In the Beginning pt. 2 - Genesis 1:6-25 (Sermon)

 

WELCOME 

Good morning. This is our second sermon in our Genesis series. Today, we will explore Chapter 1, verses 6 through 25. I have asked T. and C. K. and family to read for us. Would you please stand with me in honor of God’s Word? 

TEXT

6 And God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” 7 And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so. 8 And God called the expanse Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day. 

9 And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. 

11 And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so. 12 The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening and there was morning, the third day. 

14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. 16 And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. 17 And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18 to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day. 

20 And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.” 21 So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its 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 birds multiply on the earth.” 23 And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day. 

24 And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. 25 And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. (Genesis 1:6–25, ESV)

PRAYER 

Let’s pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for your Creation. You are incredible. Our world is stunning. Your splendor and majesty are everywhere. Your strength, might, and design are seen in the heights of the Himalayas, the south and north rims of the Grand Canyon, the mysteries of the Mariana Trench, and the complexity and resilience of the human body. We worship you for your artistry, craftsmanship, and excellence. Teach us to praise and thank you as we ought by the power of the Spirit. In Jesus’s name we pray, amen. You may be seated.

MOSES

As a reminder, the book of Genesis was written 3400 years ago by a man named Moses. He wrote about himself in Exodus. He was Jewish, from the tribe of Levi, and was raised by Pharaoh’s daughter. Moses lost his temper and became a murderer in defending a Hebrew slave. Moses fled prosecution into the wilderness where he became a shepherd, married a Midianite, and had two children. He made a life for himself for forty years. One day, God met Moses in a burning bush that didn’t burn up. He spoke to him and told him to go back to town and talk to Pharaoh. God wanted Moses to demand that Pharaoh free God’s people from slavery. Pharaoh refused, and God sent a plague; this happened ten times. God meant business and brought Pharaoh to his knees. Pharaoh relented. Moses took God’s people on what became a forty-year camping trip to the Promised Land. During that time, God inspired Moses to write Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. 

GENESIS

Genesis gets its name from the Greek title that sounds like “Genesis,” meaning “beginnings.” It details the origin of everything in the universe, good and evil, the Law, and the promises. We learn about who God is, what he wants, and where our hope should be.

OVERVIEW 

• Chapters 1 and 2 detail the first week of life, with each day marking significant events. The focus moves to humanity in verse 26 and doesn’t stop. 

• Chapter 3 details mankind’s fall from perfection. God punishes them and promises a corrective: a male descendant who will one day destroy the source of temptation: the serpent. This raises a question for the reader: “When?” And each time a boy is born, the reader may wonder, “Is he the one?” 

• In Chapter 4, we learn that Adam and Eve have two sons, Cain and Abel. Was either of them the promised one? Was this the time God would fix what we had broken? No. Cain gave in to sin and murdered his brother. 

• Chapters 5 through 11 detail the next series of sons and begin to demonstrate that evil is not diminishing but spreading. Things go from bad to worse. It got so horrible that God sought a global reset. He picked a righteous man named Noah for round three, wiping out creation with a global flood. Noah goes back to work. He grows a vineyard, harvests, makes some wine, and drinks too much and gets drunk, tarnishing his spotless record. Although he seemed like a second Adam, he was not perfect or the Savior. The earth had to wait. 

• Time passes, and in Chapter 12, God chose another man, Abram. He was not perfect. But he had something God was looking for: faith, faith in him. And God made a covenant, a promise, to Abram of a land, a people, and a blessing to all nations. But Abraham was not the one to crush the tempter, nor his son Isaac, nor his son Jacob. Genesis concludes with one of Jacob’s sons, Joseph, rescuing his family and Egypt from starvation. God’s promises to Abram, Isaac, and Jacob were being fulfilled, but not all of them. God’s people were still small, didn’t have a land to call home, and temptation and sin continued to abound. The book ends without knowing how God’s promises will be kept. 

MAIN IDEA OF THE BOOK 

How do we summarize Genesis in one sentence that captures what it teaches and why? There is so much there. We pastors came up with this sentence: Hope in the God who overcomes evil by preserving his promise through his wayward people. 

REPETITION

Our passage this morning covers days two through six of Creation. What did you notice as we read the passage? [Pause] Commentator Wenham noted that there are seven repeated elements. I am substituting his fourth item, “execution,” with “separation” because “fulfillment,” in my mind, can include the “execution” of a command.  

