Genesis One

In the Beginning                                                                        July 9, 2024

The place to begin is usually “In the beginning.” It’s there that the Bible begins. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). So, there you have it – everything begins with God! The remainder of chapter one relates the process and order of creation.

The entire natural realm came into existence from the decision of God; He simply “created” everything! Well, not “simply” by our idea of simplicity; the created world, in fact the entire universe, is far more complex than scientists, philosophers, and theologians have as yet discovered! But let’s back up and see clearly this one fact, that everything begins with “God”!

Considering everything that the designer and creator has placed within this natural realm, as far as we know only humans have the ability to know, to realize, that there is a Creator who exists in a realm beyond the natural realm. All the rest of the creation simply exists without any thought or knowledge of the creator – this One to whom we owe our very existence! Since we have the capacity to recognize this truth, how are we to respond? That is perhaps the most important question we should attempt to answer today.

The first chapter of the first book of the Bible begins here with this first truth – that God exists and He is the Creator! God creates and His own character is reflected in the creation; we see order and beauty, simplicity and complexity. Also built into the creation is the ability to continue; all that is living, both plant and animal life, has the ability to sustain itself and to reproduce, to continue! Plants have seeds that reproduce “after their kind.” All the various sorts of animal life reproduce and multiply “after their kind” (Genesis 1:11, 21).

Then, standing back and considering the wonder of this natural realm, from the largest and the most distant of the stars, to the smallest of the plants, even to the tiniest of atoms, God evaluates it all as “very good” (Genesis 1:31).

We only learn in the New Testament that Jesus Himself was fully involved in the process of creation. One example of this truth is stated in Hebrews 1:1-3, “God … in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power.” So, we see clearly that the natural realm was originally created by God with the participation of Jesus Christ, and is still being upheld and sustained by His protective power and care!

It ought to be encouraging to think that of all that the Lord created, only one of His creations is said to have been made “in the image of God” (Genesis 1:26-27). Us! Humanity! Mankind! Only one creature was appointed to bear the “image” of God and to apparently be His representative in the natural realm. We have been delegated a limited authority to “rule over” the rest of creation. “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them!”

As the narrative continues, these humans are frequently in conversation with God, being spoken to and speaking back to Him! Don’t miss that point! He speaks to us, and we are to hear Him; we speak to Him and He hears us! [Later, we’ll discuss just how it is that He is speaking to us today.]

Just these few simple thoughts should convince us that we have a responsibility to God for how we respond to Him and to His plans for us. As the One who has the ability to simply speak the worlds into existence, the fact that He is concerned about us at all is amazing and intimidating. Think of it this way, “I owe Him my very existence; I am therefore accountable to Him!” What an amazing, wonderful, creative, and joyful God He is! I am newly motivated to learn more of Him and more of His plans for me.