(Each Saturday, a faith leader in Franklin County offers a personal perspective in this space. To become part of this series, email religion@recorder.com)
Out of all 66 books in the Bible, Genesis is one of my favorites. One reason is that understanding Genesis helps me understand the rest of the Bible and the world I live in. It’s a book of beginnings that reveals the Creator and His creation.
Genesis starts with the simple, yet monumental statement, “In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.” The entire first chapter of Genesis details God’s handiwork including light, time, land, seas, plants, birds, fish, animals, heavenly bodies and human beings. God’s claim of being the one true God is backed by Him being the Creator. Psalm 96:5 says, “For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the LORD made the heavens.” The being powerful enough to create the universe out of nothing is the only being powerful enough to be the true God.
The height of God’s creation is the human race, and the book of Genesis reveals God’s design for humanity. Genesis 1:27 says, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” Being the Creator, God has the rightful place to decide gender; and because God decides gender, we only have the responsibility of accepting who God made us to be and not the burden of figuring out who we are. Much instruction is provided throughout the Bible that helps both men and women fulfill God’s design for their lives.
Just as the book of Genesis reveals the beginning of genders, it also shows the beginning of marriage. Marriage was God’s idea, and the first man, Adam, said in Genesis 2:23-24, “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” From the beginning, God’s design for marriage has been one man and one woman for one lifetime. Jesus reinforced this when He said in Mark 10:6-9, “But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.” God’s design for marriage is one reason why two individuals considering marriage must be committed to building a life together “til death do us part.”
Space limitations prevent me from elaborating on how Genesis reveals the beginning of sin, the origin of languages, and the founding of the nation of Israel. However, I must not neglect the first prophecy pertaining to God’s plan of salvation for a sinful world. While declaring the consequences for mankind’s first sin, God said to the devil in Genesis 3:15, “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” That seed of the woman is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ, who would come to earth thousands of years later to pay the penalty for sin and provide salvation to all who believe on Him. Even when man messed up God’s paradise and lost his innocence by disobedience, God in his grace and mercy had a plan.
I hope you’ll plan to read the exciting book of Genesis and find out more about what happened “in the beginning.”
Greenfield Baptist Church is an independent Baptist church that was founded in 2015 and meets at 138 Main St. in Greenfield. The weekly Sunday schedule includes a Bible study at 9:30 a.m. and worship services at 10:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. A prayer meeting is held on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. The church’s greatest priorities are to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, preach the truth of God’s word, and promote deliverance from sin and Satan’s bondage. For more information, please call 413-356-0150 or visit www.greenfieldbaptistchurch.net.