In the Beginning God
Genesis 1:1
Well,
this summer we will be spending time in Genesis chapters 1 to 3. I’ve entitled the series, “The Beginning of
it All.” The word, “genesis” means just
that, the beginning. I believe this
series will be a blessing for all of us as we look at this book that teaches us
about the beginning of it all. We live
in a crazy mixed up world that doesn’t really know what it is about. Numerous voices compete to tell us what the
meaning of life is. Not all the voices
we hear are claiming to be teaching the meaning of life but every voice speaks
from some basis of some meaning for life. I recently had a conversation with a relative
of mine. She was sharing that it is
important not to mix religion and politics.
While I heartily agree it is not helpful to use religion for political
gain or to use politics for selfish religious gain I communicated that it is
impossible to divide the two. That seemed to be a new perspective for her. You see, religion is ultimately about
your view of life, your view of existence, your view of self and society. And is not politics merely the outworking of
that view. Every one has a worldview
whether they call it a religion or a philosophy or a motto. We all have a worldview and it is that very
worldview that defines us and directs us in life. There are as many competing world views out
there as there are spam emails in my spam folder. Each view clamors for our attention. Our society is divided, fragmented and
confused even as it seeks to unify around some sense of common world view. And we are caught up in the storm ourselves
and if we are not careful we will be swept away into this sea of confusion.
Well,
Genesis was written for such a purpose.
This wonderful book was given to the people of God as they departed a
society,
What
is so amazing about the book of Genesis is that it is not only about the beginning
of it all, it is also about the end of it all and everything in between. In the first three chapters of this book we
learn about the nature and power of God, about the purpose of the universe and
all of creation, about mankind, his purpose and relation to God, we learn about
the failure and fall of man into sin and we even hear whispers of God’s
promised redemption of mankind and even creation from this fallen state. The rest of the bible and the rest of all
history is the working out of these themes in the glorious and intense drama we
call life.
So
let’s begin our series by looking at the very first verse in Genesis, verse 1
chapter 1. It says, In the beginning, God created the
heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1-2 (ESV). Now, you may be wondering
how we can have a whole sermon from one short verse. Or perhaps you are thinking, here we go
again, this is going to take 50 years to get through this sermon series. Well, I don’t intend to spend the whole
summer doing only one verse per week, so take heart. But I believe this first verse of the whole
bible is so profound and so foundational for everything else that follows that
it would be wise to focus just on it to begin with. Listen to what Matthew Henry, the Puritan
bible commentator has to say about this verse:
The first verse of the Bible gives us a surer and better, a more satisfying and useful, knowledge of the origin of the universe, than all the volumes of the philosophers. The lively faith of humble Christians understands this. – Matthew Henry [1]
This
first verse contains truth that is more satisfying and useful, more effective
that is, than all the volumes of the philosophers. Why?
What is here that is so amazing?
Well, this one verse states the nature, purpose and personalness of our existence. Let me explain. Notice how the verse begins:
“In
the beginning”. That is, there
is a beginning, there is a starting point for creation, we are not just dust in
the wind. We are not just the remote and
even fantastical statistical probability resulting from endless cycles of the
expansion and collapse of the space time continuum as many scientists would
believe[2]. We don’t ‘just exist’ without any first cause
principle. Have you heard that one? Some will say it is impossible to rightly
explain our existence because our ability to explain it presupposes our
existence so any explanation is a mute point and merely circular logic. This is called the anthropic principle. This is kinda the ultimate existential
philosophy and is itself circular logic. Nevertheless, it fits neatly into the
western humanistic mindset that defines reality by personal experience. We live in a society that is largely the end
result of the statement, “I think, therefore I am.” made famous by Rene
Descartes. In other words, my existence
is fundamentally self-referred. The
basis of my existence is my experience of it.
Life is therefore about self-determined pleasure or pain. Let that sink in. This quickly moves into relativism and
self-centered independence. Western Society
may have started with Christian humanism but has followed the logic of humanism
to its bitter end. Hitler, Stalin and
Roe v. Wade are all natural outflows of a man-centered existentialist point of
reference. In stark contrast to these
philosophies we have Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning, God”. There is a starting point, not just
meaningless existence but a flow of time from beginning to now and therefore to
the end. History has a direction and a
personal God behind that direction.
