Genesis 1:14-31
We continue our study with the fourth, fifth, and sixth days of creation. Each of these days of creation continues to reveal God’s awesome wisdom, power, and the order of His creative authority. God spoke into existence the sun, the moon, and trillions upon trillions of stars throughout the heavens. He made all living things upon the earth, and then concluded with making man in His own image.
The fourth day of creation. Vs. 14-19
On the fourth day of creation, “Then God said, ‘Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth’; and it was so. Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. So the evening and the morning were the fourth day” (Gen. 1:14-19).
First notice that God declares that there are two specific reasons that He created the sun, the moon, and the stars. The first reason was that these heavenly bodies would be for signs and seasons. The second reason for their creation was to give light to the earth for the day and for the night. Let’s look at these two reasons individually.
1. For signs and seasons, and for days and years.
God created these heavenly bodies first to be signs and seasons. The word signs is a Hebrew word that literally means a banner or a signal to us. These heavenly bodies were to be a signal of the seasons, days and years, so that men could tell time. This is just one of the very important reasons that God gave us the sun and the moon. The sun not only enables life to exist on the earth, by giving us light and heat, but the sun is also to signal for the passage of time. Each day that the sun rises and sets on the horizon, we can count one day. How did men know the time of day from the beginning of time? They used a sundial. Only in the 15th century did men invent the first mechanical clock. Before this, men used sundials or an hourglass to determine the passage of time. Ancient people from all around the world clearly used the heavens for timekeeping. Cultures everywhere had calendars based on the sun, moon, and the stars. The Mayan calendar had a 365-day year, yet they knew that a year was just a little longer. They estimated a calendar year should be actually be 365.242036 days. This estimate is actually more accurate than the Gregorian calendar we use today. We use computers to calculate these figures today, but how did these ancient peoples know this fact?
Ancient men used the heavenly bodies to calculate their growing seasons and even built their temples, monuments, and pyramids pointing directly at different stars and constellations in the sky. For example, the Great Pyramid of Giza is precisely aligned to true north. The Great Pyramid of Giza and its two sister pyramids are also astronomically aligned precisely to the constellation of Orion, with each pyramid representing a star in Orion’s belt. How these ancient architects achieved such precise measurements and alignments is something that baffles scientists today. However, it is clear that ancient man used the stars for time-keeping, travel, and religious practices. These men clearly had advanced knowledge of astronomical movements with great precision.
Ancient man used the sun to enable them to count the hours in a day, and thus count time. They also used the moon to determine the months that passed. The stars were used to gauge the passage of years of time. Depending on where the constellations are in the heavens, you can determine what time of the year it is. Today we use a calendar or an app on our phones to do all these calculations. We can tell time down to the second with the atomic clocks that we possess today. But for the last five to six thousand years people used the sun, the moon, and the stars to determine what time it was, and how to gauge what season it was. This enabled them to determine what they should be doing with agriculture. Should they be planting their fields, or should they be harvesting their crops? They determined these signals by the sun, moon, and the constellations.
I have already stated that ancient man also used these heavenly bodies for worship. However, God never intended them to be worshipped. God always intended men to worship Him, and acknowledge Him as the Creator of all things. But as Paul stated, when man began to worship the creation instead of the Creator, their foolish hearts were darkened (Rom. 1:20-23). Yet men chose to worship these heavenly bodies just the same. Even to the present-day, people try and find direction from the stars by reading their daily horoscope. God warned His people not to go down this path. In Deuteronomy 4:19 God cautions His people to, “Take heed, lest you lift your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun, the moon, and the stars, all the host of heaven, you feel driven to worship them and serve them, which the LORD your God has given to all the peoples under the whole heaven as a heritage.” Clearly the Lord is telling them that these heavenly bodies were not made to be worshipped, but to be a blessing to all peoples under heaven so they could have light and tell the passage of time.
In Isaiah 47:12-14, God pronounced judgment upon the astrologers and the stargazers and the monthly prognosticators, and challenged them to see if they could help as the Assyrian Army was about to destroy the nation, Isarel. He said, “Stand now with your enchantments and the multitude of your sorceries, in which you have labored from your youth-- Perhaps you will be able to profit, perhaps you will prevail. You are wearied in the multitude of your counsels; let now the astrologers, the stargazers, and the monthly prognosticators stand up and save you from what shall come upon you. Behold, they shall be as stubble, the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame; it shall not be a coal to be warmed by, nor a fire to sit before!” God tells the people who have put their faith in these astrologers that they will be consumed by the fire of judgment that will come upon them, and that there will not be anything left to burn in a fire to warm themselves with. Their cities will become an ash heap before their eyes. So, don’t be deceived by astrology; it can give you nothing. Only the Word of God can give you the direction you seek for your life.
