10250 North Freeway @ West Road
Houston, Texas 77037
Tel: (281) 447-8484
10250 North Freeway @ West Road
Houston, Texas 77037
Tel: (281) 447-8484
Copyright - Lester Hutson - 1993
This material is copyrighted and may not be copied or reproduced without the express
written permission of Dr. Lester Hutson
Primary Bible Passages:
Genesis 1:1-5Key Verse: Genesis 1:1
Memory Verse: Hebrews 11:3
Lesson Aim: To cause a greater understanding and appreciation for what happened on the first of all days.
Preparatory Daily Bible Readings:
Monday: Genesis 1:1-5, Hebrews 1:10, John 1:1-3
Tuesday: Psalm 24:1-10
Wednesday: Psalm 90:2, Matthew 28:18, I Chronicles 29:12, Psalm 62:11 & Job 42:2
Thursday: Genesis 1:1-5
Friday: Romans 1:20
Saturday: Psalm 19:1-6
Sunday: John 1:1-3 & Psalm 115:3
LESSON OUTLINE
I. THE ORIGIN OF THE PHYSICAL UNIVERSE. (Genesis 1:1) (See Hebrews 1:10 and John 1:1-3).
A. The origin of space
1. "The heaven" in Hebrew is shamayim.1 In the Hebrew im is a plural suffix.2 The verb determines whether it should be translated in the singular or the plural.
2. In Genesis 1:1, "heaven" refers to the space of the universe.
3. Space is one of the three basic components of all material existence.
B. The origin of matter
1. "The earth" in Genesis 1:1 refers to the component of the universe known as matter.
2. Since nuclear energy is inherent in the atomic structure of matter, it has its beginning at this point.
3. Matter is one of the three basic components of all material existence.
C. The origin of time
1. "In the beginning" is a reference to time, the third basic component of material existence.
2. Before this point, there had been no time, only eternity past.
D. Space, matter and time constitute the three fundamental elements of the universe.
1. The first statement of the Bible is made in such a way as to communicate the fact that all three components were created at once. Neither component has meaning apart from the other two. Genesis 1:1 explains that they came into existence simultaneously, a necessity for material existence.
2. These three components are irrevocably interrelated, inseparable. They constitute a tri-unity (not a triad), and thereby reflect the triune nature of their creator.
3. Genesis 1:1 is unique in that in literature, it alone explains the origin of the component parts of the universe. All other scientific, religious or philosophical systems of cosmology evade initial existence and assume eternal existence of these basic components.
II. HOW THE MATERIAL UNIVERSE ORIGINATED
A. "God"
1. The Hebrew name Elohim is used for God in Genesis 1:1. This is the name which stresses His majesty and power. Psalm 90:2, "Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God." (Matthew 28:18, I Chronicles 29:12, Psalm 62:11, Job 42:2, Matthew 19:26)
2. Note that the plural suffix im is used. Here is a plural name with a singular meaning, thus suggesting that God is one, yet more than one.
B. "Created"
1. In Hebrew, the word for "created" is bara, which means "to call into existence that which had no existence." 3
2. This word is used only of God. Men can "make" (asah in Hebrew meaning to arrange from pre-existing materials) and "form" (yatsar in Hebrew meaning to squeeze into shape or mold), but only God can, from absolutely nothing, bring something into existence. (Job 9:1-10. Note verse 8).
3. Genesis 1:1 informs that God brought space, matter and time into existence by His word. See Hebrews 11:3.
C. In a profoundly pure, simple and logical way, Genesis 1:1 explains the origin and existence of the physical universe:
1. Man’s universal observation is that increasing order and complexity must be orchestrated and are generated only through the design and cause of a pre-existing, external force. Without exception, order and complexity degenerate to disorder and simplicity when left alone. They never occur naturally or spontaneously.
2. Either God is eternal or the physical universe is eternal. The concept of an eternal universe says random particles of matter, within themselves, generated into an increasingly complex, orderly and intelligent universe. Such a concept defies all scientific laws of cause and effect.
