Genesis 1:1-2 The Beginning
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By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host.
For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.
Let us Pray - Children Dismissed.
Today we open up our Bibles to page 1. Chapter 1 of Book 1 beginning in verse 1.
We begin in the book called the beginnings, also known as Genesis.
Genesis, is a greek word found in the Septuagint, which is a translation of the Old Testament of Hebrew into Koin-A Greek.
The name Genesis stuck, and continued in the Latin translation and into our English translations and then into a popular 70’s and 80’s band.
Which I may or may not have a couple of their albums on vinyl.
However, Phil Collins was not the author of Genesis, that would be Peter Gabriel, but biblically speaking, the author of this book is Moses.
Moses, empowered by the Holy Spirit, brought forth this book while the Israelites were in the wilderness after the Exodus from Egypt.
God provided Moses a record of creation and the beginning of God’s rescue plan that he would enact through this chosen nation.
We will be going verse by verse through the first 11 chapters of this book in what is known as the Primeval section of Scripture.
And this section isn’t just about finding answers to fascinating questions, like is the earth millions and billions of years old or thousands of years old?
Did dinosaurs and humans exists together or were they extinct before humans were created?
While we can and will answer the fun questions that are usually asked about this book,
We will also see that Genesis is the basis and the foundation to the doctrines of the faith that we hold so dearly, today.
Even the Gospel can be found in these first 11 chapters.
If we are going to have a solid grasp on the Christian faith, it will be very important of us to have a solid grasp on the beginning.
So, today we embark on this journey of discovery as we open up God’s Word, together.
The start of an epic adventure back in time, to the very beginning of time.
So, please gather up all of your personal belongings, take small children by the hand, and let us go back in time to where it all started.
Genesis Chapter 1, verse 1 and 2.
These are the inerrant and infallible words of our God.
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.
These are the Words of the Lord.
These first 10 words in verse one, could easily be considered one of the most well known verses in the Bible.
Right there hand and hand with John 3:16.
Not only do Christians read this verse every year on January 1st as they seek to accomplish the coveted “read the bible in a year challenge”
Christians look to this first verse as the very foundation to the faith.
For good reason too, this declaration is at the very center of our belief and our worship.
We see, right from the start, the reason for our existence and the One whom is credited with all things.
These first 10 words begin to answer some of the most important questions that humanity has ever asked.
Where did we come from? Who are we? What is our purpose? Is there meaning to this life?
Every answer to these questions begins with these 10 words.
So let us begin by looking at verse 1 as we seek to unpack the riches that are contained within.
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
The first 3 words we encounter are absolutely mind blowing.
There was no time before this moment.
There were no days or nights.
There was no calendar or years.
But at this moment, something was about to happen, and what would happen would begin time itself.
A sound would come forth but it wouldn’t be in the form of a bang but in the form of words.
And the very next word declares that it wasn’t just a something, but a Someone, we see it was God.
What we see is that it wasn’t two random molecules that collided.
It was not a cosmic accident that began an explosion.
It wasn’t that nothing somehow created something.
We see that it was God, and God and God alone created.
Before we get into what He created, let’s see what is so radical about this statement.
One of my favorite aspects of this verse is that it presupposes God.
What does it mean to presuppose something? It means that it has no need to defend the truth, it just declares the truth.
The Bible assumes God from the very start.
The Bible does not try to convince you that it was God who created everyone and everything.
The Bible does not lay out evidences to why you should believe that God was the reason for the universe.
The Bible begins with In the Beginning, God Created.
This bold declaration is continued throughout the Bible and is picked up by Paul who makes an incredibly daring and frankly offensive declaration in Romans.
Well, it is only offensive to those who reject God.
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.
For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
Not only does the Bible presuppose God in these first few words, the Bible continues to declare that God is the Creator and has revealed Himself to be the creator to everyone.
Thus, those who reject God are doing it, not because there is not evidence, not because our Creator cannot be realized, but because of sin they reject God.
God, is our God, whether we accept Him, reject Him, or indifferent to Him.
There is no need for the Bible to take the stance of defending God.
Thus, there is no need for us to think that we can do a better job defending God than God Himself.
The Bible doesn’t waste anytime trying to convince you of this truth, but declares it like a Lion letting out a roar in His kingdom.
Charles Spurgeon declared these powerful words on June 2nd 1888.
“The Word of God can take care of itself, and will do so if we preach it, and cease defending it. See you that lion. They have caged him for his preservation; shut him up behind iron bars to secure him from his foes! See how a band of armed men have gathered together to protect the lion. What a clatter they make with their swords and spears! These mighty men are intent upon defending a lion. O fools, and slow of heart! Open that door! Let the lord of the forest come forth free. Who will dare to encounter him? What does he want with your guardian care? Let the pure gospel go forth in all its lion-like majesty, and it will soon clear its own way and ease itself of its adversaries.”
