Genesis 1—The Days of Creation

I. Genesis one tells us some things about God.

A. God is a God of order.
1. Day one laid the foundation for day
four.
2. Day two laid the foundation for day five.
3. Day three laid the foundation for day
six.
4. Finally, God made a schedule for rest on
day seven.
B. God is a God of perfection or
excellence.
Genesis one is stamped with the
number seven.
1. There are seven days of creation
and restoration.
2. The word “good” appears seven
times (vs. 4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31).
3. The word “create” appears seven
times (Gen. 1:1, 21, 27; 2:3, 4).
4. The word “heaven” appears seven
times (vs. 1, 8, 9, 14, 15, 17, 20).
5. The phrase “and there was”
occurs seven times.
6. The word “God” is referred to
thirty-five times which is seven
times five (five being the number
of grace).
Thus the seal of perfection and the
spirit of excellence are on all that
God did and does (Deut. 32:3-4).
C. God is a God of blessing. There
are three blessings imparted to
creation by God.
1. God blessed the water creatures and
the birds on the fifth day (vs. 22).
2. God blessed man on the sixth day
(vs. 28).
3. God blessed the seventh day itself
(Gen. 2:3).
II. Genesis one has other interesting
features.
A. Genesis one gives us the ten
commandments of creation (Ps. 33:8-9).
Ten times the Lord issues the command
“let there be” (or some variation of it)
in this chapter (vs. 3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 15,
20, 24, 26).
This clearly demonstrates the power of
the “Word of God” in creation (Heb.
11:3; John 1:3).
B. Genesis one indicates that there is light
apart from the sun, the moon and the
stars (vs. 3-5).

The term that has been applied to this

phenomenon is “cosmic radiance.”
C. Genesis one sets day two in a
category by itself (vs. 6-8).

1. Two is the number of division

and on day two God divided the
water above from the waters
beneath creating the firmament
or the sky.
2. After God created the firmament by
the separation of waters He did not
declare that it was “good.”
a. Job declared that the heavens are
not pure in God’s sight (Job 15:15).
b. The heavens are not pure because
they are the present realm of Satan
(Eph. 2:2; 6:12).
D. Genesis one sets certain limits on
the natural process of reproduction
(vs. 9-13).
1. Plants would reproduce after their
kind (vs. 12).
2. Animals would also reproduce after
their kind (vs. 24-25).

E. Genesis one indicates that life began

relative to earth on the fifth day (vs.
20-23).
F. Genesis one indicates that all of this
creation was really man for man to
enjoy.

1. Man was the height of creation.

2. Man was to be made in the image
of God.
a. This image involves man as a three-fold
being (I Th. 5:23).
i. Man has a spirit (Zech. 12:1; Job 32:8; I
Cor. 2:11). This is the God conscience
part of man.
ii. Man has a soul (Ezek. 18:4; Ps. 16:10;
19:7). This is the self-conscience part of
man and includes the mind, the will and
the emotions.
iii. Man has a body (Rom. 12:1; Phil. 3:21).
This is the world-conscious part of man
that relates through the five senses.
b. This image involves man as an
intelligent being (Col. 3:10). As an
intelligent being he can think, learn
and plan.

c. This image involves man as a moral

being (Eph. 4:23-24). As a moral being
he has a conscience and intuition that
bear witness to right and wrong.
3. Man was placed in charge of God’s
creation and given dominion.

4. Man was inspected by God and found

to be “very good” (vs. 31).