1. Announcement - “God said”

2. Command - “Let three be”

3. Fulfillment - “It was so” 

4. Separation - He “separated”

5. Approval - “Saw that it was good” 

6. Naming - He “called”

7. Day - “Evening and Morning the ____ Day” 

Like a good teacher, when something is repeated, there is a reason. Let us take note. What might the teacher be teaching? I believe God wanted his people to know that no god is like him, above him, or besides him. He is supreme. God is powerful, ultimate, intentional, involved, and orderly. He speaks, commands, acts, separates, approves, and names. He made everything out of nothing. And he did it with an otherworldly ease and good outcome. This passage is about one God making everything. 

AUDIENCE 

Another way to get at the heart of what these verses are saying is to think of the first audience. Who was this written to? [PAUSE] The Israelite people on their way to the Promised Land. What was their understanding of the world at the time? What did people think of God? They were coming out of a culture where they had been shoulder to shoulder with polytheism. The ancient Egyptian worldview contradicted this Biblical one. Genesis 1 teaches that there is only one God, not many, who created all things simply by speaking.  

ALL THINGS 

Let’s really consider what this looks like. This is a different way to get at the content of this morning’s passage, but I want us to really consider what God created. Here are pictures and facts about some of his Creation.  

PICTURE 1 - Land ANIMALS

We have lions, tigers, bears, oh my. We have horses, cows, monkeys, dogs, rabbits, and cats. I didn’t get a picture of reptiles, amphibians, or insects. Interesting facts I read: 

• Dogs have “10,000 and 100,000 times better [smell] than humans.” 

• “Tigers can eat 40 pounds in a single meal” 

• “Anteaters can consume 35,000 ants and termites in a single day.” 

PICTURES - 2 

We have dolphins, whales, orcas, trout, tetras, sharks, bluegill, manta rays, jellyfish, and Siamese fighting fish. I read that, 

• “Bottlenose dolphins swim up to 18 miles an hour. Most humans are lucky to swim 4 miles per hour.” 

• “Mantis shrimp have an arm that can heat surrounding water to 8,500 degrees Fahrenheit.” 

• “Octopuses have nine brains, three hearts and blue blood.” 

PICTURE 3  - WE HAVE BIRDS 

We have eagles, owls, sparrows, cardinals, blue jays, robins, parrots, turkeys, ducks, and fried chicken. I had to put that there. I love fried chicken.

• I read that a “harpy eagle has a wing span of about six feet.”

• Hummingbirds are the only birds that can fly upside down and backward.

• Ostriches are the largest, getting up to nine feet tall and weighing 320 lbs.

• There are 11,000 species of birds.

PICTURES - 4

God made all the vegetation. Think of the different plants. I love the giant sequoias. Then there is a raspberry plant with an oak leaf and acorns under it. To the right are palm trees. In the next row are an apple tree and lettuce. What are those berries? Does anyone know? There are coffee beans. Next is a bunch of maple leaves. Below that are tomatoes and bananas. Does anyone know what those seeds are? Those are what we get chocolate from. And then we have oranges. I could have made slides only of pictures of food. I am hungry.

APPLICATION 

How should we respond to the biodiversity of color, size, texture, and use? If we stop here and turn to other Scriptures, we can discern what God wants. 

Look at Psalm 136, for example. Everyone, read the first three verses with me. 

136 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, 

      for his steadfast love endures forever. 

            2       Give thanks to the God of gods, 

      for his steadfast love endures forever. 

            3       Give thanks to the Lord of lords, 

      for his steadfast love endures forever. (Psalm 136:1–3, ESV)

What does that Psalm command? GIVE THANKS. Why? God is good, faithful, and loving. He is supreme. Why else? Because of the work we just read about. Let’s read more of Psalm 136. Join me in reading verse 4:  

 

            4       to him who alone does great wonders, 

      for his steadfast love endures forever; 

            5       to him who by understanding made the heavens, 

      for his steadfast love endures forever; 

            6       to him who spread out the earth above the waters, 

      for his steadfast love endures forever; 

            7       to him who made the great lights, 

      for his steadfast love endures forever; 

            8       the sun to rule over the day, 

      for his steadfast love endures forever; 

            9       the moon and stars to rule over the night, 

      for his steadfast love endures forever. (Psalm 136:4–9, ESV)

Psalm 136 tells us to thank God because he is unique and brilliant. He is the Intelligent Designer of the waters and heavens. 

Let’s keep thinking about his work in the waters and heavens. Look at this: 

What about the waters? This is a droplet of water. It is H2O, two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. says there are 1.67 sextillion water molecules in just one droplet. 

• Our bodies are about 60% water. 

• The world’s surface is 71% water. 

• Plants and animals need water. 

Some locations on Earth have plenty, like here, and some places not so much. Here is a picture of a large body of water. How lovely is that? 

 

Take a look at this waterfall.  Maybe you have seen waterfalls like Niagara or Victoria Falls. They can be stunning. Or have you seen a geyser like this one?

