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Genesis 1:1

"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth..." Genesis 1:1

Observations about this Passage:
  • Who did what in this passage?
    • God created the heavens
    • God created the earth.
  • Who said what in this passage?
    • The narrator said that there was a beginning and that there was a creator God.
  • What choices were made in this passage?
    • God chose to create the heavens.
    • God chose to create the earth 
  • What other choices could have been made?
    • God might have chosen not to create the heavens
    • God might have chosen not to create the earth
    • God might have chosen to create a third place or a fourth place or a fifth place as well. 
  • What are some of the short term results of the choices that they made?
    • God is pleased (see following verses) 
  • What are some of the long term effects of the choices that were made? 
    • The existence of the heavens and the earth
    • All of human history.
  • What do the actions of the people in this passage show me about their value system and/ or their spirituality?
    • People do not exist yet, so I can see that all actions and value systems come after this moment, or even because of this moment. 
  • What do God’s actions (or lack thereof) show me about God’s value system and/or who God is?
    • God is creative. 
    • God is into doing things by twos (he created two things together). 
    • God is outside of the heavens and the earth-- much bigger than both. 
    • God is outside of time-- the rules of time do not apply to Him. 

  • Application I draw from these Observations: 
  • As the ultimate author of the Bible, God did not choose to highlight an issue of morality as the foundation or starting point of the Bible (this verse could have very well chosen to highlight "In the beginning God created good, and evil followed..." as I think about cultural concepts of Christianity, I imagine that this is how most people would expect the Bible to start). Instead, God highlights something very physical, "the heavens and the earth." As someone who naturally tends to value the spiritual over the physical, this is convicting. Valuing and pouring time into maintaining all of my physical blessings (body included) seems so much less exciting than valuing and pouring time into spiritual/moral things. Yet, here it is, the first verse of the Bible, demonstrating that God does value the physical world very much. I have been praying that God would work on aligning my value system with His... but I have discovered I don't always like His answers... *sigh*

Participation Instructions: 

To Participate in this Bible Study, please leave comments below about any observations you see in the passage (either ones that were already mentioned that you enjoyed/ found interesting/ had questions about or new ones that were not listed) and/or any applications to our lives today that you see of the truths contained in this Bible passage (or in this case, Bible verse). 

I look forward to hearing your thoughts! 
Humbly yours, 
Jordan
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Comments

  1. Ms. LoriMay 8, 2016 at 5:35 AM

    Applications I draw from these verses:

    Good Morning! I love your applications! To add on to them, I will take my observation and application from verse 2-3, "And the earth was without form and was void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the SPirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said let there be light and there was light."

    Observations: earth was there already, it was dark and void, God moved upon it and spoke into darkness to create light.

    Application: I once heard Charles Spurgeon speak on a verse in Jeremiah 32:17, "Ah, Lord God! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is to hard for you." He related this verse to Genesis chapter one and our personal lives. My take away was: We are born with hearts that are dark and void and it is God's spirit that moves upon our hearts to create light in them through the light of the world Jesus Christ. When we accept Jesus, God creates new life in us just as He created the heavens and earth-we are a new creation in Christ-perfect to God and able to walk and talk with Him because Jesus made us holy even as He is Holy-nful bodies, God's perception of us is perfect. Amazing thought to me personally.

    SO.. Jesus gives the great commision in Matthew 28: 18-20, "And Jesus came and said to them, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

    We too are to go out and create light, not we in and of ourselves, but through God's Spirit in us, by speaking God's love and life to all those we meet. Jesus also said-Love the Lord your God with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself.

    I think where this is difficult for me is that I like to belong to a group, but God has called me to walk with Him and to bless others based on His love and my relationship with Him. For me the challenge each day is how can I be a blessing to and bring glory to God and do things desiring people to respond to me in social worship, if that makes any sense! Loving others without expecting anything in return is my goal each day,and I have this promise from God...

    Galations 6:9, "And let us not grow weary of well doing, for in due season we will reap if we do not give up." My desire is to reap glory for God, but all too often my heart wanders back to being void and dark because like Peter, I take my eyes off of Jesus and begin to sink into the crashing waves....

    ok I will stop babbling now ;)

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  2. Ms. LoriMay 8, 2016 at 7:57 AM

    Haaa! I guess I should proof read before I publish-

    *Jesus made us holy even as he is holy, although we still dwell in sinful bodies.

    *...and do things NOT desiring people to respond to me with their social worship or worrying about what they think of me :D

    ReplyDelete
  3. JordanMay 9, 2016 at 7:18 PM

    Hi Mom :)

    You're beginning to sound a lot like Dad... ;)

    God's Creation work-- whether it be in us or in the physical world is truly amazing! Makes me want to sing "Indescribable"

    Part of me thinks we were created to crave being in a group (being fashioned in the image of God, who is three). We were designed to crave the love and the approval of our Father, and sometimes we do get that craving mixed up with a desire for love and approval from others. I think this is one of the reasons why the parable of the servants in Matthew 25 is such a powerful parable... we all have that desire to hear from our heavenly Father, "Well done." But you're absolutely right, striving to hear those words and standing on God's promises in the mean time is the best we can do :).

    Thanks for sharing and participating!
    Love you!
    -Jordan

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