Contributor: Alex Alajiki
INTRODUCTION:
The book of Genesis is the first book of the Bible, and sets the stage for the entire biblical narrative. It describes events of creation to the relocation of Jacob’s (Israel’s) family in Egypt. It is divided into two main parts, with chapters 1-11 telling the story of God and the whole world, and chapters 12-50 focusing in on the story of God, a man, and his family. Moses is believed to be the author of Genesis, which is supported by the New Testament; for example, Jesus in Matthew 19:1-8, quotes the Pentateuch (Genesis-Deuteronomy), which by the time of Christ was considered a unified work (of which Genesis was a part). We shall start with the study of chapter one.
1. The Emergence of Light (Verses 1-5)
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. 3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.
Genesis 1:1 opens with the declaration, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." This establishes God as the sovereign Creator of all that exists. The creation declares the glory and power of God and “proclaims His handiwork” (Psalm 19:1) and the creation cries out both night and day and “reveals [this] knowledge” (Psalm 19:2) to us. The act of creation emphasising God's omnipotence and self-sufficiency. We can see that His Spirt was actively involved in creation, bringing order out of chaos.
God creates through His Word ("And God said..."), highlighting the power and authority of His speech. This theme is echoed in John 1:1-3, where Christ is identified as the Word through whom all things were made. We know that God is both light and the light of the world (John 1:4). The light was made before either the sun or moon was created. God affirmed that His first creation was good, so, the earth was created perfectly from the beginning.
2. Formation of Sky and Earth (Verses 6-10)
6 Then God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” 7 Thus God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so. 8 And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day. 9 Then 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 And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good
On the second day, God forms an expanse named “sky”, separating waters above and beneath it. The third day sees the gathering of waters beneath the sky to reveal dry land, which God named “earth”. God also creates the “seas”. The sea and rivers were divided from those waters that are in the clouds, which are upheld by Gods power. We know that God commands the seas to go to such a certain place and they can go no further (Prov. 8:29). God commended His work that they were good
3. Birth of Vegetation (Verses 11-13)
11 Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth”; and it was so. 12 And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 13 So the evening and the morning were the third day.
God then commands the earth to sprout vegetation, seed-bearing plants, and fruit trees. Notice that the provisions for both man and beast and fowl had to be created first, so as to sustain them. The text appears to show that God created the earth in a mature state because the herbs were already yielding seed and the trees were already bearing fruit. He observes that this is good.
4. Creation of Celestial Bodies (Verses 14-19)
14 Then God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; 15 and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so. 16 Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. 17 God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18 and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 So the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
On the fourth day, God creates the sun, moon, and stars to distinguish day from night and to serve as signs for seasons, days, and years. The heavenly bodies serve as signs of divine order and the passage of time. The word “rule” means to have dominion and the word “give” can be translated “shine” because, as noted before, light was already in existence before the creation of the sun, moon and stars. In a sense, these lights do separate night and day in that one cannot see them except at their appointed time. If the sun is not visible, it is still night. Notice that these lights were placed by God in the firmament of the heaven.
For he looks to the ends of the earth, and sees under the whole heaven; (Job 28:24)
5. Inception of Marine and Avian Life (Verses 20-23)
20 Then God said, “Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens.” 21 So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, 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 So the evening and the morning were the fifth day.
On this fifth day of creation, God focused His activity to the creation of those creatures that would fill the seas and the heaven above the Earth. It would have been easy for God to finish creating all living creatures, but He chose to do these animals in a specific manner, in a specific order, and at a specific time. This demonstrates God's creative power and His care for all forms of life.
God blesses the creatures to be fruitful and multiply, reinforcing the theme of God's desire for creation to flourish and expand.
It is he that sits upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretches out the heavens as a curtain, and spreads them out as a tent to dwell in (Isaiah 40:22)
6. Emergence of Terrestrial Life and Humanity (Verses 24-25)
24 Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind”; and it was so. 25 And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
On this final day of creation, God creates all the living creatures that will dwell on the Earth. Like the sea creatures and fowls in the above verses, the phrase “after his kind” is repeated and so everything that ever walked or crawled, swam or flew was created at this one creation time. Any type of insect or animal or sea creature or fowl that is alive today has descended from these original critters, and any change in their form or structure has been due to genetic information being lost or damaged over time. There cannot be any new species as the genetic material God created in the beginning is all that there is. It cannot be added to. Snakes are still snakes and butterflies are still butterflies even if a change in size or colour has occurred. Man cannot create life. He can only manipulate the genetic codes within the cell, and apparently, this has been occurring (the sheep, Dolly)
7.The Creation of Man (Verses 26-31)
26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29 And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. 30 Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food”; and it was so. 31 Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
God commanded the water and the earth to bring forth other creatures: but of man He says, “Let us make…” signifying that God creates as a community and the “us” is surely the Three Persons of the Godhead doing the creation in unison, harmony, and cooperatively. The image and likeness of God in man might be explained in Ephesians 4:24 where originally, before the fall, man was in “the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” When a person is born again, there is a “new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Eph 4:24).
How is it that God blessed them? - There was no woman yet so how can he be fruitful and multiply? We must remember that God looks at things that are not yet as though they already are (Isaiah 46:10).
How could God tell the creatures to “be fruitful and to multiply” unless He had created them with that propensity? That is, it is by the virtue of His spoken word that He gave the ability to His creatures to reproduce. God never commands what He first does not enable. Phil. 2:13.
“For thus says the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he has established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else.” Isaiah 45:18
CONCLUSION:
Genesis 1:1-31 is a profound and multifaceted text that lays the foundation for biblical theology. It reveals God as the sovereign Creator, emphasizes the goodness of creation, and establishes humanity's unique role and responsibility. Its themes of order, purpose, and divine authority continue to inspire and challenge readers today. Whether approached as history, poetry, or theology, this passage remains central to understanding the biblical worldview. The New Testament identifies Jesus Christ as the agent of creation (John 1:3; Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 1:2). This connects Genesis 1 to the redemptive work of Christ.
