The Strand Study Bible

GENESIS

38

GENESIS

Ezk 3:22-27 & Isa 61:1 (Lk 4:18-19). 5. Awdone – meaning: Master ( Gen 19:18 ) Awdone is used in reference to the: FATHER - Mic 4:13 and the SON - Psa 110:1 and Mal 3:1. From the very beginning God wanted humanity to know that He alone is TheMightyThree inOne (Elohim) who is Self-Existent andEternal(Jehovah),Sovereign(Adonai),MasterandRuler(Awdone), andthe Almighty whoishigherthananyotherheathendeity (El/Elyon) . To deny the Triune Godhead, and CHRIST a part of it (Jn 1:1,14 and I Tim 3:16), one cannot be a Christian nor worship God properly ( Gen 1:26a , 3:22, 11:7, Isa 6:8 & 48:16, Ezk 3:24 , Mt 28:19c and Rom 1:20b ). B.H. Carroll in Romans notes: The essential deity of our Lord and his incarnation constitute the bedrock of salvation. It is the first, most vital, most fundamental truth. No man who rejects it can be a Christian or should be received as a Christian for one moment. 14 Jesus agrees! He said in John 8:24 & 14:6, “ I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I AM he, ye shall die in your sins. I AM the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. ” Sadly, man has misinterpreted God’s Person (who He is) (See NOTE under Deut 5:29 ). 1:1d This word ( created ) is the Hebrew word bah-rah and has a two-fold meaning. It means: (1) the instant, miraculous creation of something which had no previous existence in any form whatsoever (Heb 11:3); or it can mean (2) the act of renovating something already in existence (Psa 51:10, Isa 65:17 and Rev 20:11b & 21:1-5). Here in Genesis 1:1 the word “ created ” is referring t o “the instant, miraculous creation of something which had no previous existence in any form whatsoever .” William M. Smith in Bible History of World Government notes:

Here, then are three great revelations God has given us, as equally difficult for us to prove as they would have been for us to have discovered; God always has been; He has always been a Trinity; the material universe has not always been, but God created it from nothing. 15

Smith continues:

The Triune God looked out upon the vast stretches of empty space, where there was not an atom of matter, not a particle of dust, not a drop of water. He spoke into those limitless vacancies and this round earth instantly came into existence; He spoke again and the great sun rose in splendor and poured his beams over the scene; He spoke again and the planetary system came into existence. As fast as the words of an orator follow each other, system followed system, until the boundless universe was filled beyond the reach of the most powerful telescope. Oh, our God is a mighty God! 15

NOTE – The creation account uses two contrasting words that are often confused in the English translation of the Bible –the English words “create” ( bah-rah - vs 1) and “made” ( gah-sah - vs 7 and Exo 20:11 ). Whereas bah-rah (create) means to call into existence something out of nothing,” gah-sah (made) means “ to allow or to assemble .” For example: A carpenter can “make” (gah-sah) a chair out of wood, but he is quite unable to “create” (bah-rah) the wood itself. In the beginning (whenever that was) God created the heaven and the earth. Due to Lucifer’s rebellion (Isa 14:12-15), long before man was created, a terrible catastrophe affected the entire universe, which included the original earth where Satan appears to have fallen (Ezk 28:11-15). Subsequently, the original earth had to be remade, i.e., reassembled ( Gen 1:2 a ). Exodus 20:11 says: For in six days the LORD made (or, remade) heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is… J. Vernon McGee in Thru the Bible Commentary: The Law (Genesis 1-15) notes:

There are several things here that I would like to call to your attention. In Exodus 20:11, it reads “For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them is…” There is nothing in that verse about creating. It says “made”; God is taking that which is already formed and in these six days He is not “creating” but He is recreating. He is working with matter which already exists, out of the matter which He had called into existence probably billions of years before. 16

Genesis 1:1 and the work of original creation is not to be confused with Genesis 1:7 and the work of the First Week, which starts with verse three ( Gen 1:2c ). The first four days of Genesis (verses 2-19) are not records of creation, but records of reassembly (the releasing from restraint of certain materials that were once under bondage). What is found in the remainder of Genesis 1 refers not to the first earth but to the restoration of that first earth, which had fallen into ruins due to Lucifer’s fall (Isa 14:12-15). Some of the controversy concerning the subject of creation centers on the translation and grammatical import of Genesis 1:1. Scholars argue, “Is Genesis 1:1 in the absolute state (an independent clause) or in the construct state (a dependent clause)?” Even Hebrew scholars are unable to agree. William Evans in The Great Doctrines of the Bible notes:

Some maintain that it ( the fall of the angels – my emphasis ) took place before the creation recorded in Genesis 1:2– between verses one and two; that it was this fall which made the original creation (Gen. 1:1) “waste and void.” This view can neither be proven nor refuted, nevertheless the great and awful fact of a fall of angels remains. 17

Seeing that one’s view concerning the “gap” has nothing to do with the Gospel that saves, we who differ on the subject aught to agree without dividing. Greg Boyd in God of the Possible agrees. In his book, in which he discusses the nature of the future (called, Open Theism), he notes: Yes, the debate about the nature of the future is an important issue. For lovers of truth, all theological issues are