1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

Genesis 1:1-2 (ESV)

Genesis overview

When you think of the book of Genesis, what immediately comes to mind? Do you think of the historical accounts of God’s creation, the flood, or Abraham or how God creates and sustains the world and His chosen people? Or do you think of God’s power that is visibly demonstrated in creating the universe (Romans 1:20) and even time. Maybe you consider the grace of God in selecting and protecting His chosen. For some, it’s the humble reminder that we are sinful from the beginning, to the core, and that without God’s intervention we are 完蛋了 (done for, no hope). Leave a comment what comes to your mind.

ESV.org provides a nice overview of the purpose of Genesis: “The theme of Genesis is creation, sin, and re-creation. God made the world very good, but first cursed it and then destroyed it in the flood because of man’s disobedience. The new world after the flood was also spoiled by human sin (ch. 11). God chose Abraham for a special purpose. Through his family, all nations would be blessed (12:1–3). God’s purpose will eventually be fulfilled through Abraham’s descendants (ch. 49).” It also gives some themes and a map of the area.

Your study

Please read all of chapter 1, the creation story (minus the day of rest – which is part of the account). You might ask: “How did He create?”, “Is He still creating?”, “What was before the creation?” You are welcome to ask, “Who created God?”

We won’t be attempting to present an apologetic for Genesis, creation, or God in this study but we will touch on them and provide links where appropriate for further study.

The beginning

The beginning of what? As we read, it’s clear we’re talking about the world. But is it the beginning of all things, even God? “Who created God?”, you may have asked. I like this explanation (and the whole answer on the website) from gotquestions.org: “Therefore, since there could never have been absolutely nothing, something had to have always been in existence. That ever-existing thing is what we call God. God is the uncaused Being that caused everything else to come into existence. God is the uncreated Creator who created the universe and everything in it.”

RЯeflection

• Does this cause you to worship as it causes me to? We will get to know this God of creation more as we study Genesis, as we study His whole Word to us.
• “The heavens tell of the glory of God; And their expanse declares the work of His hands.” (Psalm 19:1) I encourage you to read the whole Psalm.