Genesis: Beginnings
The word 'Genesis' means "beginning". In this book, we read about the beginning of creation, the beginning of man, the beginning of sin in the human race, the beginning of redemption, the beginning of the two streams of religiosity and spirituality, the beginning of Babylon, the beginning of Jerusalem, and the beginning of counterfeit religion and true religion.
The Scriptures begin with the words, "In the beginning God." That's how it must be in our life every day. God must be in the beginning of everything in our lives, not man. In every area of our life—in our goals and our ambitions, in everything—God must be first. And wherever God finds a man or woman who will put Him first in every area of his/her life in business, in finances, and daily life—there will be no limit to what God will do in and through such a person.
Creation
In Chapter 1, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The heavens and the earth were created by God through His spoken word (Hebrews11:3), He made them perfect. Nothing that God creates is ever imperfect.
The angel Lucifer fell and became the devil. That was when sin first came into the universe. That is not mentioned at this point, because the Bible was not written for angels, but for man. That's why the creation of man is mentioned in the first chapter, and the fall of Lucifer is mentioned only much later (in Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28).
What we read of in the rest of Chapter 1 is the making of the earth. And by the time you come to the end of the chapter, it has become a beautiful earth. God Himself could look at it and say, "It is very good."
Chapter 1 has a message for all of us. Satan has come into the human race too and made man exactly as mentioned in verse 2—empty, dark and shapeless. We have lost the image of God. God did not create Adam like that. Adam was created perfect. But the devil came in and ruined man. And God had to begin to remake man.
God is in the business of remaking ruined humanity today. It doesn't matter how shapeless, dark or empty you are. Chapter 1 teaches that God can remake you. He can make you so perfect that you will finally reflect His likeness perfectly, and God Himself will be able to certify about you, "Very Good". That is the message of the very first chapter of the Bible.
But how did this change take place? If you understand how it happened, the same thing can happen in your life too.
Every day God spoke His word. He said something the first day. And He said something the second day. Every day He spoke. That's what you need to see in the very first chapter of the Bible—that our God is a living God Who speaks. If you want to be transformed, the most important thing you need is to hear God speaking to you. "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." (Matthew 4:4). That's how God planned for man to live. And so if we don't listen to His voice daily, we will not be transformed.
We have to develop the habit of listening to God through His word. God speaks every day. But most believers do not listen to Him. Even those who read the Bible every day don't listen to God. Listening to God is not the same as reading the Bible. You can read the Bible like you read a storybook or study it like a chemistry book—and never hear what God is trying to say to your heart.
The other thing we see here is that the Spirit of God moved on the face of the waters (1:2). After you hear God speak, you must allow the Holy Spirit to move upon you. Only then can you be transformed. We see the Holy Spirit working along with God's Word right from the beginning. Only the Holy Spirit can change man. It was the combined working of God's Word and of the Holy Spirit that brought change and beauty to that chaotic earth.
The great need in Christendom today is for balance. Many believers emphasize the study of the word of God, but do not emphasize dependence on the Holy Spirit equally. If you study the word of God without the Holy Spirit's enabling, you will be as dry as a bone and just as dead. Others emphasize the ministry of the Holy Spirit and neglect God's Word and thus get sidetracked into emotionalism, which they mistake for the Spirit's workings. Like steam engines that have gone off the rails (of God's Word), they blow their whistles furiously and make a lot of noise, but they are stuck in the mud and make no progress, because they do not allow the word of God to guide them.
So we see that we can get correction and instruction in righteousness in order to be perfect in the very first paragraph of the Scriptures.
In 1:4, we read that "God separated the light from the darkness" . This separation is repeated on the fourth day (1:18). This is a very important thing, and that is why it is repeated. When God created the light, He didn't want the darkness mixed up with it and that was why He made a separation.
Many people imagine that all division must be from the devil. But here we read that the first person to make a division was God Himself. Light can have no fellowship with darkness. When light comes into our hearts, the very next thing God that wants to do in our lives is to separate us from all that is darkness. In 2 Corinthians 4:6, we have a Divine commentary on the creation of light. There we are told that this was a picture of the light of the gospel of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ coming into our hearts. Then two chapters later, in 2 Corinthians 6:14-17, we are told of the necessity of separating ourselves from all darkness. The world is full of darkness, and there must be nothing of the world in our hearts. When Christians don't separate from the darkness, confusion is the result.
When God placed the sun and the moon in the middle of the skies, again He separated the light from the darkness (1:18). On both occasions, we read that "God saw that it was good." Only when you are separated from all that is of darkness can God say, "It is good", not otherwise. Many who have received the light have not separated themselves from the darkness. That is why they have so many problems in their Christian life.
