Hi, my name is Miss Minton, and welcome to this "Christianity: Beliefs and Teachings" lesson on Christianity and creation.

Now, by the end of this lesson, you'll be able to explain Christian teachings about creation from Genesis and the role of the Word and Spirit in creation.

Now, quite a lot of today's learning might be new to you, but please don't worry because I'm here to guide you through each step of our lesson today.

And I'm confident that by the end of this lesson, you will have achieved this outcome.

So let's get started by taking a look at our keywords.

We have creation, Creator, omnipotent, and Divine Word.

The Word creation refers to bringing the world into existence, and it's the belief that the world is God's loving creation.

Creator is God the Creator of the universe, and it's a title and characteristic of God.

Omnipotent refers to the all powerful, almighty and unlimited nature of God.

And finally, Divine Word refers to Jesus.

And this title is based on teachings from John 1, which describes God creating the world through his eternal Word.

Now, our lesson today will have three parts.

We'll start by looking at the creation of the universe in Genesis 1.

We'll then look at creation and humanity in Genesis 2 and 3.

And then finally, we'll look at creation and the Word in John 1.

So let's get started and have a look at creation of the universe in Genesis 1.

The accounts of creation are found in the book of Genesis, which is the first book of the Bible, and it's found in the Old Testament.

Now, the name Genesis means origin.

And this reflects that the creation stories are found inside this book.

There are 50 chapters in the book of Genesis.

Chapters one to three address themes of creation and humanity with each chapter having a different focus.

Genesis 1 focuses on the creation of the universe and the Earth.

Genesis 2 focuses on the creation of humans.

And Genesis 3 focuses on the fall of humanity.

Now, Genesis 1 provides a detailed account of God creating the universe from nothing.

And Genesis 1:1-2 says this, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Now the earth was formless and empty.

Darkness was over the surface of the deep,, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters." Now, I'd like you to pause the video and either talk to a partner, talk to me, or have a think to yourself, how does this passage suggest God created the Earth from nothing? Off you go.

So this passage describes the earth as being formless and empty before God began creation.

So in other words, there was nothing there.

So God must have created the universe from nothing.

Now, in this passage, you may have noticed the phrase Spirit of God where it says that the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

I'd like you to pause the video again, but this time I'd like you to either talk to a partner or have a think to yourself, how might Christians interpret the phrase Spirit of God? Off you go.

So many Christians interpret this phrase, Spirit of God, as referring to the Holy Spirit.

Now, I'd like you to pause the video again, and this time talk to a partner or have a think to yourself, why is this important? So why is it important that the book of Genesis 1 makes reference to the Holy Spirit? Off you go.

So this is important because it confirms the belief in the oneness of God and the Trinity that is held by many Christians, and that's because it's showing the Holy Spirit playing an active role in creation, and the Holy Spirit being there from the beginning.

So let's check your understanding.

Which of the following contains accounts of creation? A, Genesis, B, Exodus, C, Leviticus, or D, Numbers? Well done.

The correct answer is A.

It's the book of Genesis that contains the accounts of creation.

Well done.

Let's do another check.

Which phrase do many Christians interpret as referring to the Holy Spirit? A, Spirit of Life, B, Spirit of God, C, Spirit of Creation, or D, Spirit of the Lord? Well done, the correct answer is B, Spirit of God is the phrase that many Christians interpret as referring to the Holy Spirit.

So following Genesis 1:1-2 describing God creating the universe from nothing, Genesis 1:3 goes on to say this: "And God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light." Now, I'd like you to pause the video and either talk to a partner, talk to me or have a think to yourself, how might Christians interpret this passage? What might this particular passage teach Christians about God? Off you go.

So this passage can be interpreted by many Christians to show that God is omnipotent.

I'd now like you to pause the video again, but this time, I'd like you to discuss or have a think about how this passage shows God is omnipotent.

