In The Beginning

INTRODUCTION:

This morning we’re beginning a new series in our church through the opening chapters of the book of Genesis. The title of the series is “In the Beginning.”

It’s an interesting thought experiment when you try and trace back to the “beginning” of a thing.

For example, this February will be 10 years that I’ve been the senior pastor at Broadview Baptist Church.

What was the beginning? Was is the discussion between me and a mentor about them seeing God’s call on my life to pastor?

Maybe it was the day I surrendered my life to Jesus and made him Lord?

Or maybe the days of my parents teaching me Scriptural truth about my sin and my need for God’s grace found in the Gospel.

This coming July, Broadview will be 64 years old as a church.

What was the beginning? It was a small group of people from Temple Baptist Church who praying in cottage prayer meetings wresting with God’s vision to plant a church on the southern edge of Abilene.

Audra and I will be 11 years married this coming Saturday.

What was the beginning? Was it a nerdy facebook message followed by a coffee dates that ended up in Roby. I knew after that date I could be myself around Audra in ways that were life-giving and free.

Or maybe it was the conversations between me and Denise Guidera (an insistent woman who just wouldn’t leave me alone about trying to get me to ask her out.)

Or maybe it was the wise instruction I received as a child about what to look for in a spouse and how you want someone beautiful on the inside and the outside.

The God of Nature

Anything that ever BEGINS to exist has a cause or point or origin. Our universe began to exist. So our universe must have a cause or point of origin.

Romans 1:20 and Psalm 19:1 both assert that the characteristics of this created realm point back to a creator.

We can reason from creation back to God using philosophy, cosmology, teleology, morality, ontology and other academic disciplines.

Those intellectual pursuits are good and helpful. They present a creator that is spaceless, timeless, immaterial, incredibly powerful, intelligent and good.

That’s at least a partial description of what most monotheists mean when they say God. The intelligent design found in nature points to an intelligent designer!

But those pursuits are also limited. They don’t tell us WHY God created our universe.

The Answers in Genesis

That’s why we’re studying the book of Genesis.

Genesis 1 is unique in what it reveals about our origins.

It raises and answers questions that CANNOT be found in nature alone. They must be revealed by the one who MADE nature: the God of Creation.

Genesis gives answers to some of life’s most important and foundational questions.

Questions such as:

Why IS there something rather than nothing?

Is there are God and what is he like?

How DID we get here? What IS here and WHEN did it show up?

What is MAN? What is WOMAN?

What is GOOD? What is EVIL?

What is WRONG with our world and how did it break?

Is there any HOPE for salvation for our world or myself?

In every generation philosophers and great minds wrestle with these questions.

Every world religion aims to make sense of these questions.

Everything thinking person, regardless of their demographics eventually seeks an answer to these questions.

Why? Because these questions are foundational to the way we live our lives.

Our answer to the questions raised in Genesis 1 fundamentally shape the way we look at and live in the world.

That’s why we’re doing this series. We need the RIGHT answer to these FOUNDATIONAL questions so we can build lives marked by flourishing and joy.

Genesis 1 provides a roadmap to that destination. In the following chapter we will not only see the WHO of creation but also the HOW and the WHY.

The Question of Who

So with that in mind, let’s read the first 25 verses of Genesis 1 and start this journey of understanding our origins.

Genesis 1:1 (ESV)

1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

Genesis 1:1 answers the question of WHO or WHAT created our universe: God.

According to Genesis 1:1 the universe is not eternal. The big bag (whatever you think of that) was not random, unexplainable or spontaneous. It was God.

The big bang had a big banger and his name is Elohim. (This is actually the plural form of the Hebrew word for God. Some think it’s a “majestic plural” others see it as a reference to the Trinity.)

Notice how the Bible assumes the existence of God right out of the gate. It spends NO TIME proving God’s existence or explaining his eternal nature.

It just begins making sense of our creation in light of those truths.

God has always been and he is the creator of all that is. The always God created all that is.

You might think of verse 1 as a summary statement of the entire creation account.

It has two book ends: heavens and earth.

"heavens” = everything that is UP THERE.

“earth” = everything that is DOWN HERE.”

That pretty much sums it up.

God existed eternally at every point leading up TO the creation and God is the source or originator of everything IN creation.

The Always God

Verse 2 of Genesis 1 take the summary statement and begins to tell “the rest of the story.”

Genesis 1:2 (ESV)

2 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.

When you read the word “earth” in verse 2 what’s the first thing that comes to your mind? You probably think a “globe” right?

Well that’s not what the original author would have thought. The ability to see our earth from outer space wasn’t around back then.

