1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
The word of God begins with the truth of God’s existence and His sovereign power to create. No explanation is given for God’s existence. God simply is, He always has been, He always will be, and He is all-powerful. God’s existence and supremacy are the premises on which the entire Bible is founded. We accept the truth of God or we don’t. If one cannot believe Genesis 1:1 then he or she will not believe the rest of the Bible.
2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
When God first created the earth, it was desolate and empty. The earth was merely a ball of dirt and rock covered with water, enough water to completely cover the surface of the unformed planet. God’s Holy Spirit moved over the surface of the waters.
3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
In verse 1, God created the formless heavens and the earth. We are not given a time of when this occurred. In fact, there was no discernable timekeeping method at this point. We measure time in terms of days, months, and years; however, none of these reference points existed until God created them. We are not told when God created the earth; it happened before there was night, day, and time-keeping. First God created space (heavens) and matter (earth), then God created time as we know it (cycles of night and day).
6 And God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” 7 And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so. 8 And God called the expanse Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.
On the second day of creation, God created the earth’s atmosphere. The atmosphere would have to be in place before life could be created. Everything in the Genesis account demonstrates order and precision in God’s work.
9 And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.
God separated the waters that flooded the earth from the land beneath it. Waters were gathered together into large bodies that became the seas, oceans, etc. A large portion of the water was moved underground to allow for dry land to emerge, which we can see in such verses as:
Genesis 7:11 — During the flood, subterranean water burst forth from beneath the earth while torrential rain simultaneously fell from the sky.
Genesis 8:1-5 — After the flood ended, the water subsided back into the depths of the earth.
Psalm 33:6-7 — God’s creation of the world is recounted, with a statement He gathered waters together and placed them in “storehouses”
Graham Pearson, a geochemist at University of Alberta, made a discovery in 2014. Pearson found evidence of a great supply of water deep within the earth. The findings indicate a mass of water, equal to the volume of the oceans, exists in the earth’s mantle. Pearson’s observation supports the Biblical account of creation. The Bible tells us God placed a massive supply of water inside the depths of the earth, and our observations prove it true.
11 And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so. 12 The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.
Again, we see the order and perfection of God’s creation. Having created space, earth, water, light, atmosphere, and dry land, God next created plant-life. God developed the world in precise order; each aspect of creation built the foundation for the next so that all could be sustained.
The creation of plants laid the foundation for animal life to come. Plants provided the ecological system of maintaining a breathable atmosphere with an exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide. Plants provided the food source for animals. And, plants provided materials for animals to use in their lives for things such as building shelter.
14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. 16 And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. 17 And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18 to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.
On the fourth day of creation, God created the sun, moon, and stars. These heavenly bodies were to be sources of light and reference points for tracking time in terms of days, years, and seasons.
On the first day of creation, God created light and set cycles of day and night into motion. We aren’t given detail in Genesis 1 of what the light of the first day was. It’s apparent from the text that the light created on the first day is not the heavenly bodies; the heavenly bodies weren’t made until the fourth day. All we can read from Genesis 1 is there’s a light of the world separate from the physical bodies we see today (sun, stars, etc.), and this light of the world was created in the beginning. The light created on the first day divided the darkness, brought time and order to creation, and it was necessary to be in place before the rest of creation could be made.
The heavenly bodies created on the fourth day became our physical light sources to govern our days, years, and seasons. The first-day light brought order to a formless universe, but its purpose was not to serve as our permanent time-keeper or light-generator.
20 And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.” 21 So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” 23 And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.
Aquatic and avian life was next in order of creation. God blessed them so that they could multiply and fill His creation.
24 And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. 25 And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
Land-based animals were created next. God noted that animals were created “according to their kind”. All animals were created to be what they are. There can be variations within a kind of animal (such as different breeds of cat), but one kind of animal cannot turn into another kind (i.e. lizards can’t transform into birds and apes can’t transform into humans). There is no evolution; God created all animals to be what they are. We can see individual variation in a species, but no species can transform into a different species. No animal can radically change from what God created it to be into something He didn’t create it to be. Cats produce cat, dogs produce dogs, and humans produce humans, all according to their kind.
26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
27 So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
God’s final creation was mankind. When all the world was in order, He made humans to live in a perfect world. Everything was put in order for mankind’s arrival, and mankind was to have the position of authority over physical creation. In chapter 2 we will see that humanity was to care for the creation and live in perfect relationship with God.
When it came to humans, God took a special interest in our creation. We are the only creation made in His likeness and given authority over the rest of creation. We will see a more detailed account of mankind’s creation in chapter 2.
28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29 And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. 30 And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. 31 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
God blessed us and gave us the capacity to reproduce, our descendants filling the earth and exercising authority over it. Here we also see God’s intent that we eat plants and fruits as our food; and, the animals were to have plants for food too. It was God’s intent that we be vegetarian. There was to be no death in creation, no animals were to be killed so that another could eat. We will see this vegetarian design again in Genesis. God would ultimately permit corrupted mankind to eat animals, but it wasn’t His intent for us.
Notice in verse 31 that God deemed creation to be very good. Throughout the first 5 days of creation, God remarked His creation was good. But, it wasn’t until all was complete and mankind was included that creation was called very good by God. We are the culmination of God’s creation; without mankind, creation is lacking in God’s eyes.