Doctrine of Creation (Genesis 1:1-2:25) August 25, 2011

When examining the creation of the universe, which includes planet earth, we will consider only what the Bible says about these events. It is not my intention to delve into scientific data or attempt to disprove the theory of evolution. If a person believes the Bible, he cannot believe in the theory of evolution – they are not compatible. It must also be pointed out that there are numerous theories about the creation of the universe among Christians. Some Christian scientists attempt to make the Bible fit their particular theory, instead of letting the Bible interpret itself. A lack of study of the original languages leads one to a misunderstanding of Creation. We will examine the words from the original languages that describe Creation in order to arrive at an accurate understanding of these events. The Bible is not a science book, but when it speaks of true science it is always accurate. For our study we will exegete verses one through eight of Chapter 1 of Genesis. We will study the origin of man in our lesson, The Origin of Human Life next week.

In The Beginning That Was Not A Beginning

We begin with verse one of Genesis. The King James Version of the Bible says “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” This verse seems very straightforward as stated, but let’s examine the original Hebrew words in the context and some Greek words referring to Creation. Verse one is the only verse in Genesis that presents the creation of the universe. The Hebrew language in this verse is a key to understanding Creation.

There are three words in Hebrew for creation: Bara, Jatsar and Asah. Bara means to create something out of nothing. Jatsar means to fashion something on the exterior like a sculptor. Asah means to build out of something that already exists. These words are important to our understanding of the account of Creation.

Now let’s exegete verses one through eight of Genesis 1:

Verse 1

“In the beginning” – Hebrew [“Bere * h”] – this is a prepositional phrase made up of “Be” meaning “in”, plus “Rishah” meaning “beginning.” However, in the Hebrew there is no definite article. Therefore, this indicates “a” beginning, not “the” beginning.

A more literal translation would be “In a beginning that was not a beginning.” What does that mean? It is a reference to eternity past. We have a similar verse in John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” The Greek here is “En Arche” and means the same as the Hebrew, first beginning or eternity past. John refers to the existence of God in eternity past and Moses, the writer of Genesis, refers to the existence of the universe in eternity past.

The truth is that it did not take six days to create the universe. Its creation was instantaneous and occurred sometime in eternity past before man was created. Therefore, we cannot put a date on the age of planet earth. What we find upon examination of the Bible is that after the creation of the universe and between the creation of angels and man, the earth became chaotic. This chaos was most likely the result of a battle among the angels and God’s judgment of them. (Isaiah 14; Ezekiel 28:15-16)

“God created” – Hebrew – “Elohim Bara” – the Trinity created out of nothing. “Elohim” is a plural noun and “bara” is a singular verb, which is an indication of the Trinity. Therefore, the entire Godhead was involved in Creation.

“The heaven and the earth” – Hebrew – “Ha Shamajim” and “Ha Aretz” – notice the “im” suffix, this indicates a plural. It should be “heavens” and earth (singular). This verse should say, “In a beginning, which was not a beginning, in eternity past, God created out of nothing the universe, including earth.” [*omitted letters] (Part 1 of 3)

http://gracebiblechurchwichita.org/?page_id=1577

Originally posted by Grampy Bobby
[quote][b]Doctrine of Creation (Genesis 1:1-2:25) August 25, 2011

When examining the creation of the universe, which includes planet earth, we will consider only what the Bible says about these events. It is not my intention to delve into scientific data or attempt to disprove the theory of evolution. If a person believes the Bible, he cannot ...[text shortened]... ose of you with inquiring minds will enjoy and benefit from this definitive account of creation.[/b]

Originally posted by FMF
Are you a Young Earth Christian Grampy Bobby?

Originally posted by Grampy Bobby
FMF, thank you for christening this watershed thread. In reply to your objective question: "Are you a Young Earth Christian" "The truth is that it did not take six days to create the universe. Its creation was instantaneous and occurred sometime in eternity past before man was created. Therefore, we cannot put a date on the age of planet earth..." so the answer is no.

