(Genesis) - Part 1 — Zac Poonen

The Inspiration and Sufficiency of All Scripture

We want to begin a study in the book of Genesis, commencing today. And before we turn there, there are two verses in the New Testament that I would like to turn to. First of all, in 2 Timothy chapter 3, that we want to read, 2 Timothy 3, 16 and 17.

All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching. Now, when we read this verse, we must remember that when that verse was written by Paul, the New Testament was not yet compiled. Many books of the New Testament were not even written.

And mostly what was known as scripture in those days was the Old Testament. And that was what Paul had in mind. Of course, today we include the New Testament also under that verse. But I find among many believers, generally, there is an ignorance of many things in the Old Testament.

And yet the word of God says, all scripture. Which means that there is no portion of scripture which is not inspired by God. And I remember as a young Christian myself, many years ago, I felt that one way that I would show my respect for God was by getting to know his word.

I mean, if a father, if your father wrote a letter to you of, say, 25 pages, you would certainly be disrespecting your father if you didn't read it carefully. If you just read one or two pages and tossed it aside, I don't think there's any better way of showing disrespect for your father.

I believe that one way we show respect for God is by taking his word seriously. All scripture is inspired by God. That means God has given us his word. And I show my respect for him by taking pains to understand what he has revealed in his word.

And it is profitable for teaching, that's what we do in the church, use the entire scripture for teaching, for reproof, that is to rebuke. God's word rebukes us and corrects us when we are going astray.

And for training in righteousness, that teaches us that we don't become righteous overnight. We have to go through a training course to become righteous. And if you are really seeking to understand righteousness as Christlikeness, then we realize we've got a long way to go.

And that through God's word we can be trained in life situations to be righteous so that the man of God may be adequate, complete, perfect. Equipped for every good work means equipped to do everything God wants us to do.

So if I neglect some portion of scripture in that measure, I shall be incomplete, imperfect, inadequate, and not fully equipped for every good work. Because all scripture has been given for this purpose.

And one of the burdens I've had through the years for the church here is that as the years go by, if the Lord carries, that we shall be able to go through the scriptures so thoroughly that we shall know the scriptures as God intends us to know them.

And yet not in a theoretical, intellectual, academic way, but rather in the way that God intends us to know the scriptures. And this is the reason why we have these Bible studies. The other verse in Matthew 19 is in Matthew 19 in verse...

Jesus, Genesis, and God's Design from the Beginning

When the Pharisees came to Jesus and tested him, verse 3, and said, Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause? He answered, Haven't you read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female?

For this cause shall a man leave father and mother and leave to his wife. And that's from Genesis chapter 2 that Jesus quoted. That means Jesus had studied Genesis. He knew what verse from Genesis to quote to answer these people.

So we are following in the footsteps of Jesus when we study Genesis. And then they said to him, verse 7, Why then did Moses command to give her a scripture, to give her a certificate of divorce, and divorce her?

He said to them, Because of your hardness of heart, Moses permitted you to divorce your wife, but from the beginning it has not been this way. Notice that phrase, from the beginning. That means before Moses.

That means God permitted something in Moses' time, but if you want to know what God's perfect will was and is, you have to go beyond Moses to Genesis chapter 1 and 2 to understand God's perfect will for man.

That's why it's very important. Those two chapters, particularly of Genesis, are very important because it is the only two chapters in the Bible where there is no sin, where sin has not come. You finally come to it again in the last two chapters of the Bible where there is no sin, Revelation 21 and 22.

But those are the only four chapters in the whole Bible. Genesis first two chapters, Revelation 21 and 22, the last two chapters in which there is no sin. So we need to understand God's perfect will, we need to go back and understand.

From the beginning, he said to you, God's will for man was not that. In other words, in Matthew 22, when Jesus was speaking to the Sadducees, they asked a question concerning the resurrection. Matthew 22, he replied them, saying in verse 29, you are mistaken, not understanding the scriptures or the power of God.

Knowing Scripture and the Power of the Spirit

Brothers and sisters, there are two things we need to know. The scripture and the power of God. We have seen groups that study the scripture, but do not know the endowments with the power of the Holy Spirit.

