God’s Creative Act: Genesis 1:1-2

 

Introduction:

Our Earth is neither billions nor millions but a few thousand years old.

Many Christian educators and pastors would try to convince believers there is an enormous amount of time between Genesis 1:1-2 (i.e., C. I. Scofield). The Gap Theory is where evolution and the millions of years in the past needed where the great dinosaurs lived and died. It was between Genesis 1:1-2 that Satan fell to Earth and destroyed it.

At this supposed point, God recreated the Earth Genesis 1:2, making God a liar for when He looked at ALL His creative work and stated in Genesis 1:31, pronounced it “very good,” it could not have been this way if the world fell into chaos.

Genesis 1:31 says,

God saw all He had made; behold, it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning, the sixth day.

Some claim a Gap between verses one and two; if valid, God would not have said His creation was ‘very good.’

Some removed the ‘AND’ between Verses 1 and 2

The chapter and verse divide in Scripture is a human invention from the 16th century for ease of memorization. Robert Estienne, known as Robertus Stephanus in Latin and called Robert Stephens by 18th and 19th-century English writers, was a 16th-century printer and classical scholar in Paris who number these separations. They completed the New Testament in 1551 and 1571 for the Hebrew Bible. The Holy Scriptures for 1500 years had no chapter and verse setting, as in the Bible we have today. (Wikipedia)

There are many English translations from Greek and Hebrew, and they are outstanding to read. However, many translations abandon this simple word, ‘and,’ substituting the word ‘the’ instead.

The Hebrew word וְ (the conjunction, ‘and’) starts the second verse. However, many translators removed (the conjunction ‘and’) from many English translations for the sake of the English language flow. The Hebrew word וְ (the conjunction, ‘and’), left off, has opened the door to many interpretations of these two verses. This little word וְ, the meaning “then, and, together with, that is,” shows a connection to the previous statement, not a whole new thought. Verse two starts with ‘the’ it, which could lead the reader down the wrong road as it has with many if they do not have even a basic knowledge of the original language.

Pastors and teachers should use Greek or Hebrew to prepare for the Sunday service or Sunday school. Doing this will give deeper meaning to the words used in Scripture. However, many Sunday School Teachers will just read from the little book provided to them instead of studying.

The Test of Man

Many individuals of the scholarly persuasion believe that Satan fell between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2, and it was he, Satan, that caused the “darkness and void.”

When God placed Adam in the garden after his creation, God said everything was his to eat, except the tree of the “knowledge of good and evil.” However, even this tree had a pronouncement of ‘very good’ after God created everything. God only restricted the eating of its fruit.

Genesis 2:16-18 says,

The Lord God commanded the man, saying, From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it, you will die. Then the Lord God said, It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.

Adam passed his knowledge of the ‘good and evil tree’ to Eve because of the Scripture statement as she conversed with the serpent.

Genesis 3:3 says,

But from the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God has said, You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die. (Eve made this statement)

The actual statement is as follows.

Genesis 2:16-17 says,

The Lord God commanded the man, saying, From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it, you will die.

Eve knew not to eat, yet her pride and lust for knowledge became strong desires. Where did she get to touch the forbidden tree, which meant death? One may see the tree of the “knowledge of good and evil” as a test of loyalty to God. Adam and Eve failed this loyalty test of obedience God gave them.

The Test of the Angelic Beings

The obedience and loyalty of people and Angelic hosts experience testing to determine their loyalty and obedience to God.

Satan did not fall between Genesis 1:1-2 and the Earth, resulting in destruction. The author contends that Satan fell after Genesis 1:31 because God said everything He created was “very good.”

Adam and Eve had a test of loyalty with the tree of the “knowledge of good and evil.” Thus, would it be ridiculous to assume that Satan would also have a test to determine his loyalty to God, the creator, and knowing God took special care to create man?

The author believes that Satan’s test was Adam and Eve and his reaction to God’s creative act, and he failed and wanted to drag humanity down with him.

Conclusion

Interpreting Scripture based on these breaks can be misleading. The dropping of this small but mighty word “and” can and often causes much trouble.

One cannot stress this too much to study God’s word using the Greek and Hebrew language, even if one has only superficial knowledge.

Ezra 7:10 says,

For Ezra had set his heart on studying the law of the LORD, practicing it, and teaching His statutes and ordinances in Israel.

2 Timothy 2:15 says,

Be careful in presenting yourself approved to God as a worker who needs not be ashamed and accurately handles the word of truth.

To compromise Scripture for a smooth flow of language is to damage its actual meaning. One must study the original language to explain the word of God without error.

James 3:1 says,

Let few of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing we will incur a stricter judgment.

Sola Scriptura–By Scripture Alone

Sola Fide–By Faith Alone

Sola Gratia–By Grace Alone

Solus Christus–By Christ Alone

Soli Deo Gloria–Glory to God Alone

Copyright George L Gallant, ©2021

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995)

 

Multiple Wives & Adultery

 

Jesus forgives her Adultery

Introduction

Do individuals who get divorced and remarried live in the perpetual sin of adultery? Does the Scripture say anything about this chronic adultery issue as sometimes portrayed and perpetuated by the Church as a reality?

