LESSON 1 GOD MADE EVERYTHING
I am indebted to R.E.Harlow for his kind permission to use this material for Email Bible Lesson.
Also I acknowledge, with gratitude, also the publishers
permission.
Everyday Publications Inc.
421 Nugget Avenue, Unit 2 Scarborough, ON., Canada M1S 4L8
These lessons have been scanned and might contain typing errors.
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Thank you.
Genesis is the ground and starting point
of the whole Word of God. You must know Genesis to
understand the rest of the Bible.
These are the things you will learn in this Course of twelve lessons
GENESIS
I GOD MADE EVERYTHING
2 ADAM AND EVE Adam and Eve fell into sin Cain and Abel
3 FROM NOAH TO ABRAM Noah's Ancestors The Flood Noah to Abraham
4 ABRAM. The call of Abram, Abram and Lot, Abram and Melchizedek,
Abram and Ishmael
5 MORE ABOUT ABRAHAM. The friend of God, God destroyed Sodom
and Gomorrah
Abraham and Abimelech, Isaac was born
6 MORE ABOUT ABRAHAM. Abraham's sacrifice, The death of Sarah, A
bride for the son
7 ISAAC. Later life and death of Abraham. The sons of Ishmael. The
sons of Isaac. Isaac and
Abimelech. Isaac blessed his two sons
8 JACOB 'S FAMILY Jacob left home Jacob's dream Jacob and his wives.
Jacob's other sons.
Jacob started back home. Jacob prepared to meet Esau. Jacob met
Esau
9 JACOB IN THE LAND OF CANAAN. Dinah and Shechem. Jacob at Bethel.
Benjamin was
born. The sons of Esau. Joseph was loved and hated. Judah and his
family
10 JOSEPH'S TROUBLE AND GLORY Joseph's trouble in Egypt. Pharaoh's
two servants and
their dreams. Joseph's glory in Egypt
JOSEPH WAS EXALTED AMONG HIS BROTHERS
The first visit to Egypt
Second visit to Egypt
The brothers confessed their sins
Joseph revealed himself to his brothers
11 JOSEPH AND HIS FAMILY. Jacob came to Egypt. Jacob blessed the
sons of Joseph. Jacob
blessed his twelve sons. The last years of Joseph' s life
12 THE TEACHING OF GENESIS
LESSON
1
GOD MADE EVERYTHING,
chapters 1, 2
1/1 Men have always wondered where they came from. This is
because they did not know or
did not believe what God says in Genesis 1. The first chapter of
the Bible tells that God created the
world, animals and man. It is not possible to understand the world
around us unless we know
where it came from.
It is very wrong to turn away
from what God has said. God said that we should read His
Word and obey what He says, Revelation 1.3; 22.19. Some people try
to add to God's Word and
others take away parts of the Scripture. God will judge them, but
He will bless those who obey His
Word.
Writers of the Bible do not try to prove
that there is a God. The first verse simply states that in
the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. This verse
teaches us that God existed before
the heaven and the earth. Some people say that God is everything
and everything is God. But God
is separate from the world which He has made and He is greater than
the world. We can be sure
that whatever God does He does perfectly, Deuteronomy 32.4.
In verse 2, however, we see that the earth
was without form and darkness was over the deep
sea. The earth was covered with deep water and thick clouds so that
light could not get through to
it. We learn from Isaiah 45.18 that God did not create the earth
this way.
Isaiah also tells us in chapter 14.12-15
that Satan, also called Day Star, fell into sin. Satan is the
ruler of this world, John 12.31, and God's judgment on him may have
left the earth as it is seen in
Genesis 1.2. From these and other verses we understand that God
created the earth perfect and
some time later judgment fell on it.
This same verse tells us that God began to restore things and bring
order again into the world. The
word wind means spirit. The Spirit of God was moving on the surface
of the water. Then God
said, "Let there be light", and there was light on the earth in
the daytime. God saw that the light
was good. He divided between light and darkness and called them
day and night. This was the first
day.
God took six days to restore order to the
earth and create animals and man. No doubt God
could have done it in one minute, but instead of that He did a
little
bit each day. Some people think
the word day in Genesis 1 may mean a long time and not just a day
of 24 hours. It is true that in
the Bible day is used of a long time, 2 Peter 3.8, but God could
create these things quickly or in a
minute if He chose to do so.
The word create means to make something
out of nothing. The Holy Spirit used this word only
three times in Genesis 1: God created the heavens and earth, verse
1; sea animals and birds, v.21;
and man, v.27.
« On the second day, God divided the water of the
clouds
from the water of the sea by
putting the clear air in between. This air was called the firmament,
or vault, or atmosphere, and it
prepared the way for the birds of heaven, which God was going to
create. [The word heaven is
used in three ways in the Bible: the air (the clouds of heaven)
Daniel 7.13; outer space (the stars of
heaven) 1 Chronicles 27.23; where God lives (the God of heaven)
Genesis 24.7.]
On the third day, God raised the mountains
and lands above the water. The dry land appeared
and the rest of the water was gathered together in the seas. God
also saw that this was good and
commanded that grass should spring up, also plants bearing seeds,
and fruit trees. So God
prepared food for the animals and for the man that He would seer
create.
1/3 On the fourth day the thick clouds broke up and the
stars
sun and moon could be seen on
earth. No doubt God had created these long before, 11 The word made
in verse 1{ does not mean
to create but to establish. The regular movement of the sun, moon
and stars in the sky helps men
to know the seasons of the year. God also saw that this was good.