We've seen groups that emphasize the baptism in the Holy Spirit, but not the intensive study of the scripture. But Jesus said that if we do not understand the scripture and the power of God, we will be mistaken.

Very important verse. In order not to be mistaken, we must know the scripture and we must know the mighty power of God through the Holy Spirit. That is a balanced Christian. One who has received the endowments of the Holy Spirit's power and who knows the word of God.

May God help us to be that. This is the reason why we study God's word like this. That is an introduction. We go back now to Genesis chapter 1 and verse 1. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

Putting God First in Every Area of Life

Notice that the word of God begins with a wonderful phrase. In the beginning, God. We can say that's like saying, put God first in everything. Your office work, let it be with these four words. In the beginning, God.

Your home life, in the beginning, God. Your personal life, your finances, every area of life, your eating, drinking, sexual life, every part of life, church life, in the beginning, God. That's the way it has to be.

That means God is put in his rightful place. And that's why the scriptures begin with those words. And sin is when, in the beginning, it's not God. It's something else. That is idolatry. Anything other than that is idolatry.

In the beginning, God. In every area of your life. Children, what's the first thing they must be taught? In the beginning, God. We can apply that to every area of life in general. But the other thing I want you to notice in this verse is that the word of God does not try to prove the existence of God.

One would think that, according to human cleverness, there are atheists in the world. We need to somehow prove to them that God exists. And that we should sort of begin with a paragraph saying that, see, there are stars, there are so many things, there must be a God.

Nothing of that. The existence of God is not understood by reasoning. It is not by the intellect that we understand God. It is in the spirit. And that doesn't come by proof. It doesn't come by argument.

It doesn't come by logic. It comes by revelation. And that is why the Bible does not attempt to prove the existence of God. Or to speak about how God was always there. Or try to explain it in any way.

Nothing of the sort. In the beginning, God. Of course, there is another verse of scripture which, in terms of time, is even previous to Genesis 1 verse 1. Because Genesis 1 verse 1 is dealing with the creation of the heavens and the earth.

But we can say that John 1 verse 1, if you turn there, in terms of time, goes back even beyond Genesis 1 verse 1. Because John 1 verse 1 reads like this. In the beginning was the Word. And that also should be true in our life.

That in the beginning, the Lord Jesus Christ, taking the first place in every area of life. And the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Now this is relating to a time which was even before the beginning of Genesis 1 verse 1.

Elohim and the Triune God

Even before the creation of the heavens and the earth. Way back in eternity past. God existed. And we are told in John 1 verse 1, the Word, referring to the Lord Jesus Christ, was with God. Meaning that He was another person with God.

And He was God. Speaking of His deity from all eternity. And also speaking of the fact that there is more than one person in the Godhead. And this is something that doesn't come out very clearly in the English translation in Genesis 1 verse 1.

For the Old Testament was written in the Hebrew language. And in the Hebrew language, there is a word called El. E-L. From which we get the word Israel. And many other words that end with L in the Old Testament.

It means God. But there is a word for God which is the plural of El. And that is Elohim. E-L-O-H-I-M. Like Cherub, Cherubim. Cherubim is the plural of Cherub. Cherubim is the plural of Cherub. And Elohim is the plural of El.

And then we can ask ourselves, how is that? And that's the word used here. Elohim. God. In the plural. So that we can say that right in the first verse of Scripture, there is a testimony to the fact that though God is one, yet there is more than one person in God.

Creation and Re-Creation in Genesis 1

That's just by way of introduction. Let's turn back to Genesis 1 verse 1. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. I want you to point out to you that in Genesis chapter 1, there are two words used concerning God's work.

One is the word create. And the other is the word make. And they are not the same. To create means to make out of nothing. That means there was nothing there and then something was created. But to make means to make out of something that was already there.

For example, man's body, Adam's body, was not created. It was made out of the dust which was already there. But his spirit, that was created. My God. From something that did not exist. That's just to illustrate the difference between the two.

Because then we shall understand that Genesis chapter 1 is not a description of the creation of the heavens and the earth. But of the remaking of the heavens and the earth which were already created earlier.