2. For physical light.
Second, these heavenly bodies were created to simply give physical light to the earth. It is obvious that the sun gives light and heat each day to the earth. Without this light and heat from the sun, life could not exist here on earth. You remember from our last study that the moon is about the same distance from the sun as the earth, but because there is little to no atmosphere on the moon, the temperature on its surface changes radically from +260 degrees to -280 degrees. These temperature ranges are determined by whether you are on the light side, or on the dark side of the moon. Because of these temperature changes life cannot exist on the moon. However, here on earth, with our atmosphere, the light and heat from the sun produce and sustain life for us.
God created these heavenly bodies to, “be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth” (Gen. 1:15). The light from the sun is obvious to all of us, but do you realize that the moon and the stars do the same? The moon is reflective light from the sun, and is very important for light on the earth. Now if you think that the moon and the stars don’t give much light to us here on the earth, I would challenge you go out into the desert or into the mountains, away from the lights of the city and see what happens. On a night when you have a full moon you will be amazed at the amount of light that the moon reflects upon the earth. You can literally walk around without a flashlight, and you can actually see your shadow from the light of the moon. But you might say, “Do the stars really give off that much light?” Yes! Let me tell you a story. Several years ago, I was backpacking in the mountains, and there was no moon at all one night. I was amazed at the light that was still given by the stars alone upon the earth. However, the next night it was cloudy, and I could not see the stars at all. It was incredibly dark. It was so dark that I could hardly see a few feet in front of me. I realized how important the stars were for ancient man to give them light from the heavens. I hope you will have this experience some day as proof of this fact.
One of the most important spiritual insights that you gain from these heavenly bodies in the sky is to remind you of the God who created them. These heavenly bodies should speak to you every morning and every night. Their message to you should be, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard” (Ps. 19:1-3). These heavenly bodies should be declaring to you the existence of a great and powerful God. Paul said in Romans 1:20, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.” Who is without excuse? The word “they” refers to all mankind. The attributes of an eternal and powerful God are clearly seen by the things He has made. This is a powerful message that should touch the hearts of all men. Does it touch yours?
It is also important to remember that every one of these trillions upon trillions of stars is known to God, and He has named every one of them. In Psalm 147:4 God reveals that, “He counts the number of the stars; and He calls them all by name.” Wow! Why is this so important to remember? If He knows every star by name, He knows you and every hair on your head, and every thought in your mind, and every step that you take. The incredible thing about this knowledge God has of you, especially knowing all your sins and faults, is that He still loves each and every one of you. Why? Because He knows you are but dust (Ps. 103:14). Also, in Hebrews 11:12 God declared to Abraham, “Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born as many as the stars of the sky in multitude-- innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.” So, God declared here in His word 3,000 years ago that the stars were innumerable. Now, up until probably the 15th or 16th century, scientists believed that there were no more than 1000 stars in the heavens. That was until they got a telescope. Then that number kept growing and growing with every new and more powerful telescope created. Yet, all scientists had to do was to simply read the Bible to realize there were more than just 1,000 stars. You can’t ever count the number of stars any more than you can count the grains of the sand of the sea. This should cause you to consider again the greatness and the power of God. “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised” (Ps. 48:1).
The fifth day of creation. Vs. 20-23
In Genesis 1:20-23 God said, “Then God said, ‘Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens.’ So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.’ So the evening and the morning were the fifth day.” You should first note the words sea creatures and birds are both plural. This clearly indicates that God created more than one set of birds, and one set of sea creatures. He created an innumerable number of sea creatures and winged birds of every kind that fly in the heavens. God is very clear when He said, “Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures.” That means He created multitudes upon multitudes of sea and land creatures.
