I am currently teaching through the Biblical account of the six creation days contained in Gen. 1:1 - 2:3 on Wednesday nights. Here are my notes and others will be added each week.
Lesson # 1- "What Was God Doing Before Creation?"
Gen. 1:1a, "In the beginning God..."
God simply states His creation as fact without any defense. So there is no need to mention evolution because it carries no credence with God.
I will not present evolution or study creation and evolution side by side, but simply present creation as God presents it. Genesis chapter 1 teaches us that God created the entire universe and then formed and filled it all in 6-24 hour days.
The “beginning” of Gen. 1:1 apparently refers to the beginning of the Creation of the world. Young earth creationists fix the time as 4004 B.C., and no further than 10,000 b.c. Evolutionists suggest 4,500,000,000 B.C.
The writer to the Hebrews reminds us that it is by faith that we understand that the ages were framed by the Word of God and that what is seen was not made out of visible things (Heb. 11:3).
The ages refer to all the periods of time as well as all that they contain. Since obviously there were no human spectators to Creation, and since the first man was placed in an already existing universe, we must accept by faith whatever God has revealed about Creation. Otherwise we will know nothing with certainty about Creation. We have an eyewitness account.
“In the beginning God” [the dateless past before time and creation], God does not explain His existence; neither does He explain His creating work. He just states, “In the beginning God.” So that is how we will conduct our study of the six days of creation.
Someone said, “God created heaven for those who believe verse 1, and hell for those who don’t believe verse 1.
It basically comes down to believing one of two beliefs, either one believes in Eternal matter or Eternal God.
Q- What was God doing before creation? What was God’s purpose in creation? What was before Genesis?
1. God eternally existed in His glory.
God is eternal; He has neither beginning nor end. He is totally self-sufficient and self existent. He needs nothing outside Himself to exist.
God needs nothing, the universe, the earth, or man. But He chose to create them.
Ps. 90:2, “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.”
1 Tim. 1:17, “Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.”
2. The Divine trinity existed in communion.
There is one true God who exists in three persons: God the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
Warren Wiersbe says, “This does not mean that one God manifested Himself in three different forms, or that there are three Gods; it means that one God exists in three persons who are equal in their attributes and yet distinct in different offices and ministries.”
Matt. 28:18-20, Acts 2:32-33, Eph. 4:1-6
Note the name “God” which is ELOHIM in the Hebrew. This name speaks of God’s almighty power. This is in the plural noun and can be translated “Gods.”
This identification of Elohim as Creator refutes several serious heresies that we will look at next week.
The Holy trinity was involved in creation. Note the “let us” statements in the in the Book of Genesis and a few others.
Gen. 1:26; 3:22; 11:7; Isaiah 6:8; Ps. 2:7
What was happening before creation? God existed eternally, the Holy Trinity existed eternally in communion, and also the Holy Trinity planned the plan redemption.
3. The trinity planned redemption.
The trinity took counsel in eternity past and planned salvation. Salvation was not an afterthought, but a predetermined plan.
Eph. 1:4-5, “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will.”
Rev. 13:8, “And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”
Rev. 17:8, “The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.”
We were chosen by the Father and given to the Son. The death of Christ on the cross and our belief in Him secured this transaction.
God created a world that He might share His love with man who He made in the image of God.
According to Eph. 1:3-14; the plan of salvation included the Holy Trinity. We were chosen by the Father [vs. 3-6], purchased by the Son [vs. 7-12], and summons and sealed by the Holy Spirit [vs. 13-14].
Someone said, “Try to explain these things and you may lose your mind; but try to explain them away, and you will lose your soul.”
