 1:1-5 EXEGESIS: GENESIS 1:1—2:4a. passage in Hebrews 4:4-6ff: Without any doubt whatever, the last of the passage cited above denominates all of the period of time following the sixth day of creation and reaching all the way to the final Judgment as "the seventh day." It is INSPIRATION, a revelation from Almighty God Himself; and the highest and best intelligence of all ages has so received and accepted it. "And, behold, it was very good ..." The goodness and wisdom of God are thus attested by the goodness of his creation. To God, the differences between men and women are not accidents. Click to enable/disable _gid - Google Analytics Cookie. In the 1920’s, a former substitute teacher in a Tennessee school volunteered to be the defendant in a case meant to challenge a state law prohibiting the teaching of evolution in the public schools. e. In Our image: This does not mean that God has a physical or human body. We may request cookies to be set on your device. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.". The big thing that appears in this verse is the abundant water supply, one of the principle prerequisites of life in any form. Even the oldest books in the Bible refer to it (forexample, Exodus 3:15; Job 28:25-29). Both the Old and New Testament texts focus on “firsts.” The Old Testament lesson is part of a creation narrative, and the New Testament text is the beginning of Jesus’ ministry marked by his baptism. "In the beginning." He is the Father and theSon and th… “And God said … ” “There was evening and there was morning … ” “And God saw that it was good.” It is a beautiful passage. i. "[4] Primeval darkness demands just the fiat revealed in this verse as the only possible solution for it. Three classes of institutions are required in human societies to deal with human disease or failure in these three specific areas: penal institutions for gross spiritual failures, hospitals for the diseases or injuries of bones and joints, and psychiatric wards for the mentally deficient. "[7] Therefore, God said, "Divide the waters (liquid) from the waters (gaseous).". The primeval chaos that characterized this early phase of our planet is most significant. ©2018 David Guzik – No distribution beyond personal use without permission. The plain and simple implication of the passage is that God created all of the species of life mentioned here simultaneously. And the earth brought forth grass, herbs, yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit, wherein is the seed thereof, after their kind; and God saw that it was good. b. That there was indeed a beginning of our universe and the world we live in is absolutely certain. "And the earth ..." If our understanding of "the heavens" is correct, the earth and all the planets would have to be included also, but the singling out of the earth and its specific designation here would indicate God's special creation of it to be the repository of all life, and of human life particularly. a. Significantly, such things as signs, day and night, seasons, and years are categorically mentioned as the result of creation on Day 4. Click to enable/disable _gat_* - Google Analytics Cookie. To report dead links, typos, or html errors or suggestions about making these resources more useful use the convenient, "And darkness was upon the face of the deep ...", "And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters ...", "And God saw the light that it was good. In this sense, it is sin if man does not use this dominion responsibly, in the sense of a proper regard for stewardship on this earth. These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features. God Himself will be the light (Revelation 22:5). "And darkness was upon the face of the deep ..." This is a reference to the state of the earth when it was waste and void. Only creation could have changed chaos into order and symmetry. Evolutionist Ernst Mayr commented: “Somehow or other by adjusting these figures we will come out all right. are still waste and void. There is certainly no impediment to a childlike acceptance of the days of Genesis as ordinary days in exactly the same manner that the first generation to receive this revelation in all probability accepted them, as most of our parents understood them, and as every soul humbled by a consciousness of the phenomenal ignorance of mankind may also find joy in believing and accepting them, fully aware, of course, that there may be, indeed must be, oceans of truth concerning what is revealed here that men shall never know until we see our Savior face to face. Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refuseing them will have impact how our site functions. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called the Seas: and God saw that it was good.". Who could know how God did such a thing? Whitelaw assures us that the term for "moved" actually means "brooded" as in the older versions; and it means "to be tremulous with love. Animals have sexual relations only for reproduction, but human sexual response is different from animal sexual response in many ways. THE CREATION STORY. © Copyright - Enduring Word       |      . "[9] But in this Biblical account, the celestial bodies do not control men, they serve men. You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. Genesis 1 Commentary Genesis 1 is a commentary on the awesome majesty of God, who created the universe His way, not ours. - these and literally hundreds of other peculiar and necessary factors come together to make life possible on earth.