So what detail and information does it give to suggest that God is all powerful? Off you go.

So this passage suggests that God is omnipotent because God commanded light into existence.

God spoke and said, "Let there be light," and light appeared.

Now following, this Genesis 1 then continues by giving a description of God's creation and it lists each thing that God made over a period of six days.

On the first day, God made day and night.

On the second day, God created the heavens and the sky.

On the third day, God created sea, land and plants.

On the fourth day, God created the sun, moon and stars.

On the fifth day, God created birds and sea creatures.

And on the sixth day, God created animals and humans.

Now, throughout the account of creation that's in Genesis 1, it states that God saw that it was good, and that refers to each thing that God created.

So God's creation was good.

So now we know how Genesis says that God brought the universe into existence and what God created over a period of six days.

I'd like you to pause the video and either talk to a partner or have a think to yourself, what do Christians learn about God from the creation account in Genesis 1? Off you go.

So as part of your thoughts or your discussions, you may have considered that Christians learn that God is an omnipotent Creator and that God is good or omnibenevolent.

And that's because God saw what he had made and declared that it was good.

Christians can also learn that God is eternal, which means that God existed before creation and will continue to always exist.

And finally, Christians can learn that God the Father and God the Holy Spirit were united in the Oneness of God during creation.

So let's check your understanding.

The creation account in Genesis 1 teaches Christians that God is A, omnipotent, B, malevolent, C, mortal, D, eternal.

You can select two correct answers.

Fantastic.

The correct answers are omnipotent and eternal.

Well done.

It's now time to have a go at a task.

Sam has written part of a response for the following task, describe Christian beliefs about creation.

Sam has said, "One Christian belief about creation is that God created the universe from something.

This is supported by the Book of Exodus in the Bible, which says that before God began creation, "the earth was formless and full." This shows that before God's created the universe, nothing existed, which emphasises God's powerless nature." Now, Sam has made some mistakes in her response.

I'd like you to rewrite her explanation so that it becomes correct.

Pause the video and have a go.

Well done for your work during that task.

So you were asked to rewrite Sam's explanation so that it became correct, and Sam had been responding to the task, describe Christian beliefs about creation.

Now, your response might be similar to this.

"One Christian belief about creation is that God created the universe from nothing.

This is supported by the Book of Genesis in the Bible, which states that before God began creation, "the earth was formless and empty." This shows that before God created the universe, nothing existed, which emphasises God's powerful or omnipotent nature." So well done again rewriting Sam's explanation so that it becomes correct.

We're now moving on to the second part of our lesson, which is to look at creation and humanity in Genesis 2 and 3.

Now, Genesis 2 and 3 focus on humanity with Genesis 2 focusing on the creation of humans.

and Genesis 3 focusing on the fall of humanity.

Now, Genesis 2 focuses on God's creation of human beings.

And Genesis 2:7 says this: "Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being." Now, I'd like you to pause the video and either talk to a partner, talk to me, or have a think to yourself, how does this passage describe the creation of the first man? Off you go.

So this passage says that God created man from dust and breathed life into him.

Now, Genesis states that the first man was named Adam.

Genesis also says that God gave Adam rules and responsibilities.

And Genesis 2:15-17 says this, "The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.

And the Lord God commanded the man, 'You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil for, when you eat from it, you will certainly die.

'" Now, I'd like you to pause the video and either talk to a partner or have a think to yourself, what does this passage suggest Adam's responsibility was? Off you go.

So this passage shows that Adam's responsibility was taking care of the Garden of Eden.

And many Christians interpret this as humans being given the role of taking care of God's creation.

Now, I'd like you to pause the video again, but this time I'd like you to discuss with a partner or have a think to yourself, what command did God give Adam according to this passage? Off you go.

So according to this passage, God gave Adam the command to not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

Now, Genesis also says that God is the Creator of women.

