The Book of Genesis ...BookClub Study

[TRIPLE E]

The Doctrinal Purpose of Genesis

To Teach God is the Sovereign Creator

To Teach God is a Personal God
-desires and seeks out relationship with man

To Teach the Justice of God
-rewarder of those who obey (Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham)
-punisher of those who walk in disobedience
(Adam and Eve, Cain, people of Noah’s generation)

To Teach the Grace and Mercy of God

To Teach the Faithfulness of God

In Genesis we discover that God is a covenant making and covenant keeping God (covenants with Noah, with Abraham, Jacob)

To Teach the Redemption of God

God has a plan to redeem mankind from the penalty of their sins. We can find the blood of Jesus Christ flowing throughout the first book of the Bible
*from the Garden of Eden (animal slain for covering to seed of woman crushing the head of the serpent)
*to the Ark of Noah (type of Christ)
*to the Ram sacrificed as a substitute for Isaac
*to Joseph

[TRIPLE E]

WHY IS THE STUDY OF THE BOOK OF GENESIS IMPORTANT?

To Know Who You Are You Must Know Where You Came From

To Know Your Purpose You Must First Know Who You Are

To Know Where You are Going You Must First Know Your Purpose

[TRIPLE E]

The Book of Genesis and the Rest of the Bible

When discussing marriage, Jesus quoted from Genesis 1 (Matthew 19:1-9). He also referred to Noah by name (Matthew 24:37). Paul directly compared Adam to Jesus in Romans 5 and 1 Corinthians 15 and in 1 Timothy 2:13 refers to Adam and Eve. Paul also holds up Abraham and Sarah as models of faith in many of his letters (Galatians 3:6-9). Peter references Noah and the flood (2 Peter 2:5). There are nine references to Adam and Eve as historical people outside of the Pentateuch. If you scoff at the opening verses of Scripture, be careful because the Bible is really an interlocking puzzle, with no unimportant pieces. Remember that “All Scripture is inspired by God…” (2 Timothy 3:16).

[TRIPLE E]

Look how the book of Genesis begins:

It didn’t start out: “In the beginning, the earth was without form and void.”
OR “In the beginning, Adam and Eve walked in the garden”
OR “In the beginning when the sun and solar system existed”
OR “In the beginning in a land far far away”

It simply says "In the beginning… God”

For years, scoffers have criticized the Bible for being "geo" centric (centered around the earth). God created the earth & built the sun moon and stars around it. It gave the impression that everything revolved around our planet. Geo-centric.

BUT the Bible isn’t "geo" centric. It’s "Theo" (God) centric. Every thing in Scripture begins and ends with God.

Hebrews 1:10-12 says: "In the beginning, O Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will roll them up like a robe; like a garment they will be changed. But you remain the same, and your years will never end."

EVERYTHING IN SCRIPTURE IS GOD CENTERED

John 1:1-3 almost echoes Genesis 1 when it says: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.”

AND Colossians 1 adds to that: “(Jesus) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” (vs. 15-17)

EVERYTHING IN SCRIPTURE IS BUILT (not around the earth or man) BUT around God.

[MrsMcD]

Originally Posted by TRIPLE E

Look how the book of Genesis begins:

It didn’t start out: “In the beginning, the earth was without form and void.”
OR “In the beginning, Adam and Eve walked in the garden”
OR “In the beginning when the sun and solar system existed”
OR “In the beginning in a land far far away”

It simply says "In the beginning… God”

For years, scoffers have criticized the Bible for being "geo" centric (centered around the earth). God created the earth & built the sun moon and stars around it. It gave the impression that everything revolved around our planet. Geo-centric.

BUT the Bible isn’t "geo" centric. It’s "Theo" (God) centric. Every thing in Scripture begins and ends with God.

Hebrews 1:10-12 says: "In the beginning, O Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will roll them up like a robe; like a garment they will be changed. But you remain the same, and your years will never end."

