Genesis Part 004
God describes everything that He created as “very good.” This includes everything upon the earth and heaven, but also what He created within mankind, marriage and family.
There are several key takeaways from the Genesis account of creation:
- God decides when a day starts and ends.
- God (Elohim) made us humans in Their image and likeness.
- God made man and woman and blessed them to be able to multiply.
- God created marriage and binds two people together as one in His eyes.
- Marriage is between man and woman only.
- Satan hates all of the above and seeks to create counterfeits to discredit the truth.
Notice that God defines how a day is formed.
“The evening and the morning (morrow, next day) were the first day” (Genesis 1:5).
A day in God’s time starts at sunset and goes through the next day light portion.
Verse 14 says:
“Then God said, ‘Let lights appear in the sky to separate the day from the night. Let them be signs to mark the seasons, days, and years'” (New Living Translation).
“Moed/moadah” (H4150) is the Hebrew word for seasons, meaning “appointed time, meeting, appointment.” God created cosmic signs that would let us know when we would have appointed meetings with our Great God, like the Holy Days.
Next, God makes man in Their image and Their likeness in verse 26. They designed us to have dominion over all the other life God created. All of mankind, both male and female, were created in God’s image (Genesis 1:27). God created two unique sexes within mankind by His perfect design. This is not something that someone can choose on their own but is something God designed within His creation.
In verse 28 God does something They had not done before. God “blesses” man and woman and tells them to “be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:28). We understand that God created marriage:
"But from the beginning of the creation, God ‘made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’; so then they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate” (Mark 10:6-9).
Marriage isn’t something man created, rather God did. Therefore, God is the only one with the right to define who can be married. Marriage by God’s design is between male and female and He created this design to be able to replicate more children in Their image. There is no other acceptable marriage or intimate relationship between people. Additionally, marriage was designed to teach us about the even more important covenant we make with God. Our baptism covenant with God is the greater type of the physical covenant we can make with a spouse. It is worth spending considerable time thinking about how we honor this covenant with God.
We see that at the end of the six days of creation everything was “very good” (Genesis 1:31). This is all that God created upon the earth and in heaven, but also in mankind, marriage, reproduction and family. It was designed to be “very good.” Since this time, Satan has set out to destroy and pervert everything that the God Family created as “very good.”
From the pattern of creation shown in Genesis 1 we can learn the following about God:
- God is the living, active, sovereign Creator who exercises complete control over everything.
- God is a logical God who creates with design and purpose.
- God creates in stages—the first stage laying the foundation, the second stage providing the completion and beautification.
- Physical precedes spiritual. Many times we see first the physical manifestation of a spiritual concept.
With this understanding, consider how God is dealing with mankind. The first stage in mankind’s creation was physical, when mankind was created according to the physical and intellectual image and likeness of God, receiving dominion over the earth. The second stage in human creation is spiritual, wherein mankind is being created in the spiritual character image of God through Jesus Christ, and is ultimately to receive dominion over all things. In the first stage, God gave the codified law, known from the time of Adam and Eve and eventually redelivered and written on tablets of stone; in the second, He gives His Spirit, which writes the law on our hearts. In the first stage, God dealt with a physical people descended from one man; in the second stage, He deals with a spiritual people begotten by Himself. Clearly the Creator God is still creating, still following His pattern of creation!
Tomorrow we will move into the second chapter of Genesis.
UYA Team | uya@ucg.org
United Young Adults (UYA) primarily serves the 18–32-year age group for the United Church of God. There are three main areas of contribution to the lives of the young adults: Promoting Spiritual Growth, Developing Meaningful Relationships and Making the Most of Your Talents. The Know Your Sword series is a daily expository message introducing God’s Word from a trusted perspective.
Please see the UCG Bible commentary for more information on Genesis 1:1-2:4.