Originally posted by Grampy Bobby
[quote][b]Doctrine of Creation (Genesis 1:1-2:25) August 25, 2011

When examining the creation of the universe, which includes planet earth, we will consider only what the Bible says about these events. It is not my intention to delve into scientific data or attempt to disprove the theory of evolution. If a person believes the Bible, he cannot ...[text shortened]... ose of you with inquiring minds will enjoy and benefit from this definitive account of creation.[/b]

YouTube

Originally posted by Grampy Bobby
[quote]Doctrine of Creation (Genesis 1:1-2:25) August 25, 2011

When examining the creation of the universe, which includes planet earth, we will consider only what the Bible says about these events. It is not my intention to delve into scientific data or attempt to disprove the theory of evolution. If a person believes the Bible, he cannot bel ...[text shortened]... : Those of you with inquiring minds will enjoy and benefit from this definitive account of creation.

Doctrine of Creation (Genesis 1:1-2:25) August 25, 2011

Verse 2

“And the earth was” – Hebrew – “Hajah” – since we know that the earth was created perfect by a perfect God, the word “was” is a bad translation. It should be translated “had become.” It was created perfect, but it became without form and void.

“without form and void” – Hebrew – “Tohu Waw Bohu” – desolate and empty. Animal life and plant life no longer existed on earth. The earth had become desolate and empty.

“and darkness was on the face of the deep” – Hebrew – “Choshek” – a darkness that keeps out light and heat. “Tehom” – this is the Hebrew word for deep and it means raging waters. Absence of light and heat would result in ice (perhaps a reference to the Ice Age of science). Under this ice were the raging waters.

“And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters” – Hebrew – “Ruach Elohim” – correctly translated “the Spirit of God.” “Rachaph” is the Hebrew word for “moved” and literally means “to brood or to incubate.” The Holy Spirit incubated or provided heat to melt the ice pack. “Waters” is the Hebrew word “Hamajim” and means “melted water.”

What is God doing? He is not creating the Universe; He is preparing the earth for habitation by man, animal life and plant life.

Verse 3

“And God said” – Hebrew – “Elohim amar” – God spoke

“Let there be light: and there was light” – Hebrew – “Hajah” – a spoken command by God. Light is necessary in the restoration of life on the earth for heat and energy.

Verse 4

“And God saw the light, that it was good” – Hebrew – “Ra-ah Tobh” – “God saw” is an anthropomorphism to explain God’s attitude toward the light that He had created.

“and God divided the light from the darkness” – Hebrew – “Badal” – this means to cause to separate. The angelic conflict had caused darkness to exist; therefore, God is preparing the earth for habitation by man.

Verse 5

“And God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day” – Hebrew – “Elohim Qara Jom” – God named the light, Day and the darkness, Night. The existence of light caused the earth to begin rotating once again. It became evening or dark and then it became light again as the earth was rotating. Up to this point the earth was held in an ice pack, unable to rotate. It was the incubation from the Holy Spirit and the introduction of light that caused the earth to begin to rotate once again. It should also be pointed out that the waters of the earth began to shape the earth’s surface. (Part 2 of 3)

http://gracebiblechurchwichita.org/?page_id=1577

Originally posted by Grampy Bobby
[quote][b]Doctrine of Creation (Genesis 1:1-2:25) August 25, 2011

When examining the creation of the universe, which includes planet earth, we will consider only what the Bible says about these events. It is not my intention to delve into scientific data or attempt to disprove the theory of evolution. If a person believes the Bible, he cannot ...[text shortened]... ose of you with inquiring minds will enjoy and benefit from this definitive account of creation.[/b]

Originally posted by Grampy Bobby

[b]Doctrine of Creation (Genesis 1:1-2:25) August 25, 2011

Verse 2

“And the earth was” – Hebrew – “Hajah” – since we know that the earth was created perfect by a perfect God, the word “was” is a bad translation. It should be translated “had become.” It was created perfect, but it became without form and void.

“without ...[text shortened]... e the earth’s surface. (Part 2 of 3)

http://gracebiblechurchwichita.org/?page_id=1577

[/b]

The Septuagint was the first translation of the Hebrew Bible; and was made in the third century B.C. by Jewish scribes, who were direct descendents of those trained in Ezra's Great Synagogue of Jerusalem. They were complete experts in the text, being very well versed in Hebrew and Greek.

