In the beginning, Jesus
created the heavens and the earth.
By him, through him, and to him, in the beginning,
all things emerged.
In the beginning, he built
the physical world into which he would eventually come.
In the beginning, he formed the flesh
he would eventually become.
He designed the air,
in the beginning, on which his lungs would eventually rely.
In the beginning, he constructed
the tree, on which he would hang, and eventually die.
For when God spoke and the universe sprung to life,
in the beginning, he made a promise
to save the world by becoming Jesus the Christ.
And we know this, because it is right
in the beginning of our Bibles.
In the first story we face,
for the book of
Genesis demonstrates
how God can take all the evil we create,
and make something good.
And he does so, not because he has to,
or even because he should, but because
he made a gracious promise that he would.
In the beginning, we see the meaning
of why God created the earth, and everything in it:
It's that we might enjoy his presence, expand his garden,
and cover the world as his image.
So to that end, God gave human beings the privilege
of being a part of that mission.
He enlisted Adam and Eve to care for the earth,
and to have children;
to be fruitful and multiply,
until everyone that would come from their family line,
turned the whole earth into a garden temple, where humans could live,
side by side,
with the divine.
But, for Adam and Eve, something else came to mind.
Instead of enjoying God and his provision,
they sought out a counterfeit.
Instead of expanding the garden,
they sought to conquer it.
Instead of spreading the image of God, they sought out their own prominence.
God gave them the reason for their existence, and they did the exact opposite.
All they were left with was shame, where they used to be free.
Guilt, where there used to be peace, and
fear, where there used to be ease.
So instead of being with God in his garden temple,
they would be removed from him,
for they sought out life, apart from the one who gave them breath.
They thought they were gaining something by their deeds,
but all they earned was death.
Death for their bodies, loss of their purpose,
the end of their paradise, the destruction of their innocence.
But the worst part of all of it, the punishment’s deepest depth,
is that they would be cut off from the author of life;
that is the worst possible death.
But God’s plan was not altered or disrupted. His purposes were not laid to rest.
Instead, he would work through
the worst humans could do,
to show us his best.
For what we see after Adam and Eve
commit the first sin at the garden tree,
is that God makes them a guarantee.
That he would set humanity free from the curse of death
that would divide us.
From Adam and Eve’s offspring, he would provide us
with a new seed, a new Adam,
one who was righteous, who would unmake death,
remake his world, and reconcile us.
Genesis demonstrates
how God can take all the evil we create,
and make something good.
And he does so, not because he has to,
or even because he should, but because
he made a gracious promise that he would.
This promise of a new seed was made to a specific people of a specific line,
which Genesis goes to
great lengths to trace and define.
But in Eve’s first seed, we do not find life,
but death.
We don’t see a son crushing sin,
but dying under it.
So, even though Eve had given birth to new offspring,
God’s promise of his final seed
would not be fulfilled yet.
Instead, God would give them another son named Seth,
who would be the next in line
to bear the promise.
But just like Adam and Eve,
and just like Cain and Abel,
God’s promised seed would be carried by imperfect people,
people who continually commit evil.
Noah escaped the flood, but committed shameful acts while intoxicated.
Sarah was promised a chosen child, but gave Abraham to another,
when her doubts were escalated.
Isaac was told to bless his younger son, but tried to make it
so the older was the one consecrated.
Jacob was given God’s blessing, but constantly tricked, lied, and manipulated.
And by the time we get to Joseph, at the end of Genesis,
Adam and Eve’s family tree is filled with so much brokenness,
so much death, so much hopelessness,
that we start to wonder if anyone will fulfill God’s promises;
if anyone will be the promised seed,
or if there would ever be
someone who could.
But Genesis demonstrates
how God can take
all the evil we create,
and make something good.
And he does so, not because he has to,
or even because he should,
but because
he made a gracious promise that he would.
Which is why the book of Genesis points to a future descendant.
One who would keep the promise, one who would take all that was wrong,
and make it right.
For the very Word who
in the beginning spoke and there was light
was born as the promised seed of Genesis,
as Jesus the Christ.
He would bring the whole world life, but not like Adam and Eve,
who tried to earn life by taking something off a tree.
Instead, he would put his own life on one, to take the death that humanity brought on.
For in the beginning,
when Jesus built the world,
formed the flesh,
and constructed the very idea of trees,
he was crafting the very piece of wood
on which he would suffer loss.
In the beginning,
Jesus promised to conquer death,
by putting himself on a cross.
But what’s different about his death than the death earned in the garden of Eden,
is that when Jesus died,
death could not keep him.
Since he did not sin like Adam, the grave had no claim
and therefore, had to release him.
So now,
all nations can escape the curse,
beat death, and be back with God in Eden.
So just as in Genesis,
the cross of Jesus demonstrates
how God can take all the evil we create,
and make something good.
And he does so, not because he has to,
or even because he should,
but because
he made a gracious promise that he would.
Thank you so much for watching
our introduction to the Book of Genesis!
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to every single book of the Bible,
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