Charles Spurgeon sees this proclamation of the Bible and sees no need to help Scripture be more palatable to the unbeliever.
He sees no need to make it easier on the ears or passive to the mind.
We need to do nothing to soften the blow or cushion the fall, we are just to declare its truth.
What truth? The 4th Word in verse one declares that God is our truth.
Now the Bible simply says God, but the original Hebrew gives us more clarity.
God’s name, Yahweh is not used here, but the word Elohim is the word Moses wrote through the power of the Spirit.
Elohim not only declares God is God, the El of Elohim does this for sure, but Elohim gives meaning and definition to God.
Elohim conveys power and strength.
He is the almighty, all powerful, infinite ruler sustainer, and creator God
When we see El, in the Hebrew, it gives us the understand of God or God-like and what comes after the El is often a description of God.
In this case Elohim is God, in the plural, which is very intriguing.
Elohim absolutely gives off the understanding of power and might and strength, but the being plural may be confusing to some.
Now, this isn’t to say that there are multiple gods, nor should this be used as a defense of the Trinity, there are plenty of verses that will declare that.
In the Hebrew, using Elohim in this way, is declaring God to be majestic.
It is a way in the language to emphasize God’s greatness, power, and prestige.
In the english we see, in the Beginning, God.
But, in the Hebrew it gives us a much more incredible and beautiful picture of God.
Elohim elevates beyond just the position of God and declares the greatness of God.
What did God do? We see that next.
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
So, what did God do? What truth can be held to in this 5th word? (Pause) He created.
Yet, even this incredible reality is not meant for us to just keep to ourselves.
In the Beginning, God Created is not just for our knowledge but is for our proclamation.
In The Beginning, God Created is not just our evidence, but is our decree.
In the Beginning, God Created is not just our defense but is our anthem.
This truth should bring forth greater faith and our belief in God should be strengthened due to this reality.
When we hold fast to the truth of God and His creative power it should also greatly enhance our worship and adoration.
When we find ourselves lonely or doubting, or worried, or fearful, we are invited to look to the One who created everyone and everything.
The One who sustains us and provides for us.
The One who set the earth upon its Axis, and gives us the breath of our lungs, the beat in our chest, the life in our bodies.
But, we may want to ask a follow up question. Not if God created, but what did God create?
Now, this brings up a question and an important distinction that needs to be made.
Did God just take what was already there and reform it?
Or did God physically make something that was not and bring it into existence?
Here is something fascinating.
The word created here in the Hebrew is, Bara(buh-rrrah), and check this out, this is so important.
This word is used 14 times in the first 5 books and is only used of God, and never of man when it is in the sense of creating.
God is the one who creates, man does not create.
Which is strange to hear, because we think of ourselves as creators all the time.
Our reality is that we must take something that is already there and repurpose it.
This is going to really humble us big time, are you ready for this?
We should not consider ourselves creators, we should consider ourselves repurpose’ers
Because this is what we must do, we repurpose things, we often think that this is what God must have done.
However, God is not like you and I, He is completely other than us.
The Latin phrase that is often used here is: Ex-Nihlo (X-kneel-yo)
Which means out of nothing.
God Created something out of just His word.
There was absolutely nothing and then God spoke and brought that which was not in existence into existence.
By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.
Have you ever stopped to think about this distinction before?
Everything that we have, that has been created by man, is only because God first created the building blocks that we are to use.
We are not able to create anything unless God has first created the elements that we can use.
Everything you see here that was created by man, could only be here, because God created the materials,
The chair or bench you are sitting on, the lights, even the AC is due to us, not creating, but repurposing.
God created oxygen and the air, God created the ability to move the air with his designing of physics and order.
If you stop and really meditate on this, it changes so much about everything.
We have content creators, and artistic creators, and building creators, and so many job titles that are considered “creator” jobs.
Yet, what would be more accurate would be to ditch the word creator and start calling ourselves repurpose’ers.
Not nearly as catchy, I admit, but that is all that we can do.
Take what God has created, and repurpose it into something new.
Like the potter takes the materials that God has made, turns it into clay, and repurposes it into a pot.
We take what God has made, and repurpose it into something else.
It is only God, and God alone, that actually and truly creates, and that is exactly what He did.
Lego Illustration:
Each lego that you see here is due to taking materials that God has made, and working into something different, in this case a lego piece.
Then we can take these lego pieces, along with a guide, and repurpose the legos into BD1.
We can have a lot of fun repurposing different materials that God has created into all sorts of new and exciting purposes.