This translation became very popular among Jews in the first two centuries before Christ because many Jews in those days did not understand Hebrew. Their ancestors had left Israel centuries before, and generation after generation gradually lost the ability to read the Scriptures in Hebrew.

Many of the Jews in Jesus' day used the Septuagint as their Bible. Quite naturally, the early Christians also used the Septuagint in their meetings and for personal reading; and many of the New Testament apostles quoted it when they wrote the Gospels and Epistles in Greek.

But the earth was unsightly and unfinished, and darkness was over the deep, and the Spirit of God moved over the water.

Originally posted by lemon lime
The truth is that it did not take six days to create the universe.

This is an example of something I mentioned in another thread. I started off thinking the first day included the beginning up until the end of the first day too. But I believe Genesis actually starts off as an extremely abbreviated account of creation... it's kind of like how ...[text shortened]... et that the Bible is actually a compilation of several "books" written by several different authors.

About us February 25, 2010

Bible Doctrine Resource is an online church. This ministry is directed toward the non-religious believer in our Lord Jesus Christ. BibleDoctrineResource is a “non-religious”, and “non-charismatic” fellowship, meaning we don’t adhere to any list of denominational rules and or regulations. Nor do we “raise our hands”, “speak in tongues”, or say things like “amen brother”, “hallelujah sister” or “praise God”, between every other sentence.

However we do believe in growing to Spiritual maturity through consistent, daily Bible study.

We believe that every believer is responsible for his own life, as unto the Lord.

In other words, we believe that every believer should live his own life, the way he see’s fitting for himself, without being judged by other believers.

About “Bible Churches” in general

*A Bible Church is not related to any denomination, and is not incorporated with any other church organizations. They are independent and self governed.

*A Bible Church is free to associate or to refrain from association with other churches. It may associate with other churches, and often does, but is under no constraint to do so.

*A Bible Church is free to support any ministry that has been found to be doctrinally sound. It can support any missionary of any organization which it believes worthy of support.

*A Bible Church is free to survey all Bible study resources, and to determine which it believes to be the best suited for its purposes, namely, teaching the Bible.

*A Bible Church maintains a detailed doctrinal statement and constitution.

*A Bible Church is free to procure the services of any sound Bible teacher, regardless of his church affiliation, for Bible Conferences and other occasions.

*A Bible Church is free to gear its program to the local community and its needs as seen by the Pastor and Deacons.

*A Bible Church does not put pressure upon any individual to become a member of its organization, believing that fellowship, not membership, is the issue.

*A Bible Church’s financial support is dependent upon free-will giving, without pressure such as pledges, and or tithing.

*In short, the Bible Church stands in the historic tradition of the Christian Church. Its emphasis is on the teaching of God’s Holy Word, apart from extremism, emotionalism, sectarianism, and traditionalism. The Bible Church seeks to present an intelligent, practical and relevant Christianity to the local community, believing that the Bible contains the answer in principle and precept to all of man’s problems, the only way of salvation, and the only hope for the human race.

Bible Church Distinctive’s

*The Bible Church is Bible centered, stressing the importance of studying the Word of God, believing that correctly interpreted, and applied, it offers the answer to man’s every problem.

*The Bible Church is doctrinally conservative, holding to the fundamentals of the Christian faith as contained in Scriptures.

*The Bible Church is denominationally unrelated, believing that the local church can best function independently from all denominational programs.

*The Bible Church is self-supporting through free-will giving. Relying on its constituency to support the ministry without pledges or assessments.

*The Bible Church is self-governing, believing that outside restrictions and restraints from denominational hierarchies only hinder efficiency.

*The Bible Church is self-propagating, spreading the gospel by ordaining its own ministers, starting other churches, etc.
__________________________

The local church was set up by Jesus Christ to be a classroom for the teaching of Bible Doctrine. The classroom usually meets in an auditorium and not a “sanctuary”. The last “sanctuary” made of brick and mortar was destroyed in 70 a.d.

