Gen. 1:1-5; 1:26-27; John 1:1-5
Jesus in Genesis (Introduction)
(Jesus as Creator) Sunday,
May 1, 2022
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. (Genesis 1:1–5).
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:1– 5).
Main Point: Jesus Christ is the visible appearance of the invisible God, and He appears throughout the Old Testament because the Bible is the story of Jesus from beginning to end.
I. No one can see God (the Father) face-to-face and live.
“And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. But” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” (Exodus 33:19–20).
II. Jesus is God-incarnate: He is the visible image of the invisible God.
a. Jesus is the Creator and physical image of God (Gr. “Ikon”).
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all
things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones
or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for
him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. (Colossians
1:15–17).
b. Jesus is in the form of God (Gr. “morphe”).
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though
he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,
but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of
men (Philippians 2:5–7).
c. Jesus is the radiance (Gr. “apaugasma”) or imprint of God (Gr. “charakter”).
Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the
prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he
appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the
radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds
the universe by the Word of His power. (Hebrews 1:1–3).
III. Jesus created us is His image: the Image of God.
“Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” “So, God created man in his own image, in the image of God, he created him; male and female, he created them” (Genesis 1:26–27).
IV. Consequently, when people saw God’s face, they actually saw Jesus, who is God-incarnate.
a. Adam and Eve walked with God in the Garden.
“And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool
of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the
LORD God among the trees of the garden” (Genesis 3:8).
b. Jacob wrestled with God and saw His face.
“So, Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, ‘For I have seen God
face to face, and yet my life has been delivered’.” (Genesis 32:30).
c. Moses talked with God face to face.
“And there has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD
knew face to face” (Deuteronomy 34:10).
d. No one has seen God except as Jesus.
“No one has ever seen God; the only God, [but he] who is at the Father’s side,
he has made him known” (John 1:18).
V. You must believe that Jesus is Lord God, that He is Creator, and He is God-incarnate to be saved.
a. Jesus said Moses wrote about Him.
“For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. But if
you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?” (John 5:45–47).
b. You must believe in the name of Jesus, the Lord’s name. “For God did not send
his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be
saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does
not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the
only Son of God” (John 3:17–18).
c. You must profess that Jesus is Lord God (Jehovah).
“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart
that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one
believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved” (Romans
10:9–10).
Challenge: Do you have a personal relationship with the Creator of this universe? Have you trusted Jesus as your Lord and Savior and personally experienced His salvation?