> [!scripture] > **1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.** **2 The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.** <img src="https://audio.mhbbible.com/media%3Agenesis%201%201-2.jpg" alt="Genesis 1:1-2" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;"> > [!success] Audio Commentary > <audio controls src="https://audio.mhbbible.com/Genesis%201%201-2.ogg"></audio> ## Brief Observations - **Genesis 1:1 is the cornerstone of Christian belief** — “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” declares that God the Father Almighty is Maker of heaven and earth. Everything we see began because He spoke it into existence. + **God’s [[God's Omnipotence and Sovereignty|omnipotence]] is on full display** — The sheer scale of the universe (its vastness, its laws, its beauty) proves that the One who made it is infinitely greater than everything He made. We can trust Someone that powerful. - **Creation reveals God through [[General Revelation|general revelation]]** — The visible world shows His eternal power and divine nature so clearly that no one has an excuse for denying Him ([[Romans 1.19-32|Romans 1:20]]). Stars, sunsets, mountains, lions, DNA—all of it points back to Him. + **The physical world is built on the spiritual** — The [[Spiritual Realm|spiritual realm]] is more fundamental and more glorious than the physical. Angels are more majestic than galaxies. The beauty we see in creation is an imprint, a shadow, of the greater beauty of the unseen realm. - **[[Intelligent Design|Intelligent design]] screams from every level** — From the coded language of DNA to the fine-tuned interdependence of ecosystems to the staggering energy output of the sun, creation looks like the work of a purposeful mind, not blind chance. + **[[Names of God|Elohim]] reveals both power and plurality** — “El” = strong/mighty God; the plural form points to the [[Triune God|triune Godhead]] (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) already present and active at creation. - **Creation was [[Ex Nihilo Creation|ex nihilo]] — out of nothing** — No pre-existing material. God is not bound by the laws of nature because He wrote them. Time itself began when He said “Let there be light.” + **[[Redemption]] was not Plan B** — The name of the Messiah was among the things prepared before the world began. Christ’s role as Savior was eternally planned, not a reaction to human failure. - **The [[Formless and Void (Tohu wa-Bohu)|formless and void]] (tohu wa-bohu) stage teaches us** — God could have spoken a finished world instantly, but He chose six days of progressive order to show us how He works—bringing form, fullness, and beauty out of chaos. + **The Law is shadow; Christ is substance** — Just as the early earth was formless and empty until God shaped it, the Law is only a shadow of good things to come. It cannot perfect us—only Christ can ([[Hebrews 10.1-6|Hebrews 10:1]]). - **Sin threatens to return creation to chaos** — Jeremiah’s description of judgment echoes tohu wa-bohu: formless, void, darkened, empty. ([[Jeremiah 4.19-31|Jeremiah 4:23-26]]) Creation groans under sin and longs for redemption. + **Darkness without God is spiritual tohu wa-bohu** — An unregenerate life feels formless, chaotic, empty, covered in thick darkness. [[Nihilism]] settles in when we stop longing for the Light. - **The same God who ordered the cosmos can order your life** — If He can bring worlds out of nothing and beauty out of chaos, He can bring beauty, purpose, and glory out of your brokenness. + **God is the Prime Mover and Sustainer** — The Spirit hovered over the waters like a hen over chicks. He is the author of life, the one who quickens dry bones, and the one who will raise us from the land of gloom into His eternal light. - **All creation exists by His will and for His glory** — He needs nothing from us, yet He is worthy of all praise. Heaven’s creatures declare: “Worthy are You… for You created all things, and by Your will they existed and were created.” # Full Commentary The first verse of Genesis is one of the most important verses in all of scripture. It is the epitome of creation. The first foundation of our Christian creed is this: that God the Father, who is Almighty, is the Maker of heaven and earth. The creation of the universe in all its grandeur implies immeasurable power. As vast and incomprehensible as our universe is: we know that God is the author of it all and therefore He is greater than all of it. God’s creation of the universe reveals the degree of His omnipotence such that we’re able to take comfort in trusting someone as powerful as Him. In this single verse we see God generate the universe and the earth. Scripture says, “God made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, He does not dwell in temples made with hands.” ([[Acts 17.22-31|Acts 17:24-25]]) If you were an observer watching the creation you might think of the world as a house with upper and lower stories. The heavens being the upper story and the earth being the lower story. Each feature of the construction reveals the wisdom of God through intelligent design. In this passage Moses is primarily concerned with the visible parts of creation — so he doesn’t mention the spiritual realm nor the angels (who are also created beings). The invisibility of the spiritual realm does not mean it is less important than the physical realm — in fact I would argue it’s more important. Scripture says God is Spirit, and since all things are created through Him, it’s reasonable to suggest the [[Spiritual Realm|spiritual realm]] subsumes the physical. This means the physical is built upon the spiritual — not the other way around. In this first chapter of Genesis we’ll see the