Teaching_of_Genesis

Explain the teaching of the Genesis creation narrative The first teaching in both Genesis 1 and 2 is that the universe was created by God as opposed to random chance. This is because it says in Genesis 1 that “God created the heaven and the earth” and it says in Genesis 2 that “God made the earth and the heavens”. Therefore it is simple fact that God caused the universe to become existent and not anything else. The second teaching is that God has a purpose in creating the universe; this purpose was for the human beings. Evidence for this is in Genesis 1 it says “God created man in his own image” suggesting that humans are important and special to God. Also, God gives man “domination” over “every living thing that moveth upon the earth”. Also, God tells humans to “be fruitful and multiply” which is the first commandment he gives, this suggests he wants man to rule and spread over the world. Moreover in Genesis 2, once God creates man he puts him in “Eden”. This suggests that God creates the land for man as this garden contains all the necessary things for man to live. The third teaching of the Genesis creation narrative is that God is omnipotent, omniscient, benevolent, transcendent and eternal. These are the characteristics that make God so great and in Genesis they are shown. God is shown to be omnipotent in Genesis 1 as he simply creates things that only an all-powerful being could put into existence. God says, “Let there be light” and immediately “there was light”. In Genesis 2 “God formed man of the dust of the ground”, this is only possible for an omnipotent being. The fact God is omnipotent shows man that he is infinitely superior to us and the creator of everything. There is also evidence that God is omniscient as is shown in Genesis as he has the knowledge to organise each event in order, first creating “light”, then “darkness” etc. in addition, there is evidence of his benevolence in Genesis 1 as he “create(s) man in his own image” proving his love for man as he gives a strong connection between humans and himself. Also, in Genesis 2 God says, “it is not good that the man should be alone” and also “commands him”. This shows that he wants a relationship with humans as he chats with Adam and also cares about his loneliness and welfare. God is also transcendent as he must be outside of time and space to create the “heavens and the earth” otherwise he would not be able to exist before the world was created which is obviously not the case as in both Genesis 1 and 2 God existed before the creation as the first causer. Evidence that God is eternal is because he is not limited in any way; he has an infinite past and future. Finally the last teaching is that the universe is ordered by God in a specific way. In Genesis 1, God first creates “light”, then “the heavens”, then “the earth”, then “grass” etc. If this order was different, for example, God created man on the first day and the “fruit tree” on the fifth day then it would not work as man must eat the fruit to live. This proves that God thought about the creation logically and formed everything to a rationale. This is shown in Genesis 2 as well since “the Lord God made the earth and the heavens”, then “every plant”, then he “watered the whole face of the ground” so the plants could grow and then he “formed man” etc. This shows again how God created the universe in a very specific and logical order. In conclusion, Genesis 1 and 2 teach us many things such as that God created the universe, he had a purpose in doing so; he did it in an order and also his characteristics.