WHY BAPTIST

Created the Heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1-2
   I.     Day one Genesis 1:3-5
So what did God actually create on day one? First he created light. The second thing he created on the first day was time. Notice that he did not creat time by units, but time as related to space. An evening and a morning limited the length of time of these days. This limitation to the length of the days mentioned in Genesis one applies to everywhere that a day is mentioned. Hence, this can only mean a twenty-four hour day and in no sence does this mean an unlimited time such as a thousand years. Actually I think that the events mentioned in the first two verses are included in the first five verses. There is no gap between the first two verses and the rest of the days and chapter. On day one God created heaven and earth. The earth was in its raw and uninhabited form. The heavens were just space, with no stars or heavenly bodies of any kind. God simply breathed these into existence on the fourth day.

  II.     Day two Genesis 1:6-8
So what did God actually create on day two? I believe what He created here was actually atmosphere as opposed to vacume. Up to this point there was no atmosphere. Without an atmosphere on earth it will not support life. What was above was the heavens and what is below is that in which we live.

III.     Day three Genesis 1:9-13
So what did God actually create on day three? Up to this point the earth was covered in water in much the same way that it would be during the flood in chapter 6. Perhaps bit and pieces of land spread out in islands. God gathered it together into a single land mass. God called the land earth and the water He called seas.
The first thing that needed to be created for the land were trees and grass. In other words herbal growth. Also created on this day were fruit trees. God differentiated between those that had a seed inside a fruit as opposed to no fruit, but a seed.

 IV.     Day four Genesis 1:14-19
What did God actually create on day four? After creating grass and trees, which will survive for awhile without nights He created a division between each day. In order to do this he created lights in the heavens. Apparently this included stars and planets. It also included the sun and moon. All of these together gave a basis for division of time. We can determine a year, month, day and hours based on the relationship between these bodies. The moon was to tell the progress of the night and the sun was to tell the progress of the day. God actually created these on this fourth day. This means just exactly what it says. God created the sun and moon after He did the things proceeding this.

  V.     Day five Genesis 1:20-23
What did God actually create on day five? He created both birds and that which lives out of the water and in water. By definition this means all fish, but it includes things such as crabs and shell fish. It could also include anything that spends as much time in the water as out of it such as frogs and turtles. It is also possible this meant creatures such as aligators.


 VI.     Day six Genesis 1:24-31
What did God actually create on day five? Of those things above it is also possible that aligators were created on the sixth day. However, what is clear is that this was the day in which He created living creatures, that is those who breathe primarily air and live on land. This included cattle and simliar animals. All of these animals reproduce after there kind, this includes all of those in the seas as well as on the land. A dog will always reproduce a dog. A cow will always reproduce a cow. A snake will always reproduce a snake. A snake does not all of a sudden become a dog. A dog does not through time become a chimp. A chimp does not become a human being. Then God created man and gave him dominion or rule over everything on the earth and in the seas. Man was and is the only creature that it was said of that he was created in the image of God. Man was commanded to have the rule over everything on the earth. Up to this point man was commanded to eat only that which was not an air breathing creature, that is he was commanded to eat only vegetables. The same was commanded to animals none of them ate flesh.

Genesis 2:1-25

Day seven also known as the sabath was instituted here and is refered to in the first three verses. Once creation was completed Jehovah God rested from His work of Creation. No more creation was accomplished from this point on, this means that the verses from verse 4 on are actually events elaborated on that occured on the sixth day of creation.

I. Genesis 2:1-3 a finished heavens and earth, then God rested from all creation

Genesis 2:4-6 a recap of the work of creation

Genesis 2:7-9 man formed on the sixth day of creation a further description of this work. The work of mans ecology depicted.

Genesis 2:10-14 how God created a watering system for the Garden of Eden. A further description of its importance to ecology.

Genesis 2:15-17 God placed man in the Garden that He created for man. Man given his first laws and told about how we was to act.

Genesis 2:18-20 man needed and received a help meet for himself. What is a help meet?

Genesis 2:21-23 creation of woman out of man and the significance of this act.

Genesis 2:24-25 the first marriage and its moral significance. Ethics and morality are not situation dictated, but are related to God's laws.