Genesis 1 - God Created the World

Genesis 1:1-26:

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.  God said, “Let there be light”, and there was light.  God saw the light and saw that it was good, and God divided the light from the darkness.  God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night; and the evening and the morning were the first day.

God made the sky and divided the waters which were under the sky from the waters which were above the sky.  God called the firmament Heaven.  The evening and the morning were the second day.

Then God said, “Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear”.  God called the dry land Earth, and the bodies of water Seas, and God saw that it was good.

God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed (plants), and fruit trees whose seed is in its fruit upon the earth”.  The earth grew grass, plants, and fruit trees that had seeds and God saw that it was good.  The evening and the morning were the third day.

God made the sun, the moon, and the stars.  God set them in the sky of heaven to give light upon the earth and to rule over the day and night, and to divide the darkness from the light; and God saw that it was good. The evening and the morning were the fourth day.

Then God created whales and fish of every kind in the waters, and birds of every kind to fly in the sky, and God saw that it was good. The evening and the morning were the fifth day.

God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures, cattle and creeping things and the beasts of the earth (animals), and it was so.  God saw that it was good.  God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let him have dominion (power) over the fish and the birds, the earth, and all of the animals upon it.”  So God created man in his own image. 

God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and rule over it.  Have rule over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and every other living thing that moves upon the earth.”

When you read Genesis 1:1-28 do you notice any words or phrases that were repeated?

What do these repeated words and phrases tell you about God and his creation? 

Who was created in God’s image?  

Who did God put in charge of the earth and the animals?

Do you think this means that animals are not equal to humans?

Look up and read Genesis 1:26 and Genesis 1:28 in your Bible.  These verses tell us that God gives us power to rule over the animals. Even though we are in charge of the animals, and they are not equal to us we are to care for and respect animals.  When God created the animals he called them good.

Since we were made in God’s image, how should we treat animals?  

Read Genesis 1:26 again.  When God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our own likeness” who was he talking to? 

Look up and read John 1:1-10.  Who do these verses tell us was with God when the world was created?  

Genesis 1:29 - 31

God said, “I have given you every plant which is upon the earth and every fruit tree and it shall be food for you.  And to every animal on earth, and bird of the air, and everything on earth that breathes, I have given every green herb for food”.  God saw everything that he had made and it was very good.  The evening and the morning were the sixth day.

God saw that everything he had created was good. 

How many days did it take God to create the heavens, the earth, and every living thing on it? 

Genesis Chapter 1 was about the first six days and all of the work God did.

What does Genesis Chapter 1 tell us about God and everything he created?  What does it tell us about ourselves?