Features Sampler: Life Application Study Bible, Third Edition - Flipbook - Page 8
GENESIS 1
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page 6
trees from which they came.” And that is what happened. 12The land produced
vegetation—all sorts of seed-bearing plants, and trees with seed-bearing fruit. Their
seeds produced plants and trees of the same kind. And God saw that it was good.
13And evening passed and morning came, marking the third day.
14Then God said, “Let lights appear in the sky to separate the day from the night. Let
them be signs to mark the seasons, days, and years. 15Let these lights in the sky shine
down on the earth.” And that is what happened. 16God made two great lights—the
larger one to govern the day, and the smaller one to govern the night. He also made
the stars. 17God set these lights in the sky to light the earth, 18to govern the day and
night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.
19And evening passed and morning came, marking the fourth day.
20Then
God said, “Let the waters swarm with fish and other life. Let the skies be filled
with birds of every kind.” 21So God created great sea creatures and every living
thing that scurries and swarms in the water, and every sort of bird—each producing
offspring of the same kind. And God saw that it was good. 22Then God blessed
them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply. Let the fish fill the seas, and let the birds
multiply on the earth.”
23And evening passed and morning came, marking the fifth day.
24Then
God said, “Let the earth produce every sort of animal, each producing
offspring of the same kind—livestock, small animals that scurry along the ground,
and wild animals.” And that is what happened. 25God made all sorts of wild
animals, livestock, and small animals, each able to produce offspring of the same
kind. And God saw that it was good.
26Then God said, “Let us make human beings* in our image, to be like us. They
will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild
CHARTS
DIAGRAMS
— the ground.”
animals on the earth,* and the small
animals &
that
scurry along
27
1:16
Pss 8:3; 19:1-6;
136:8-9
1 Cor 15:41
1:18
Jer 33:20, 25
1:20
Gen 2:19
Ps 146:6
1:21
Ps 104:25-28
1:24
Gen 2:19
1:26
Gen 5:1; 9:6
Ps 8:6-8
Acts 17:28-29
Hundreds of features help
So God created human beings* in his
own image.
the reader better visualize
In the image of God he created them;
difficult concepts or
male and female he created them.
1:26a Or man; Hebrew reads adam.
Hebrew reads ha-adam.
DAYS OF
CREATION
1:14
Pss 74:16; 104:19
relationships and also show
their significance.
1:26b As in Syriac version; Hebrew reads all the earth.
1:27
†Matt 19:4
†Mark 10:6
1:27 Or the man;
First Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Light (so there was light and darkness)
Second Day . . . . . . . . . . . . Sky and water (waters separated)
Third Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . Land and seas (waters gathered); vegetation
Fourth Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sun, moon, and stars (to govern the day and the night and to mark
seasons, days, and years)
Fifth Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fish and birds (to fill the waters and the sky)
Sixth Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Animals (to fill the earth)
Man and woman (to care for the earth and to commune with God)
God considered all he had made to be very good
Seventh Day . . . . . . . . . . . . God rested and blessed the seventh day
1:25 God saw that his work was good. People sometimes feel guilty for
1:26 In what ways are we made in God’s image? God obviously did
feeling good about an accomplishment. This need not be so. Just as God
felt good about his work, we can be pleased with our work when it is well
done. However, we should not feel good about our work if God would not
be pleased with it. What are you doing that pleases both you and God?
1:26 Why does God use the plural form—“Let us make human beings in
our image” (emphasis added)? One view is that this is a reference to the
Trinity—God the Father, Jesus Christ his Son, and the Holy Spirit, all of
whom are God. Another view is that the plural wording is used to denote
majesty; kings have traditionally used the plural form in speaking of
themselves. The grammar doesn’t decide the matter for us, but in either
case it is God who created humans in his image, and God has revealed
himself to us as a Trinity clearly through the whole of Scripture. From
Job 33:4 and Psalm 104:30, we do know that God’s Spirit was present
in the Creation. From Colossians 1:16, we know that Christ, God’s Son,
was at work in the Creation.
not create us exactly like himself because God has no physical body.
Instead, we are reflections of God’s glory and character. Some feel that
our reason, creativity, moral capacity, speech, or self-determination is
the image of God. More likely, “the image of God” describes our entire
self, not just one part of us. We will never be totally like God because he
is our supreme Creator. But we do have the ability to reflect his character
in our love, patience, forgiveness, kindness, and faithfulness.
Knowing that we are made in God’s image and thus share many of his
characteristics provides a solid basis for self-worth. Human worth is not
based on possessions, achievements, physical attractiveness, or public
acclaim. Instead, it is based on being made in God’s image, which gives
us an unshakable reason to feel positive about ourselves. Criticizing or
downgrading ourselves is criticizing what God has made and the abilities he has given us. Knowing that you are a person of worth helps you
love God, know him personally, and treat others as his image bearers.
1:27 God made both man and woman in his image. Neither one is