Genesis Chapter 1 Summary: Bible Study Guide For Real Life

BLUF: Bottom Line Up Front

God is the creator and beginning of everything

God should be the beginning of everything in your life

The Spirit of God filled the void in the earth when he began the creation

The Spirit of God will fill any void in your life if you let him

God said, “let there be light,” and there was light on the earth

God wants to be the light in your life if you let him

God separated the waters above from the waters below on earth

God is powerful enough to handle anything in your life

God made dry land appear and provided vegetation

From the beginning, God provided for our needs, and he still provides for our needs

God made order out of chaos, creating night and day on earth

God will bring order to your chaos or mess if you let him

God created a place for fish and fowl when he created the seas and air

God has created an eternal home promised to all who believe in and follow Christ

God created humans in his image

We are image bearers of God and have great value

God created man and woman for each other

Intimacy between man and woman was God’s design and method to populate the earth

God created plant-yielding seeds and trees for fruit for humans and animals

God provided provision with plant-based food for humans and animals

God will always meet your needs if you depend on him

Before death entered the earth through sin, humans and wild animals ate a vegetarian-based diet (food for thought)

God said all his creation was very good

That means you are very good regardless of what life has told you

 

Now for the details!

This summary of Genesis chapter 1 is the first of a series of blogs where we will study the Bible chapter by chapter and learn what wisdom God shares in his word that we can apply to our lives very practically.

When I read the Bible, I’m always looking for how it relates to my life and how it will help me get through each day. I hope the same is for you. This excellent book, inspired by the spirit of God, gives us all the instructions we need for our brief time here on earth.

The first four words of Genesis chapter 1 contain some of the most important words of wisdom in the Bible.

 

In the beginning God

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. – Genesis 1:1 (NASB1995)

In the beginning God, these four words set the stage for our lifelong relationship with God and establish the existence of God as the creator of the universe.

He existed before the earth, human beings, and life as we know it. Realizing this truth puts God in his rightful place in our lives.

Later in the New Testament, Paul debates with a group of religious philosophers in Athens who forgot who God was and who were worshipping idols. Paul reminded them who the creator of the universe was.

24 The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; 25 nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things… – Acts 17:24-25a (NASB1995)

Life Application

When your relationship with God is centered around the realization that the existence of God has always been and will always be, that he created every living thing and that he’s the first and last in your life, you are right where you need to be.

As human beings born into a sinful world, it’s a part of our sinful nature to be self-centered. We want to live as we wish to and be in charge of our destinies.

It’s easy to elevate ourselves to the point where we become higher, and the Lord God becomes lower. That’s how sin entered the world in the first place, after all.

The first four words in Genesis clearly state that the creator is God. He has always existed, but the book of Genesis marks the beginning of the story of God and the human beings created in the image of God.

 

The Spirit of God fills the void

2 The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. – Genesis 1:2 (NASB1995)

It’s hard to imagine the earth being formless and void with darkness over the face of the waters. I’ve had the opportunity to travel worldwide in the military, and I’m amazed at the beauty this earth has to offer. It’s hard to fathom that God formed such beauty from a dark void without form.

The earth we read about on the first day of creation wasn’t ready for human beings. But the important thing is that the spirit of God was there.

Life Application

You may currently be at a place in your life or will be at some point where your life feels formless and void. Maybe you feel a sense of darkness.

Maybe you’ve experienced loss or hurt. There could be important decisions looming over your head, and you don’t know what to do.

Just like the spirit of God moved over the face of the waters in our formless and void world, he is moving over your life.

You are not alone, and the same God we read about in the Old Testament is alive and well today. God is available to shine light in your darkness if you ask him to. He will mold and shape your life into something beautiful if you allow him to. The Bible provides wisdom for everything we need.

 

Light where there was no light

3 Then God said, “Let there be light,”; and there was light. 4 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, one day. – Genesis 1:3-5 (NASB1995)

On the first day of creation, God started preparing the earth with what was needed for human beings and every other living thing. Everything depends on light, so it makes sense that God started there.

