Audio Messages:
Pastor Wade Burleson

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Roots: An Introduction to Genesis

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Genesis 1:1 (KJV)

1. In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

This morning we begin our study of this foundational book of the Bible. It is the first book of the Pentateuch (five books of the law) and is accepted by both Christians and Jews as "The Word of God." It obtains its name from the Hebrew "Berasheth" (the first word of the Bible) which is the English word "Genesis" (or "beginning"). You cannot master the Bible, literature, or simply life until you are well versed in Genesis. Martin Luther wrote in his commentary on Genesis, "I beg and faithfully warn every pious Christian not to stumble at the simplicity of the lanaguage and stories that will often meet him there. He should not doubt that, however simple they may seem, these are the very words, works, judgments, and deeds of the high majesty, power, and wisdom of God."

1. In Genesis, God is first revealed . . .
   The God of the universe is not a god of your imagination but the God of revelation. In other words, God is not a product of how you feel, but the Deity of all that is real.
   1. He is the transcendent God . . . He is vastly superior to your ability to understand. What you know of Him you know because He has chosen to reveal Himself to you through creation, your conscience and, more pointedly, the Holy Scripture.
   2. He is the triune God . . . "The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit . . ."
      We see this is the first verse where God translates the plural (Elohim), but the verb is singular (created). We also see this in vers 2 where "The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." In addition, in verse 26 God says, "Let us make man in our image." To know God means to know Jesus Christ.
2. In Genesis, man if first unveiled . . .
   You can't but help notice in the reading of the Scripture that man is the culmination of God's creation. The secular humanist would have you believe you evolved from the apes, but the Word of God tells you that man was the direct creation of God Himself.
   1. God created man for fellowship . . . your life is never complete without God in it.
   2. God covenanted with man for his future . . . "obey me and live . . ."
   3. Man fell from his agreement with God . . . Sin is disobedience to God.
   4. Man fled from his accountability to God . . . The nature of sin is to hide.
3. In Genesis, redemption is first concealed . . .
   Someone might say, "Don't you mean the gospel is first revealed in Genesis?" No, it is concealed. That means redemption existed before the foundation of the world, but for a few thousand years the emphasis was on the law of God, the holiness of God, and the righteous judgment of God. But we catch glimpses of it.
   1. The coming of the Savior . . . "(her) seed shall crush thy head" (Genesis 3:15).
   2. The righteousness that comes by faith . . . "And Abraham believed in the Lord and it was credited to him for righteousness" (Genesis 15:6).
   3. The full acceptance of God . . . "the smell of the son I love" (Genesis 27:27).
      The good news of the gospel is revealed intentionally (Romans 16:26; Hebrews 1:2).

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