3. Genesis 1:1 explains that the physical universe came into existence because the eternal God exercised His limitless, external power and made it so. What better, more reasonable, plausible and scientific explanation could one ever hope to find to explain the existence of the physical universe?
III. GOD’S ORDERING OF THE BASIC COMPONENTS OF THE UNIVERSE. (Genesis 1:2)
A. At the point of the creation of matter, it was formless and empty.
1. The use of the conjunction "and" to start verse 2 (used throughout chapter 1) communicates that each action is sequentially and chronologically connected to the one before it. There are no grounds for assuming a long "gap" of time between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2.
2."Without form and void" does not imply destruction and ruin. It "was," not "became" without form and void. "Without form" is from the Hebrew word tohu meaning of no particular form or arrangement. "Void" merely means "empty." The earth was not imperfect; it simply was not complete nor yet filled with the creative beings He would bring into existence within the next few days. God was in the midst of His creation project. Isaiah 45:18 declares, "For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else." Everything was perfectly on schedule.
3. Darkness covered the watery suspension and mixture of unorganized raw materials in space which God had created. (Genesis 1:2)
B. The Spirit of God then moved, causing the raw materials to take definite form and order. (Genesis 1:2)
1. This action by the Holy Spirit of God brought about the gravitational forces of the universe. Gravitational energy is characterized by a wave motion. "Moved" is rechaph in Hebrew, meaning a rapid back and forth motion.6 Genesis 1:2 thus explains the origin and nature of gravitational energy, which must have a source energizer.
2. Until the Holy Spirit moved, there was no energizing of many of the basic functions of physics. Once he energized the universe, the earth assumed its spherical shape. This was the time when "God set a compass (circuit) upon the face of the deep." (Proverbs 8:24-27) It was fully covered with water.
C. God then brought forth light. (Genesis 1:3)
1. Genesis 1:3 is the first record of God speaking, and with His word came light. "The entrance of thy words giveth light." (Psalm 119:130)
2. Though visible light was obviously involved, there is no reason to assume God’s introduction of light to His creation was limited to incandescent light. There is a broad electro-magnetic spectrum including infrared (long-wave) and ultra-violet (short-wave) light. Genesis 1:3 records God to be the source of the whole spectrum of light.
3. Light is electro-magnetic energy, the third of the three fundamental types of energy. With the introduction of light, the electro-magnetic forces of the universe were set into motion. 7
4. One result of the initiation of electro-magnetic energy was the beginning of the earth’s rotation on its axis. A regular sequence of alternating darkness (night) and light (day) periods continued from this event forward indicating the earth’s rotation into a light source. Since the Sun was not made until day four (Genesis 1:14-19), it appears that the LORD was personally the source of light at that time,perhaps prophetic of the source of light in the new heaven and new earth of the future. See Revelation 21:23.
FOOTNOTES
1. Strong, James, Hebrew and Chaldee Dictionary, New York: Abingdon Press, 1958, page 118, reference 8064.
2. Morris, Henry, The Genesis Record, Grand Rapids: Baker, 1976, page 39.
3. Ibid., page 40.
4. Ibid., page 48.
5. Strong, page 19, reference 922.
6. Morris, page 51.
7. Ibid., page 56.
SUMMARY
The origin of the physical universe has continued to this day to be a central concern of humanity. The Bible begins by explaining the origin of the universe and how it came to be.
Without volumes of technical or philosophical material, the Bible simply says God created the observable physical universe. The Bible is quite direct and unassuming in the matter. The phrase "In the beginning" says God created time. The Bible’s first statement also says He created "the heaven" which is space and "the earth" which is matter. Matter is the source of nuclear energy. Time, space and matter constitute the three basic components of the cosmos. Each is inter-dependent on the other. Neither has meaning apart from the other two. Their tri-union mirrors the trinitarian nature of their creator. The first statement of the Bible explains that these three came into existence simultaneously.