 A website I love called IMPOFF (https://impoff.com/importance-of-light/) shares exciting facts on various topics explaining how everything exists for a reason.

IMPOFF shares how plants synthesize nutrients from light using chlorophyll, which filters the air we breathe. Natural sunlight also controls our circadian cycle, releases hormones our bodies need for numerous functions, and much more.

The amazing part of the miracle of light is the first three words in Genesis 1:3, “Then God said.”

All God had to do was speak, and there was light. I’ve read several books, including the Bible, that espouse our words’ importance and power. God took this to a whole new level with creation.

Life Application

We all experience dark times in our lives. Thankfully, we serve a living God with the power to speak light into the darkness. We only need to ask and believe.

If God can speak the universe into existence, he can handle anything that will ever happen in your life. One word from God can turn everything around in your life.

 

Day Two – The separation of waters

6 Then God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” 7 God made the expanse and separated the waters which were below the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse, and it was so. 8 God called the expanse heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day. – Genesis 1:6-8 (NASB1995)

Reading this passage of scripture makes you wonder what the earth was like before the waters were separated. The Hebrew word for expanse that we read here is rāqîaʽ. It refers to the space above the earth that holds the clouds, planets, stars, and sun.

Life Application

Nothing we can visibly see compares to the enormity of the power required to separate water covering the entire earth and create an expanse between the waters and the sky.

I’ve visited Hoover Dam a few times, and its power to separate and divert the Colorado River is mind-blowing. It’s the highest concrete arch dam in the U.S., and the hydroelectric power it generates provides power to portions of three different states and over a million people.

We serve a God whose power is much greater than the power of the Hoover Dam or anything else we can imagine on earth. The Lord God we read about in Genesis offers the same creative power to our lives. There is nothing we will ever face that is too great for him.

I like how David explains it in one of his Psalms of praise.

3 Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised, And His greatness is unsearchable. – Psalm 145:3 (NASB1995)

Our God may be great, but as David continues, he is accessible to us.

18 The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth. – Psalm 145:18 (NASB1995)

 

Day Three – Land and vegetation

9 Then God said, “Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear,”; and it was so. 10 God called the dry land earth, and the gathering of the waters He called seas; and God saw that it was good. 11 Then God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit after their kind with seed in them,”; and it was so. 12 The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit with seed in them, after their kind; and God saw that it was good. 13 There was evening and there was morning, a third day. – Genesis 1:9-13 (NASB1995)

On day three of creation, the earth is finally looking habitable for other living things besides Aquaman. We have some dry ground and food to eat. We see God’s plan for human beings starting to unfold.

Life Application

 Before any living creature and the first human beings arrived on earth, God made a habitable place to live and food to eat. From the very beginning, God provided for his creation.

I’m reminded of the New Testament verse in Hebrews where the author reminds believers;

8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. – Hebrews 13:8 (NASB1995)

Our Father God never changes through the saving power of Jesus Christ. From the very beginning, he provided for the needs of humanity. He is still in the business of taking care of your needs and will provide everything you need if you trust him.

Most importantly, we have Jesus Christ, who provided what we need most, salvation. His sacrifice gave the ticket to eternal life to those who accept it.

 

Day Four – Greater and lesser light

14 Then 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 for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so. 16 God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also. 17 God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18 and to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good. 19 There was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.

This passage of scripture shows that God is a God of order. Earlier God created light, and on day four, he shaped and formed the lights so they were serviceable to man and sustained life on earth.

Life Application

Have you ever felt like your life was a mess?

I’ve had times when nothing seemed like it was going right in my life. Everything was in complete chaos. When I think back to these times, a common theme was that my relationship with God was not where it needed to be, or I made bad decisions because I didn’t ask God for help or follow his will.