Also note that plant life, created on day three, is distinctly different from living creatures. Plants and trees are alive in the sense that they grow and reproduce, but the Bible gives a very specific definition for a living creature. In Genesis 1:21 God declared that He, “created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves.” Vegetation does not move, fly through the air, or walk on the land, but sea creatures, land animals, and obviously human beings move from one place to another. This is how God defines living creatures. A second way the Bible defines a living thing is that it has blood. In Leviticus 17:11 God explained, “For the life of the flesh is in the blood.” Therefore, all living creatures possess blood. A third characteristic of a living creature is that it has breath. In Genesis 2:7, it declared, “The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” Also, in Genesis 6:17, when God is about to destroy the earth in the flood He says, “Behold, I Myself am bringing flood of waters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life.” Notice again, God’s very specific definition of what life is, “and everything that is on the earth shall die.” Why do I bring this definition up? Because today people confuse and misunderstand what life is, thinking that vegetation, plants, or trees are alive. Vegetation is not like a living creature such as man, but vegetation is for food. God states this clearly in Genesis 1:30 where He declares, “‘To every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food’; and it was so.”
What is interesting to notice in this passage, is that the Lord declared that He, “Created great sea creatures” (Gen. 1:21). The Hebrew words translated sea creatures, can also be translated sea serpents or sea dragons. There are many written historical accounts and fossilized remains of these great sea creatures that have been found. Just because we have never seen one of these creatures does not mean they are just a myth. One such example of these sea dragons is a Spinosaurus. The fossils of this water dinosaur were first written about in 1912 by Richard Markgraf. He discovered a partial skeleton of a Spinosaurus in the Bahariya formation in western Egypt. Also, in 1915 a German paleontologist, Ernst Stromer, found the remains of one of these creatures in the Kem Basin of Morocco. It is thought by many scientists that this sea creature could possibly have been the biblical leviathan described in Job 41:1-34.
Spinosaurus
Source = Ytimg
Source: Cubefigures.com
Another one of these sea serpents or sea dragons is called Mosasaurus. This sea predator is thought to be one of the largest animals to have ever lived, reaching 50 to 60 feet in length. It looked like a huge aquatic lizard. The earliest fossils of Mosasaurus known to science were found as skulls in a chalk quarry near the Dutch city of Maastricht late in the 18th century. See picture below.
Mosasaurus
Source = Quoracdn
Source: BioLogos
These two examples make it abundantly clear that what the Bible declares is clearly true. God created these sea creatures just as His Word declared.
In addition, God also created on this fifth day of creation birds that flew above the earth. He declared, “Then God said, ‘Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens.’ So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth’” (Gen. 1:20-22). The fossils of these winged creatures, are again, an awesome example of His creative power. One example of the birds God created would be Pterosaurs. These flying reptiles had a wing span of over 25 feet, and with teeth 2 inches long. Thousands of fossils of this giant bird have been found throughout North America. These were awesome creatures indeed.
Pterosaurs
Credit: Cropbot
Credit: ibtimes.sg
One of the most important things to remember about these sea creatures and birds is that God created them all fully formed and ready for life. They didn’t evolve from lower forms of life! How can we be sure of this fact? We have the proof of the fossil record. I state this again, because it is probably one of the most important facts of science that refutes the evolutionary hypothesis. If you want to look at the actual evidence, I recommended you read Evolution the Fossils Say No by Dr. Duane Gish. He so eloquently shows you the evidence. The most important fact is, after paleontologists have dug up millions upon millions of fossils all around the world, not one transitional form of any animal evolving into another species has ever been found. Wouldn’t you think after finding millions upon millions of fossils that paleontologists would have found at least one transitional form? But, they have not. That is extremely powerful evidence! Scientists can lay out their hypothesis of what they think happened in the past, but they were not there to see what actually did happen at creation. However, the fossil record reveals what has happened in the past, and is the best proof we have of factual evidence.
In addition, all the animal life known to us today looks exactly like these animals in the fossil record. All of these creatures abruptly enter the fossil record, with no transitional forms found. Dr. Duane Gish shows you this evidence in his book noted above. Here is one example.
Below is a fossilize Coelacanth fish that scientist believed became extinct 65 million years ago.
Source: Activewild.com
Here is a picture of a six foot long 200 lb. Coelacanth fish caught in 1938 by a fisherman. This fish is obviously not extinct!
