Downloads
Long ago in Babylon (modern-day Iraq), people told a story about how the world began. In the beginning there were two great waters, and from them many gods were born. The gods were noisy and quarrelsome, and soon there was war. The mighty god Marduk killed the sea goddess Tiamat and split her body in two: one half became the sky, the other the earth. Then, because someone had to do all the hard work, the gods made humans out of the blood of a defeated god, to be their slaves.
What kind of world does that story describe? A safe one, or a scary one? And what are people for? Now read the first lines of the Bible, and notice how different it feels:
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light." (Genesis 1:1–3)
Every culture has asked the big questions: Where did we come from? Who's in charge? What are we for? This term we slow down and walk through one book of the Bible, Genesis, and we start by reading Genesis 1 with one question in mind: what is God like?
What you'll learn
- The shape of Genesis: four events and four people
- What Genesis 1 shows us about what God is like
- How Genesis 1 is different from other ancient stories, and how Jesus shows he is the Creator
Genesis at a glance
Genesis has two halves. In chapters 1–11, the camera shows the whole world. Then at chapter 12 it zooms in on one family.
| Genesis 1–11: four events (the whole world) | Genesis 12–50: four people (one family) |
|---|---|
| Creation (1–2) | Abraham (12–25) |
| Fall (3–5) | Isaac (21–27) |
| Flood (6–9) | Jacob (25–36) |
| Babel (10–11) | Joseph (37–50) |
As we walk through Genesis, we'll keep asking one big question: How does God keep his promises through messy people? And in every lesson we'll look for one thing: where's the grace? (Grace means God's kindness to people who don't deserve it.)
What God does in Genesis 1
The main character of Genesis 1 is God. In fact, he's the only one doing anything in the whole chapter! Look at the things God does, and what each one shows about him:
| What God does | Where | What it shows about God |
|---|---|---|
| Creates | 1:1, 1:27 | He was there before everything, and everything depends on him. |
| Speaks, and it happens | 1:3, 1:6, 1:9 | He is powerful. His word alone makes things happen. |
| Sees that it is good | 1:4, 1:10, 1:31 | He is good, and he enjoys what he makes. |
| Separates | 1:4, 1:7 | He is wise. He brings order out of chaos. |
| Names | 1:5, 1:8, 1:10 | He is in charge. Naming something shows you rule over it. |
| Blesses | 1:22, 1:28 | He is generous. He wants his creatures to flourish. |
| Gives food | 1:29–30 | He provides for every living thing. |
Look out for some hints too: the Spirit of God hovers over the waters (1:2), God makes everything by his word, and in 1:26 God speaks of himself as "us". Many Christians have seen hints of the Trinity here (one God who is Father, Son and Spirit), though some read "us" as God speaking with the angels. The full picture becomes clear later in the Bible.
What makes Genesis 1 different
Put the Babylonian story and Genesis 1 side by side:
| Question | The Babylonian story | Genesis 1 |
|---|---|---|
| How many gods? | Many, and they fight | One God, in charge from the start (1:1) |
| How was the world made? | From a battle and a dead body | God speaks and it happens (1:3) |
| Sun, moon and stars | Gods to be worshipped | Lights God made and put in place (1:14–18) |
| Great sea creatures | Enemies of the gods | Creatures God made and called good (1:21) |
| What people are for | Slaves to do the gods' work | Blessed, made in God's image, to rule his world for him (1:26–28) |
Here's a clever detail. The nations around Israel worshipped the sun and moon. Genesis doesn't even use their names. It just calls them the bigger light and the smaller light (1:16), like lamps in a house. The message is: don't worship them; worship the one who made them.
The two stories come from the same part of the world, but they say very different things about God and people. In Genesis, the world isn't a battlefield. It's a gift. (Christians differ on how long the "days" were and how Genesis fits with science, but Genesis 1 is answering bigger questions: who made the world, and what is he like?)
Where's the grace?
Before people have done a single thing, God makes them a good home and blesses them. They didn't earn any of it. It's a gift from the start.
Key words
- Genesis: "beginning"; the first book of the Bible.
- Creator: the one who made everything. In the Bible, that's God alone.
- Trinity: one God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
- Grace: God's kindness to people who don't deserve it.
How this points to Jesus
One night, Jesus and his disciples were crossing a lake when a wild storm hit. The disciples panicked, sure they would drown. Jesus spoke to the wind and the waves, and everything went calm (Mark 4:35–41).
"Overwhelmed with fear, they asked one another, ‘Who is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?’" (Mark 4:41)
In Genesis 1, who speaks to the waters and they obey? God. So the disciples were starting to realise something huge about Jesus. The New Testament says everything was made through Jesus and for him, and he holds it all together (Colossians 1:16–17). The God who spoke in Genesis 1 came into his world as a person.
Think about it
If the Babylonian story were true, how would you feel about the world and about yourself?Show answer
Probably unsafe and unimportant. The world would be the result of a war, and people would exist only to be slaves. Genesis 1 says the world is a good gift and people are blessed.
Why do you think Genesis just calls the sun and moon the bigger light and the smaller light instead of using their names?Show answer
Because other nations worshipped them as gods. Genesis shows they are just lights God made, so we should worship God instead.
Does it matter whether the world was made by a good God or by accident?Show answer
Yes. If a good God made the world on purpose, then the world and every person in it have meaning, value and a reason for being here.
Take it further
This week, when you see something beautiful in nature, like a sunset, the ocean or a storm, ask yourself: what does this show me about the one who made it? Your worksheet helps you hunt for what God does in Genesis 1 and compare the two creation stories.
If you'd like to, you could pray: God our Creator, thank you that you are powerful, wise and good. Thank you that the world isn't an accident or a battlefield, but a gift. Thank you that Jesus, who made the wind and the waves, came to be with us. Amen.