From the opening images of the Bible, one truth is quickly revealed; God is the creator of all things. he created the world, the universe, and all the living things in the world.

Read Genesis 1:1-27

The Apostle Paul taught us that people should have been able to recognize God through creation (Romans 1:20). In seeing everything that God had made, people should have been able to see beyond creation to the invisible qualities of God that are revealed: "His eternal power and divine nature".

QUESTION: Read Romans 1:20. Have you ever been able to sense the invisible qualities of God in nature (His eternal power and divine nature)? If so, what was the situation?

People were created by God in a very intimate way. Genesis 1:26 describes our formation as in the very likeness of God. Genesis 2:7 paints the image of God taking personal care to form us and to offer His own breath of life. Psalm 139:13 supports the personal care that God takes in creating all of us. "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb." God's act as creator was not limited to events that happened at the beginning of the world; God is still a God of creation. Each new life, each transformation from something dead to something living reveals the creative power of God today.

The prophet Jeremiah heard the Word of God tell him, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart" (Jeremiah 1:5). This description of God's involvement and concern for Jeremiah's life was not the exception, but the rule. God knows you because He is the one who created you. There is purpose and meaning to every life that God creates. Everyone will find their ultimate fulfillment in knowing this God who creates life with such loving care.

QUESTION: Is it hard for you to accept the personal role of God in creating you and being concerned for you? Why?

QUESTION: God's Word declares Him to be the one who created each of us. Do you find yourself wanting to know more than you already do about God?

GOD REVEALED

To know this God who created us depends on His gift of revealing Himself to us. We are unable to know God and who He is without His first reaching out and making Himself known (Isaiah 65:1-2; Matthew 11:7; Amos 4:13). Throughout history God has chosen to reveal Himself in a variety of forms. Sometimes God spoke to people in direct ways -- as with Jacob in Genesis 32:22-32. On other occasions He spoke through prophets -- as with Isaiah in Isaiah 6:1-10.

QUESTION: Read Genesis 32:22-32 and Isaiah 6:1-10. In what personal ways does God reveal Himself to these servants?

The greatest revelation of who God is came through Jesus. The Apostle John taught us that Jesus, the Word, was not only with God since the beginning, but was God (John 1:1-3). We learn that God revealed Himself and His will for us most clearly through Jesus, the Son of God. We will look more closely at Jesus in a later lesson.

QUESTION: God also revealed Himself though His servant David. Read Psalm 99 and 100. What qualities of God are revealed?

Allow me to highlight just a few:

* God is Holy. To know that God is holy is to recognize that He is perfect and pure -- free from sin. His holiness is expressed through love of justice and righteousness. His holiness is one reason we praise, exalt and worship Him.

* God is Great and Mighty. God has power over all things. His strength and power create confidence in the face of any opponent. His strength and power are two more reasons we praise, exalt and worship Him.

* God Hears and is Faithful. With such purity and strength one might think God is unreachable. Instead we know that God hears our requests and responds. His love for us is always there and He is faithful. It is truly amazing that one so great as god still loves us enough to want us near Him. His faithfulness is yet another reason we praise, exalt and worship Him.

QUESTION: Do you think this God of creation has revealed Himself to you any clearer through the scriptures you have read? If so, what did you learn?

PRAYER
Dear God, Thank you for loving me enough to create me and reveal yourself to me. I praise you as a holy and faithful God. Be with me, and continue to reveal yourself and your will to me as I seek to know you better. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Lesson II