Source: Wikimedia Commons
In conclusion, David V. Bassett, M.S. wrote in his book Debunking Evolution (Genesis Apologetics), “Dr. Carl Werner and his wife Debbie invested over 14 years of their lives investigating the best museums and dig sites around the globe and photographing thousands of original fossils and the actual fossil layers where they were found. His conclusion was, ‘After visiting hundreds of museums and interviewing hundreds of paleontologists, scientists, and museum curators, now, 150 years after Darwin wrote his book, this problem still persists. Overall, the fossil record is rich—200 million fossils in museums—but the predicted evolutionary ancestors are missing, seemingly contradicting evolution. He gives a series of examples:
1-Museums have collected the fossil remains of 100,000 individual dinosaurs, but have not found a single direct ancestor for any dinosaur species.
2-Approximately 200,000 fossil birds have been found, but ancestors of the oldest birds have yet to be discovered.
3-The remains of 100,000 fossilized turtles have been collected by museums, yet the direct ancestors of turtles are missing.
4-Nearly 1,000 flying reptiles (pterosaurs) have been collected, but no ancestors showing ground reptiles evolving into flying reptiles have been found.
5-Over 1,000 fossil bats have been collected by museums, but no ancestors have been found showing a ground mammal slowly evolving into a flying mammal.
6-Approximately 500,000 fossil fish have been collected, and 100,000,000 invertebrates have been collected, but ancestors for the theoretical first fish—a series of fossils showing an invertebrate changing into a fish—are unknown.
7-Over 1,000 fossil sea lions have been collected, but not a single ancestor of sea lions has been found.
8-Nearly 5,000 fossilized seals have been collected, but not a single ancestor has been found.’”
I believe this is very convincing proof!
The sixth day of creation. Vs. 24-31
On the sixth day of creation God declares, “Then God said, ‘Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind’; and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’ And God said, ‘See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food’; and it was so. Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day” (Gen. 1:24-31).
On the sixth day God created the land creatures such as cattle and every creeping thing. There are also written accounts and fossil remains of some of these animals that are extinct today. The dinosaurs are the evidence that these creatures definitely existed. One of the best and most interesting written accounts of one of these land animals was cataloged by Marco Polo in the 13th century. He wrote, “In this province [Carajan] are found snakes and great serpents of such vast size as to strike fear into those who see them… Some of them are ten paces in length…The bigger ones are about ten palms in girth. They have two forelegs near the head, but for foot, nothing but a claw…The head is very big, and the eyes are bigger than a great loaf of bread. The mouth is large enough to swallow a man whole, and is garnished with great pointed teeth.” If Marco Polo was using a Roman “pace” in his calculations, a “pace” was 4.86 feet, that means this creature was almost 50 feet long. A “palm” was 2.91 inches. This would have made this serpent 29 inches wide, with eyes as big as a loaf of bread and a mouth big enough to shallow a man whole. What animal did Marco Polo see? Whatever this creature was, it was very large and would strike fear into the hearts of the men who saw them.
When talking about land dinosaurs we can’t forget the Tyrannosaurus Rex, which is one of the scariest looking creatures that God has ever made. This creature’s name means, “King of the Tyrant Lizards.” Examples of these creatures have been found in North America. Evidence from the bones that have been recovered show that these animals were over 40 feet long and estimated to have weighed from 8,000 to 11,000 pounds. See example below.
Credit: Richard T. Nowitz/Getty Images
Many times, people ask me, “Why does God only give vegetation, trees, fruits, and vegetables for man to eat before the flood, and then after the flood men are allowed to eat animals?” There are no specific answers to this question given in Scripture. We just know that before the fall, God tells us that everyone ate vegetation and fruits. But, after the fall of man, everything changed. Animals were eating other animals along with the vegetation for food. It is interesting that after the Second Coming of Christ, during the millennial reign of Jesus here on earth, there will again be no carnivores. The animal kingdom again comes back to that harmony that God originally intended. You see this fact in Isaiah 65:25 where God declares that during the millennial reign of Christ, “‘The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpent's food. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,’ Says the LORD.”
The creation of man
Now we come to God’s crowning work of all Creation, the creation of the first man. In verse 26 God declares, “Let Us make man in Our image.” This was the climax of God’s creative work. After He created all the plants and animals, He specifically created man with a special quality that none of the animals had, they were made in His own image. What does that mean, to be made in His image? The answer to this question is fundamental to understanding your purpose and the meaning of your life. God is a Spirit who is a loving, intelligent, wise, righteous, and just. The Hebrew word image means we were created in His likeness and after His model. This means He has created us in His spiritual and moral image.