heavens adorned with stars and planets as God makes them. These heavenly bodies are glorious to behold, but the everlasting angels who populate the spiritual realm are much more glorious. So we see how the beauty and majesty of the spiritual realm imprints onto the beauty and majesty of the physical space we all inhabit. This is called [[General Revelation|general revelation]], of which [[Romans 1.19-32|Romans 1:20]] says, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.” When we look upon the glory of God’s creation we’re able to observe some of His attributes like His eternal power and divine nature. This means no one who has observed His creation is able to truly deny having been pointed to God. Concerning the visible world, this Genesis account shows us that God’s creations are greatly varied. He created many sorts of beings vastly different from one another in both their nature as well as their appearance. We also see inimitable beauty in God’s creation. Think of the most beautiful, awe-inspiring sunset you’ve ever seen nested against the most majestic landscape you’ve ever been to. These qualities of God’s creation reveal His own transcendental beauty. You’ll have this same sense of awe but to a greater degree when you stand in the direct presence of Jesus Christ. I mentioned earlier that our observation of the creation reveals [[Intelligent Design|intelligent design]]. This is true at both the macro-level and the micro-level. The DNA in your body is essentially a coded language which predicates many things about you — from your appearance to your strengths and also your weaknesses. Anytime we encounter a language which has syntax we infer such language came from a mind. If you find your name written in the sand of a beach you automatically assume a person with a mind wrote it there. To infer otherwise would be nonsensical. To suggest coded language like DNA did not come from a mind is the same as suggesting your name in the sand was etched there by the random crashing of waves. The unmatched precision we find at many levels of creation shows us the kind of careful design which exceeds even fine works of art. [[God's Omnipotence and Sovereignty|God’s power]] is revealed in His creation because every creature has life and many creatures have an aspect of nobility about them. Think about a distinguished lion as he roams throughout the subsaharan landscape. The power and authority granted to this apex predator is a shade of God’s own power and authority. In one second the sun produces 50,000 times more energy than the Earth consumes in one year. The power of the sun is a reflection of God’s own power. When surveying the depth of intelligent design we can also recount the incalculable interdependence all things have on each other. We just mentioned the sun, without which none of the innumerable forms of life on Earth could survive. Yet even these lifeforms exist in complex ecological chains of interdependence on one another. A few small changes to God’s design can upset the delicate balance of entire ecosystems. All of life exists in a grand harmony of motions, as well as an admirable chain of connections and causes. There are also parts of the creation which pose seemingly insurmountable mysteries. We can’t really know what it’s like to travel the vast expanse of the universe. We can’t step into a black hole to examine and experience what it feels like. Even the nature of time itself remains largely opaque to us. Each of these facets of God’s creation contain secrets which cannot be fathomed or accounted for. Our inability to comprehensively apprehend the creation is representative of our inability to comprehensively apprehend God. There are mysteries about God which sit outside our capacity to understand. All of these created attributes work together to reveal the eternal power and Godhead of the great Creator. Proper evaluation of God’s creation gives us plentiful reasons to praise Him and honor Him. As Christians we have a duty to abide in the earthly limitations of our mortal frames, while fostering a faith curious enough to search out the immeasurable expanse of heavenly glory. The most common Hebrew word for God is [[Names of God|Elohim]]. This word indicates power and plurality. The first part of the word, _El_, signifies strong God and this is a clear description of God’s almighty power as Creator. God is the only Being or force which can bring all things out of nothing. The physical law of conservation of matter and energy proves that something cannot come from nothing by any observable force within our universe. God Himself stands apart from His creation as being able to do so. God is not subject to the laws of nature because He is the architect of them. The plurality of Elohim points to the three divine Persons of the Godhead: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Idolaters throughout history have held the doctrine of the Trinity in severe contention. To suggest that God has a Son is punishable by death in Islamic traditions. For the polytheistic pagans, a plural word used for God undoubtedly hardened them in their idolatry. But for Christians it simply confirms our belief in a triune God. [[Triune God|The Trinity]], while vaguely intimated in the Old Testament, is revealed with clarity in the New Testament. In this opening passage of Genesis we see God the Father and we also see the Spirit of God moving over the surface of the waters. In Proverbs, as well as all throughout the New Testament we see the Son of God, the eternal Word and Wisdom of the Father as being alongside the Father at the creation. Jesus is eternal and was present in the Godhead at the time of creation. Indeed John’s gospel tells