. 

What do they tell us about God? He is powerful. He is beautiful. 

How does water move? Through streams, rivers, and gravity. But it can also move through the air. Clouds carry water across the sky as it evaporates, condenses, and rains.

Or freezes and turns into what? This: 

Water can be a liquid, gas, or solid. In its solid state, water freezes into crystals. If we zoom in on each snowflake, we see beautiful patterns. Each one is unique and beautiful. Do you think when history concludes, Christ returns, and judgment comes, we will have discovered all the beauty, majesty, and stunning wonders of God’s work? I don’t. Yet people look at this stuff and say it was all an accident. There is no meaning, purpose, or design. That is not true. 

Romans 1 states. 

For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. (Romans 1:20, ESV)

We are fools to deny God. His eternal power is all around us in nature. Do you see it? He shifts tectonic plates, sends weather that no meteorologist can predict with 100% certainty, frames our universe, and knows its contents. 

This is a picture of the Sun. You could fit more than a million Earths inside it. It is 93 million miles away. Scientists say its core is 27 million degrees Fahrenheit. On the outside, it is only a cool 10,000 degrees, yet it takes 8 minutes for light to reach Earth and warm it.

When there is a solar flare, we can see the Northern Lights. How many of you were able to see the Northern Lights last year? It is so unreal. 

This is a picture of the moon, which we can see most nights. The moon is about 239,000 miles away. The moon’s gravity pulls our planet's water, creating tides. 

This is a picture of the Hale-Bopp comet. We discovered it in 1995. Its nucleus is twenty-five to thirty-seven miles long. It orbits the Sun every 2400 years. God made stars we can see with our eyes, as well as comets, asteroids, and meteors. Technology helps us see things that have been in the sky for what seems like forever, but we are only now seeing them. 

For example, the Hubble Space Telescope took this picture of something 30 million light-years away. 

Hubble also captured this. It is the Pillars of Creation. If they filter the light, it looks like this.

The pillars can be up to five light-years tall. A light-year is 5.88 trillion miles. 

In 2021, we launched the James Webb Space Telescope, which is about 100 times more powerful than the Hubble Space Telescope. It took pictures of these cosmic cliffs- the Carina Nebula, 7,500 light-years away. 

It also took this picture of “NGC 602, a young star cluster in the Small Magellanic Cloud.”

The Webb Telescope captured this picture of what they are calling “The Ring Nebula.” God made all these heavenly objects speak. He defined them instantly and called them into existence. Isn’t that shocking? What does he deserve for all this work? Thanks. God is,

 

• Artistic. 

• Wise 

• Organized

• THE GOAT - Greatest of All Time. There is no one like him. He has no competition. There is no god besides him. All others are worthless shams.

Psalm 19 tells us that the heavens themselves declare his God. To glory is to praise. If the heavens praise God, shouldn’t we? 

Yes, we should. That is what happens in Psalm 148. Let’s read this together. 

148 Praise the LORD! 

                  Praise the LORD from the heavens; 

      praise him in the heights! 

            2       Praise him, all his angels; 

      praise him, all his hosts! 

            3       Praise him, sun and moon, 

      praise him, all you shining stars! 

            4       Praise him, you highest heavens, 

      and you waters above the heavens! 

            5       Let them praise the name of the LORD! 

      For he commanded and they were created. 

            6       And he established them forever and ever; 

      he gave a decree, and it shall not pass away. 

            7       Praise the LORD from the earth, 

      you great sea creatures and all deeps, 

            8       fire and hail, snow and mist, 

      stormy wind fulfilling his word! 

            9       Mountains and all hills, 

      fruit trees and all cedars! 

            10       Beasts and all livestock, 

      creeping things and flying birds! 

            11       Kings of the earth and all peoples, 

      princes and all rulers of the earth! 

            12       Young men and maidens together, 

      old men and children! 

            13       Let them praise the name of the LORD, 

      for his name alone is exalted; 

      his majesty is above earth and heaven. (Psalm 148:1–13, ESV)

After exploring God’s glory in the sky or enjoying his creativity at the zoo, we can and should praise and thank God. We can give him credit in song, in our hearts, in our words, and in our ways. Are we? 

If not, let’s start today. 

Maybe we feel the sting of guilt for our lack of praise and thanks. Is that you? God makes a way for us to deal with our guilt and shame. What ways are those? He did it through the Word, the Word of God, God the Word. 

The Bible tells us who this Word is: 

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. (Colossians 1:15–20, ESV)

Do you need God’s peace through the blood of his cross? If that is you, come to the communion table with me, a fellow sinner enjoying the delights of a Savior. I will share a bit more about that in a minute. Let’s take a moment to pray. 

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