God is Spirit
It is extremely important to understand that we could never be created in God’s physical likeness, because God is Spirit, which means He does not have a physical form. Jesus taught that “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24). Therefore, God has also made us with a spirit (Ecc. 3:21). Why? Because we were made in His image, and this is how we can know Him and fellowship with Him. But the problem is that men apart from Christ are dead spiritually. Their spirit needs to be made alive (Eph. 2:1). However, when we receive God’s forgiveness and mercy, He comes and makes our spirit come alive and then fills us with His Holy Spirit. This is when we begin to experience what real life is all about. No animal has spiritual fellowship with God; only man can experience this relationship, because we are made in His image.
God is love
Because God is love He has created you with the capacity to love Him and to love others. This is why God has commanded men to take this action. Jesus said, “‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets” (Matt. 22:37-40). If you obey God’s command to love Him and love others, you will find the greatest happiness in this life. Is there anything more satisfying than knowing God loves you, knowing that others love you, and loving them both in return?
God is sovereign
God is a sovereign being, which means He is an independent, autonomous, and self-governing Creator. However, He also created you as a sovereign being created in His image. This means that you are also are an autonomous and self-governing creature. You can choose to do whatever you please. You can choose to follow Christ, or you can even choose to reject Him. That is your choice as a human being. This is why God said to Adam and Eve in the Garden, “‘Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die’” (Gen. 2:16-17). This was proof that they were sovereign self-governing creatures.
God is righteous and holy
If God has created you in His image, then He wants you to be holy and walk in righteousness, because this is who He is. This is why God gave you a conscience, so you will know the difference between good and evil, and have the ability to choose the way you should live (Rom. 2:15). God has declared, “As He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy’” (1 Peter 1:15-16). His hope and desire is that you will love what He loves, and hate what He hates, and thus be conformed into His image (Ps. 97:10). No animal has this ability to become righteous and holy as God is.
God reasons with the truth
God has also given you the ability to reason through what would be good or evil. He has given you the ability to think, choose, and to decide, just like He does. God spoke to His people and said, “‘Come now, and let us reason together,’ Says the LORD, ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword’; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken” (Is. 1:18-20). Only humans have this awesome responsibility to reason through the need for forgiveness and obedience. Animals do not have this ability. When referring to horses and mules, David said that they have, “No understanding” (Ps. 32:9). The Hebrew word for understanding means to have the ability to discern and perceive right and wrong. However, the Apostle Paul prayed that we would all have true spiritual understanding. He said, “For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God” (Col. 1:9-10).
God is Creator
God also has given you the ability to create other human beings like yourself. He spoke to our first parents and said, “Then God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth’” (Gen. 1:28). It is one of the most satisfying things in life to raise children and grandchildren. They are the heritage and reward of the Lord to His people. Solomon said, “Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb is a reward” (Ps. 127:3). The word heritage means an inheritance from God. Why? Because you are made in His image.
God is eternal
The Lord, as the eternal God, has also given you the ability to comprehend the fact of eternity. Solomon said, “He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end” (Ecc. 3:11). Think about this incredible fact! Human beings are the only creation of God that realize that there is something beyond this life. We know there is an eternity beyond, because God has put eternity in our hearts. We understand that unless this fact is true, life would be meaningless and would have no purpose.
One of the most important truths that must be understood concerning being made in God’s image, is that when Adam and Eve sinned and disobeyed God, they were rejecting God’s image concerning His sovereign right over them as Creator. They were rejecting His love, righteousness and the reasoning of why they should not eat of the forbidden tree. However, when a person responds to the conviction of the Holy Spirit and receives Christ, that person is being renewed into the image of God, because they are now accepting His sovereignty, love and righteousness. In Colossians 3:9-11 Paul wrote, “Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.” This means that when you become born again, a new man with a new nature is given to you by God. This is the source of power that enables you to walk in love and righteousness from that day forward. This is what enables you to treat all men equally whether they are Jew or Greek, slave or free, or rich or poor. You are made holy by the blood of the Lamb. Paul taught this truth in Ephesians 4:24 when he wrote, “Put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.” May you rejoice in the fact that you are made in His image and can be conformed into that image as you trust in Christ (Rom. 8:29; Phil. 3:10).
