Chapter 10 of 1163

GENESIS 1

We are conscious every day of the visible world around us. We need to remember that this world speaks to us of God, His existence, His wisdom, and His power (Rom. 1:20; Ps. 19:1–3).

God creates. Everything begins with God and fulfills His purposes for His glory (Col. 1:16–17; Rev. 4:11). He works by the power of His Word (Ps. 33:6–9), the same Word that can work in our lives (1 Thess. 2:13). He works according to a plan: first He forms, then He fills. He formed the earth and filled it with plants and animals. He formed the firmament and filled it with stars and planets. He formed the seas and filled them with living creatures. He can form and fill our lives today if we will yield to Him. Persons who have trusted Jesus Christ are a part of the new creation (2 Cor. 4:6; 5:17; Eph. 2:8–10).

God names. He named what He made, and we have no right to make changes: “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness” (Isa. 5:20). God calls things by their right names; if we use His vocabulary, we must also use His dictionary. (See Prov. 17:15.)

God divides. He separated the light from the darkness, the dry land from the waters, and the waters above from the waters beneath. This principle of separation is basic in all the Bible: He separated Abraham from Ur, the nation of Israel from the Gentiles, His church from the world (John 17:14–16). He wants His people today to be separated from all that defiles (2 Cor. 6:14–7:1).

God blesses. The first man and woman were the only part of creation especially blessed by God. Because we are created in the image of God, we are different from the other creatures God has made, and we must be careful how we treat one another (Gen. 9:6; James 3:9). Sin has marred that divine image, but one day all true believers will bear the image of Christ (Rom. 8:29). The more we are like Christ, the more we will enjoy His blessing (2 Cor. 3:18).

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