Verse 1. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth full stop. That's finished. And then in the rest of Genesis 1, He's talking about something that happened after the heavens and the earth had been created.

Now we know that God, whenever He does anything, He does it perfectly. There's nothing imperfect with God. Whenever God makes anything, if it comes straight from His hand, it is perfect. And yet we read, verse 2.

The Formless, Empty, and Dark Earth

And the earth was formless and empty. Void means empty. And darkness was over the surface of the deep. Or as some translations have it, the earth became without form, empty and dark. Three things. Without shape, empty and dark.

Then we know that something must have happened between verse 1 and verse 2. For this perfect earth that God had made to become shapeless, to become empty and to become dark. And then in that condition, the Spirit of God moved over the surface of the waters that were on the earth.

And then we find throughout this chapter, the word made. Verse 7. God made something. And verse 16. God made the two great lights. And He made the beast. Verse 25. What happened between verses 1 and 2 for this darkness to come?

That we know from other portions of Scripture is the fall of Lucifer, the head of the angels, and all the angels who followed him in rebellion. That fall took place between verses 1 and 2. And we can ask, why is it not described here?

Because this is a book that is dealing with the history of man. God's dealings with man. And therefore He begins straight with the creation of man in the first chapter. And all of God's dealings with man.

And this other part of the angels is just mentioned separately in some other portions of Scripture. But we know that happened there because by the time you come to Genesis chapter 3, Satan is already there.

And so we see that between verses 1 and 2, something happened which made the earth like this. If you turn to Isaiah 45 and verse 18, there's a verse that tells us something interesting. Isaiah 45 and verse 18, it says,.

For thus says the Lord who created the heavens. Isaiah 45, 18. He is the God who formed the earth and made it. He established it. Notice the word made and created. And did not create it as an empty waste place.

And it's the same word used in Isaiah 45 that's used in Genesis 1 -2 in the Hebrew language. He did not create it empty. But we read in Genesis 1 -2, it became empty. What happens? We read another verse in Jeremiah 4, verse 23.

I looked on the earth and behold it was formless and void. And to them heavens and they have no light. The same three things we saw in Genesis 1. Shapeless, empty, and dark. Verse 25, I looked and behold there was no man.

And this we read in the last part of verse 26 was because of the fierce anger of the Lord. So when we put all these verses together, we find that there was a manifestation of God's anger on the earth long before Adam was created.

That is what made the earth shapeless, empty, and dark. God didn't create it like that. And so we can just turn to see something about the fall of Lucifer, which is mentioned in two passages. Isaiah 14, we just look at it briefly.

Lucifer's Pride and the Origin of Sin

Isaiah 14, verses 12 -15. We read about the head of the angels. How have you fallen from heaven? Isaiah 14 -12. O star of the morning, or Lucifer, or shining one. Son of the dawn. Just remember this word used to describe Lucifer in the margin.

The shining one. We will come to that later in our study of Genesis. How have you fallen from heaven? O hellel, the shining one, Lucifer, son of the dawn. You have been cut down to the earth, you who have weakened the nations.

That is, later on, after man was created, he weakened the nations. But going back to his previous history, it says here, you said in your heart. This is the origin of sin. He didn't speak. He only thought in his heart.

Sin originated in the thought life. A big warning to all of us. Sin originated in the universe in the thought that came into an angel's heart. You said in your heart. Be careful what you say in your heart.

I will ascend to heaven. Sin originated with these words. I will go up. Never forget it, my brothers and sisters. Salvation originated with these words in Jesus. I will go down. This is sin. I will go up.

This is salvation. I will go down. And that applies in many areas of life. The main thing in our flesh is this poison of Lucifer. I will go up. I want to be bigger than my brother and sister. I want to have more than my brother and sister.

I want to be better than my brother and sister. I always want to go up. I want to be a little bit above him in some way. And Jesus went exactly the opposite way. There is no salvation apart from that spirit gripping us.

I will go down. And to cleanse ourselves from filthiness of the spirit is to cleanse ourselves from this. I will ascend. I will raise my throne above the stars of God. I will sit on the mount of assembly in the recesses of the north.

