session 5 how did we get here and...

session 5

how DiD we Get here AnD why?

134 S E S S I O N 5 © 2013 LifeWay© 2013 LifeWay

The PointThe universe is here because God spoke.

The Bible Meets LifeHow we view the origins of the universe colors everything else about our

worldview. Did everything start with a speck of dust, or a big bang? Is the

universe the creative work of an intelligent being? Or is there some mixture of

these two approaches? The Bible points us to an all-powerful, personal Creator.

The PassageGenesis 1:1-3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 26-27

The SettingGenesis is the Book of Beginnings, and this account starts with the beginning of

creation. God created the universe by His own creative power, and He deemed

good every aspect of what He created.

B i B l e S t u d i e S f o r l i f e 135© 2013 LifeWay© 2013 LifeWay

Genesis 1:1-3,6,9,11,14,20,26-27 (HCSB)

1 in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 now the earth was formless and empty, darkness covered the surface of the watery depths, and the spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. 3 then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

6 then God said, “Let there be an expanse between the waters, separating water from water.”

9 then God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so.

11 then God said, “Let the earth produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds.” And it was so.

14 then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night. they will serve as signs for festivals and for days and years.

20 then God said, “Let the water swarm with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky.”

26 then God said, “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness. they will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, all the earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth.” 27 so God created man in his own image; he created him in the image of God; he created them male and female.

Key Words

formless and empty (v. 2)—Could be translated “shapeless” and “void.” There was neither shape nor content.

image (v. 26)—How humans are like God. Genesis does not specify details. Bible students suggest it refers to our spiritual nature, moral capacity, reasoning ability, immortality, and so forth.

What does the Bible say?


Notes

GEt iNto thE StuDYDISCUSS: Ask the opening question

on page 113 of the Personal Study Guide

(PSG): “In all creation, what is most

intriguing to you?”

SAY: “The world around us is full of fasci-

nating and intriguing things. We have not

even scratched the surface of under-

standing the marvels of the universe.”

READ: Call for the group to react to The

Point at the top of “The Bible Meets Life”

on page 114 of the PSG in the PSG: ”The universe is here because God spoke.”

SUMMARIZE: Point out that science and faith are not opposed to one another, that

science reveals God’s handiwork. Share insights on this based on “The Bible Meets Life.”

TRANSITION: In this study we’ll discover what the Bible says about God’s work

of creation.

PRAY: Ask God for wisdom in understanding His creative work.

10 minutes

B i B l e S t u d i e S f o r l i f e 137

thE PoiNt The universe is here because God spoke.

© 2013 LifeWay© 2013 LifeWay

Notes

Genesis 1:1-3,6,9,11,14,20

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth

was formless and empty, darkness covered the surface of the watery depths,

and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. 3 Then God

said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

6 Then God said, “Let there be an expanse between the waters, separating

water from water.”

9 Then God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered into one place, and

let the dry land appear.” And it was so.

11 Then God said, “Let the earth produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and

fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds.”

And it was so.

14 Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the

day from the night. They will serve as signs for festivals and for days and years.

20 Then God said, “Let the water swarm with living creatures, and let birds fly

above the earth across the expanse of the sky.”

DISCUSS: Question #2 on page 116 of the PSG: “Why does it matter what

we believe about the origins of the universe?”

READ: Read Genesis 1:1-3,6,9,11,14,20.

GUIDE: Engage group members in finding further insights into Question #2 using

the first part of the “Genesis 1:1-3,6,9,11,14,20” section on page 116 of the PSG.

StuDY thE BiBLE

TIP: As a leader you don’t have to know all the information. God communicates to and through each group member.

10 minutes


Genesis 1:1-3,6,9,11,14,20 Commentary

How did we get here, and why? Evolution claims the universe began with a big bang, a “quantum

singularity,” and then began to expand. This explosion of matter and energy was said to be a random

cataclysmic event that led to a limitless series of random events with planets cooling and falling in

around suns, bacteria springing to life and evolving into more complex life forms. One thing led to

another, till one day an ape stood upright and began to walk on two legs. We are animals, nothing more.

If that is how we got here, there is no “why.” If we are merely the result of a purposeless process that only

favored survivability, then life has no real meaning or purpose. The end result is chaos. The denial of God

and the animalization of people helped create not one but two world wars in the last century. Communist

governments killed more than 100 million of their own people, far more than the death toll of World Wars

I and II combined. Many who consider themselves thinkers embrace this chaotic view of reality.

Thankfully there is another view, a time-tested explanation of how we got here and why. This view brings

order out of chaos and hope to both the creation and those who live in it. The universe is here because

God spoke. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The Hebrew reads, “In

beginning, God created” God, who is, who was, and who is to come (Rev. 1:8) started everything else.