Moses was divinely inspired but he wasn’t a robot. God used his personality, cultural context and frame of reference to shape these Scriptural truths.

From Moses’ perspective, the “earth” (אָ֗רֶץ) was basically the ground. Dirt. Physical material.

Takes Nothing & Turns It Into Something

Notice that this “earth” was “without form and void.”

In the original Hebrew these two words rhyme (one reason I think Genesis 1 is a creation song/poem)

“Without form” = (תֹ֙הוּ֙) tohu formless, shapeless, wild, meaningless,

“void” = (בֹ֔הוּ) bohu emptiness, chaos, wasteland, futile

I like how one translation puts it. “The earth was wild and waste.”

Essentially, Genesis 1 is God taking that which was unformed and forming it. He’s taking that which is unfilled and filling it.

The relationship between God and the preformed and prefilled world is an important theological point for Moses in writing these verses.

Think of what Moses has been saying thus far.

(1) God has always been.

(2) He has created all that is

Now (3) He takes “nothing” and turns it into “something.”

From Formless to Full

The rest of Genesis 1 fleshes this out. Days 1-3 show God creating the forms. Days 4-6 show God creating the fullness in those forms.

FORMS:

Day 1: Separates the Light from the Dark

Day 2: Separates the Sea from the Sky

Day 3: Separates Sea & Earth and fills earth with vegetation.

FULLNESS:

Day 4: Makes the Sun & Moon (ruling Day and Night)

Day 5: Creates Creatures for the Water & Air (multiply & fill)

Day 6: Creatures for the Land (Beasts, Livestock, Man) (multiply & fill)

As we begin another year in 2023 these are important truths for us to remember.

Our always God creates all that is and he will take our nothing and turn it into something.

He will take our “chaos” and put it into order.

He will take our “futility” and give it a meaning and form.

He will take what has become “lifeless” and bring it back to life.

He will take what has become “empty” and make it full again.

You say, “Wes, I have nothing!” Fear not, the Always God can turn it into something.”

I know people who are

starting over from scratch.

figuring out “normal” now that their loved one is gone.

adjusting to life without

the income they used to have,

the physical strength they used to enjoy,

the freedoms and rights they used to employ

now they’re gone or shrinking by the day.

Genesis is reminding us this morning that the God who created or universe can take your nothing and turn it into something.

He can take what got unraveled and put it back together again.

The Spirit Hovers

Before we move on to the particulars of this process in creation, notice one more thing about this always God in verse 2.

The Spirit of God is hovering over the face of the waters.

Genesis 1:2 (ESV)

2 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.

This language is filled with symbolic meaning.

Darkness was often a symbol for the absence of God or an equal but opposite force like God (dualism).

That’s not the message of Genesis. God is sovereign over the darkness and creates light with his word.

The Hebrew for word deep is Tehom (תְה֑וֹם)

In other ANE literature “the deep” was a symbol of chaos and danger. From the deep came the great sea monsters, leviathan, and enemies hostile to God.

In Genesis, God isn’t absent from or inferior to the deep. His Spirit is over it.

The Hebrew word for Spirit is ruah (ר֣וּחַ).

It can mean breath, wind or spirit. Context usually determines the meaning. Here it’s obviously a reference to God’s Spirit.

Hold your thumb up to your mouth and say “Trinity.” Did you feel the breath? (Yes) Did you see it? (No.) So it is with the Spirit (or wind) of God. You can’t see him but he’s always there.

Ever Near

That’s our third truth about the who of creation in Genesis 1:1-2. The “always God is ever near.”

Just like every word you speak uses breath from your lungs so also is God’s Spirit ever present when He speaks a word.

There is agreement and unity between the Father who speaks, the Word (Son) that creates and the Spirit that enables and holds it all together.

He’s is not distant. He is not unengaged. He is WITH you in your chaos just as he was present in the darkness, hovering over the face of the deep.

God is sovereign over and creator of all things (even the deep). He is ever present and always near regardless of what you see.

The Days of Creation

Now that we know a little something about the WHO of creation. Let’s jump into the details of HOW and WHY.

Genesis 1:2-2:3 answers the questions of how God created and why.

One answer to these questions can be found in how the material is organized.

As I mentioned earlier, the creative acts of God are placed into the framework of a week.

Some suggest this means God created everything within a literal week of seven 24 hour periods.

Others suggest we should understand these “days” differently. Perhaps they are are longer periods of time (which day -yom- can mean) and that Moses is using the idea of a week figuratively or for some theological purpose.