1/4 Now on the fifth day the earth was ready for birds and
fish. God commanded these to
multiply each according to its own nature. On the sixth day God
created the animals that walk on
'he land.
I/5 Everything was now ready for the greatest of God's
earthly
creatures. God decided to make
man in His own image and likeness, 1.26. God blessed the man and
the woman and commanded
them to multiply according to their nature. He gave them control
over the animal world. 1.28.
Man is like God in that he knows the difference between
right
and wrong. Man also has a
three-part nature: body, soul and spirit, 1 Thessalonians
5.23. In this way he is like the one
God, who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Only the Lord Jesus
is the perfect image of God,
Colossians 1.15. As we grow more like Christ we will be more
like God.
God considered His work of creation each
day and saw that it was good. He finished creating
man and everything else and saw that it was very good. He had
completed
His work of creating
heaven and earth, so He rested from His work on the seventh day.
He blessed the seventh day and
called it holy, 2.3.
By resting on the sabbath day, God established the rule of
one day of rest out of seven. In the
Old Testament the Law demanded that the people of Israel
should observe the sabbath day and
keep it holy, Exodus 20.8. In the New Testament believers
are not under law, but we set aside
the first day of the week to remember the death and
resurrection
of the Lord Jesus, to worship
Him and to serve Him. However, it is wrong to observe special
days as a way to be saved,
Galatians 4.10,11.
l/6 In Genesis 2 we have another account of the creation
of
man but here God is also called
Jehovah, or the LORD. The name Jehovah is used of God very often
in the Old Testament,
especially when God in His great love makes a covenant to bless
His people.
After God had made the plants and animals
He made man. Man was made of the dust of the
ground and God breathed into him the breath of life, 2.7. The body
of man is made up of the
same common things which are found throughout the world. In this
way he is like an animal, but
the Lord God breathed into him the breath of life. Man's spirit
came from God, but animals do not
have spirits. Man is greater than any animal and we should never
bow down to an animal or
worship the image of an animal.
God planted a garden for man to live in.
Beside many fruit trees God planted two special trees
called the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil, 2.9.
1/7 A river flowed out of Eden and divided into four, 2.10-14.
From the Bible we learn that a river will flow from the new temple
in a future day and the water of
life will flow from the throne of God, Ezekiel 47.1; Revelation
22.1.
The Lord God put Adam in the garden to
take care of it. He told him he could eat the fruit of
any tree in the garden, but he must not eat of the tree of the
knowledge
of good and evil. God
warned Adam quite plainly: if he ate of this tree he would surely
die, 2.15-17.
1/8 You would think that Adam would be very happy in the
garden
of Eden. However, God
knew that it was not good for him to be alone, so He decided to
make a partner for him. First God
brought all the birds and animals before Adam and let him give each
one a name. Then the Lord
God caused Adam to fall asleep and out of one of his bones he built
a woman to be his wife.
Adam knew that the woman was part of his body. In the garden of
Eden the man and the woman
did not wear clothes but felt no shame about this, 2.18-25.
In chapter 1 we have the story of God
creating
the world and all things. In chapter 2 the Lord
God created man and supplied him with a wife and a home. In John
1.3 and Colossians 1.16 we
see that all things were created by the Son of God, our Lord Jesus
Christ. So when we worship
Jesus Christ and call Him Lord, we are worshipping the great God,
the Creator of all things. The
Spirit of God also is seen restoring order to the earth after it
became without form, 1.2.
Teaching about the Church is found in the New
Testament, but in the Old Testament we find
pictures of this truth. For example, in Genesis 2 we have a picture
of the Church. Adam was not
complete without his wife, and so the Son of God will never be fully
satisfied until His Bride, the
Church, is with Him in heaven for ever. The Church is like the Bride
of Christ, Ephesians 5.25,
and we read of the wedding feast of the Lamb in Revelation 19.7-9.
Man was created for the glory and pleasure of
the Son of God and the Lord has commanded us
to tell other people about His love. If they are saved they will
be added to the Church, the Bride of
Christ. When the number is complete the Lord will come back to take
us home to be with Himself.
From Genesis chapters 1 and 2 we learn that God
is different from, and greater than, the world
which He has created. God existed before anything else came into
being, and He created
everything according to His own will and in His own time.
God the Creator has a right to tell us what to
do and what not to do. He told Adam not to eat
the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. In the
next lesson we shall see what Adam
did about this commandment from God.
TEST 1 GOD MADE EVERYTHING Genesis 1: 1,2
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Type an X or T or F to the correct answer on the line before each question.
1. Men have always wondered where they came from because
a. they do not understand modern science.
b. they do not know and believe God's Word.
c. they are not religious enough.
2. Which of the following is correct?
a. God did not exist before creation.
b. God is greater than the world He made.
c. The world is still perfect.
3. God's judgment may have come on the world because
a. Satan fell (Isaiah 14.12-15).
b. God was tired of the world.
c. The world was not good enough.
4. After this judgment or destruction of the world
a. God took six days to restore order to
the earth.
b. God created animals only.
c. Man evolved from water.
Write T for TRUE and F for FALSE after each of the following.
5. God made man in His own image.
6. Man knew that he should obey God.
7. Man has two parts: body and soul.
8.The Jews keep the seventh day or Saturday, but the Christians
keep
the first day, or Sunday,
because Christ rose from the dead on the first day.
9. God told Adam he could eat all the fruit of the garden.
10. According to John 1.3 and Colossians 1.16, Jesus Christ created all things.
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Updated Dec 14th 2000 by Harold Smith