Thankfully, whenever I came to my senses and turned to God, he brought order back to my life. It doesn’t mean I didn’t suffer the consequences of my bad decisions, but when I sincerely asked God for help, he never failed me.

God loves order, and he wants to order in your life. If God can form and shape the lights in the universe by simply speaking to them, nothing in your life is too far gone for him to fix.

 

Day Five – Fish of the sea and winged fowl

20 Then God said, “Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the heavens.” 21 God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind; and God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” 23 There was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.

Earlier on days two and three, God created the sky and the seas. As he did throughout the creation process, everything was orderly and came together like a puzzle. He first prepared a place to live, then created the fish and birds to inhabit the domain made for them.

Life Application 

Our Heavenly Father has also prepared a place for us. As incredible as this earth is, it doesn’t begin to compare to the calling God has made for us, all made possible because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

1 “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. 3 If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. – John 14:1-3 (NASB1995)

Jesus is talking with his disciples here about what will happen to him and how he will leave them soon. He assures them that his Father has already prepared a place for them.

In the same way, God has already prepared a place for us. It’s waiting for us; all we have to do is believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and accept his free gift of salvation. At that moment, God’s creative power goes to work, and we become a new creation in Christ Jesus.

 

Day Six – Living creatures and human beings

24 Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind: cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth after their kind,”; and it was so. 25 God made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and the cattle after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind; and God saw that it was good.

26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

 Life Application

Humans are different from all other creation

Human beings were created in the image of God. Male and female, he created them in his image. We are different from any other thing God created, according to the Bible.

Throughout creation, before the account of the creation of human beings, the Bible repeatedly says that the creatures were created “after their kind.”

Suddenly, when describing human beings’ creation, God speaks in the first person and uses the plural form ‘us.’ the Bible notes that man and woman were created in God’s image. We were made in the likeness of God.

There is debate over what created in the “image of God” actually means, but there is a key takeaway we can learn from this passage.

Throughout the Bible, we see descriptions of how God is in both the Old and New Testaments. This is especially true when you read the New Testament account of the life of Jesus. He shows us how to live our lives as he did.

Knowing how you were created should show you how special you are. All humans were created in the image of God. We all have this particular trait. Sin changed how we came into this world. But, we are still image-bearers of God, and he offered a way through Jesus Christ to live out God’s original plan for our lives.

 

Man and woman were created for each other to fulfill God’s purpose

From this passage, we also see God’s plan for how humans were to exist in intimate relationships and complete his instructions to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.

Man and woman were meant to be together; through that relationship, we would continue the creation process as image bearers of God.

Life Application

As we draw closer to the time when Jesus returns for believers, the devil is working hard to deceive people. The Bible provides truth for every situation in life. When the world tries to convince you of new truths, the Bible as God’s provides clear direction that is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

 

Food for thought

29 Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you; 30 and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to everything that moves on the earth which has life, I have given every green plant for food”; and it was so.

When I read this, I found it interesting that before sin entered the earth, there was no death. There is no mention of wild animals being killed for food when Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden before they sinned. God provided a perfect garden with everything they needed to survive.

Life Application

I love meat, so this is not a discussion about whether we should eat meat or not, but I found it interesting that God’s plan, in the beginning, was for both man and animals to eat a diet from plants and fruit trees.

I know many people like myself struggle with weight and healthy eating. Something I got out of this verse realized that God’s original plan for us involved fruits and vegetables.

About a year ago, I went on an eating plan that included way more fruits and vegetables than my prior eating. I found that my health improved, and I lost weight. I now try to make fruits and vegetables a big part of my diet. It might be worth considering God’s original plan for eating in your daily life.

 

All God’s creation is very good

31 God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

Life Application

All of God’s creation was very good. You are very good. When sin entered the world, it started tearing away at all creation. Life has a way of tearing you down, and it’s easy to forget that God created you and you are very good.

When you have times when you don’t feel very good about yourself, go right back to the first book and first chapter in the Bible and remind yourself you are made in the image of God and you are very good.