I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. I will make myself like the Most High. I will be like God. It came into Lucifer's heart first, and that's what he told Eve in the Garden of Eden. You will be like God.

And that is the thing which he tries to put into our hearts also. You can be like God. When we try to run other people's lives, what are we trying to be like? What are we trying to be like? God. When we judge other people, what are we trying to be like?

God. God is the only judge. God is the only one who's got the right to run other people's lives. But when that comes into us, it's the spirit. I will be like God. Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the spirit.

And the other thing I want you to notice here in the fall of Lucifer is, nevertheless, verse 15, you'll be thrust down to Sheol, to the recesses of the pits. He who exalts himself will be humbled, abased.

He who humbles himself like Jesus will be exalted to the right hand of the Father. But the other thing I want you to notice here is, the five times this phrase comes, I will, verse 13 and 14, I will, I will, I will, I will.

I will. This is the origin of sin. My will. And this is the origin of salvation. Not my will, but thy will. Jesus said in John 6, 38, I came down from heaven not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me.

The Cross and the Root of Sin

The reason I point that out to you is so that we can get back to the root. John the Baptist said the axe is laid to the root of the tree. Jesus came to lay the axe to the root. Moses could chop off a few fruits through the law, but Jesus has come to lay the axe to the root.

And the root is not adultery. It is not love of money. It is not anger. It is not sexual lust. The root is, I will go up above others. I will be like God towards others. I want my way. That is the root.

And even when we have got rid of anger, even when we have got rid of sexual lust, even when we have got rid of the love of money, if I don't allow the Holy Spirit to lay the axe to the root, which is my desire to be like a little mini-God to other brothers and sisters, my desire to go up at least a little bit above others.

The axe is not laid to that. My desire to have my own way and not to yield in a confrontation with another person. If the axe is not laid to that, my brothers and sisters, all of our so-called working out our own salvation is just cutting a few fruits from the branches of the tree.

Jesus has come to lay the axe to the root. And that's why it appears as though victory takes so long. I am chopping off a fruit here, but a fruit comes out there. I am chopping off a fruit there, another one comes out there.

It will keep on coming. It is a never-ending fight. If I think that it is these fruits I have to chop off. Fruits are chopped off only to get honor before men for a godly, saintly life. But if you want honor before God, you have to go to the root.

This desire to act like God towards other people. You see all the many manifestations of that in our life. This desire to be a little bit above another, over another, not rather than under. This desire to have my way.

This unwillingness to deny my will. Why do we say the cross is so important? Because the cross is canceling out my will. And that is to lay the axe to the root of the tree. And if we do not do this, we have not cleansed ourselves from the spirit of Lucifer.

Lucifer's Anointing and Supernatural Gifts

Let's turn to the other passage in Ezekiel 28. Ezekiel chapter 28. Where also the history of Lucifer is described. In verse 14. You were the anointed cherub who covers. He had an anointing. Do you know that Lucifer had an anointing?

An anointing must refer to the Holy Spirit. Lucifer was anointed. He lost the anointing. But he did not lose the supernatural gift. That's why the devil can heal the sick. That's why the devil can do supernatural things.

In heathen religions and through evil spirits. When did he get those supernatural abilities? God didn't give it to them after he had fallen. Definitely not. God gave it to him when he was the anointed cherub.

And when he lost the anointing, he retained the supernatural abilities. A tremendous warning for us to be careful when we see Christians with supernatural abilities. It does not prove that they still have the anointing.

It does not prove it. They may use the name of Jesus with supernatural abilities. But they may have lost the anointing. That's what many have not understood. To discern between the anointing which brings grace.

In addition to the gifts. And just the supernatural abilities. It's when we discern between these two. That we are not surprised that Jesus said, Many will come to me in the last day and say, Lord, Lord, we prophesied in your name.

We have supernatural abilities. Cast out demons. And heal the sick. And he will say, I never knew you. The anointing of God. That's a great warning to us. That we also can receive supernatural abilities.

And if we are not careful to walk in brokenness and humility. Taking up the cross. We can lose the anointing and yet retain these supernatural abilities. Even to heal the sick. Or to share the word. Or to minister.