Old Testament Heroes

Several Old Testament figures, including King David, Solomon, Joseph, and Jacob, had more than one wife at a time. However, Scripture teaches that a man should have only one wife at a time, especially if he were a leader.

1 Timothy 3:2 says,

An overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife.

An example is God, bringing to Adam only one woman, Eve. So, the question is, did these men of old live in perpetual sin? However, we see from multiple wives a never-ending problem that plagued their lives. One wife wants this, another wife wants something else, and it goes on to the point of ad nauseam. God’s plan for the family and its unity has always been one wife; the home’s disunity comes with various wives simultaneously, as seen from the problems these leaders had after their multiple wives.

Genesis 2:18 says,

Then the LORD God said, It is not suitable for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.

Genesis 2:21-24 says,

So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed the flesh at that place. The Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib He had taken from the man and brought her to the man. The man said,

She is now the bone of my bones And flesh of my flesh; now she is a Woman because out of Man she came from his rib. A man shall leave his father and his mother and join his wife; they shall become one flesh.

God took only one rib, which could represent only one woman at a time. Unity can only be achieved in marriage, with one man and one woman together as husband and wife.

The Sin of Adultery

Matthew 19:9 says,

And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.

If one discovers a spouse to be immoral, is the innocent party allowed to remarry without adultery consequences? If the answer is yes, why does the Church hold them back? Often, pastors who ended up in a divorce and the innocent party had to promise never to remarry if they wished to remain a pastor.

One can only wonder why the Church puts men in a situation to burn in lust. Is it to see them fail, and then the Church can say it is because of your divorce that you have failed? This author was a guest speaker at one Fellowship, and the head deacon and I were talking, and he told me that even having a divorced person in the Pulpit would contaminate it. This so-called contamination says that the individual’s salvation experience means nothing and that God has not forgiven them.

The Question Is

Why is it so easy for the Fellowship to forgive a murderer, a thief, a liar, a rapist, or any other sin, but they cannot pardon someone divorced and remarried? If individuals commit homicide, they will always be murderers; this will not change, even if they never do this crime again. It is the same with any sin against God; there are no exceptions. All people are sinners, yet each sin has a name, and we are that for the rest of our lives.

Arrogance in the Leadership

An example of this arrogance is the rude talk given by many Baptist Fellowship leaders about the Mormons at their Annual Convention in Utah several years ago; this is the same egotism of the Jewish Pharisees at the time of Jesus. They may try to deny this, but the proof is in the records if one but looks.

Luke 18:10-14 says,

Two men went into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed to himself: God, I thank You I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all I get. But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was unwilling to lift his eyes to heaven but was beating his breast, saying, God, be merciful to me, the sinner! I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other, for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.

Visualize being told that “you cannot have God’s best” because of divorce and remarriage; think of the mental anguish it would put you through. If this was true, then God would not forgive and forget what we have done, and the blood of Jesus would have been for nothing. This arrogant behavior by the leadership has kept many good men from doing God’s will. I tell you that every gift one receives from God is the BEST He gives.

James 1:16-17 says,

Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.

Whatever God gives you will be His absolute best for you. The Church in America has many egotists who call themselves Christians or leaders. Who controls the Church with an iron-fisted dictatorship is one of the primary reasons for the Church’s weakness today. However, no one will voice this opinion, fearing being called a heretic.

God and Forgiveness

When one confesses their sin, God has forgiven and forgotten them.

Psalm 103:11-14 says,

As high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His lovingkindness toward people who fear Him. As far as the East is from the West, He has removed our transgressions from us. Just as a father has compassion for his children, the LORD cares for people who fear Him. For He knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust.

1 John 1:9 says,

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

​Therefore, God says He will remove ALL our sins if we ask Him. The real question is, who do these leaders think they are when they block a man from serving God in the Pulpit or a woman serving as a Sunday school teacher when they are 100% forgiven by God?

Conclusion

God must forgive all individuals who wish to serve Him and not live in sin. The Church should not rule that a person is living in an adulterous state if they remarry because they may have asked for forgiveness from God. There is no Biblical evidence to support this beyond any reasonable question that a divorced person is ineligible to preach the Gospel. Please do not use First Timothy as the proof text, as I have shown why there should be only one wife at a time. This book says nothing about divorce and remarriage and serving God.

1 Timothy 3:2 says,

An overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife.

That refers to one wife at a time. If a man’s wife dies and he remarries, he has had two wives, and according to the Church, he can no longer be a preacher.

Sola Scriptura–By Scripture Alone

Sola Fide–By Faith Alone

Sola Gratia–By Grace Alone

Solus Christus–By Christ Alone

Soli Deo Gloria–Glory to God Alone

Copyright George L Gallant, ©2021

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995)