Jesus: From Genesis to Revelation

Week 1 Discussion Guide: In the Beginning

Opening

Begin by reciting this week’s memory verse together:

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” – Genesis 1:1 (ESV)

Think about a moment when you stood in front of something vast – an ocean, a mountain range, a star-filled sky. What was your instinctive response? Awe? Silence? Praise? Something else entirely? Hold that memory as we discuss the God who made it all.

Review: The Big Picture

This week we read Genesis 1 across four days and then turned to the Psalms on Day 5. The chapter moves in a deliberate architecture: three days of forming (light, sky, land) followed by three days of filling (luminaries, sea creatures and birds, land animals and humanity). The repeated refrain “and God saw that it was good” punctuates each act of creation, building to the only superlative in the chapter – “very good” – after humanity is made. The week closed with Psalm 33:1-9 and Psalm 104:1-9, where Israel worships the same Creator whose voice fills Genesis 1.

The Bible does not open with a proof of God’s existence. It does not argue or defend. It announces: God acted. Everything else follows from that.

Discussion Questions

Days 1-3: Forming the Stages (Genesis 1:1-13)

  1. The Voice in the Darkness. “God said” appears ten times in Genesis 1. The phrase is so repetitive it becomes liturgical. What does the sheer repetition communicate about how God creates? And what does it suggest about the relationship between God and his Word – especially in light of John 1:1-3, where the Word is God?

  2. Order from Chaos. The earth begins “without form and void” (tohu wabohu), shrouded in darkness and water. God’s creative work moves from disorder to order, emptiness to fullness, darkness to light. Where have you seen this pattern – chaos yielding to divine order – in your own life or in the larger story of Scripture?

Days 4-5: Filling the Stages (Genesis 1:14-25)

  1. Forming and Filling. Days 1-3 create stages (light, sky, land); Days 4-6 populate them (luminaries, sea creatures, land animals). The architecture is deliberate: God prepares a place and then fills it with life. Where else in Scripture – or in your own experience – have you seen God work by first preparing a space and then filling it?

  2. Abundance and Blessing. God blesses the sea creatures and birds with the first blessing in Scripture: “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters” (1:22). The Creator does not make a sparse, minimal world. He makes an extravagant one. What does God’s generosity in creation reveal about his character?

Day 6: The Crown of Creation (Genesis 1:26-31)

  1. The Startling Plural. “Let us make man in our image” (1:26). The shift from “God said, ‘Let there be…’” to “Let us make” is unique in the chapter. The early church heard in it the first whisper of the Trinity. Whether or not you find that reading persuasive, what does this shift in language signal about the significance of what is about to happen?

  2. The Image of God. Humanity alone is made in God’s image (tselem) and after his likeness (demuth). Is the image a capacity (reason, creativity, language), a calling (to represent God and rule on his behalf), a relationship (to live in communion with the Creator) – or all three? How does the image of God shape the way you see other people?

  3. Dominion and Responsibility. God gives humanity “dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing” (1:28). This is not a license for exploitation but a commission for stewardship. What does faithful dominion look like in practice? Where do you see it done well, and where do you see it distorted?

Day 4: Review of Genesis 1 as a Whole

  1. The Refrain. “And God saw that it was good” appears seven times, culminating in “very good.” This is not a quality inspection – it is a revelation of character. What does the refrain tell us about the kind of God who creates? What does it mean that he delights in what he has made?

  2. The Absence of Conflict. Ancient Near Eastern creation myths all feature cosmic battles – gods warring with primordial monsters. Genesis features a voice. There is no struggle, no rival, no uncertainty. What theological claim is Genesis 1 making by presenting creation as effortless speech rather than violent conquest?

Day 5: Israel Worships the Creator (Psalm 33:1-9; Psalm 104:1-9)

  1. From Narrative to Song. Psalm 33:6 says, “By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host.” The psalmist read Genesis 1 and responded with worship. What is the connection between knowing that God created the world and worshipping him for it? Is there a gap between your knowledge and your worship?

  2. Creator and Sustainer. Psalm 104 paints God not as a distant architect but as a hands-on sustainer – stretching heavens, sending springs, providing food for every creature. How does seeing God as both Creator and daily Sustainer change the way you relate to him?

Synthesis

  1. Christ in Genesis 1. Colossians 1:16-17 says that all things were created “through him and for him” and that “in him all things hold together.” John 1:1-3 identifies the creative Word of Genesis 1 as the pre-incarnate Son. How does knowing that Christ is the agent of creation change the way you read this chapter? How does it change the way you see the world around you?

Going Deeper: Connections Across the Week

Application

Closing Prayer

Close your time together by praying through Genesis 1:1. Praise God as Creator – the one who spoke and it was so. Thank him that the world is not an accident but the product of his voice, his intention, his delight. Ask him to open your eyes this week to see his handiwork in the ordinary world around you. Pray that as you begin this year-long study, the God who spoke light into darkness would speak light into your understanding of his Word.

Looking Ahead

Next week we will read Genesis 2-3 – the intimate account of God forming Adam from the dust, planting a garden, and giving humanity its first commission and its first prohibition. We will witness the devastating entry of sin into the world and hear the first promise of redemption. The God who created “very good” will not abandon what he has made.