How you answer that question depends on several other convictions:

the literary genre of Genesis 1,

the age of the earth,

the existence of dinosaurs,

the theory of evolution

and the relationship between Holy Scripture and modern science.

I don’t have time today to plumb the depths of those discussions but we have many more “weeks” down the road to do just that.

With the time we have left I want us to examine more importation questions about creation. The questions of HOW and WHY.

Days 1, 2 & 3

Let’s start by just reading the first six days of creation. Pay special attention to words that are repeated, emphasized or strategically placed.

Genesis 1:2–8

2 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.

3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

6 And God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” 7 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. 8 And God called the expanse Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.

Are you noticing a theme? What’s getting repeated?

God speaks, God sees, God separates and God calls.

However God wants it, that’s the way it is.

Each day is prefaced by “there was evening and there was morning...”

Structure and Forms

Let’s keep reading...

Genesis 1:9-13

9 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. 10 God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.

11 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. 12 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. 13 And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.

Before we move forward, what do you see?

In days 1-3 God’s focus in creation is creating structure and forms.

Day one: structure and form separating light from darkness.

Day two: structure and form separating the Sea from the Sky.

Day three: structure and form separating Water from the Land.

There’s also something unique about day three. There are TWO creative acts.

Not only does God separate Sea and Earth. He instructs the land to produce life and empowers it to do so.

God tells the earth “sprout vegetation” and it does!

He tells the trees “bear fruit” and they do!

These living things are endowed with a seed.

These seeds are themselves endowed with new life.

Plant life is given the ability to reproduce and multiply according to it’s kind.

God endows the land with life and enables it to reproduce.

Days 4, 5 and 6

Lets continue reading in verse 14 with the beginning of day four.

Genesis 1:14-19

14 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, 15 and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. 16 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. 17 And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18 to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.

Day four presents a transition in the creative plan of God. We’re shifting form to fullness.

What God formed in days 1, 2 and 3 he now fills in days 4, 5 and 6!

Day 1 God created light and separated it from darkness. He called that separation “good.”

Now, on day four, he’s taking that good structure and he’s filling the creation with it’s goodness.

Time is Filled With Meaning

With the creation of Sun and Moon, God has taken time and filled it with meaning and significance.

Time can now be measured against their placement in the sky. (AM & PM, Morning, Noon, Evening, & Night)

Seasons can now be forecast by our nearness to the sun. (Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall)

Festivals and birthdays can now be anticipated because now there is a way to measure one day against the next and one year from the other.

The sun & moon are central to sustaining life on this planet. Biologically and psychologically! (cf their uncreation as God’s judgment in Revelation)

This is why other ANE cultures worshipped the sun and moon. Even today we see the paganism of horoscopes and the like. Genesis tells a different story.

The Sun and Moon are “like God” in that they separate day and night. But their rule is limited BY God and their activities are submissive to his design.

The Sea is Filled with Life

What God begins with the sun and moon on day four he continues on day five and six with the sea, sky and land.

Genesis 1:20-25

20 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.” 21 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. 22 And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” 23 And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.

24 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. 25 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.

Just as we saw day four (sun and moon) fill the forms of day one (light/dark), so also does day five (sea creatures/winged birds) fill the forms of day two (sea/sky).

The same thing happens between day three and day six.

First God creates the structure (land with living plants that have the ability to reproduce)

Then he fills the structure (living creatures that live off the land and have the ability to reproduce.)

Do you see the connection between fullness and forms? First God creates the structure. Then he fills it with meaning, life and significance.

Day 4 fills time with meaning and significance.

Days 5 & 6 fill the sea, sky and land with reproducing life.

The Crown of Creation

But Genesis 1 doesn’t stop there. Just as day 3 had two special creative acts of God, so also does day six.

Creation day 6 culminates with the creation of man in God’s image.

Genesis 1:26–27 (ESV)

26 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.”

27 So God created man in his own image,

in the image of God he created him;

male and female he created them.

Man’s creation in God’s image acts as God’s creative CROWN. Everything else in creation was in preparation of this act.

Chapter 1 closes with the words...

Genesis 1:31 (ESV)

31 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.

Theological Implications

We don’t have much time left so I want to close with some theological implications that can be drawn from Genesis 1.

I wish we had time to delve into the details and explore all the debates but I actually think those discussions are less important to our author than they may be two us.

Moses makes a handful of intentional choices in the way he describes God’s creative process. And those choices were made to communicate certain theological truths.

These truths are as relevant today as they were the day Moses wrote them down.

The Power of God’s Word

The first theological truth has to do with HOW God created. He created by speaking a Word.