It is NOT a lonely hearts club, not a dating service, not a gymnasium, or theater, etc. The thrust of this church is to communicate Bible doctrine to believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, for the purpose of attainment of spiritual maturity. Regardless of your gender, sexual orientation, race, or nationality…doctrine is for EVERYONE!

The head of the local church is Jesus Christ, who is represented by a Pastor-Teacher, who has a staff of teachers, administrators, deacons, etc and then comes the congregation. One of the purposes of the teaching of Bible doctrine is that the believers in that local church will come to know what their spiritual gift is and then utilize that gift in the function of that church.

God The Holy Spirit in grace and apart from human merit sovereignly bestows spiritual gifts to believers in this dispensation. Some of the permanent spiritual gifts which exist today are pastor-teacher, evangelist, missionary and administrator. We further believe that the temporary spiritual gifts ceased with the completion of the canon of Scripture, and these were apostleship, prophecy, speaking in tongues, interpreting tongues, healing, and working of miracles (I Corinthians 12, 13; Ephesians 4:7-12; Romans 12:4-8). Any member practicing these temporary gifts shall be subject to immediate dismissal.

The Church, which is now the Body and shall be the Bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism made up of all born-again persons of this age irrespective of their affiliation with Christian organizations (Ephesians 1:22, 23; 5:25-27;
I Corinthians 12:12-14).

The Lord Jesus Christ instituted the Lord's Supper/communion to be observed until His return (Matthew 28:19, 20:
I Corinthians 11:23-26). We don’t have closed communion. Anyone who is a born again believer in Christ and is in fellowship is welcome to participate in this ordinance. http://gracebiblechurchwichita.org/?page_id=2

Originally posted by Grampy Bobby

The sole purpose of all pastoral studying and teaching should be to promote the Spiritual growth of the Believer in Christ.

The Bible is a wonderful book. It is "The Book" among all books! It took 1600 years to complete, starting with Moses, the greatest prophet of God, and ending with the Apostle John. It was confirmed 300 years later (397 A.D.) at a council held at Carthage in North Africa. Not long after that, the Bible was locked away from the people by the Catholic Church. For nearly a thousand years, from the 6th century through the 15th century, the Bible was locked up. History calls this period the Dark Age. Human society became dark because the Bible, containing all the divine light, was locked away from humanity.

Then, in the Reformation, God used Martin Luther to unlock the Bible. At the same time, printing was invented, allowing the Bible to be printed. Although the Bible was unlocked, it was not so open. Yet, we thank the Lord that during the past five centuries He has opened up His Word again and again through many great teachers. We stand on their shoulders and we are grateful to them. Yet, how we thank the Lord that today the Bible is so open to us, allowing us to have a rich life-study of the living Word.
THE BREATH OF GOD

What is the Bible? We know that the word "Bible" means "the Book." But what is this book? The Bible itself says, "All Scripture is God-breathed" (2 Tim. 3:16). The Bible is the breath of God. It is not merely the word or the thought of God, but the very breath of God. Whatever we breathe out is our breath, and this breath proceeds out of our being. So the Bible as the breath of God is something breathed out of the being of God. The Bible contains the very element of God. Whatever God is, is contained in this divine book. God is light, life, love, power, wisdom, and many other items. All these items of what God is have been breathed out into the Bible. Whenever we come to this book with an open heart and an open spirit, we can immediately touch something divine: not just thoughts, concepts, knowledge, words, or sentences, but something deeper than all these things. We touch God Himself.

The Lord Jesus said that the words He speaks are spirit and life (John 6:63). Can we imagine that the Bible as the Word of God is the Spirit? It is not simply words in black and white; it is something higher, deeper, fuller, and richer—that is the Spirit and life. And the Bible tells us that the Spirit is God Himself (John 4:24), and that life is Christ (John 14:6). I do not say that the Bible is God Himself, but, according to the Lord Jesus, the word in the Bible is the Spirit, and the Spirit is God Himself, the Lord who is life to us. When we come to contact the Word, if we are right in our position and open in our heart and spirit, we will surely contact God Himself and receive life.