Let me conclude this section with a word of caution. If you refuse to allow God to conform you into His image, by receiving Christ and by walking under the control of His power, you will never be fully satisfied in life. God made you for His divine purpose to know Him and to be like Him. Don’t miss the ultimate meaning and purpose of your life!
God ordains and blesses marriage. Vs. 27-28
God also declared, “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it’” (Gen. 1:27-28). God created mankind male and female. Notice there are only two biological genders. No matter what anyone tells you today, there are not people who are transgender or non-binary. There is no such thing! Your DNA is the proof that you are either male or female. This argument over transgender and those who claim to be non-binary has resulted from those who have rejected the truth of God, and then given themselves over to a lie, which enables them to do whatever their lust craves (Rom. 1:19-28). God is declaring in these verses His divine order of a male and female. He blessed them and wanted them to be fruitful and multiply. In addition, in Genesis 2, God then blesses the marriage bond and the family where children can be brought up. If men and women reject God’s ordained structure of marriage and the family structure, our society is finished.
Today I believe the homosexual and the gay marriage movement is one of the greatest affronts to God’s declared order and structure for our society. Marriage and family are the only way in which our society can prosper. Obviously homosexual marriage cannot produce children, because they cannot multiply. It is biologically impossible. This fact alone should reveal that this life style is contrary to God’s order. If everyone was a homosexual today, our society and all life would eventually die out. So, when people ask you, “Why are you against gay marriage?” Your answer should be to take them to Romans 1:19-28 as I have quoted above. Tell them that this lifestyle is an affront to God, an affront to His commandments, a rejection of marriage, and a rejection of the basic structure of society. As Paul said, this behavior is “against nature,” and I would also add, it is against all common sense (Rom. 1:26-27).
Dominion over the animal kingdom
God also gave man the ability to have dominion over the animal kingdom, to care for and to tend what God had created. I believe in taking care of the earth and properly managing its resources. This instruction is clearly commanded in these verses. However, the green movement has gone too far. Why do I say this? Because the green movement today is basically worshiping creation, which is not what God intended. We should manage well the resources that God has given, and remain worshipping the Creator that gave them.
Herbs for food
One very important misunderstanding in this section of Scripture is the statement in verses 29-31 which says, “And God said, ‘See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food’; and it was so. Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.” These verses are usually quoted by those who believe that smoking marijuana is allowed by God. But that is not what this Scripture is teaching. It says that every herb has been given “for food,” not so someone can get high. People who quote this passage never read the entire section. This is simply taking Scripture out of context. When people do this, they can make the Bible say anything they want it to say. I usually tell people who do this, “I can make the Bible teach that there is no God.” They ask me how? I explain that the Bible says there is no God, but then I read to them the entire context of that statement. Then I read to them the verse that says, “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none who does good” (Ps. 14:1). Use this as a simple warning to people not to take Scripture out of its context.
One of the greatest questions that must be answered.
One of the great questions that must be answered when discussing the origins of mankind is, was man made from the dust of the earth by God, or did he evolve from dead matter? It is imperative that this discussion is had with anyone who believes in evolution. Why? These are your only two options! It is either God who created all things, or it is the fortuitus occurrences of accidental circumstances?
The Bible is very clear; man was made by God. He didn’t evolve from dead matter millions of years ago in some primordial mud hole. You have to make a decision on what you believe. Either you believe God’s Word, or you believe the godless scientists who have rejected God. How can you decide? You must do your homework! Don’t just listen to scientists who have rejected God, but you must also read scientists who believe in God. Then make your decision. First get all the facts, and then decide.
Here is a list of books that I would suggest you read: “The Genesis Record” by Henry M. Morris, “Scientific Creationism” by Henry M. Morris, “Evolution: The Fossils Still Say No!" by Duane T. Gish, “Creation Scientists Answer Their Critics” by Duane T. Gish. These books will give you a great way to hear the other side of the debate.
I have also written an article that can summarize some of the most important arguments that you need to consider. This article is entitled “The Fallacies of Evolution.” You can find this at https://www.covenantkeepers.org/bible-studies/apologetics-studies/55-bible-studies/656-apologetics-study-20 . I encourage you to make a personal study of these issues so you may speak with confidence about these facts.