But, what we cannot do is speak what is not there, as if it was there.
So, what is it that God Created?
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
The earth is fairly easy to understand, it means this planet, and we will see a clearer picture in verse 2 about the state of the planet when it was first created.
But the Heavens, now this is important to clarify.
The heavens pertain to everything that is not the earth.
This would include other planets, the stars, the nebula, the dark matter, black holes, the galaxies, everything in the universe.
It would also include the dwelling place of God and the angels.
So, the heavens, in this particular context, is everything that is not the earth.
Everything that we see or cannot see was created by God.
No molecule, no element, no particle, existed until God created it and and each creation obeys God’s direction.
So, when we speak of Heaven, look to everything apart from the earth that we have seen, everything thing that we have discovered,
and everything that is yet to be discovered, and that consists of Heaven.
There is so much here in just the first verse, and we could spend the rest of our time here, today,
But, I really want to get through the second verse as well, so let’s do that now.
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.
Verse 2 begins with the state of the earth after God created it in verse 1.
This could seem concerning at first. Does this sound like an incredible place to call home?
However, this was done on purpose, the goal isn’t to gaze upon the unorganized earth, but upon the one who will organize the earth.
The earth was still a created mass and what is calling for our attention is not the chaotic disorder, but the caring love of the Spirit of God for His creation.
This verse has caused a lot of confusion and controversy depending on how you read it.
If you look at verse 1 as an overview statement, verse 2, as the state that God finds the universe in, and verse 3 as the beginning of day 1,
You will certainly have all sorts of wild understandings.
This is where we get ideas like the gap theory.
The gap theory was created to try and merge evolution and Christianity together.
A way to make sense of science’s theory that we are billions of years old instead of what the Bible declares to us through genealogies and the creation account.
The failure is to take an idea outside of Scripture and try to fit it into Scripture.
There theory is that there is a gap between verse 1 and verse 2.
God created, but then either destroyed by God (Think Punishment for Satan and His fallen angles) or destroyed by something else (Think meteor for the dinosaurs)
Then either God reformed after His destruction or God found the earth after something went wrong in the Cosmos.
The destruction of earth by a cosmic force that is not God is not consistent at all with the attributes of God, and
That God destroyed the planet after creating it is not consistent with Scripture.
However, if we read the text plainly and without inserting any belief system into the text, we quickly discover that the text is very easy to understand.
On day 1, In the Beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth.
As day 1 continues we see what the Earth looked like during Day 1.
The earth was without form, the earth was void, it was a wasteland, it was out of order, it was chaos.
However, the Spirit of God was caring for and protecting it as the process of creation continued.
Ending Day one with the proclamation that we will find in verse 3, when God said, “Let there be light!”
If we read the text as it naturally is laid out before us, without bringing in any outside ideas, it is very easy to understand what is going on.
Now that we have a grasp of the entirety of verse 2, let’s look a little closer at the first two phrases, without form and void.
While these terms seem negative, there is no need to take them as a negative, but merely a description of what was there and what was still to come.
While it was created blank and void, it would not stay that way, it was only the beginning of the plan.
Before the day is up, God would speak and the void will be illuminated and Creation would continue.
But, what are we to make of these terms without form and void? Others use wasteland or chaos to describe the earth.
As you know by now, English can certainly convey what the Hebrew is intending, but if you do not look into the original language you will miss some great details.
An intriguing aspect to this verse is that in the Hebrew these are two rhyming words.
One Hebrew Scholar declares that this is done to enhance a point or reinforce a point.
So, what words could we use if we are trying to convey more of the Hebrew meaning?
Welter and Waste, says one Hebrew Scholar, would be similar english words that would give off at least some of the same style that the Hebrew contains.
Waste we are familiar with and Welter means a large number if items in no order, a confused mass.
Now, before you get concerned, the english without form and void is a good literal understanding,
However, you just miss some of the poetic point and affirmation in the English.
This is why it is good to check the original languages to bring out a fuller and more robust understanding.
That’s great, you might say, but what on earth does this all mean?
So, what we have here is the original building blocks of the Earth laid out like a Tupperware of Legos.
They are not in any order, they are a jumbled chaos, it can be likened to a wasteland of material without any perceivable purpose at that moment.
Chaos, but not evil, disorderly but not wrong. This is very important less we get a wrong understanding.
God had a perfect plan for the disorderly chaos.
Now we move away from the building blocks to see a bigger picture of the earth.
Next, we see that darkness was over the face of the deep, and then we see the Spirit hovering over the face of the waters.
Deep and waters are connected to describe how the earth looked in the first day.
The earth was surrounded by deep water and thus water was also created on the first day.
Imagine a sphere of water hanging in the darkness, a void, without proper form.
