IMMANUEL
Lutheran Church
GENESIS 1-3
Genesis 1, in its comprehensive presentation of the origin of the entire universe, includes the creation of human beings. This sets the state for the history of humanity, which beings in Genesis 2:4. Humans were created equal, but different as male and female. Their relationship to the Creator is clearly set forth in Chapter 2.
Adam's communion with the life-giving God will continue unless he oversteps his bounds in disobedience to God and aspires to be equal with God. Chapter 3 tells the sad story of the first couple's rebellion against their Creator. They did evil in their attempt to be like God. This disrupted man and woman's blissful relationship with God, with each other, with the animals, and with nature itself. We call this "original sin" because every offspring of Adam is like Seth, the son of Adam, begotten "in his [Adam's] own likeness, after his image" (Genesis 5:3). Genesis 3 shows the need for all subsequent chapters and books of the Bible, where (as already in Genesis 3:15) God promises to deliver us from sin and death and records what He did to remove these barriers that exclude us from life with Him. The message of all Scripture is that God Himself, in the Seed of the woman, will crush the head of" that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world" (Revelations 12:9).
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 any thing 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 ... And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 1:1-5; 14