Genesis 1

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.  The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.  And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness.  God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
 And God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.”  And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so.  And God called the expanse Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.
 And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so.  God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.
 And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so.  The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.  And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.
 And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years,  and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so.  And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars.  And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth,  to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.  And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.
 And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.”  So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.  And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.”  And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.
 And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so.  And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
 Then 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 birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
 So God created man in his own image,
    in the image of God he created him;
    male and female he created them.
 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”  And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food.  And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so.  And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

Genesis 1

Hm, so... ya... Starting Genesis because of small group.

"In the beginning, God".  He was there in the beginning.  Before the world, before the animals, before the seas, God was there.  What started it all?  Was it the big bang?  Was it billions of years waiting for something to spark creation?  No.  God was there before it all.

And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

-Colossians 1:17

Speaking about Jesus (who is God), he is said to be before all things.  He existed before everything.  Before there was everything, there was God.

Moving on, we read about creation and how it was all created.  Some argue different interpretations of the creation story.  Some debate the length of "days".  Some debate that this is merely a story but not an actual literal account of creation.  I may not be the most well versed in these debates and reasoning behind them.  So, I'll just try my best to trust and accept what the bible has to say, since it is the word of God.

What's interesting is that God simply speaks and it happens.  I can't speak in order for things to come to pass.  I can say "open sesame", but then me or someone else or something else needs to open the door.  Here, we read that God speaks and then what he speaks simply happens.  This is God, our God, the creator of the heavens and the earth.  He need only speak things into existence.  Our God is a great God.

When the story gets to the man, it's quite interesting.  I'm not saying that the rest of it wasn't interesting, but I'd like to zoom in on this part.  First of all, God says "let us".  Who is us?  If God created everything and we are only getting to the creation of man now, who is he talking to?  Is God talking to the creation or the animals?  No, he must be talking to someone else who is taking part of the creation.  It is the "us" that is to be doing the creating "let us make...".  It must be Jesus (and the holy spirit?).

For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.

-Colossians 1:16

It is by, through and for Jesus that all things were created.  Jesus, who is God, is who is being referred to when God says "let us".  There is only one God, yet God is not alone, otherwise he can't be speaking to anyone when saying "let us".  I guess you could argue that he's talking to the angels, but I don't think angels take part in creation...

So, man is created in "our image".  Man is created in the image of God, who is the same that is being referred to when saying "let us make...".  We are made in God's image, after God's likeness (also plural, "our likeness").

Man is to have dominion over all the creatures.  It is also mentioned here that male and female are created "male and female he created them".  I guess, to be made in the image and after the likeness of God is to be made both male and female.

God tells them "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth".  Mankind essentially has been instructed by God to do a number of things.  We are to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it (which I guess you could argue is all one thing along with having dominion over every living thing that moves on the earth).  This reminds me of a teaching on marriage that I heard by Voddie Baucham.  There are two purposes for marriage, procreation and illustration.  We see "procreation" here in the instruction to be fruitful and multiply.  Illustration probably comes from the idea that we are made in God's image.  As ones who bear the image of God, we are to properly display that image to others.  In Ephesians 5, Paul speaks of a mystery when he talks about marriage between man and wife and how it refers to Christ and the church.  Marriage is an illustration of Christ and the church.

I have recently wondered about the whole "be fruitful and multiply" and how that relates to couples nowadays.  Do people who can't have children disobey this command?  What about people who simply choose not to have kids though they are able?  What about people who adopt?  What about people who choose only to have two kids when they can have more?  I don't really know the answer, nor do I think it wise to speak to each situation.  Instead, I believe that first of all, children and the desire to have children and raise them is a good thing.

Unless the Lord builds the house,
    those who build it labor in vain.
Unless the Lord watches over the city,
    the watchman stays awake in vain.
It is in vain that you rise up early
    and go late to rest,
eating the bread of anxious toil;
    for he gives to his beloved sleep.
Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,
    the fruit of the womb a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior
    are the children of one's youth.
Blessed is the man
    who fills his quiver with them!
He shall not be put to shame
    when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

Psalm 127

In situations where people can't or choose not to have kids, they may be sinning or they may not be, it depends.  Rather, in Genesis 1, we see creation and how man is first instructed to go about in creation.  It is all a blessing to be enjoyed by man.  It starts off very well.

And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

Genesis 1:31