And we can deceive ourselves that the anointing is on us. The anointing is a freshness. The anointing is something that can be there only if I have an absolutely clear conscience. Before God. You were the anointed cherub.

Not now. Now you are not the anointed cherub. You were the anointed cherub who guards. It says in the margin. He was appointed to guard. Something. I placed you there as a guard. You were on the holy mountain of God.

Jealousy, Beauty, and Spiritual Pride

Verse 13. You were in Eden. The garden of God. Do you know that long before Adam was in Eden. Lucifer had been placed in Eden. To guard Eden. And he was thrown out of there. And that's why he was so jealous.

When somebody else. Was now appointed. To replace him. To guard Eden. And he was determined. I'll get him also out of there. And he succeeded. We understand that jealousy. Began there. You are not given that responsibility.

Which you were once given. For whatever reason. It has now been given to another brother. And jealousy. I had that once. You see. What. The satanic nature is. In all these things. You had the seal of perfection.

The last part of verse 12. You see. This is spoken to the king of Tyre. Verse 12. And we are told that. In Ephesians 6 .12 that. These principalities are the rulers of this darkness. So even if there was an earthly king of Tyre.

There was a ruler on top of him. That was the devil. Who was the real king of Tyre. You had the seal of perfection. Full of wisdom. And perfect in beauty. That was how he was created. Full of wisdom. Perfect in beauty.

And yet he perverted that wisdom. He became proud of that beauty. You were an Eden. The garden of God. And it speaks there about. These precious stones that were his covering. In the last part of verse 13.

It says the middle. And the gold and the workmanship of your. The margin says tambourines and flute. There was musical ability in Lucifer. In the garden of Eden. Tambourines and flute. In other words.

Musical ability. Which was given to him. Music was created by God. In the garden of Eden. Long before Adam. It was an ability he gave to the angels. There was nothing sinful in it. At that time. It was a perfect ability given to Lucifer.

He had. Wisdom. Perfection in beauty. Musical ability. And we read here. They were all in you on the day you were created. They were prepared and you had the anointing. You can imagine. What music there must have been among the angels.

With the anointing. Perfection. And musical ability. It must have been absolutely fantastic. And now I want to tell you something. After the anointing has gone from Satan. He has not lost that musical ability.

That is still there. And he has perverted it. And used it in the world. To lead people to hell. That is why we have to be very careful in this realm of music. Not all music. Even if there are Christian words to it.

Is necessarily spiritual. And how will the devil infiltrate Christianity? He cannot infiltrate Christianity in the musical realm. By singing songs to heathen gods. He will use Christian words. But with another spirit.

With another beat in it. That makes people more interested in tapping their legs. And shaking their hips. Rather than in glorifying God. He lost the anointing. But he did not lose the musical ability.

Therefore be careful. He lost the anointing. But he did not lose his intelligence. His intelligence is still there. He is wiser than any of us. Further. Verse 15. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created.

Until unrighteousness was found in you. And that unrighteousness was pride. We saw in Isaiah 14. We see here what he was proud of. What are the things you can be proud of? Verse 12. Wisdom. Beauty. Verse 13.

Musical ability. Verse 14. Your position as a leader. The anointing. These are the things one can be proud of. One's wisdom. I'm a wise brother. One's physical beauty. I'm good looking. I'm attractive.

One's musical ability. Such skill in music. The anointing. I'm anointed with the gift. Anointing of God. My position as a leader. The one who is to guard. These are the things that toughed up Lucifer.

And these things are written for our warning. He was blameless for a while. Until. And that history can be written about many believers. Given so many things by God. Blameless. Until. This unrighteousness from spiritual pride came into him.

By the abundance of your trade you were internally filled with violence and you sinned. In the heart. Came rebellion. Therefore I cast you as profane. Verse 17. Your heart was lifted up. Because of your beauty.

Because of your abilities. How many millions of people. That word has to be written about since that day. Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty. Your heart was lifted up. Because when you looked into the mirror.

You saw that you were good looking. Your heart was lifted up. Because when you compared yourself with other believers. You were more intelligent. You were more spiritual. Your heart was lifted up. Because of your spiritual beauty.