IMPLICATION: There is creative power in the spoken Word of God.

Over and over again from verse 2 to 31 God speaks and it is so.

Theologians talk about the doctrine of creation with the Latin phrase “ex nihilo” which means “out of nothing.”

In other words, God’s word literally has the power to create something from nothing.

The Word of God was not just spoken at creation. It was written by the prophets and made manifest in Jesus Christ.

John 1:3 says “All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.” (John 1:3)

I don’t have that power. Do you have that power?

I’ve got three kids in my house. One is 8 one is 5 is one is 2 going on 13. My words have never felt LESS powerful. It’s getting so bad that the dog won’t even listen to what I have to say.

Thank God that’s there another word that never loses it’s power.

I’m not big on the “name it claim it” health/wealth trash that leads so many people astray but it’s important we not throw the baby out with the bath water.

So let us be people who read the Word, speak the Word, sing the Word, draw the Word, love the Word, memorize the Word, preach the Word.

God’s creative power can be found and experienced in His Word, written and living.

There is power in God’s Word.

The Goal of God’s Creation

The second theological truth has to do with WHY God created. What was God’s goal in creating what he did in the way that he did.

The answer to this question can be found in a word that gets repeated in Genesis 1 seven different times. It’s the word good. (Hebrew “טֽוֹב׃” tob)

He says it on

day one of the separation between darkness from light. (Gen 1:4)

day three of the separation between sea, sky and land. (Gen 1:10)

day three of the plants reproducing life by God’s design. (Gen 1:12)

day four of the sun that separates day from the night. (Gen 1:18)

day five of living creatures that fill the sky and sea. (Gen 1:21)

day six of living creatures that fill the earth God made. (Gen 1:25)

day six of God’s creation of man and all that he had made. (Gen 1:31)

Seven times God says his creation is good and the last time he says it he adds it’s VERY GOOD.

Why this word? Why seven times? And why say that about those things?

The Hebrew word translated “good” is a pretty loaded term. In context it could be used to convey several things.

Teleological Goodness: it functions according to God’s design & purpose.

Practical Goodness: it contributes to the well-being of the created order.

Aesthetic Goodness: it points the beauty and wisdom of God.

Moral Goodness: it promotes righteousness and obedience to God.

God’s Glory & Our Joy

If all of that sounds way too technical just think of it this way.

When you see beautiful art or taste amazing food and say, “Wow. That’s really good.” What exactly are you trying to say?

Certainly you’re saying something about the art and the food.

But the word good is really pointing BEYOND the creation and to the creator.

Beyond the art and to the artist and his desire for those who experience it.

Beyond the food and to the cook and his desire for those who eat it.

When God says of his creation that it is “good” I think that’s what he means.

It’s good in that creation obeys God and glorifies God.

It’s good in that creation displays God and points back to God.

It’s good in that creation does what God purposed it to do and thereby accomplishes what God wanted to accomplish.

WHY did God create? What is creation’s GOAL and CROWN? Answer: Everything that God created has been created for HIS glory and OUR joy.

The heavens declare the glory of God and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Psalm 19:1 It’s good.

Romans 11:36 “For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.”

Creation climaxes on the seventh day with God resting over his creation and mankind reflecting his image, giving him glory and enjoying his presence in the paradise that he made.

That’s the goal of creation. It’s God’s creation crown. God wants to invite us in to experience his goodness and see his glory.

That’s how the Bible begins and that’s how the Bible ends.

Conclusion

The problem is, Genesis 1 is followed by Genesis 3. God’s good creation is destroyed by the fall.

The creative word of God brings life but disobedience to that Word brings death.

That’s why between Genesis 3 and Revelation 22 there’s a plan of redemption.

God created all things good but sin resulted in the fall. Man was cast out of the garden and an enmity was born between God and man.

In love, God promised a Messiah would one day come to deal with our sin problem and destroy the serpent who accuses us in our sin.

Eventually, God’s creating Word took on flesh in the person of Jesus Christ. He did what we never do: lived a perfect life of love and obedience before his heavenly Father.

Then he died the death we deserve to die: forsaken by God as he made atonement for sin.

Three days later God raised him from the dead and 40 days after that He ascended back up into heaven and calls all people to repent of their sins, put their faith in his person and work and be saved from the curse.

When we do that, we begin to recover and pursue God’s original design in our life and our world.

Through faith in Christ, God’s creation crown can be recovered and enjoyed.

A foretaste is given now. The fullness when Jesus comes again.

The song of creation in Genesis 1 reminds us of that end.

So let us hold fast to God’s Word and live our lives for God’s glory.