As I read through the first chapter of Genesis, I was reminded of how the religious culture of today relies on a single verse within the chapter to justify their false teachings. Instead of acknowledging -- "In the beginning -- God" as it is written -- and aligning this scripture with the numerous confirmation scriptures in the new testament -- these same church organizations present Genesis 1:26 as justification for advocating their false "trinity" or "God in three persons" doctrine.
For the record, Genesis 1:26 states: And God said, "Let us make man in our own image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air; and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth." (Genesis 1:26)
Note that the religious culture focuses only on the "let us make man in our own image, after our likeness" in this verse but not the One and Only God that is referred to and then repeated 28 times within the remainder of Genesis 1.
Did you catch that? This same religious culture ignores the 28 scriptural references in Genesis 1 that proclaims God to be the One and Only God -- or that He alone created the heavens and the earth and all the inhabitants within.
Further, these same religious ignore Genesis 1:2 that states: "And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters."
And these same religious ignore Genesis 1:27 -- the verse immediately following Genesis 1:26 -- that states: "So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them." (Genesis 1:27)
Additionally, this same theological bias can be seen when this same religious culture negates the numerous other scriptures that elaborate on the actual meaning of Genesis 1:26 -- both from the old and new testaments. Why? Because if these same religious actually admitted the truth as it is written in the Word, then significant changes to religious doctrines and their respective statements of faith would have to be made.
Still, we know that God is not the author of confusion. In fact, He desires that we press into His Word so that He can reveal the mystery that has been kept hidden from the people until this time. This is why we study the scriptures -- so that we can understand how God counselled both with and within Himself. For example,
In Isaiah: "He shall feed His flock like a shepherd. He shall gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young. Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance? Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or being the counsellor hath taught Him? With whom took He counsel, and who instructed Him, and taught Him in the path of judgement, and taught Him knowledge and showed to Him the way of understanding?" (Isaiah 40:11-14)
In Jeremiah, "For who hath stood in the counsel of the Lord and hath perceived and heard His Word? Who hath marked His Word and heard it?" (Jeremiah 23:18)
And, in Romans, "O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! For who hath known in the mind of the Lord? Or who hath been His counsellor? Or who hath first given to Him and it shall be recompensed unto Him again? For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things to whom be glory forever. Amen." (Romans 11:33-36)
How many times has the Lord said, "I am the Lord thy God and beside Me there is NO other" or, "thou shalt worship the Lord thy God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind"? (Hosea 13:44; Isaiah 43:11) And who is that God?
The same God "in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace; wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence: having made known unto us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He hath purposed in Himself .. that in the dispensation of the fullness of times He might gather together in one all things in Christ ... (Ephesians 1:3-10)
In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will ..." (Ephesians 1:11)
"And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ ... according to the eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Ephesians 2:9-11)
John 1:1-18 says it differently. "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him and without Him was not any thing made that was made. ... and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us."
In Collosians: "In whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins; who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature -- for by Him were all things created, that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers; all things were created by Him and for Him. And He is before all things and by Him all things consist ... and He is the Head of the body, the church; who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things He might have the pre-eminence. For it pleased the Father that in Him should ALL fulness dwell." (Colossians 1:12-19)
"And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory." (I Timothy 3:16)
"For unto us a child is born. Unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called -- Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of peace." (Isaiah 9:6)
The point is that the same God who created the world and its inhabitants in the beginning willingly became our Saviour. He who knew no sin became sin for you and I. His name is Jesus! Stand in the offering plate.
Genesis 1:
"In the beginning, God created the heaven and earth." (Genesis 1:1)
And God said, "Let there be light and there was light" and God saw the light -- that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day." (Genesis 1:3-5)
And God said, "Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament and divided in the waters and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters that were above the firmament and it was so." (Genesis 1:6-7)
And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day. And God said, "Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place and let the dry land appear, and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called He seas; and God saw that it was good." (Genesis 1:8-10)
And God said, "Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind; whose seed is in itself upon the earth and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass and herb yielding seed after his kind and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind; and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the third day." (Genesis 1:11-13)
And God said, "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years. And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also." (Genesis 1:14-16)
"And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the fourth day. And God said, "Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven." (Genesis 1:17-20)
And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. And the evening and the morning were the fifth day." (Genesis 1:21-23)
And God said, "Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good." (Genesis 1:24-25)
And God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth." (Genesis 1:26)
"So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them." (Genesis 1:27)
And God blessed them, and God said unto them, "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so." (Genesis 1:28-30)
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