Descartes and our society says, “I think therefore I am.” The Bible says, “The I AM exists, therefore I
think.” Any other basis for life and
thought and culture is ultimately meaningless and indeterminate. Don’t waste your time wrestling with thought,
philosophy, apologetics or evangelism without the necessary presupposition of
the existence of God. Pascal said,
“Credo ut intelligam”, “I believe in order to understand.” Psalm 14:1
says, “The fool says in his heart ‘there is no God.’” This is the
biblical way to think and be and reason.
Nothing else is tenable nor true.
Folks, don’t be afraid to stand on this truth, God is, that is his very
name, Yahweh, I AM, all other foundations are utter foolishness. Your God reigns!
“In the
beginning God created…”. The beginning was
not merely the start of the space-time continuum in some impersonal big
bang. In the beginning was God. He is the one who got everything started. He existed at the beginning. Now, that is a cosmic-sized truth. If he existed at the beginning than it is
proper to assume and flows from the text that he is the agent of the beginning,
as verse 1 clearly says, “In the beginning God created the
heavens and the earth”. And if
he is the agent of the beginning it flows from this verse and the testimony of
all of scripture that he pre-existed the beginning. That is, God is Lord over space and time and
yet exists beyond space and time. He is
not subject to His creation but stands not only in it but above it and beyond
it. Let’s camp on that one a little
bit. You and I are created creatures,
made to exist within space and time. Did
you know it actually never says in the bible that our existence in the new
heaven and earth will be timeless? God
alone exists outside of space and time.
In the beginning he had already existed for eternity past until eternity
future. We can not even fathom the
possibility of existing apart from space and time. We mistakenly attribute infinite attributes
to God’s creation yet it is not so. The
universe is not infinite and it definitely has a beginning in time. Yet, our God is beyond that time. He is the one who created time and all
reality. If we study our bibles well we
will quickly learn that this God is perfect in every way. He has no needs. Acts 17 says. "The God who made the world and
everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made
by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he
himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything."
(Acts 17:24-25, ESV) . Not only is he
not needy, he has experienced perfect bliss before creation. Jesus says in John 17, "And
now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you
before the world existed." (John 17:5, ESV) and " you
loved me before the foundation of the world." (John 17:24, ESV) . Before creation the triune God enjoyed
perfect fellowship and love and sharing of his eternal and perfect glory. Folks, you and I weren’t there and God was
perfectly happy. “In the beginning,
God..” is oh so key. Our God is more
than just the center of the universe, he is beyond that. He is bigger and greater than anything the
universe can contain. Yet, he decided,
in His eternal infinitely wise counsel to create the heavens and the earth. I don’t know if you are like me but I find
myself immediately at the question, why?
It just naturally flows. If Peg
and I were to move to another house and in a sense create a new home you would
automatically ask why. You would rightly
assume that somehow we were not content with our previous home and seeking a
better home. Yet, we know God was
perfectly content before creation. So
why did he make the heavens and the earth?
Do you see what’s happening here.
We are only in verse 1 of the entire bible but immediately find
ourselves asking basic questions that influence the entire bible and all of
history. We are already at the heart of
our very reality. Now, I don’t have time
to develop this fully but I would submit to you, from my study of scripture,
that the reason God made the heavens and the earth is that they are an overflow
of the eternal glory that he shares among the Godhead. He didn’t need to make the universe out of
some lack or loneliness on his part but he made the universe to give expression
to all that he is, all his incredible goodness, perfection, mercy, love,
holiness, wisdom, humility, patience, wrath, justice, kindness and power – that
is his vast infinite glory. That is the
purpose of the universe, ultimately, the glory of God. Check out Romans 11, "Oh, the depth of the riches
and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how
inscrutable his ways! “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been
his counselor?” “Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?” For
from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever.