EVERYTHING IN SCRIPTURE IS GOD CENTERED

John 1:1-3 almost echoes Genesis 1 when it says: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.”

AND Colossians 1 adds to that: “(Jesus) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” (vs. 15-17)

EVERYTHING IN SCRIPTURE IS BUILT (not around the earth or man) BUT around God.

These are really good points. Thanks for sharing.

[TRIPLE E]

The first verse in Genesis is important for several reasons.

Genesis 1:1

" In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."

It is a definitive statement that God exists. It does not try to debate the fact or argue the point. It flatly states that God does exist.

Many people, throughout history have denied that fact.

There was a man who went to get a haircut one day. As usual, he and the barber began talking about many things, and finally the topic came to God.

The barber said he did not believe in a God. To justify his reasoning, he told his customer than if there were a God, there would not be so many people who were hurting and suffering. No matter what the man tried to say, the barber would always come back to that one point.

After he received his haircut and was on his way to his car, he spotted a man in the parking lot that was obviously homeless. His hair and beard were both long and dirty. His clothes were dirty and worn, and he looked as if he had suffered much in his lifetime.

The man went back to the barbershop and loudly proclaimed that he no longer believed there was any such thing as barbers. Well, the barber told him he was crazy. Said the barber to the man, “You just left after I – a barber – cut your hair.” But the man went on and said that if barbers really existed, people wouldn’t look like the man in the parking lot does, and with that, he pointed through the window to the man.

The barber scoffed and said the reason the man looked like that is that he has never come to the barber to get a haircut. And the barber said that unless the man came to him, there was nothing he could do to help the man.

And the customer said, “Exactly! And until people decide to go to God, He cannot help them with their problems either.”

[TRIPLE E]

Originally Posted by TRIPLE E

The first verse in Genesis is important for several reasons.

Genesis 1:1

" In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."

From Genesis 1:1 we learn that God is eternal. The fact is simply declared: “In the beginning God…” He is referred to 35 times in the first 34 verses! The Bible simply states that when you go back to the very beginning, God is there. He had no beginning and He will have no end. This is the foundation of all true doctrine. Every other religion starts with man and works its way up to God. The Bible begins with God, for everything has its beginnings in Him.
As humans, we measure our time in minutes, hours, or even lifetimes. We have a hard time trying to comprehend the term ‘forever’.

And, just as we can’t comprehend the ‘forever’ at the beginning, we have just as hard a time trying to understand the ‘forever’ at the end of time. We are like a blind person who has never seen. He knows there is a car, and he understand the overall concept, but since he has never experienced the look of a car, he cannot truly comprehend all there is to know about a car.

The only one that did NOT have a beginning was God. God always was and always will be.

[TRIPLE E]

Genesis 1:1
" In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."

God created everything The Hebrew word for “create” means “to create out of nothing.”

It is no accident that the first thing God wanted us to know about Himself is that He is the Creator. The whole revelation of Scripture is rooted in this fact, from Genesis to the Book of Revelation.

Psalm 95:6: “Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker…”

Psalm 121:2: “My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.”

Ecclesiastes 12:1: “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth…”

Isaiah 45:9: “Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker…”

Acts 17:24: “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands.”

Revelation 4:11: “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.”

[TRIPLE E]

Genesis 1:2
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.

“Earth was formless and empty"

In the first 3 days of God’s creating what happens? The world takes shape. Forming happens—the formlessness of the world is addressed.

Day 1 Light created
Day 2 Sky made and waters of the earth below
Day 3 Water gathered to one place and dry ground appears. On this dry ground God caused vegetation to grow

During the first 3 days, earth, which in v.2 is described as being formless, gets formed.

Note what happens in days 4-6. The empty/void world gets filled

Day 4 The sun, moon, stars are created
Day 5 Fish for the sea and birds for the air are made
Day 6 All land animals are made and so were we.

Then after all this: Day 7 God rests

[Esther]

Triple E........excellent........enjoyed your post, very much!