I have been reading the book of Genesis for many years in my annual study of the Bible. Every time I start reading the book, I am caught up in the first words, “In the beginning…”. The fourth word in the Bible is “GOD.” “In the beginning God…”. In reading the rest of the chapter, God becomes preeminent.
Why are these four words that appear at the very beginning of the Bible, the greatest words ever penned? The Bible is making the claim that the entire cosmos and everything in it had a purpose and also had an orderly purpose. They had an orderly origin, and God was there before it all and oversaw all of creation. There was no violent clash of equal deities that were attempting to outperform one another. There was no random eruption of atoms that resulted in the order and design of the universe. The Bible assures us that a loving Father formed the universe and carefully crafted the human beings who bear His image.
“I have made known the end from the beginning and from ancient times, what is still to come.” [Isa. 46:10] The Apostle John reminds us, “In the beginning was the WORD and Word was with God and WORD was God.” [John 1:1]
From eternity to eternity, HE is God. For we who are humans, it may be hard to wrap our heads around that fact. Why? Everything in our lives has had a beginning. Everything also has a fixed ending. Can you think of anything in this world that has had no beginning and also has had no ending? Everything in our lives had a beginning and a fixed endpoint, but God is eternal and transcendent. He is outside of time.
We cannot possibly comprehend who God is. Throughout time, brilliant men have tried but have barely scratched the surface. Why? Because God is on a different dimension than mere man. He is on another plane, and to understand Him is beyond our comprehension. God is outside of creation. He is other than His creation. He is above His creation.
The amazing thing to me as I read Genesis one is that God created something out of nothing. I created the house I live in [along with some expert help]. However, I had something to create with. I used cement, lumber, paneling and the list goes on. I merely brought all the “stuff’ to one place and put it together and there appeared a house. However, I am not part of the house. Yes, I created the house, but I can stand back and look at what I created with a separateness. I own the house, but I am not the house nor am I a part of the house. I still maintain my own identity.
There is a vast difference between what I may have created and what God has created. When I started my house I started with something. When my wife bakes a cake, she starts with something.
However, God’s creative acts at the beginning of the world were different. There is a word that theologians use called ex nihilo. It is a Latin word that simply means “out of nothing.” In other words, God did not start creation with something, but with nothing. God is the only one who can speak a creative word. He did it in Genesis one and He can and will still do it.
I ponder over the thought of how much of “nothing” does it take to make “something?” What is “nothing?” If I asked you to write a short paragraph defining “nothing,” what would you write? “Nothing” is very hard for me to imagine.
“Before the mountains were born, you gave birth to the earth and the world, from eternity to eternity you are God.” [Ps. 90:2] “All things were created through Him and apart from Him, nothing was created that has been created.” [John 1:3] The Apostle Paul says, “everything was created by Him and for Him and to Him, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities, all things have been created for Him and through Him.” [Col. 1:16] Romans 11:36 informs us that God “calls things into existence that do not exist.” That verse has always amazed me. He is the only one who can call into existence that which does not exist because His Word is a creative word. God speaks no useless words. When God speaks, things change.
Have you listened to our human words in comparison to God’s spoken word? There are so many useless and ugly words that float among us today. One theologian says “that God alone and only God is the binding force of life.”
If this is true, and I believe it is, then the only right response is to learn more about this creative God. The Bible teaches us that God is a God that is always present. He is where you are. Moses found Him in a burning bush. Jonah found Him in the belly of a whale. Elijah found him while sitting in a cave on Mount Sinai, Jacob found Him while sleeping in the desert using a stone for a pillow, and Paul found him while traveling down a trade route to Damascus.
Have you found this creative God? Do you know Him? He is not really hard to find. David says in Psalm 19, “the heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament showed his handiwork. Day and night they show forth His handiwork and night after night they reveal His knowledge. They utter no speech nor are there any words, and their voice is not heard. They merely declare the glory of God.”
Paul says in Romans one that the creation is without excuse for not knowing God. Who God is, is very visible day after day, for since the creation of the world, His invisible attribute, His eternal power, and His Divine nature have been seen, and understood by what has been made.
Have you ever tried making something but do not have the right ingredients or tools? Attempt to create something with no ingredients nor any tools. That is what God did. We stand back and look at what He has created and magnify Him as our creative one and only God.
