Genesis 1 – In the Beginning…

“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.  And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.  And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness…”

The most important thing for people to know about the bible is that it contains one unified message that describes God`s Project of Salvation for us through Jesus Christ.  Jesus Christ is described as both the beginning and the end of this project.  We find even in these opening verses, just as we can also find Him in the closing verses of the bible (Revelation 22:21). 

We as the Church have a mission to present Jesus to the world.  We are to present Him through not only the light of our testimony, but also by presenting Him in the Bible – both in the Old and New Testaments.  In the Old Testament, His Holy Spirit has helped us to identify Him in the more obscure symbols and typologies. 

v1 In the a beginning, God created the heavens and the earth – This very first verse talks about the creation of the universe.  God was able to create this all simply by His word!  He said let there be light, and there was light.  Let there be a firmament, let it divide the waters from the waters.  God by the word of his mouth said all of this, and then it happened.  This relates to Jesus as the Word of God who was there since the beginning as John testifies: 

John 1:1 “In the BEGINNING was the WORD, and the WORD was WITH GOD, and the WORD was GOD.”

In Genesis we also see the operation of the entire Trinity: God the Father, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit 1) God The Father  (”In the beginning _GOD_ created”); 2) Jesus Christ – His Son: (who is the WORD “…and God _SAID_…”; and 3) and His Holy Spirit:  (”the _SPIRIT_ of God” – v2)

Verse 2 “The earth was without form and void” – Even before chapter 3 of Genesis, we see hints about the situation of man, and his eventual fall from God.  When man is far away from the presence of God, this is his situation.  His life is without form and void – his heart is empty without God`s presence.  Later when God formed the first man Adam, He did so using the dust of the ground.  Previously, this dust had no form before God made Adam from it.  Before God intervenes in the life of man, his life was just like the dust of the ground.  Before that point, like the dust, we too were easily blown by the wind, driven in any direction, and heading towards death.  This is why we come to Church – to be in the presence of God, so he can give us the water of life and mold our lives like a clay vessel.  We do so quite often, and at every available opportunity.

Without God, man can only try in vain to fill this void.  There is no true peace and happiness without God.  Only God can give us His presence that can fill our hearts.

v2 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.

God`s Holy Spirit continues to hover and find a place in the soul of man, and can intercede on behalf of us, and take care of our needs.

Genesis 1:3 –  And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

Once again we see Jesus Christ, this time presented as the Light of the world (John 8:12; John 9:5)

Genesis 1:4 –  And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness.

God is only pleased with His own plan of Salvation that He has ordained.  No other Project can replace God`s nor provides man a solution.  We are to live only in this light, and never mix it with darkness.  He wants us to be separate from the darkness of this world.  God wants to use us to bring this light – the beauty of Jesus – to others who do not yet know the value of Jesus (Matthew 5:14).