Genesis 1

1. Genesis 1:1 (KJV) – “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”

• Christ is present as Creator. John identifies Him as the Word through whom all things were made.

• Cross-references: John 1:1–3; Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 1:2.

2. Genesis 1:2 (KJV) – “And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.”

• (possible) Though the Spirit is specifically named here, Christ as the Word brings the ordering of creation. The Trinity is already active, hinting at Christ’s role.

• Cross-references: Psalm 33:6; John 1:1–3.

3. Genesis 1:3 (KJV) – “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.”

• God creates by speaking. Christ is the Word, and He is also identified as the true Light.

• Cross-references: John 1:4–9; 2 Corinthians 4:6.

4. Genesis 1:4 (KJV) – “And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.”

• (possible) Christ is the one who separates light from darkness spiritually, as well as in creation.

• Cross-references: John 8:12; 1 Thessalonians 5:5.

5. Genesis 1:5 (KJV) – “And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.”

• (possible) The cycle of evening and morning may point to Christ’s later death (darkness) and resurrection (morning light).

• Cross-references: Matthew 28:1–6; John 11:9–11.

6. Genesis 1:9–10 (KJV) – “And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.”

• (possible) Christ is the solid Rock, the foundation revealed when the waters are gathered.

• Cross-references: 1 Corinthians 10:4; Matthew 7:24–25.

7. Genesis 1:11–12 (KJV) – “And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.”

• Christ is the true Seed who brings forth fruit. The principle of life reproducing after its kind points to His life given for many.

• Cross-references: John 12:24; Galatians 3:16.

8. Genesis 1:14–15 (KJV) – “And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.”

• (possible) Christ is the greater Light who rules the day; this anticipates His later description as the Sun of righteousness.

• Cross-references: Malachi 4:2; John 8:12.

9. Genesis 1:16 (KJV) – “And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.”

• Christ is the greater Light who rules the day. (possible) The lesser light (moon) reflecting the sun may picture the church reflecting Christ’s glory.

• Cross-references: John 8:12; Malachi 4:2; Matthew 5:14–16.

10. Genesis 1:20–21 (KJV) – “And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.”

• (possible) The abundance of life in water and sky pictures Christ as the source of life in creation and redemption.

• Cross-references: John 1:3–4; John 10:10.

11. Genesis 1:26 (KJV) – “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.”

• This reveals the counsel of the Trinity. Christ, the express image of God, is the pattern after which man was created. Dominion given to man anticipates Christ as the last Adam who rules over all.

• Cross-references: Colossians 1:15; Hebrews 1:3; 1 Corinthians 15:45–47.

12. Genesis 1:27 (KJV) – “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.”

• Christ is the perfect image of God. Humanity’s creation in that image looks forward to Christ as the one in whom the image is fully revealed and restored.

• Cross-references: Colossians 1:15; Romans 8:29.

13. Genesis 1:28 (KJV) – “And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.”

• (possible) The command to be fruitful and multiply foreshadows Christ’s commission to His disciples to bear fruit and extend His dominion.

• Cross-references: John 15:5; Matthew 28:18–20.

14. Genesis 1:29 (KJV) – “And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.”

• (possible) God’s provision of seed-bearing plants points forward to Christ as the Bread of Life who sustains His people.

• Cross-references: John 6:35; 2 Corinthians 9:10.

15. Genesis 1:31 (KJV) – “And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.”

• (possible) The completion of creation anticipates Christ’s finished work of redemption, which God also declares “good” and complete.

• Cross-references: John 19:30; Hebrews 4:3–4.

• Reference: Genesis 1:1 Quote: "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." Explanation: God the Word, Jesus Christ, is the creator of all things, as the chapter's narrative of creation reveals His divine work. Cross-references: John 1:1-3; Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 1:2; Hebrews 1:10; Revelation 3:14.
• Reference: Genesis 1:3 Quote: "And God said, Let there be light: and there was light." Explanation: The spoken word bringing light into existence points to Christ as the Word through whom creation occurs and as the true Light that brings spiritual illumination and life. Cross-references: John 1:1-5; John 8:12; 2 Corinthians 4:6; Psalm 33:6.
• Reference: Genesis 1:4 Quote: "And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness." Explanation: (possible) Christ's role in dividing light from darkness symbolizes His work in separating believers from sin and darkness through salvation. Cross-references: John 1:5; 2 Corinthians 6:14; Ephesians 5:8.
• Reference: Genesis 1:26-27 Quote: "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them." Explanation: The plural "us" and "our" reveals the Trinity, with Christ as the divine Word participating in creation, and man being made in God's image prefigures Christ as the perfect image of the invisible God. Cross-references: Colossians 1:15; Hebrews 1:3; John 1:1-3; Genesis 3:15 (prophetic seed); 1 Corinthians 11:7.

• Reference: Genesis 1:31 Quote: "And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day." Explanation: (possible) The declaration of creation as "very good" foreshadows Christ's perfect work of creation and redemption, restoring what sin marred. Cross-references: Colossians 1:16-20; Hebrews 4:3-4; Revelation 21:5.