Why Genesis Changed Everything We Know About God (Genesis Part 3)

What Genesis Reveals About the God We Thought We Knew

What if the opening pages of the Bible told us more about God than we ever realised? What if the creation story was less about how the world was made and more about who made it — and what that means for us?

In this episode, Steve Connley takes a broad look at the first two chapters of Genesis, exploring what they reveal about the nature of God. It is the third instalment in Crowd Church's series on the Book of Genesis, and Steve brings both warmth and sharp insight to some of the biggest questions we can ask.

One God, Not Many

Steve opens with the famous first line of the Bible: "In the beginning, God."

He points out that in the ancient world, creation stories were typically polytheistic — full of gods appearing, fighting, procreating, and killing each other. As Steve describes it, "a bit like an episode of cosmic EastEnders."

Genesis is radically different. There is no origin story for God, no battles, no hierarchies. Just God. One God. And that simplicity was itself a bold counter-cultural statement.

The next thing we learn from those opening words is that God is eternal. The text does not say God was created or that he appeared. He was already there at the beginning. As Steve acknowledges, our finite minds struggle with the concept of eternity — we can only get as far as "a very, very, very long time." But what it really means is without beginning or end. God is the original uncaused cause, the uncreated one.

A God of Creative Power

Genesis chapter 1 tells us God created everything — the heavens and the earth, light, the sun, moon and stars, plants, fish, birds, animals, and eventually humankind. And he did it by the power of his word. He said "let there be light" and there was light.

Steve draws a comparison that gets a laugh: "Some people may feel that same rush of divine creative power when you say 'Alexa, turn the lights on' — but that's cheating, because you've already got the light bulb and the electricity. God just creates everything out of nothing."

John chapter 1 echoes this creation narrative, speaking of Jesus as the Word: "Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made." That is divine creative power on a scale we can barely comprehend.

Steve is clear that our God is all-powerful. Other civilisations worshipped the sun, moon, stars, mountains, or seas. But Genesis says these are simply things God created. They are not to be worshipped.

Does Science Disprove God?

Steve tackles a question that many people wrestle with. He is a doctor by profession and uses medical science daily. He is clear that he loves science. But he also points out that sometimes claims are made in the name of science that science itself does not support.

"Science has not explained where matter and energy comes from," he says. "There are lots of theories — they use fancy equations and big words — but when you listen to proper scientists, they will tell you: we just don't know."

He uses a brilliant analogy. If he goes into the kitchen and puts the kettle on, his wife Kerry could explain the whole process — electricity generated at the power station, transmitted through cables, meeting resistance in the element, transferring heat energy into the water until molecules break free and boiling occurs. She could say, "I understand perfectly what's happening here."

And Steve would reply: "Well, that's very interesting, but my understanding of this situation is I thought you might want a cup of tea."

Both explanations are true. Neither is wrong. They are just looking at the same thing differently. Science and faith do not need to be in conflict.

For those who want to explore this further, Steve recommends John Lennox, Emeritus Professor of Mathematics at Oxford University, and the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics.

A Good God

When God created everything, he declared it "good." The Hebrew word at its root means a complete and perfect representation of a thing. And since Romans 1 tells us we can see God's qualities through what he has made, this goodness reflects who God is.

Steve acknowledges that things are not like that now — that is because of the fall, which the Genesis series will address later. But at the core of God's character is goodness.

Linked to goodness is kindness. Even when Adam and Eve fell and God expelled them from the Garden of Eden, he made them clothes of animal skin to cover their nakedness and shame. "Even in judgement," Steve observes, "God showed kindness."

A Relational and Personal God

In Genesis 1:26, God says, "Let us make man in our image." For Christians, that shift to the plural points to the Trinity — God is relational even within his own being.

God also saw that it was not good for man to be alone. It was the only thing in all of creation that he identified as not good. And when Adam and Eve hid from him after the fall, God came looking for them. He wants relationship with us because that is who he is.

Steve also emphasises that God is personal. Not personal in the modern sense of private or individual, but personal in the sense that he is a person with thoughts, feelings, and will. He is not a distant force or abstract energy. He is someone who can be known.

Why This Matters Now

The picture of God that emerges from Genesis is striking in its completeness. He is one, eternal, all-powerful, good, kind, relational, and personal. These are not abstract theological categories — they describe someone we can actually know and relate to.

Steve's talk is a reminder that the opening chapters of the Bible are not just ancient literature. They are an invitation to meet the God who was there before everything else, who made everything we see, and who is still looking for relationship with the people he created.

If you have been making assumptions about who God is — whether from what you were taught, what you have read online, or what culture has told you — Genesis invites you to look again. The God described in these pages might be very different from the one you thought you knew.

What assumption about God might you need to revisit?