Creation

Intro

Imagine we are at a place where the Earth will be once it forms. As creation begins, we see light, then water, then space within the water. Next, ground forms beneath our feet, plants grow and trees provide the first shade on the earth. The skies clear so the sun, moon and stars can mark day and night. Fish, birds, and animals are created. Finally, people are created and creation is complete. God calls each step good, while reserving His highest praise, “very good” for the creation of people in His image. Then, God rests. 

John 1:1 records that Jesus (the Word) was there before all this creation. “In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

Creation

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. . . [1]

 3 Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good. Then he separated the light from the darkness. . .

 6 Then God said, “Let there be a space between the waters, to separate the waters of the heavens from the waters of the earth.” 7 And that is what happened. God made this space to separate the waters of the earth from the waters of the heavens. 8 God called the space “sky.”
    And evening passed and morning came, marking the second day.

 9 Then God said, “Let the waters beneath the sky flow together into one place, so dry ground may appear.” And that is what happened. 10 God called the dry ground “land” and the waters “seas.” And God saw that it was good. 11 Then God said, “Let the land sprout with vegetation—every sort of seed-bearing plant, and trees that grow seed-bearing fruit. These seeds will then produce the kinds of plants and trees from which they came.” And that is what happened. 12 The 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. . .

 14 Then God said, “Let lights appear in the sky to separate the day from the night. Let them mark off the seasons, days, and years. . .

 18 to govern the day and night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. . .

 20 Then God said, “Let the waters swarm with fish and other life. Let the skies be filled with birds of every kind.” 21 So 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. . .

 24 Then 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. 25 God 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.
  26 Then God said, “Let us make human beings[2] 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 animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.”

 27 So God created human beings[3] in his own image.
      In the image of God he created them;
      male and female he created them. . .

30 And I have given every green plant as food for all the wild animals, the birds in the sky, and the small animals that scurry along the ground—everything that has life.” And that is what happened.
  31 Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good!
    And evening passed and morning came, marking the sixth day. . .

2 On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested[4] from all his work.3 And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation. . .

 8 Then the Lord God planted a garden in Eden in the east, and there he placed the man he had made. 9 The Lord God made all sorts of trees grow up from the ground—trees that were beautiful and that produced delicious fruit. In the middle of the garden he placed the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. . .

 15 The Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it. 16 But the Lord God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden—17 except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.”

Connect

After the first creation story ends with God resting from his creation work, a second version of the creation story sets the stage for explaining good and evil. It includes one command to not eat from one tree, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. A second tree, the Tree of Life, sustains the people. (This tree appears again at the end of the Bible for the "healing of the nations. [5]") The next scene starts with an offer to be like God, where man first learns about evil.