Recently we’re been reading through the first book of the Bible — the book of Genesis — and discussing what we learn about God from it, and about our relationship with him.

What follows is a summary of some of the things we learned from Genesis ch. 1:

1. God’s word is powerful: He speaks and things happen. This theme took us to Psalm 33 and Hebrews 4. That God was speaking suggests his desire to communicate, teach and influence. There is a mixture of descriptions after God spoke:  sometimes ‘it was so’, sometimes ‘God made…’ - implications: God commands are to be obeyed and God works to create as he desires. God’s word expresses his intention and that intention becomes reality by obedience and/or his work.
2. Without God’s command stuff is formless (v2): we saw in this a strong parallel to human life without God: “vanity of vanities, all is vanity!”
3. God was ‘careful’ in his creation: We wondered if the hovering of the Spirit of God over the waters (v2) implied:
   ~ an emotional concern for the earth (cf. Deut 32:11: the eagle fluttering);
   ~ an intimate involvement with the earth (Luke 1:35: HS overshadowing Mary);
   ~ an initial deliberation on the state of the earth and what he was about to do in banishing the chaos/desolation (i.e. creation was not just a whim on God’s part). 
   God has a lasting interest in creation (he sees that it is good after he has created; he names things, implying an acknowledgement of responsibility and ownership); he works with an order; he is methodical - it doesn’t all happen in one big cosmic lighting bolt but over a period there is a preparation of the earth for a purpose. We thought God is revealed in Gen 1 more like a architect/builder/gardener than a flashy magician. We thought ahead to chapter 2 and wondered if Adam’s naming the animals and work in the garden was to give him opportunity to be like God in positive ways.

We have a Bible class on Sunday evenings (at about 5pm; Dingley Rd) and Tuesday nights (7:30pm; location varies, so best to get in touch if you’re interested to come). You’d be very welcome to join us.