The darkness anticipates the light, and the Spirit anticipates taking the confused mass and turning it into a garden paradise.
Next we see a beautiful picture of God’s intimacy in Creation.
We are introduced to the Spirit of God and we see the active role of the Holy Spirit in Creation.
The Trinity is active in Creation and we will spend more time in the future showing this, but right now I want us to gaze upon this wonderful image painted for us.
The verb in this verse describing the Holy Spirit’s action is hovering
and it is used again in Deuteronomy and gives us a clearer picture.
Like an eagle that stirs up its nest, that flutters over its young, spreading out its wings, catching them, bearing them on its pinions,
The same concept and verb is seen here in Deuteronomy with flutters.
The Spirit is not just waiting for the next command, but is caring, loving, protecting, and anticipating the next step in creation.
One could claim that God created the planet, but then left it, and no longer cares about it.
Yet, this picture shows that creation was not done at a distance, but that the Spirit was intimately involved.
Now, the insights that we glean from these first two verses set the stage for the rest of Scripture and begin to reveal to us, not just that God created, but who God is.
The goal of these two verses is to declare the greatness of God, absolutely, but it is also meant to tell us something about ourselves, as well.
The discovery of all that we have found in verses 1 and 2 is meant to lead us in two ways.
First this should strengthen our belief in God.
God has revealed Himself through His creation and also through the revelation of Scripture.
As we seek to understand who we are and where our reason and purpose lie, we see it must start with our Creator.
And, when we seek ourselves in light of our Creator, we will be absolutely blown away.
even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love
Our God, when He created the Heavens and the Earth, already put forth the plan that would unite us with Him not just in the temporary, but in the eternal.
By looking upon the all powerful, the almighty, majestic Elohim, our belief and faith should be strengthen.
Our struggles are temporary, our hope is secured, our destination is everlasting.
These two verses are belief building and faith fortifying.
My hope is that when you discover the Creation story, that you discover the Creator.
By discovering the Creator you will also discover your belief in Him is bolstered to new heights.
So, first takeaway for us is that we should have our belief and faith enhanced by these verses.
Secondly it should bring forth greater awe and wonder of our Creator, in other words, this verse should bring us into worship.
The more we meditate on the attributes of God, the greatness of God, the power of God, the wisdom of God,
The more we will desire His glory and to make much of His great name, then the more that worship and praise will naturally come forth.
Moses understood that the result of creation brings forth praise and worship.
So much that Moses wrote one of the Psalms found in the book of Psalms.
In Psalm 90 we see Moses looking at the attributes of God and using Creation and Pre-creation to worship.
Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
Our worship of God is enhanced the more we know of God, our praise is reflected in our understanding of who He is.
Today we see that our God is the Creator God that displayed His incredible intellect, his wonderful wisdom, and his Majestic might in forming the Heavens and the Earth.
And because of this, He is absolutely worthy of our praise and our adoration.
Our worship is elevated the more we meditate on the One we praise.
As we ponder these first two verses we should not just be captivated by our God but lead in a deeper faith and a wider expression of our faith.
And this is where we could end today’s exploration.
We covered the exposition of these two verses, I showed their meaning and purpose,
We just looked at its application, and now we could pray.
This Tuesday there is a new Apple Keynote being presented and I was reminded how Steve Jobs would close out his presentation with three words that were meant to catch everyone by surprise.
He would say, oh yeah, there is…does anyone know? Right, One more thing....
As we close out our first message in Genesis, I want us to look at One More thing.
So, what about Jesus?
Isn’t Jesus supposed to be the hero of every story and the purpose of every message?
Well, it would seem as if Jesus would have been on the sidelines in these first two verses and it was just the Father and the Holy Spirit taking center stage.
However, when we get to the New Testament, we discover that Jesus was not just there in the background, but was the means in which everything came into being.
Speaking Jesus, Paul says:
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. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
Did you get that? Jesus is Christ the Creator.
Everything that was created were created by Jesus, through Jesus, For Jesus.
Jesus is the King of His creation.
John gives us even more clarification
All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
The stars, the galaxies, the universe, everything that was made, including the angels and the earth, were made through Jesus.
Not one atom nor one molecule was made without Jesus.
When we put our faith and trust in Jesus we are putting our faith and trust in not only His ability to create the heavens and the earth, but also his ability to save us.
With the same power that created the universe, can also create a new heart in us, turning the heart of stone into a heart of flesh.
With the same power that created the cosmos, can also resurrect us from the dead spiritually and physically.
With the same power that created the galaxies, can also fashion a new heaven and new earth for us to dwell with Him for ever and ever.
While there is so much more that could be said….this is literally just the beginning.
Welcome to Genesis. Amen? Let’s Pray