When we come to the divine Word, nearly our whole being is involved. We must come with a heart which seeks after God, with a clear, sober mind, and with an open spirit. If we open our spirit to God and to His Word, we can touch God Himself behind the printed page. It is not just a matter of reading with our eyes, understanding with our mind, or seeking with our heart; it is also a matter of touching God in our spirit. If we exercise our whole being in this way, we not only receive a revelation, but some divine element revealed and conveyed by His Word will be transmitted into our spirit. So, Ephesians 6:17-18 says that we have to "receive...the word of God, by means of all prayer and petition..." We should take the word of the Bible not only by reading and studying, but also "by means of all prayer." We should read and study the Bible prayerfully; that is, we must exercise our spirit to contact the Lord by prayer with the reading of the divine Word.
THE MAIN REVELATION IN THE BIBLE

In the Bible mainly life is revealed. Life is the focus of the whole Bible. But what is life, or who is life? The answer is in the word of the Lord Jesus. He says, "I am life," and "I am come that you may have life." The Bible is a revelation of Christ as life. Whenever we come to the Bible, we must realize that we are coming to contact Christ as our life.

The whole Bible is a book of life, and this life is nothing less than the divine and living Person of Christ Jesus Himself, Who is our portion. When we come to the Bible, we must come to contact Him. We should not repeat the pitiful history of the Jewish people who researched the Scriptures because they thought there was life in them, yet would not come to the Lord Jesus (John 5:39-40). We should not contact the Bible without contacting the Lord. Whenever we open the Bible we have to say, "Lord Jesus, You have to be here. This is not merely a book, this is Your revelation. I don't like to read this book without contacting You. I don't like to hear something from this book without hearing You. I don't like to read this book without seeing You. I like to see Your face. I like to see what You are from the printed page. O Lord Jesus, enlighten Your Word and anoint every line that I may touch You." We need such a spirit to contact this living Word.

Originally posted by sonship

The sole purpose of all pastoral studying and teaching should be to promote the Spiritual growth of the Believer in Christ.

I liked a lot of things written above. I liked that pointing out of the Spirit of God brooding over the waters as a mother hen providing warmth.

I was disappointed when the writer applied this to melting ICE. The S ...[text shortened]... # 1 of The Life Study of Genesis by Witness Lee

http://www.ministrybooks.org/books.cfm?n

Originally posted by Grampy Bobby

Doctrine of Creation (Genesis 1:1-2:25) August 25, 2011

Verse 2

“And the earth was” – Hebrew – “Hajah” – since we know that the earth was created perfect by a perfect God, the word “was” is a bad translation. It should be translated “had become.” It was created perfect, but it became without form and void.

“without fo ...[text shortened]... shape the earth’s surface. (Part 2 of 3)

http://gracebiblechurchwichita.org/?page_id=1577

Doctrine of Creation (Genesis 1:1-2:25) August 25, 2011

Verse 6

“And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters” – Hebrew – “Raqija” – this is the word for firmament and it means “atmosphere.” What God is doing is dividing the waters of the earth by the atmosphere. Some water will remain on earth’s surface and some water will be above the atmosphere. Our atmosphere, of course, is made up of gases and is unseen. We often call it the “Air”, but the Bible calls it “atmosphere.”

Verse 7

“And God made” – Hebrew – “Asah” – to manufacture out of existing material

“the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament, and it was so” – “divided” means to cause to separate and “it was so” means that it came to pass. Verse 6 is the command from the Father and verse 7 is the execution by the Son.

Verse 8

“And God called” – Hebrew – “Qara” – named

“the firmament Heaven” – the atmosphere was named by God. There are actually three heavens in Scripture: the atmosphere, the stars/planets and the abode of God.

“And the evening and the morning were the second day” – the same as verse 5, it became evening or dark and it became day or light.

What is the practical application of this study of the first two days of creation, as God prepares the earth for habitation by man? There are several applications:

1.The universe was created by an intelligent designer, God, not by the “big bang” theory.