Amen." (Romans 11:33-36, ESV)
All things are from him and all things are to him. To him be the glory forever. Amen! Jonathan Edwards says in his essay, “The End
for Which God Created the Universe”,
Because [God] infinitely values his own glory, consisting in the knowledge of himself, love to himself and complacence and joy in himself he therefore valued the image, communication or participation of these, in the creature [and creation]. And it is because he values himself that he delights in the knowledge, and love, and joy of the creature; as being himself the object of this knowledge, love and complacence... [Thus] God's respect to the creature's good, and his respect to himself is not a divided respect; but both are united in one, as the happiness of the creature aimed at, is happiness in union with himself. – Jonathan Edwards[3]
Folks,
I know there is a lot of information packed in that statement but it is oh so
key for understanding ourselves and creation and the whole bible. Bottom line
is that creation and the pinnacle of creation, mankind, exist for the glory of
God. That is not to deny the love of God
and His unfathomable self-denial and humility expressed on the cross but it is
to set this love in its proper context, the expression of and enjoyment of the
glory of God.
Well,
now I’ve done it. I gave away the ending
of the book. Here we are in the first
verse of the bible and I couldn’t make it at least to the second before I
ruined the ending. I’m sorry and I hope
you’ll still read the rest. Good thing
it doesn’t quite work that way. The
wonder of all this is that God invites us in to experience His glory and find
something that is bigger than creation itself and satisfies better than the
very very best creation has to offer. He
welcomes us and even pleads with us to turn from our sin, our foolish wasting
of our lives and our trivial entertainments to find ourselves in the God that
is bigger and better and greater than the very universe he created.
Its
also important for us to see that God has every prerogative to create the
universe for this purpose. He made it,
he can do what he likes with it. Any
objection we have against him is groundless and any rebellion against his glory
is baseless. He is the Creator, we are
the created. Its rightfully all about
him. Genesis 1:1 doesn’t say anything
about us determining the purpose of creation.
For a matter of fact, any objection we have to God’s prerogative to
create all things as he sees fit comes from the desire to supplant his eternal
glory. Genesis 1:1, the very first verse
of the bible makes the natural man squirm.
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Oh how we wish we were the ones to do
it at times. Do you identify with
that? “If only I had been the one to
create the heavens and the earth and if only I were the one to rule over all of
creation. If only all things were by me
and through me and for me. Then every
day would be like Disney world, than I could get have that big boat and that
big house. Then I would be eternally
young and thin and strong and athletic.
Then everyone would look up to me.
Then I would be happy.” Doesn’t
the thinking go like that? Maybe it’s a
milder less obnoxious version but I submit it is the same heart, only slightly
domesticated. I’ve been guilty of
this. I often struggle with contentment. I think the heart of discontentment is lack
of belief in the goodness and greatness of God. I found myself this past week thinking about
all the home improvement projects we need to do but lack time, resources or
proper priority. Our rug in our basement
smells like mildew, our side door is broken, we need more lattice around our
deck, we need bamboo planted to screen out our swamp, the boys are crowded into
one bedroom, a garage would be nice, boy that pool is beat up, and the vacuum
thing is stuck in the filter etc. etc.
Ever been in that place?
Sometimes you can feel so frustrated you feel you’ll explode. What’s
wrong with it? Well, not to say the cure
is apathy, but ultimately we control so little of God’s creation, if any. He is God and all these things, my home, my
time, my ideas, my family, are his. Yes,
I am called to due diligence but he ultimately determines if any of my plans
should happen. He is the Sovereign ruler
and he rules. I am his subject and
therefore dependent on him. I can’t take
a breath without him. I must learn to
trust him and be content with his reign even if it means we never get that
bamboo planted. We are the created and
God is the Creator. Rest in this. This is a good thing. We are not God; if we
were we would mess everything up big time. If we had all knowledge and all
power and all perfection and all goodness like God we would not do any differently
than God has done. His creation flows
out from his glory, it is sustained according to his glory and flows back for
his glory in all things, even our weakness.
And we as His people are to find perfect joy in Him in all of this. So let us take that old man and his
God-usurping ways back to the cross and let him be crucified and done away
with. Let him die and let the new man
reign. Let us know delight in Christ and
in God through Christ and let us find the reason for our existence in him. Let us find infinite joy and bliss in an
infinite God. Let us humble ourselves and delight in this God who has created
all things for his glory. Let’s fully
trust him and obey in all things. Nothing
could be better.
