In The Beginning
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
And God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” 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. And God called the expanse Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.
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. God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.
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. 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. And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.
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, and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. 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. And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.
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.” 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. And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.
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. 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.
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
Genesis Chapter 1 - English Standard Version
I’ve always loved the first part of Genesis. There are so many beautiful phrases and words that help us to understand “how it all began”. Some of my favorite passages from the Scripture above are as follow:
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
From the primordial chaos, God created heavens and earth. It was not some mindless explosion but rather the careful planning and design of a wise and purposed Creator that brought forth the universe that we know.
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. God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.
Even to this day, when we look at a globe or a map of the earth we can see how at one time the land formed a solid mass and the seas were gathered together around the land mass. This passage was written long before satellites and world maps as we know them – and yet the author knew about the ancient form of things.
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. 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.
“Each according to its kind” – what wisdom there is in such words. Even today we see how each and every species is special and grows “according to its kind”. Some folks monkey with genetically altering species – but the results of their monkeying are usually sterile, unable to continue their altered state for long. God created each species the way it should be and over the millenniums they have evolved – according to their kind/species. The original species have not created new species but rather new variations according to their kinds.
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, and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. 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. And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.
The stars and heavenly bodies move with such precision that we can tell exactly when an eclipse will occur, or when certain celestial bodies will line up in certain ways. They indeed are “signs for seasons, and for days and years“.
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.” 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. And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.”
Again, “according to their kinds”. To this day people marvel at the vast variety of birds and fish that fill our skies and waters. And although there are huge numbers of species – each to this very day reproduces “according to its kind“. Even the crazy cuckoo reproduces “according to its kind” – albeit utilizing the nests of other species to raise its young.
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. 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.
Once more we see “according to their kinds“. I find it amusing to hear folks wonder at the similarities between species – and yet they never comment on how all tires on wheeled vehicles are round. Why do we not have square, hexagonal or octagonal wheels? Because round works MUCH better. In fact, the similarities show more support for the intelligent design theory than for the idea of evolution. They show the work of a marvelous creator who KNEW WHAT HE WAS DOING. The beauty of the creation lies in seeing how He designed things and built them in such a marvelous way – things that could not have happened by chance nor could they exist in partial state but rather they burst upon the scene by His Word.
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
And so, in God’s own image He created man – a triune being. Just as God has existed from before the beginning of what we call Time as Father, Son and Holy Spirit so has mankind existed from the beginning of time as Body, Soul and Spirit. And God has given us dominion over His Creation and entrusted it to our care. We are His Stewards and will one day have to answer to Him for our own use of His beautiful work.
The beauty of God’s design is not only in how He made us triune like Himself, but also in how He created us with yet another facet so that we could fulfill His desire for us. He made us male and female – and both sexes bear His stamp, His image. Neither man nor woman holds dominion over the other according to God’s design – we were created equal in value and worth. Only in our functions and roles are we different, and not in worth but merely in the way in which we were designed.
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