Because of your wisdom. Because of your musical ability. Because of your spiritual gifts. The same spirit. And you corrupted your wisdom. That wisdom which should have made him humble. Was corrupt and became demonic.

James speaks about that wisdom which is from beneath. That demonic wisdom which is full of jealousy and strife and competition. Yeah. You see the beginning of that. What was the result of all this? We turn back to Genesis 1.

Pride Produces Emptiness and Darkness

The earth was shapeless. Empty. And dark. And we can say why have we studied Lucifer's history so much? Because it is these things that I have just spoken about. Which made the earth. The object of God's anger.

God resists the proud. And that was true even in those days. Because God resisted the proud. The earth became shapeless, empty and dark. And the warning for us is. That if these characteristics are found in our life.

We also will become shapeless, empty and dark. Shapeless means without the image of Christ. Empty means hollow. No content. Having a form of godliness. But empty inside. No power. And dark means no life.

No revelation. No life of Jesus. That can happen today. It is happening. Happening to people who were born again. Were anointed. You were the anointed cherub. You were an anointed believer. You were an anointed man of God.

You were an anointed sister. What's that word? But because you got puffed up. The anointing is gone. You still have a good testimony before other believers. But the anointing is gone. Brothers and sisters.

Shall I tell you what we learn from verses 1 and 2? Fear. To lose the anointing. And to retain a testimony before other believers. Fear it. Fear it. Fear when that emptiness comes into your life. Which is an indication that the anointing is gone.

Fear when the darkness is creeping into your life. An indication the anointing is gone. We must be in the light. God wants to give us revelation. God wants to give us content. Fear when that freshness is gone from your life.

And the Christian life has become stale. Fear when the freshness has gone out of your relationship with another brother or another sister. You can't do anything about the other person's part. You can do something about your part.

Satan's Present Realm and Future Judgment

Fear. To lose the anointing. Then we end up in Genesis 1 -2 in our life. And the spirit of God was moving over the surface of the water. Satan was now, as we read in those verses, cast out from... He had free access, being a spirit being.

Unlike man, who was created subject to the law of gravity. When Lucifer was appointed in the Garden of Eden, he was not subject to the law of gravity. He could move in a flash of a second right into the third heaven, into the immediate presence of God.

And being in the Garden of Eden in a flash of a second, he was a spirit being. He didn't have a body. He could be right there in the presence of God in the third heaven. But he was thrown out of the Garden of Eden and thrown out of the third heaven.

And he was thrown down to the second heaven. We'll come to that a little later. But Satan is not in hell. Satan has never been in hell. Did you know that? Hell is in the heart of the earth and Satan has never been there.

Not till today. And he will never go there. He's been cast out from the third heaven to the second heaven. He's one of the spirit rulers in the heavenly places. That's why we find prayer so difficult.

So difficult to communicate with God. Easy to communicate with men. Because the devil's headquarters is there. So difficult to communicate with God. That's why we feel sleepy when we want to pray. Because it's the second heaven where the devil is there trying to hinder our communication with God.

That's why it's a battle. We wrestle with principalities and powers in the heavenly places. One day, as we read in Revelation chapter 12, he'll be cast down from there to the earth. That day hasn't come yet.

It's coming very soon. Then, when Jesus comes back from the earth, he'll again be cast down. Still not to hell, but to the bottomless pit. And then finally released from there for a little while back to the earth.

As we studied in Revelation 20. And then finally thrown, not into hell, but into the lake of fire. Which is quite another place where hell also is thrown. That is the final lake of fire. The eternal lake of fire.

Where nobody has gone there yet. So, we see there are stages. Satan's falling down in the present, he's in the second heaven. Right? We see the earth was formless and void and darkness was over the surface of the deep.

The Spirit of God and the Flood of Judgment

The spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. It's a very beautiful picture of what God did to remake that earth which he first created perfect. Which became imperfect through the devil's sin.

And which now the spirit of God is moving over in order to remake. It says here that the earth was covered with waters. Long before the flood of Noah. There was another flood. That's spoken of here. The flood that came as a result of Lucifer's sin.