Man was created on the sixth day. The beasts of the field were also created on the same day, just before Adam(verse 24). Those beasts were made from the same dust that man was made from. Only one thing distinguished man from those beasts: God breathed into man. It is only the Spirit of God in man that lifts him above the level of animals. From this we learn that if we stop living by the Spirit of God, we will sink to the level of animals very soon! God made man from the dust to teach him that he was worth nothing apart from the breath of God.
God kept the seventh day as a day of rest. That was the seventh day for God, but it was the first day for man. Man was created towards the end of the sixth day and so his very first living day was a day of rest. God was trying to teach man thereby that he must fellowship with God first before going out to work for Him. Adam and Eve were to work in the garden of Eden only after they had spent a day in fellowship with their God. That is the Divine order for man:Fellowship first and then service. In the beginning God Himself—then God's work. We forget that order to our peril. This was why God taught Israel to respect the Sabbath so strictly. Today, there remains a Sabbath rest for God's people to live in (Hebrews 4:9).
In 1:28 God told Adam and Eve to "be fruitful and multiply". How did He expect them to do that? Obviously by having a sexual relationship. It was God Who created the sexual function and told man to use it to produce children. The sexual function in man was also included in what God finally called "Very good" (1:31). So we see that sex in marriage is something that God himself has termed "Very good"? Sex is very bad outside of marriage, but very good inside it. There are many Christians who think that sex is a dirty thing even in marriage and therefore imagine that they can be holier if they are not married. This is un-Scriptural.
When God created man He blessed him (1:28). He told him not only to be fruitful, but also to subdue everything under him and to rule over everything. So we see that God created man to be a ruler, not a slave. God created man to be an overcomer who has everything under his feet. In Genesis, we read of God's desire for man to rule. And in Revelation, we read of God's desire for man to overcome (Revelation 21:7). That was God's original will for man, and He finally finds a few who fulfil His plan and become overcomers. God's purpose for you is to rule over everything. He wants you to rule over sin in your life, over your anger, your lusts and your passions. He wants you to put them all under your feet. God never created you to be a slave. He created you to be a conqueror and a ruler. And that can come about only when God blesses you (as we read in1:28).
Notice in Chapter 1, that God examined each day's work and certified it as good. (God did not say that on the second day, because Satan who had been cast down by God was permitted to dwell in the second heaven). We too should allow God to examine our work each day, to see whether it meets with His approval.
In Chapter 2, more details are given about the creation of man. We see there that God gave man three gifts—a marriage partner (Eve), a home to live in (Eden) and a work to do (as a gardener). These are the three things that many young people are seeking for today. God was interested in providing all three for Adam and He is interested in providing all three for His children today. Adam didn't even have to ask God for them. God Himself saw Adam's need and provided him with them. God knows your need of a marriage partner, a house and a job too. If you walk with Him, He will provide you with these and other needs too.
In 2:11, 12, it says that the gold in Eden was good! It is only in the presence of God, that gold is good. Away from Him, gold is a snare and can be a curse.
In 2:19, 20, we read that God brought the beasts to Adam—and Adam gave them all names. Then we read these words: "But for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him" .That phrase seems to indicate that when Adam saw each of the animals having a partner, he wondered whether he could have one of them as a partner!! The lion had its lioness, the elephant had its partner, the cat had its partner, and so on. Adam looked at them one by one and rejected them one by one, because none of them corresponded with his own nature. And when Adam had rejected all of them, God said, "All right, I will make a helper for you". He then caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam and made a wife for him.
There is a spiritual application to this: If you are a child of God, and are looking for a marriage partner, God may first allow some pretty girls (or handsome men) to come by you, who do not have the same Divine nature that you received when you were born again. He will test you through them to see whether you will choose one of them as your partner. If you do, you will miss the one God has planned for you. Honor God and obey His word that says,"Don't be unequally yoked with unbelievers" (2 Corinthians 6:14)—and He will give you His very best.
Notice this: After God saying that "It was good" six times in 6 days (1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25), He suddenly said, "It is NOT good" (2:18). It was not good for Adam to be alone. Then, after He had made Eve, He says,"It is VERY good" (1:31). That is the difference that a happily married couple made to God's creation!
In 2:24,we read something that all married people need to pay heed to: When a person gets married he must leave his father and mother and cleave to his partner.This is not referring primarily to leaving one's parents physically (although that may also be necessary), but to being detached from them emotionally. Once a person is married, his marriage-partner must be far more important to him than his parents. A married couple must make their family-decisions in consultation with each other and not in consultation with their parents. I wish I could go up and down India proclaiming this important message to all married couples. There will be many more happy marriages in our land, if every married person obeyed this command. Here is a commandment given by God, even before sin came into the world. It is in fact the very first commandment written in the Bible for us. Why did God put this as the very first commandment in Scripture? Because He Who ordained marriage knew the vital importance of this step. Yet many married couples have not understood its importance.