And Genesis 2:22 says this, "The Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man." Now, I'd like you to pause the video and either talk to a partner, talk to me, or have a think to yourself, how does this passage describe the creation of the first woman? Off you go.

So this passage says that the first woman was created from Adam's rib.

Now, this woman is later referred to as Eve.

So let's check your understanding.

Which chapter of Genesis provides a detailed account of the creation of humans? A, Genesis 1, B, Genesis 2, C, Genesis 3 or D, Genesis 4.

Fantastic.

The correct answer is B.

It's Genesis 2 that provides a detailed account of the creation of humans.

Well done.

Genesis 3 then focuses on the fall of humanity.

Now, as we've seen, Genesis 2 shows God giving the command to not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

And Genesis 3 tells the story of this particular command being broken.

Genesis 3:6 says this, "When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it.

She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it." Now, I'd like you to pause the video and either talk to a partner, talk to me or have a think to yourself, how did Adam and Eve disobey God according to this passage? Off you go.

According to this passage, Adam and Eve disobeyed God by eating the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

And that's exactly what God had commanded them not to do.

Now, this story of Adam and Eve disobeying God and ignoring his command is referred to as the fall.

And this is because it's when humanity fell from perfection.

So they stopped being perfect.

And this is also when bad and evil things began to enter the world.

Now, I'd like you to consider what Christians can learn about the nature of human beings from Genesis 2 and 3.

So pause the video and either talk to a partner or have a think to yourself.

Off you go.

So as part of your thoughts or your discussion, you may have considered that Christians can learn that humans are God's creation and that humans have a responsibility towards creation, just like Adam did in the Garden of Eden, and that God gave humans the gift of free will.

And we know this because God gave Adam and Eve a command that they needed to obey.

So this indicates that they had a free choice as to whether to follow that command or not.

And finally, Christians can learn that humans have the tendency to disobey God, and that's because from the very first humans, there was sin in the world.

So let's now check your understanding.

True or false? Genesis 3 shows that humans are perfect and always follow God's law.

Well done.

That statement is false.

But why is that statement false? Well, it's because Genesis 3 tells the story of the fall of humanity.

And that occurred when Adam and Eve disobeyed God's command, and that shows that humans have a tendency to disobey God.

So well done for identifying that that statement was false, and for identifying the reason why.

It's now time for you to have a go at a task.

I'd like you to complete the table by developing each of the following points relating to creation.

You should develop each point with a source of wisdom and authority, and an explanation.

The points are humans are given a special role within creation and humans have a tendency to disobey God.

So pause the video and have a go.

Well done for your work during that task.

So you were asked to complete the table by developing each of the points relating to creation, and you were asked to develop these by using a source and giving an explanation.

And your answers may look like this.

Humans are given a special role within creation.

In Genesis 2, God gave Adam the responsibility of taking care of creation.

This shows that humans have a special role and responsibility given directly by God.

Humans have a tendency to disobey God.

Genesis 3 tells the story of Adam and Eve disobeying God by eating the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

This shows that humans often struggle to obey God and make choices that disobey his command.

So well done for your work developing each of those points with a source and explanation.

It's now time to move on to the final part of our lesson, which is to look at creation and the Word in John 1.

Now, the gospel of John, which is in the New Testament, opens with a reference to creation.

And the gospel of John 1:1-5 says this: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

He was with God in the beginning.

Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.

The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it." Now, before you look at this passage in a bit more detail independently, there's a couple of things that I'd like to draw your attention to.

The first is the phrase in the beginning.

Now, the gospel of John uses this phrase to refer to creation of the universe in Genesis 1.

Now, the second thing I'd like to draw your attention to is the use of the word Word and how it's capitalised in this passage.

Now, many theologians agree that the Word refers to Jesus.

So the Word is a title for Jesus in the context of this passage.

Now, sometimes Jesus is also referred to as the Divine Word.

So now I'd like you to pause the video and either talk to a partner, talk to me, or have a think to yourself about how this passage might be interpreted by Christians.

