Genesis: Week One

Week 1: Genesis 1:1-2:25

Key Verse:

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 1:31


In the Beginning: God willing creates the universe and all within it (Genesis 1:1-2:3)

Genesis 1 introduces us to God the Creator and man, his prized creation. It also sets the scene for the ongoing relationship between Creator and creation. There are several topics of discussion that arise from Genesis 1:

- God created the heavens and the earth, an encompassing way of saying “he created everything that is created.” This sets God apart from all things that exist. God is the only thing not created by God.

- The days create a literary structure that is common to the Hebrew Old Testament known as parallelism. In the first three days, God creates the habitats, and in the last three he fills them:

Day 1 – Light and Darkness Day 4 – the Sun and Moon
Day 2 – Sky and Water Day 5 – Birds and Fish
Day 3 – Land and Plants Day 6 – Animals and Man (with plants for food)
Day 7 – rest


-There are many positions regarding whether or not God created everything in six literal, 24-hour days. The two prominent positions today are young earth creationism and old earth creationism. Old earth creationists believe that each day represents an “epoch” or “age”, which is called the day-age theory. They believe that earth is millions, perhaps billions of years old, and most who hold this position find it easier to reconcile with science than a literal 24-hour day. Some in this camp also believe in deistic evolution, the idea that God started the creation and then directed it through evolution.

Young earth creationists, on the other hand, believe that God created everything in six literal, 24-hour days. We base this theory on the literal meaning of the word day as found throughout the rest of Genesis, as well as the mentioning of “evening and morning” coupled with each day. Young earth creationists believe that God could have simply created an aged earth, since it is within his power to do so.

-In Genesis 1, we see that Man is given special significance over the rest of creation. God’s creates man to rule over the rest of creation, and He made man in His own image (Gen 1:26). God also gave specific instruction to man, to “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 earth” (Gen. 1:28). After creating man, God doesn’t just look and say, “it was good,” as He did on the other five days. He says, “it was very good”.

The Prize of God’s Creation – Man and Woman (Genesis 2:4-25)

The narrative of Genesis 2:4-25 is not a separate story from chapter 1, but it is a different perspective of a part of the same story. This account provides specific details on God’s creation of man and woman.

How God created man:
God created Adam out of the dust of the ground. Once he formed him, God breathed life into his nostrils. God created Eve from the rib of Adam.

Where God created man:
Adam was placed in the garden of Eden, which is described as being in the east. Moses describes Eden as having four rivers flowing out of it, the Pishon, the Gihon, the Tigris, and the Euphrates. In the garden, the Lord gave Adam trees to eat from, ground to work, and a helper suitable for him, Eve.

Why God created man:
While the rest of scripture unfolds God’s plan in regard to his relationship with man, what we see in Genesis 2 is that God created man so that he may have dominion over the land. This is described explicitly in verse 15, and it is implied when God gives man the right to name all the animals in verses 19 and 20.

We also see that woman was created to be a suitable helper for man (verse 20). Eve was brought to Adam, named by Adam, and the wife of Adam.

Up until this point, no evil has taken place. The only thing negative has been that man was alone without a suitable helper. God has given Adam a garden, a wife, a positive command (work and rule the land) as well as a negative command (do not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil).

Helpful Questions:
What is your view on the six days of creation? Why?

Can Genesis 1 and 2 be reconciled with modern day science?

What is the "Image of God" that man was created in?

What type of relationship does God have with man up until this point?

What type of relationship does Adam have with Eve up until this point?