us, “All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.” ([[John 1.1-5|John 1:1-3]]) In this passage we observe that God created everything, [[Ex Nihilo Creation|ex nihilo]], which means out of nothing. There was no pre-existent matter or material from which creation was formed. Once the physical constant was in place, it’s true that God produced fish from the waters and beasts and humans from the earth. But before the first stages of creation there was nothing at all of our known universe. This is why we talk about God like He is the Source of all things and upholds all things. He is the origin without which nothing could exist. This is very hard for us to imagine, but scripture indicates time itself also began at the first point of creation. The clock was first set in motion with the production of the spatial material we now use to measure it. This means God Himself is infinite and has always inhabited eternity. God Himself sits outside of time. God’s relationship to time is largely impossible for us to understand because we’ve never existed outside of our current relationship to it. Words without knowledge darken counsel, and so there’s little point in speaking of such things as “sooner” or “later” when it comes to eternity. It simply doesn’t make sense to ask how long God has existed in eternity. What’s clear is that all of creation was brought into being at the beginning of time itself. This was done according to the eternal counsels of God which have always existed in Him. Some Jewish traditions teach only seven things were created by God before the world in Genesis. These were the law, repentance, paradise, Hell, the throne of glory, the house of the sanctuary, and the name of the Messiah. This last one I find exceptionally important because it tells us God’s design of redemption existed before the Fall of man — and that tells us redemption was always part of God’s perfect design. His redemptive work is not merely a reaction to some flaw in humanity. Jesus Christ’s role as the divine Mediator and the [[Redemption|Savior of man]] was predestined before the creation. John’s gospel summarizes this doctrine nicely in a single verse when it says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” In addition to God’s attributes being revealed in His creation, Paul tells us general revelation deprives all men of any excuse for denying God because the fact of existence itself guarantees all such claims are nonsensical. An atheist is forced to look at creation and the created order and suppose it all came from nothing — despite the fact that zero things in nature are able to spontaneously create themselves from nothing. The reason atheists can’t see what’s so self-evidently obvious is because Satan has blinded their minds to it. God sits apart from all other spirits, all other forces, and all other people in His authority as Creator. He is the Owner and Possessor of heaven and earth because He is the Creator of it. God’s authority as the Creator of all things is cited throughout scripture as a reason to have faith in Him. All things are possible with God. God is the only Being who is both worthy of our praise while also being highly exalted above any praise we could possibly offer. In Nehemiah chapter 9 we see the Levites praise God by saying, “"Arise, bless the LORD your God forever and ever! O may Your glorious name be blessed And exalted above all blessing and praise! You alone are the LORD. You have made the heavens, The heaven of heavens with all their host, The earth and all that is on it, The seas and all that is in them. You give life to all of them And the heavenly host bows down before You.” ([[Nehemiah 9.4-38|Nehemiah 9:5-6]]) Part of God’s sovereignty as Creator also means there’s nothing we can offer Him which He needs or will benefit from. In Paul’s sermon at Mars Hill we read, “The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all _people_ life and breath and all things.” ([[Acts 17.22-31|Acts 17:24-25]]) Despite the reality that God needs nothing from us, He is perfectly justified in requiring us to submit glory, honor, and power to Him by means of our praise and worship. In the fourth chapter of Revelation we read about a scene in Heaven where there are living creatures surrounding God’s throne and worshipping Him as the Creator. They say, "Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created." ([[Revelation 4.9-11|Revelation 4:11]]) The first two verses of Genesis give us a look at creation in its most nascent form. We see the embryo from which God will produce the planet as we know it. The first stage of Earth’s development is called [[Formless and Void (Tohu wa-Bohu)|formless and void]], with darkness over the surface of the deep. I think of this like a water planet. It was called Earth even though dry land had not yet appeared and wouldn’t appear until the third day of creation. It was like a formless, chaotic state of pre-creation. The Hebrew phrase used to describe creation at this moment is _Tohu wa-bohu_ which means “formless and void” and can also mean “confusion and emptiness.” With each passing day God would introduce more order to the system until everything began to take shape. What’s fascinating about the stages of creation is that God certainly could have spoken a perfect world, fully furnished with life and ecosystems, out of nothing with a single word. He didn’t need to do it in stages. I think one of the reasons He chose to do it in stages across six days was to show us the ordinary methods of His providence and grace. Consider how the earth was formless and void and how this state of precosmogonic chaos had nothing desirable to be seen. Something that is only shapeless potential is useless because it hasn’t developed