Lessons from Genesis 1

Laindon Bible Class

12th & 19th January 2011

Part 1

Genesis 1 2

Looking for lessons

• Parallels, patterns and allegories• Types and shadows• Symbols• Echoes• Guidance and commands• Truths and principles• Examples

Genesis 1 3

Multiple patterns

Genesis 1 4

God’s purpose

“For God is not the author of confusion [a state of disorder], but of peace [a state of harmony], as in all churches [ecclesias] of the saints.”

1 Corinthians 14:28

Genesis 1 5

Theme: God as the creator• Genesis 1 gives us an account of physical

creation by God through His Elohim (ek or ex – out of him see Romans 11:34-36)

• Why does He give it us? So that we might understand his purpose

• What is his purpose? To fill the earth with His glory (Numbers 14:21)

• Is physical creation an end in itself? No, God’s complete work is a spiritual creation

Genesis 1 6

God’s creative work

Physical Creation

Spiritual Creation –through

Christ

Spiritual Creation

-in us

Kingdom of God

Genesis 1 7

Our plan for this study

Spiritual Creation –through

Christ

Gospel of John

Physical Creation

Genesis 1

Spiritual Creation

-in us

ThroughoutScripture

Physical Creation

Genesis 1

Genesis 1 8

Structure of Genesis 1

Day Verses Subject Partners

1-2 Introduction

One 3-5 Let there be light

Two 6-8 The firmament, waters separate

Three 9-13 Dry land appears & vegetation

Four 14-19 The sun, moon and stars

Five 20-23 Birds of the air and fish of the sea

Six 24-31 Land animals and man

Genesis 1 9

Genesis 1GENESIS 1 1 In the beginning God created the Heaven and the earth. 2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. 3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. 6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. 7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. 8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day. 9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. 10 And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good. 11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. 12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. 13 And the evening and the morning were the third day. 14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: 15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. 16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. 17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, 18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. 19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day. 20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. 21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. 22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. 23 And the evening and the morning were the fifth day. 24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. 25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good. 26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. 29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. 30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. 31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

Genesis 1 10

Recurring phrases

• “And God said…” 10x

• “…let there be…” 9x

• “…and it was so” 6x

• “God saw that it was good” 6x

• “…and the evening and the morning were…” 6x

Shape & sequence of creation

Genesis 1 11

Man & animals

Birds & fishes

Sun, moon & starsLand &

vegetation

Separation of waters

Light

Context orframework

Fills orpopulates

Increasingcomplexity

Ecclesiastes 3:11“he hath set the world [eternity] in their heart”

Genesis 1 12

Physical v spiritual creation(through Christ)

Day Verses Subject John’s Gospel

1-2 Introduction

One 3-5 Let there be light John 1:1-3:21

Two 6-8 The firmament John 3:22-5

Three 9-13 Dry land appears John 6

Four 14-19 The sun, moon and stars John 7-13

Five 20-23 Birds of the air and fish of the sea John 14-19

Six 24-31 Land animals and man John 20-21

Genesis 1 13

Keyword comparison – Genesis 1 v John’s Gospel

Source: John A Pople

Genesis 1 14

Introduction (Genesis 1:1-2)

• “In the beginning God…” (cf John 1:1)• “…the earth was without form and

void” (Hebrew: tohuw – nothingness, empty space, wasteland ; bohuw – void, waste, emptiness)

• Compare with Jeremiah 4:23-26 concerning Israel

• Contrast with God’s declared purpose in Isaiah 45:18

• “…the spirit of God moved…”

Genesis 1 15

Day 1 – Light John 1:1-3:21

• Seeing the light (John 1:4-9; 3:19-21)• Calling the disciples to light (1:39)• Darkness symbolizes both evil and lack

of knowledge or understanding• Christ brings the light of God’s word to

believers (Ephesians 5:8-14)• The significance of the second son

(1 Corinthians 15:22)

Genesis 1 16

Day 2 – Waters aboveJohn 3:22-5:47

• Recurring theme of water and baptism• John the Baptist describes the

separation of Jesus (John 3:26-31)• The separation of waters, the Samaritan

woman (John 4:10-14)• The crippled man by the pool of

Bethesda (John 5:2-15)

Genesis 1 17

Day 3 – Bread from Heaven John 6

• Jesus the lamb (1:29,35-6) and the coming Passover (2:13, 6:4 & 11:55)

• The feeding of the 5,000 (6:10-11)• Jesus, the bread from heaven (6:32,51)• Gathering of fragments (6:12-13)• The necessity and reward of eating

(6:51)

Genesis 1 18

Day 4 – The Ruling LightJohn 7:1-13:38

• The authority of Jesus (7:14-34 “My doctrine is not mine but his that sent me”)

• The authority of the light, which brings to judgement (8:12-59 “I am the light of the world”)

• The parable of the shepherd and his sheep (10:1-18 “I am the gate for the sheep”)

• Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem (12:12-50 “Now is the judgement of this world”)

Genesis 1 19

Day 5 – Waters beneathJohn 14:1-19:42

• The waters left beneath equate to the death state

• The creatures mentioned include the great whale (tanniyn – relates to the serpent and leviathan see Isaiah 27:1)

• The disciples are left leaderless and in denial (14:30-31; 18:27)

• The temporary ascendancy of the serpent (16:16; 18:12; 19:14-15, 30)

Genesis 1 20

Day 6 – The New ManJohn 20:1-21:25

• Man, with authority over all creation (cf Jesus – 1 Corinthians 15:24-28)

• Jesus the keyholder (Isaiah 22:22 & Revelation 3:7 and 1:18 cf also 20:19 & 20:26)

• Jesus dines with his disciples foreshadowing the marriage supper of the lamb (21:12-14 & Revelation 19:7-9)

Genesis 1 21

Colossians 1:12-1712 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:

13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:

14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:

15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature [spiritual creation]:

16 For by [through] him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by [through] him, and for him:

17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

Lessons from Genesis 1

Laindon Bible Class

12th & 19th January 2011

To be continued next week (God willing)