Off you go.

So this passage might be interpreted by Christians as suggesting that Jesus, the Son of God, was present at the beginning of creation.

Now, the reason that theologians have been able to establish that the Word is Jesus is because the teachings from John 1:1-5 allude to Jesus' sacrifice when it discusses light shining in the darkness, but also, following on from this, the Gospel of John 1:5-18 then go on to give several clues that the Word is Jesus.

These include John 1:14, which says that "the Word became flesh." Now, this indicates the incarnation, that God became human in the person of Jesus.

And also John 1:18, which describes Jesus as having the closest relationship with the Father.

So let's check your understanding.

True or false? Many theologians agree that the Word refers to the Holy Spirit.

Well done.

That statement is false.

But why is that statement false? Well, it's because many theologians have agreed that the Word refers to Jesus who is the Son of God.

And this is because the gospel of John 1:1-18 make reference to the Word becoming human and Jesus as being the closest person to God.

So well done for identifying that that statement was false and for identifying the reason why.

I'd now like you to pause the video and either talk to a partner, talk to me or have a think to yourself about what's significant about the gospel of John 1:1-5 stating that Jesus was present in the beginning.

Off you go.

So as part of your thinking time or your discussion, you may have considered that this is significant because it shows that Jesus is God.

So it reinforces the belief in the incarnation.

You may have also discussed that it shows that the Son and the Father are distinct but also unified in one God, and that this confirms the belief in the Trinity.

And you may have discussed that it also confirms the belief in the Oneness of God.

So let's now check your understanding.

Which statement best describes the significance of John 1:1-5? A, John 1:1-5 is significant because it states that Jesus was present at the beginning of time, therefore reinforcing the belief in the Trinity and oneness of God.

Or B, John 1:1-5 is significant because it states that the Spirit of God hovered over the waters, which reinforces the belief in the Trinity and the Oneness of God.

Fantastic, the correct answer is A, John 1:1-5 is significant because it states that Jesus was present at the beginning of time, therefore reinforcing the belief in the Trinity and the Oneness of God.

Well done.

It's now time for you to have a go at a task.

I would like you to describe Christian beliefs about the role of the Word in creation.

Now, some guidance that you might find helpful when responding to this task would be to offer a point, develop that point, and then repeat that process again with a second point developing your second point as well.

Now, for each part of your answer, you should try to include a range of specialist and religious terms, and then for at least one part of your answer, you should use a source of wisdom and authority.

Now, this could be an exact or paraphrased quote, or it could be a general teaching from a named source.

You should then accurately apply that source to the point and the question.

So pause the video and have a go.

Well done for your work during that task.

So you were asked to describe Christian beliefs about the role of the Word in creation, and your response might be similar to this.

One Christian belief about the role of the Word in creation is that the Word was present during creation.

This is supported by John 1, which states, "In the beginning was the Word." Many Christians believe that the Word refers to Jesus and that this teaching from John 1 means that Jesus was present during creation.

Another Christian belief about the Word in creation is that the presence of the Word during in creation confirms the trinity.

This is because the Word was present at the beginning alongside God the Father, showing that the persons of the Trinity are distinct but also unified in one God.

So again, well done for your work during that task.

We've now reached the end of our lesson on Christianity and Creation.

But before we finish up, let's take a look at some of the key things that we've learned today.

So we've learned that the creation accounts are found in Genesis, which is the first book of the Bible.

And that Genesis 1 describes God as being the Creator of all things from nothing.

We've also learned that the Spirit is described as hovering over the waters in Genesis 1, and that many Christians interpret this as meaning that the Holy Spirit was present during creation.

We've also seen that the gospel of John describes the Word who is believed to be Jesus and present during creation, and that the reference to the Word and Spirit during creation reinforces the belief in the Trinity and the Oneness of God.

So a huge well done for all of your work today.

It's been wonderful learning with you.