its uses yet. There were no inhabitants, no landscapes, not even any features by which to distinguish one direction from another. Earth in its first stage was merely a rough draft of things to come. It was a foreshadow of future actuality. This same principle holds true concerning the Law as found in the scriptures. The Law points to good things which wait for us in the future — it is a foreshadow of those good and actual things. The Law by itself is useless insofar as if you depend on the Law for meaning, purpose, transformation and salvation you’ll discover that it comes up empty. The Law only means anything because of Jesus Christ and His work of redemption. Hebrews describes the emptiness of the law in chapter 10:1 when it says, “For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near.” ([[Hebrews 10.1-6|Hebrews 10:1]]) This doctrine is not deriding the value of scripture — far from it — it’s simply reminding us that all scripture is only authoritative because all scripture is God-breathed. Its source of authority is in God and God is the one who preserves it. In the next few Bible studies we’ll learn about the Fall of Man and how the sin of man quite nearly reduces God’s created order back into confusion and chaos. Jeremiah describes the consequences of God’s wrath in his lament for Judah and you’ll be interested in how similar this description aligns with the pre-created _Tohu wa-Bohu_. Jeremiah said, “I looked on the earth, and behold, _it was_ formless and void; And to the heavens, and they had no light. I looked on the mountains, and behold, they were quaking, And all the hills moved to and fro. I looked, and behold, there was no man, And all the birds of the heavens had fled. I looked, and behold, the fruitful land was a wilderness, And all its cities were pulled down Before the Lord, before His fierce anger.” ([[Jeremiah 4.19-31|Jeremiah 4:23-26]]) Scripture says creation groans under the weight of man’s transgressions and longs for redemption. I love God’s creation and I think there is true, awe-inspiring beauty to behold in this life. But if we get a glimpse of Heaven by comparison, it’s hard to look past the confusion and emptiness still present in this fallen world. Too often evil runs the day and tragedy rips apart everything we hold dear. And if you attempt to live in this world fully separated from God, you discover that despite the appearance of endless beauty, none of it is able to satisfy the eternity which God has placed in your heart. In the first stages of creation where the Earth is formless and void, the entire project is covered in thick darkness. It is a total absence of light. In this case there was nothing of interest to be seen and so the light would not have missed. There’s a spiritual lesson to be learned here — a terrible trap which must be avoided. When you’re separated from God, your unregenerate, graceless soul can feel like it’s covered in thick darkness. This is the natural condition of man: a chaotic miasma of evil, self-deception, and darkness. Your lack of meaning and purpose can begin to feel like a formless chaos — similar to the pre-created material we’ve discussed in this passage. The trap is when you start to believe this formless chaos is all there really is. If you believe this firmly enough you’ll stop longing for light. You’ll become settled with darkness because you’ll believe there’s nothing of substance to be revealed by the light anyway. This is a description of the [[Nihilism|nihilism]] which awaits all of us who reject God’s purpose for our lives. The spiritual lesson teaches us that if God is powerful and wise enough to generate order from chaos on a global scale — how much more can He transform your own dark and chaotic life into something ordered. If He can create entire worlds imprinted with His beauty and splendor — how much more can He reveal His beauty and splendor through your own life? Another important truth about God as revealed in these first verses of Genesis is that He is the Prime Mover. This means He is the beginning of all things which exist. Scripture says the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. You might think of the pre-created material as similar to Ezekiel’s vision of the valley full of dead and dry bones. In Ezekiel’s vision God breathes the spirit of life onto the bones of the slain and they come back to life. ([[Ezekiel 37.1-14]]) Without this first gift of life none of us would exist. The power of God as Prime Mover should encourage us because the same God who creates everything from nothing is the same God who redeems glory from brokenness. Is the redemption of your life too difficult of a project for the Creator God who needs nothing at all as a starting point? Scripture compares Jesus to a hen who gathers her chickens under her wings and hovers over them to warm them and cherish them. This is the same kind of embrace we see from the prophet Elijah when he resurrects the dead child. God’s description as Prime Mover shows us He is the author of all life. God’s role as the author of all life similarly proves He is the ultimate sustainer of all life. God is the source of a constant river of life without which we would all become dry bones. The bones of ourselves would be equally dead as the bones of our ancestors if not for God to quicken us all to life. Job describes death as, “The land of utter gloom as darkness itself, Of deep shadow without order, And which shines as the darkness." ([[Job 10.14-22|Job 10:22]]) With exactly the same power that God created the world from orderless darkness, so He is able to resurrect our bodies from death. He is able to restore us from this land of utter gloom into the glorious light of His eternal presence.