The first verse of the Bible is very unique in all of literature in that it records the origin of the universe. All other systems of religion, philosophy and science have no explanation for its origin. They rather assume that the raw materials of the universe have always been.
The first statement of the Bible not only records the origin of the universe, it also registers how it happened. In the simplest, yet most profound of ways, it says God created all that is. God’s name Elohim is used in the recording of the event. This is the Hebrew name for God which stresses His majesty and power. Only one with limitless power could do what Genesis 1 says God did. God’s triune nature is suggested in the name Elohim. In the Hebrew language, im is a plural suffix.
"Created" means to call into existence that which had no prior existence. The Hebrew word for create is bara. It is used only of God. Men can "make" (arrange from pre-existing materials) and "form" (mold or shape), but no man can "create." God created by His word.
No explanation of origins comes near to matching the simplicity, logic or reasonableness of the unassuming statement that God created all that is. In all of man’s years of observation, without exception, apart from an external source of intelligence, power and design, all things left to themselves degenerate from order and complexity to disorder and simplicity. To imagine that raw materials came into existence of themselves, totally apart from a creator, then increased in order and complexity to their current state, defies all scientific laws related to the cosmos. To believe that an all-powerful and infinitely intelligent God engineered and orchestrated the universe into being is a far more reasonable explanation, which is in perfect harmony with what can be observed.
At the point when God spoke into being the universe, it was not in an organized, finished form. At the very first, He simply brought into being the basic raw materials, which He would later organize into the universe much as we know it. That organization process followed immediately the initial creation of the raw materials. The conjunction "and" connotes continuous, sequential action, events connected without interruption to previous events. Before God began His process of organizing the raw materials He had created, matter was simply a watery mixture in space and darkness.
Shortly after the creation of time, space, and matter, the Holy Spirit of God moved over the waters. This energizing force by the Spirit caused the earth to assume its spherical form. This action by God as Spirit was the origin of gravitational energy.
Finally on the first day, God brought forth light and separated the light from the darkness. The darkness He called "night" and the light He called "day." Thus began continuous alternating cycles of darkness and light, testifying to the rotation of the earth on its axis. This was due to the fact that light is energy. When God turned on the light, both that part of the spectrum which men can see as well as that part which can not be seen with the natural eye, He initiated electro-magnetic energy. Nuclear, gravitational and electro-magnetic energies constitute the three types of energy in the universe. Thus, Genesis 1:1-5 records the origin of time, space and matter, as well as the three types of energy in existence, and the forming of the earth, which resulted at the origin of the latter two. These verses also account for night and day and establish the length of solar days on earth. All of these great happenings occurred on the first Day.
QUESTIONS
1. What is the first statement of the Bible?
2. Explain how Genesis 1:1 explains the origin of space.
3. Explain how Genesis 1:1 explains the origin of matter.
4. Explain how Genesis 1:1 explains the origin of time.
5. How does Genesis 1:1 explain the origin of nuclear energy?
6. How are time, space and matter inter-dependent?
7. In what way do time, space and matter testify of their creator?
8. What is the significance of the name Elohim being used for God in Genesis 1:1?
9. What is the definition of the word "create"?
10 Why is create used only of God in the Bible?
11. What is man's universal observation of the order and complexity of all things apart from an external intelligence and power?
12. How does any concept of an ever-increasing order and complexity in nature apart from God appear in the face of all known laws of logic and true science?
13. Discuss the first statement of the Bible in light of reasonableness and harmony with all laws of science and observation in the universe.
14. Explain the meaning of Genesis 1:2 that "the earth was without form and void."
15. Explain the use of "and" in Genesis 1.
16. What was the condition of matter prior to the movement by the Spirit of God described in Genesis 1:2.
17. What was the result of the movement of the Holy Spirit on the face of the deep?
18. Describe what happened when God spoke.
19. What kind of energy came into being when God brought forth light?
20. What kind of days began with the light of the first day?
"It Does Make a Difference What You Believe"