Finally,
Genesis 1:1 says God created the heavens and the earth. Essentially, God created everything that
is. This includes the physical realm as
well as the spiritual realm. Colossians 1
says, "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
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." (Colossians 1:15-16, ESV). That is, he created the visible and
invisible, things of this earth and things of the terrestrial and celestial
heavens - all spiritual entities and all earthly entities. All things were made by him and for him. Now the rest of chapter 1 and 2 get into the
details of the creation account. We will
spend some more time looking at these 7 days of creation in the coming
weeks. But, let us continue to look at
the big picture by considering just how expansive and intensive is God’s
creation. Our universe is as extensive
as it is intensive. That is the
dimensions of the universe are as equally large as they are small, from what we
now know. The estimated size of the
universe is approximately 1025 m. If we fired
a bullet into outer space it would take a billion billion years to reach the
outer part of the known universe. Now a
Laser goes in 1 second what would take a bullet one year. So if we fired a laser it would take a
billion years to get there.
Additionally, the smallest known particle, a quark, is 10-18
m or less. In other words, the universe
is just as small as it is big. There is
just as much inner space as there is outer space. And not only does the universe merely fill
space to a vast dimension, but it does so with incredible variety and
beauty. Surely the whole earth is full of
His glory!
In
closing, (as the band comes forward to close in worship) the bottom line to
Genesis 1:1 is, God’s creation exists through him and for him, to express his
infinite goodness and glory. As such, it
is ultimately incomprehensible. It is so
large that an infinite amount of years with an infinite amount of scientists
and philosophers with an infinite amount of the best equipment could not even
begin to probe its quality and quantity.
And yet it still doesn’t contain God.
Additionally, the events that occur within this magnificent creation, in
particular the events pertaining to God the Son are the by far the apex of the
revelation of his glory. The angels
themselves long to look into the mysteries revealed in the gospel. Jesus Christ, God the son, the creator of all
things, became a lowly man and humbled himself to the point of death even on a
cross. He emptied himself of his
infinite glory and bore the sins of his people, all who would repent and
believe, and died a wretched death on the cross to pay for your sins, lowly you
and lowly me! He bridged infinite glory
and infinite offense to his glory in our sin.
He did this from his infinite love and infinite wisdom to show his
infinite goodness and infinite greatness.
All this glory is available to believe and receive and rest in and
rejoice in and rely on to all who would receive it, that is repent from
glorying in self and sin and place their faith in Christ to glory in Him. He is ours for ever. And these gospel events will never be fully
grasped and proclaimed. Even an
infinite amount of theologians and scholars with the best resources will never
be able to fully grasp these things.
Even the mighty angels, the seraphim themselves, the mightiest of angels
, can not fully behold the glory of God.
His glory is so far more glorious than we can begin to comprehend. Yet, he has created the heavens and the earth
and the events of redemptive history to display his infinite worth. He invites us today to behold and worship. Listen
to what our friend John Piper says,
Do you love the thought that you exist to make God look glorious? Do you love the thought that all creation exists to display the glory of God. Do you love the truth that all of history is designed by God to one day be a completed canvas that displays in the best way possible the greatness and beauty of God? Do you love the fact that Jesus Christ came into the world to vindicate the righteousness of God and repair the injury that we had done to the reputation of the glory of God? Do you love the truth you personally exist to make God look like what he really is—glorious? I ask again: Do you love the fact that your salvation is meant to put the glory of God’s grace on display? Do you love seeing and showing the glory of God?
This is why God created the universe. This is why he ordained history. This is why he sent his Son. This is why you exist. Forever to see and savor and show the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. – John Piper[4]
“In the
beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”
Let’s
pray.
[1]Henry,
M. 1996, c1991. Matthew Henry's commentary on the whole Bible : Complete and
unabridged in one volume . Hendrickson:
[2] See John Byl, God and Cosmos, The Banner of Truth Trust, 2001.
[3] Edwards, "End for which God Created the World", in The Works of Jonathan Edwards, Vol.1, (Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth, 1974), p.120.
[4] John Piper, All Things are From God, Through God, and To God. The Glory Is All His.