An ancient creation myth features a god killing gods, and the victor utilizing the remains of his victims

to make the heavens and the earth. The Bible, on the other hand, says God created the world out of

nothing. Bara, translated created, described the work of a carpenter who might use wood to make a

chair. However, the form of bara found in Genesis 1 is only used in the Bible to describe God’s creative

activity, and never identifies material. God is the one who can make something out of nothing.

Some scientists tell us that after a big bang, when the universe began to settle down, future planets

were little more than balls of hot gases and molten rock that eventually were pulled together by gravity

and then began to cool. If scientific theories start to make us nervous, we need to remember that

though they can guess about how it was done, God inspired the biblical writers to tell us who did it—

and why. The Genesis account gives us this record—after the heavens were created, the earth was

formless and empty, shapeless and void. And in the midst of this cosmic chaos were the watery

depths, sometimes translated “the deep.” The ancient Hebrews were never great sailors. They viewed

the great sea with fear, so the deep became a symbol of chaos. And there, the Spirit of God was

hovering over chaotic waters. Hovering translates a Hebrew word that means to vibrate or to stir.

God was getting ready to bring order out of “the deep.”




Notes

Genesis 1:1-3,6,9,11,14,20 (Continued)

GUIDE: Call on group members to briefly identify what happened on each of the

first five days of creation, using Genesis 1:1-3,6,9,11,14,20 and the second half of the

“Genesis 1:1-3,6,9,11,14,20” section on page 117 of the PSG.

DISCUSS: Question #3 on page 117 of the PSG: “What can we learn about

our Creator from the opening verses of the Bible?”

ENHANCEMENT: Use Pack Item 6: “Honest to God” to recall that asking

honest questions can help us find real answers. Remind the group that it’s OK,

even wise, to ask God questions as long as we come with a teachable spirit.

StuDY thE BiBLE5 minutes

14 0 S E S S I O N 5 © 2013 LifeWay© 2013 LifeWay

Genesis 1:1-3,6,9,11,14,20 Commentary (Continued)

According to the Babylonian creation myth, a god had to kill his enemy to have the stuff he needed to

make the universe. But all the One True God had to do was speak into the darkness, “Let there be

light,” and light sprang into being. And thus ended the first day.

On the subsequent days of creation, God progressively brought order out of chaos, molding and

shaping the empty world. On the morning of day two (v. 6), God said, “Let there be an expanse

between the waters, separating water from water.” Expanse refers to something that has

been hammered or beaten into a round shape, like a copper bowl. What an amazing image: God forced

the waters apart, pushing them up above the earth, driving chaos back, and bringing order.

On day three (v. 9), God commanded, “Let the water under the sky be gathered into one place,

and let the dry land appear.” The waters of chaos were driven back even further. God instructed

the oceans where they could and could not go (Prov. 8:27-29). Toward the end of day three (v. 11), God

said, “Let the earth produce vegetation.” Up to this point, God worked upon creation, molding it

and shaping it according to His plan. Here, however, He worked through creation. He commanded the

earth to produce, and His power worked through creation to bring forth plants and fruit trees. Some

philosophers have argued that God created the world as a closed system, that is, He built it but does

not intrude upon it. Here we see God at work in His creation and working through His creation upon His

creation. A mother can bandage her son’s skinned knee or a surgeon can set a broken bone, but God’s

power working in God’s creation brings healing.

On day four (v. 14), God created lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the

night and to mark the passing of seasons and years. Time began on day one of creation. God created time,

and therefore He owns time. The Bible says there is an occasion for everything, including a time for every

activity under heaven (Eccl. 3:1). Moses prayed, “Teach us to number our days carefully so that we may

develop wisdom in our hearts” (Ps. 90:12). We must make the most of the time God affords us (Eph. 5:16).

On day five (v. 20), God created animal life. First, He made the land, then He made the plants for food.

Only then did He make birds, fish, and land animals. What about evolution? Did you know that in all

of the fossil records, there is no evidence of an evolutionary jump from a less complicated species to a

more complicated species? There is no half fish, half land animal. There is no half lizard, half bird. There

is no missing link. Actually, the fossil record supports the Genesis account, for the fossil record reflects

that suddenly new species just materialize, as though God said, “Let there be …”, and something

new appeared.




Notes

Genesis 1:26-27

26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.

They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, all the

earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth.” 27 So God created man in

His own image; He created him in the image of God; He created them male

and female.

READ: Call on a volunteer to read Genesis 1:26-27.

DISCUSS: Question #4 on page 118 of the PSG: “What feelings are stirred

up when you read that you are made in the image of God?”