2.God is not the author of confusion; everything that He does is logical and organized.

3.The Bible does not contradict true scientific data; it confirms it.

4.The believer can have a personal relationship with the Creator of the universe.

5.There is an unseen angelic conflict going on, in which we as believers are involved.

6.We can place our complete confidence in God and His Word."

(Part 3 of 3; "Doctrine of Creation of Adam and Eve" next)

http://gracebiblechurchwichita.org/?page_id=1577

Originally posted by Grampy Bobby
1.The universe was created by an intelligent designer, God, not by the “big bang” theory.

2.God is not the author of confusion; everything that He does is logical and organized.

3.The Bible does not contradict true scientific data; it confirms it.

4.The believer can have a personal relationship with the Creator of the universe.

5.There is an ...[text shortened]... as believers are involved.

6.We can place our complete confidence in God and His Word."

Originally posted by Grampy Bobby

Doctrine of Creation (Genesis 1:1-2:25) August 25, 2011

Verse 6

“And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters” – Hebrew – “Raqija” – this is the word for firmament and it means “atmosphere.” What God is doing is dividing the waters of the earth by the atmosphere ...[text shortened]... trine of Creation of Adam and Eve" next)

http://gracebiblechurchwichita.org/?page_id=1577

Doctrine of Creation of Adam and Eve (Genesis 1:26-2:25) August 25, 2011

In our previous study on Creation we saw that there had to be an intelligent, organized Creator of the universe. The same is true of human life. God is the original creator of human life and, as we will see, He continues to create human life. There are four words used in Genesis to describe the creation of original human life:

1.Barah – to create or to make something out of nothing. 1.Genesis 1:27 – “And God ‘barah’ man in His own image, in the image of God He ‘barah’ him; male and female He “barah” them. This verse describes the creation of the soul life, which is made from nothing.

2.Yatsar – to form from existing material 1.Genesis 2:7 – “Then the Lord God ‘yatsar’ man of dust from the ground.” This verse describes the creation of biological life of the male, which by itself is not human life.

3.Asah – to make or manufacture after a pattern 1.Genesis 1:26 – “Then God said, Let us ‘asah’ man in Our image according to Our likeness.” This verse describes the creation of soul life as made in the image of God, which by itself is not human life.

4.Banah – to build or construct from existing material 1.Genesis 2:22 – “And the Lord God ‘banah’ into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man.” This verse describes the creation of the biological life of the female.

What we have in the above verses is biological life and soul life, not human life. When these two are combined and God breathes soul life into biological life, man became a living soul, having human life. Genesis 2:7 says, “Then the Lord God formed (Hebrew “yatsar” ) man of dust from the ground (biological life) and breathed (Hebrew “naphach” ) into his nostrils the breath of life (neshamah chayyah, soul life); and man became a living being (nephesh chayyah, literally a soul having life or human life).” “Neshamah” is the Hebrew word for the breath of God and “chayyah” is the Hebrew word for life. Biological life and soul life were imparted to Adam and Eve simultaneously. We will see that God is still the One that breathes soul life into biological life creating human life, but not simultaneously. There is a specific reason after the fall of man that God no longer creates human life in the same manner.

Creation of Mankind after the Fall of Adam and Eve

After Adam and Eve sinned, biological life, along with Adam’s sin nature, began to be passed down genetically from the father and is “mother dependent” in the womb. The fact that all members of the human race are seminally present in Adam means that we were all present with Adam when he sinned. The result of his sin is that the entire race is born with a corrupted nature. (Romans 5:12, 18,19; 6:6,12, 8:3-5; I Corinthians 15:22)

Since God cannot create imperfection, it would be impossible for Him to create “corrupted” biological life. However, He can create soul life at birth apart from the corruption of the sin nature and biological life. Therefore, soul life is still imparted by God. When a fetus emerges from the womb and God breathes soul life into biological life, human life is created. (Isaiah 2:22, 42:5, 57:16; Job 1:21, 33:4; Ecclesiastes 12:7) (to be continued)
http://gracebiblechurchwichita.org/?page_id=1579