Title Genesis 1:1-8
Genesis 1, the first chapter of the entire Old and New Testament, tells us something truly important and invaluable. There we hear stories of how the world we live in came to be and how all the natural environments we enjoy were first created.
Genesis 1 tells us that all things, including the heavens and the earth, did not come into existence by themselves, but that God created them all. The sky, the earth, the sea, the sun, the moon, and the stars were all God made; the light and darkness, the day and the night, all God made Every kind of bird of the sky, every beast of the earth, every creeping thing, and every fish of the sea was created by God. And it emphasizes that men and women are special creations of God. It also tells us that God has established the order in which people will be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and have dominion over all living things in the heavens, the earth, and the water, and eat grass, vegetables, and fruits as their food. It tells us that there was nothing and nothing could exist without God's creative hand. Verses 3-5, "God said, Let there be light, and there was light... God divided the light from the darkness/ God called the light day and the darkness he called night. And there was evening and there was morning, which is the first day", indicating that neither time nor history came from God's creation.
Genesis 1 declares that God created all these things by the Word alone. Verse 3 says, “God said, Let there be light, and there was light.” Verses 6-7 say, "God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, to divide the waters from the waters..." And it was so. Everything else is recorded as being brought about by God simply telling them to be. This is to say that all that exists is entirely dependent and subordinated to the omnipotent, sovereign and irresistible will of the absolute and transcendent God.
Genesis 1 also shows that the universe was created in the wisdom and love of God. God created all things in an orderly and orderly manner, first creating conditions for all living things to grow and multiply, and then put them into existence, "and he blessed them and said, 'Be fruitful and multiply' (Genesis 1:22). In this story of creation, we find no trace that God made all creation out of any unavoidable circumstances or reluctance. We can feel strongly that God created all things by his own will, wholly sovereign and free. And through that concise and direct first sentence, the first declaration, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth," it shows that God Himself was not created by anyone. It teaches us that God is alone from the beginning.
Each verse of Genesis 1 has been the subject of many interpretations and debates. Verse 2 of today's text is especially true. “The land was formless and empty, and darkness was over the depths, and the Spirit of God was on the waters.” This verse begins with the understanding of each word. However, despite many differences of interpretation and opinion, there is one thing that the passage should make clear to us. It is that all being, form, order, meaning, and beauty of the universe came from the creative hand of God. The words chaos, emptiness, and darkness are all negative and non-substantial concepts indicating that "no existence, form, order, meaning, or beauty can exist except by the hand of God's creation."
It means that God is the only self-existent being. That God is the Creator of all things. God is the creator and master of time and history. God is the creator of all beings, shapes, meanings, order, and beauty in this world. And God is the One who made it all possible through the Word. It means that God created God out of his own sovereign will and freedom without any coercion, interference, or help from anyone. It is that God did not create all of these things with his own hands, but with amazing wisdom and deep love. We must see this God.
In addition to today's text, there is a repetitive sentence form that deserves special attention throughout Genesis 1. That is, "God said, 'Do it.' And it was so, and God saw that it was good." If we reduce this a little, it means "God said it, and it was so, and it was good in God's sight". From these words we can conclude that "the world is good when it is according to the word of God".
The fact that all was good when God said it was all good confirms that all the ugliness and disorder that pervades the world today are not from God. In other words, all evil and uncleanness in this world come from man. Also, in the face of the fact that everything was good when things went as God said, we should be able to realize that the only way to make this world a better world is by obeying God's Word. We all want a better world. However, many people try to find other reasons why the world is not a good world, and most people try to pass the blame on to someone else. We should first examine ourselves to see if we live by the word of God in everything we do. The more people who live according to the word of God, the better this world will be.
And we need to pay special attention to the phrase, “God saw that it was good” in the phrase “God saw that it was good,” and “And God said, “Do it.” And it was so. We need to create a world that is good in the eyes of God, not the world that is good for us. In order to create a world that is good in God's eyes, we must strive to set our eyes on the world to God's point of view. For that, it would be the best way for us to always draw close to God's Word and learn how to discern God's will.
In the order of creation in Genesis 1, man comes last. And above all, God created man “in his own image, in the image of God” (26-27). Also, God made man rule over all living things (26, 28). And unlike the other days of creation, on the 6th day when man was created, "it was very good" (31). It cannot be denied that these facts speak of the special place of grace that man occupies in all of God's creation.
Today's world is not a very good world in God's eyes, but rather a very bad world in God's eyes. And it is entirely because people did not follow God's good will of creation. At this time, we must realize anew that human beings are created to make this world that is good in God's eyes a world that is very good in God's eyes. Believe that this world will be a very good world only when we act according to God's Word, and I pray that we can all live like beings created in God's image.