Genesis 1: the Three Building Blocks View
Try to imagine what this world would be like without people. What would be the point of creating it?
The story
In Genesis chapter 1, God tells us what we need to know about how he created the world. He gives it to us as a story in which he describes a sequence of real historical events. These events provide us our starting point for understanding his world. Our faith is based on these real events of Genesis.
The story is about God
The story demonstrates God’s incredible creative power and reveals his character. On day one he starts from Nothing and creates the physical universe, but as he points out, without form and void. He then organizes it and fills it so that by day six it is teeming with life. Unlike a magic genie that creates in an instant, he takes his time to create our world. It all fits. Just consider the plants. He first makes dry land for them to grow, then uses them for food for his creatures. He makes sure the plants bring forth seeds so that they can reproduce. He finally creates man who can use these seeds to become a farmer—not just a forager like the other creatures. God gives life and, in this Genesis 1 world, there is no death. By the end the chapter God “saw everything he had made, and behold, it was very good.” God’s world is very good because God is very good.
God uses three building blocks
By observing God’s repetitive use of the word “created” (bara)—which means to initiate something new—we can identify three distinct building blocks God used to create our world. He created the physical universe, “the heaven and the earth,” on day one (v1), the creature “that moveth” on day five (v21), and the human being, “man in his own image,” on day six (v27).
This is in stark contrast to modern science which tries to understand our world starting with a single building block—the physical universe. However, science cannot explain the origin of that universe, or the origin of life of life in that universe or the godlike creatures that inhabit that universe.
But, starting with God’s three building blocks, our world comes into much better focus. The gaps from matter to creatures and from creatures to humans become explainable. For days one to four, the physical universe provided God all that he needed to form the earth, plants, sun, moon, and stars. On day five, however, he could only make an inanimate fish or bird out of the physical universe. But being God, he could and did initiate something new, the “creature” and made living fish and birds. And on day six, he had everything he needed to make the land creatures, however, he could not make a living human being. But being God, he could and did initiate something new, the “image of God” and made man, completing his very good creation. (In this analysis the “image of God” is simply what makes us different from animals.)
God further supports this building block view by his use of the Hebrew word “chay” or life. It is used eight times in Genesis 1—but only on days five and six. Note, “chay” is highlighted in red on the handout. Just fold the attached paper in half on the bold line and look at days one to four—no life!
Plus, these distinctions are unwittingly universally acknowledged by people everywhere and can be easily demonstrated by asking two questions:
1. Why do we not refer to trees as creatures? Answer: They do not have life, “chay”; they do not have the second building block.
2. Why do we not put people in zoos? Answer: They are created in the “image of God.”
It’s also about us
These sequences of events have a goal–human beings.
And God wants relationships with these human beings. In contrast to the other creatures, when he blesses people, he also directly addresses them. Note the phrases “unto them” (v28) and “I have given you” (v29). These human creatures can communicate with God!
And he doesn’t create man “after their kind”, but “in his image.”
And he gives man “dominion” (v28) over all the earth. Interestingly, if one accepts an evolutionary timescale, what sense does it make to give man dominion when man has supposedly just recently arrived on the planet?
And finally, try to imagine what this world would be like without people. What would be the point of creating it?
God had us in mind.
Don McLeroy
30 Questions (with answers)
Initial questions
1. Who is the focus of the chapter? God
2. What was before verse 1? God or Nothing? God
3. Which day has no “good”? Day 2
4. What days have two “goods”? Day 3 and Day6
5. What two verses do not begin with the word “And”? Verse 1 and Verse 27
6. What are the three “things” that God “created”? The physical universe, the creature, the human creature.
7. Which verse is the calendar verse? That is, where do you find the words “seasons”, “days”, “years”? Verse 14
8. Who is blessed in v.22 and v. 28? Creatures and Man
9. Who did God speak to? The animals or man? Man
10. Why didn’t he speak to the animals? They cannot communicate with God.
Questions on Food
11. Where did God place man at creation? In the Garden of Eden
12. What do you plant in a garden? Seeds
13. What is the food for man? (v. 29) Plants
14. What is the food for creatures? (v. 30) Plants
15. Were the plants blessed? No
16. Does God say he gave food for the plants? No
What else have we learned?
17. How did we arrive on this planet? God created us and placed us here.
18. Why do we not refer to a tree as a creature? A tree doesn’t have the breath of life.
19. Why do we not give anesthesia to cut down a tree? A tree is not a creature.
20. Why do we not put people in zoos? People are created in the image of God.
21. Why can we divide ourselves into boys and girls? God created us male and female.
22. What is the beginning of time? Or, when did the clock start ticking? Verse 1
23. What is the essential difference between a fish and a tree? (According to the building blocks) The tree doesn’t have the breath of life.
24. What is the essential difference between man and a fish? (According to the building blocks) The fish doesn’t have the image of God.
25. What is the essential difference between a man and a rock? (According to the building blocks) A rock doesn’t have the image of God or the breath of life.
26. What is the essential difference between a rock and a tree? (According to the building blocks) Nothing.
27. How did God create? He spoke into existence.
28. What was the last “thing” God created? A woman, the most complex and many say the most important of his creation.
29. What do we NOT see in this chapter? Sin, evil or death.
30. What is man? Man is godlike breathing matter. (According to the building blocks)