Origins 01: Intro to Genesis

1. Heavens and Earth

In the beginning God created everything. He had no materials to begin with. He spoke and things came into being. A car can be designed and manufactured. But the raw materials are already in existence. God had no previously existing, raw materials. His wisdom and power came together in a spoken word. He spoke and it was. “Let there be…”

2. Humanity

God made humanity. Human beings were created in the image of God. This makes humanity unique and different from all other created beings. God’s purpose for people was to rule over the creation, to take care of it.

3. Marriage

The two become one. Marriage is not simply traditional. It is not insignificant in our “modern” world. Marriage finds its origins as one of the first stories in the Bible. It was a relationship between a man and a woman, an earthly bond that was created by God.

4. Satan

Already, by the third chapter of the book of Origins, we read of a creature called Satan. I admit, we do not about Satan being created in Genesis 3. You need to read Isaiah 14, Ezekiel 28, Revelation 12 and a number of other texts to get the full details of his origins. However, in chapter three, Satan has entered the Bible’s narrative. He and his demons become part of the Bible’s storyline.

5. Sin

Why is there evil in the earth? Why do we need to teach our children to do right? Why do they naturally do wrong? Why do we need police, courts and prisons? Why are people so hurtful towards each other? The answer is found in sin. So, where did sin come from? The book of Origins tells the story of how sin entered the earth.

6. Death

It does not matter what god you believe in or whether you believe in god at all, you will die. I will die. It does not matter if we are a man or a woman, what language we speak or what culture we are from. All people die. Genesis shows us the origins of death. Death came because humanity sinned.

7. The Good News

One of the most overlooked texts is the origins of God’s plan to save humanity. It is revealed, for the first time, in Genesis 3:15, in a passage that Bible scholars call the proto-euangellion [first gospel]. This is the beginnings of the Good News. God will send someone through the family line of Eve to destroy Satan, forgive sin and defeat death by giving eternal life. The rest of the Bible’s storyline is wrapped around the anticipation and prophecies that someone is coming to earth to rescue us. A global hero, someone called the Messiah.

8. Judgment and Salvation

The flood is often told as a children’s story that teaches about animals. “Who Built The Ark … Noah, Noah …” is a famous children’s song. While it makes for a great children’s story, the flood is in fact the origins of God’s judgment. It reveals a time when the earth’s activities will be interrupted by God and He will judge all actions. The first global judgment on humanity was with water, the second will be with fire (2 Peter 3). This judgment of fire is in the future and is predicated upon the judgement of water. It is also another origins story of salvation as eight people were preserved and the Messiah could still come to earth to save us. 

9. Abraham, Israel, Judah

Beginning in Genesis 12, we read about a man called Abraham. God gave him a son, grandsons and great-grandchildren. God asked Abraham to leave Iraq and promised him that he would give him property, Israel, and make his descendants into a nation, Israel, and that he would bring a blessing to all nations. Here we see the origins of Israel and the nation that God would use to bring the savior into the world. 

10. Faith

Finally, we see the origins of faith. Faith is not agreeing that some philosophy is true or that a religion is true. Faith is transactional. It is trusting God to do something for you. Faith asks the question, “What are you trusting God to do for you?” “What are you trusting Jesus to do for you?” This ancient question finds its origins in the stories of Genesis and especially in the story of Abraham.