DISCUSS: Question #5 on page 118 of the PSG: “How does the fact that we

are God’s image bearers influence what we say and do?”

DO: To articulate specific ways to live out our being created in God’s image and

likeness, guide group members to complete the activity on page 119 of the PSG.

Created With Purpose

The fact is: What I do matters.

This fact impacts:

My home by ___________________________________________________

My church by ___________________________________________________

My community by _______________________________________________

SUMMARIZE: The image of God in us has been marred, leading us to pursue

our own purposes rather than the purpose for which God designed us. But in

redemption through Jesus Christ, God’s purpose for us is restored. Lasting peace

and true realization of our purpose come from being rightly related to God.

ENHANCEMENT: Use Pack Item 9: “Pointers to God” to celebrate God’s

fascinating and detailed creation.

TRANSITION: Let’s consider ways to live out the privilege and responsibility of

being made in God’s image.

StuDY thE BiBLE15 minutes


Genesis 1:26-27 Commentary

Like the final minutes of a mystery movie, where the reasons are explained and the mystery is solved,

day six dawns with God saying something dramatically different. “Let Us make man in Our image,

according to Our likeness.” Why did God create the heavens and the earth? Why did He drive the

waters of chaos into the cages of the sea to bring forth dry land? Why did He create the animals? To have

a setting for His highest creation—humanity! “They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the

sky, the livestock, all the earth.” Why are we here? To enjoy the world God created and to rule it.

Rule implies both conquest and caring; we take care of it.

God created humanity to be the kings and queens of creation. Also, people are not just simply a higher

form of animal. People are God’s crowning achievement in creation. People are made in God’s image.

And in God’s likeness. Likeness stresses similarity to God, but we most definitely are not God.

And speaking of what God is really like, the attentive reader may have noticed something surprising in

verse two. “The Spirit of God” was moving about over the turbulent waters of chaos. Who or what is the

Spirit of God? Then in verse 26 the mystery deepens. “Let Us make man in Our image.” To whom

is God speaking? To the angels? Surely the created cannot help the Creator create. Was God employing

something called the royal plural, in which rulers through the ages have referred to themselves as “we”

or “us”? That is unlikely, for throughout Scripture, the kings of Israel and Judah were never portrayed

speaking with a royal plural. Is there more than one God? We know that is not true (Isa. 45:5-7). Just who is

this Creator who speaks in the plural but declares He is one God? In the New Testament we learn that “For

God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will

not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Who is the Son? He is God too. “In the beginning was the Word,

and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. All things were

created through Him, and apart from Him not one thing was created that has been created” (John 1:1-3).

God is Father, God is Son, and God is Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19). The Spirit who was involved in creation

is still at work in the world today. In fact, when a person turns to God by trusting in Jesus’ sacrifice for

salvation, the person receives the Holy Spirit, “who is in you, whom you have from God” (1 Cor. 6:19).

And the Spirit who was involved in the creation of the world works a new creation in every believer.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation” (2 Cor. 5:17).

How did we get here … and why? God spoke the world into existence, then placed us in the world as

His kings and queens, created in His image, to administer it. Our ultimate purpose is to be recreated into

the image of Christ. We are to become like Him (Rev. 22:4-5).




Notes

LiVE it outSAY: “The Bible points us to an all-powerful and personal Creator. How does this

reality influence your life?”

GUIDE: Let volunteers choose ways to live out this reality. Three examples are

listed below and on page 120 of the PSG.

> Trust God with your circumstances. Since God can speak a universe into existence, He can be trusted with your life.

> See people as God sees them. Just as you are created in God’s image, so is everyone else. Lead someone to discover the value God has placed on him

or her.

> Value God’s creation. We don’t worship nature, but identify ways you can care for God’s creation.

Wrap it Up

SAY: “You are created in the image of the God of the universe. Let that truth

influence your words and motives.”

5 minutes

14 4 S E S S I O N 5 © 2013 LifeWay© 2013 LifeWay

My group's prayer requests

Additional suggestions for specific groups (women, men, parents, boomers, and singles)

are available at BibleStudiesforLife.com/blog.

A Deeper Shade of Green

Green is the new black. Environmental awareness is trendy, cool, in vogue. What was once reserved for Birkenstock-wearing flower children is cruising into the mainstream like a speeding Prius. Fashion is green. Outdoor-wear company Patagonia produces fleece jackets made from recycled plastic bottles. Even Sam’s Club now sells jeans and T-shirts made with organic cotton, making Walmart the largest purchaser of organic cotton in the world as of 2006.

to continue reading “A Deeper shade of Green” from HomeLife magazine, visit BibleStudiesforLife.com/articles.

B i B l e S t u d i e S f o r l i f e 145© 2013 LifeWay© 2013 LifeWay

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