If someone asked you this question "Who is God?" how and where would you start explaining? In this series, we'll take a look at what the Bible says about God, and the Bible begins just like any book we read -- we read it from the beginning.
Genesis 1 is a familiar passage to Christians, and for non-Christians, it is also a passage that readily invites controversy. But what do we look for when we read Gen 1? Do we read it looking for God? Most of us would read it and look for different things that are not God -- how the passage contradicts Darwin and evolution for example. But what if we read it for the main subject -- God? In Genesis 1, God reveals and discloses what we are to know about him. However, we have this terrible habit of making God in our image when in reality, it is we who are made in His. When we do so, we might learn new truths.
Genesis 1 teaches us to know God above all things. Therefore, the important question that we should ask as we read each verse should be: what does this verse teach me about God?
God is the Creator. He is the point of the Bible, nothing else (Gen 1:1-2a).
We learn from Gen 1:1 that God is the Creator. What did God create? “The heavens and the earth”. In short, God made everything (Ps 24:1). What does it mean to create? Today, we use the word lightly, making it synonymous with words like ‘manufacture’, ‘birth’, ‘innovate’, ‘design’, etc. When the Bible refers to the doctrine of creation, God is the Creator because he creates ex nihilo (Latin for ‘out of nothing’). Only God can make something ‘out of nothing’ (John 1:3). The opening lines of Genesis 1 introduce God’s primary identity as The Creator. As Creator, He is before all things, owns all things, is due all things and rules over all things. What does this mean for us? If God is Creator, He is before you, owns you, rules over you, and more comfortingly, He knows you because He made you.
How does the Bible describe the world in Gen 1:2?
Gen 1:2 described the world as “without form and void” and "darkness was over the face of the earth". It gives a picture of disorganised chaos and it was barren and empty.
We also learn that God is a Spirit. ‘God as a Spirit’ implies that he is not a part of the material creation. He stands apart from it, both in substance and authority. God is distinctly different from us, as He is not restricted by a physical body. Despite this, He relates to His creation - His Spirit “hovers over the waters of the deep”. Why is this important? From Ps 50:21, thinking that God is like us is the charge laid on us. When we take him and create a picture of Him that looks like us, we are containing Him in our small understanding. We are desecrating His greatness, insulting His majesty and acting as if He has not told us anything about Himself. It is idolatry -- when we make a created thing out of the Creator. This is offensive because we invert the relationship between creation and Creature, and even elevate the creation above the Creator.
God has personality and attributes. He is a wonderful Person (Gen 1:2-25).
The subsequent verses detail the creation of the world. God creates with His words (c.f. Col 1:17). He creates without His hands, because He has none. He is also different from the gods of the different cultures. The Christian God is a God of words. He is a speaking God. This is why Christians spend time at Bible study, because we believe that He speaks.
We can read about the details of creation as a chronological list of events, but we can also look at God’s creating process as a way of understanding what He values and learn about His attributes.
| What does God do? | What do we learn about Him? |
|---|---|
| Expresses will and desire in words (Gen 1:3) | God speaks and is expressive. |
| Speaks and effectually causes things to occur (Gen 1:3) | God is powerful and effective. |
| Identifies parts of creation as good (Gen 1:4a) | He is good, judges and has the authority to say what's good. |
| Separates things, names them (Gen 1:4b-5) | God judges and categorises. |
| Process in creation, creates taxonomy of species(Gen 1:6-13) | God is orderly. |
| Identifies design and intent (Gen 1:14-19) | God is purposeful and has a plan. |
| Enthusiastically creates (Gen 1:20-21) | God creates joyously. |
| Blesses what He makes (Gen1:22) | God is loving and cares for what He creates. |
| Creates animals with variety (Gen 1:21, 24-25) | God is creative and imaginative. |
| Gives the formless form, and fills up the void (Gen 1:2-25) | God is intentional. |
What can we learn from here? God is a person! And persons have relationships, and relationships take time. Humans were created to have a relationship with God, who wants to be known. How else do we know this? We know this from the account of the creation of man.
God is the lover of human beings, and purpose for human existence (Gen 1:26-31).
On the sixth day, God creates humans (Gen 1:26-27). God bursts into song when He talks about creation of human beings. Humans are not like the other things He has created. Only man was created in the image of God. Thus, when we read passages like Ps 8:3-8, we see the intense and deep love that God has for us! He sees the wonder in each human being, because He has poured His likeness into each human body that He has created. God loves people. This is the reason why humans have a special relationship with God and we also have a capacity to know and enjoy Him. We can also reflect some of His character that we've listed in the table above. When we speak, our speech can look like His. When we rule, judge, etc, we are reflecting His nature and character.
God does something different for human beings after He creates them. In Gen 1:28-31, He blesses them in a way that is different from the earlier blessing (c.f. 1:22). Verse 28 shows us God’s charge to humankind is to “be fruitful and multiply” as His image bearers and to rule in His place, yet under Him. The next verse shows God giving mankind good gifts and provision of food. God is a giving God. The language in verse 28 is full of variety, abundance and plenty - evidence of God’s great kindness and generosity. Yet, the provision of God is not meant to make them focus on the gift but on the Giver. It is supremely important that we understand how the gifts God gives points us back to the Giver, so that in everything, we would see His good hand. The Bible says in James 1:17, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”
And after all this, he declares that "behold, it was very good" (Gen 1:31). Gen 1 ends on this note, because we are meant to learn that God is a lover of mankind, and He has designed everything for us in relation to Himself.
How does this change your view of God? This text shows us that God is infinitely good and He is a Creator who loved His creation. He is not a petty and small God. If we realise this about God, perhaps we will be more excited about the greatest gift that He has given -- His own Son (c.f. John 3:16). Maybe then, we will embrace His gifts.
In Gen 1, we learn that God designed us for Himself. The garden of Genesis 1 was our home only because He was there. Perfect relationship in perfect existence. C. S. Lewis has written about the rumors of our lost home, since this is not the world that we seem to currently inhabit. He writes,“If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.” Lewis aptly describes the longing for our lost home - a paradise of the Garden of Eden. How did we come to lose this home and the God who made it for us? We’ll find out in the next study!
Reflection questions
What does the Bible mean when it says ‘Creator’? What are the practical implications of there being such a God at all? (i.e., how does it affect your life?)
Were there any attributes of God from Gen 1 that surprised you? Why or why not?
Modified from Chapter 1 of "The Gospel Primer: Far as the curse is found".