In the Beginning

TEXT: Genesis 1:1-25

The Bible is not only a book of beginnings, but also a book of eternities. The very supreme revelation of the Bible is the revelation of God. If one starts to think of the beginning, using his own reasoning, he will have trouble and will possibly supply a humanistic assumption for the real beginning. He would therefore substitute the creature's point of view for the Creator's point of view. Among many scientists there are basic differences of opinion as to the origin of the universe. Evolutionists hold that all living things developed from non-living materials. Creationists believe that all basic categories of nature were brought into being by a supernatural force. It takes as much faith to subscribe to the theory that our complex universe is a mere chance happening as to accept the first verse of the inspired Word which declares, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth."

QUESTIONS

1. Make a list of what God created on each of the six days.
2. Many say that the days mentioned in the Creation account are actually long periods of time. What does Scripture teach about the length of these days?
3. Can man create something from nothing? Explain. See Ecclesiastes 1:9-10.
4. What scientific principle is illustrated by each of these verses?
   Job 26:7
   Job 26:8
   Job 26:10
   Ecclesiastes 1:6
   Ecclesiastes 1:7
   Isaiah 40:22
   Jeremiah 33:22
5. What is meant by the statement, "after his kind," in the creation of the plants, water creatures, fowls, and animals?
6. Make a list of ways in which we benefit from the "lights" God made for us.
7. In studying the entire first chapter of Genesis, how is the existence of the Holy Trinity demonstrated in the account of the Creation?

Though no declaration which God makes needs to be substantiated by evidence or argument, the portions of His wonderful Book that touch upon the subject of Creation still serve greatly to strengthen our faith. For example, the Psalmist proclaims, "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard" (Psalm 19: 1-3). The heavens, and the earth also, are declaring to man by innumerable evidences-by the stars, by the seas, by the mountains, by the trees-that God is the Creator of all that is.