Verse one of the first chapter of Genesis lays the foundation for the whole Bible and our faith. It says, In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
According to this verse, God existed before all things and is the creator of all things. He made the heavens and the earth. He made everything that can be seen and everything that can’t be seen. If this isn’t true and there is no God, our faith is in vain, it has no value or purpose.
All things that exist, except God, had a beginning. Time and history began when God created the heavens and the earth. Time is related to the created material/physical world, to things that have a beginning and an end. God always has and always will exist. God is eternal and spiritual and exists outside of time and the physical world.
Remember in the last lesson we learned that God is an eternal, infinite and spiritual being. He is not like man. He does not have a beginning or an end. He wasn’t born and he won’t die. He doesn’t have a physical body and is present everywhere at all times. He is the source of all that is and is all-knowing and all-powerful. Because God is so different from us, it is hard for us to comprehend the fullness of who he is.
Verse 2 of Genesis 1 tells us what things were like when God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
Before the Beginning
Before God created the heavens and the earth they only existed in his mind, they didn’t exist in a way that could be seen. The Hebrew word for heavens used in Genesis 1:1 refers to stretched out space. Before God made the stars and the planets, he made a place to put them.
The word used for earth means dirt or matter and refers to the elements that all things are made of. God has used the same basic elements in all his creation; he has just put them together in different ways. This means that before he made anything that can be seen he made the material from which things would be made. In other words, he made the building blocks to construct the physical world.
The building blocks that things are made up of is referred to as matter. Our bodies are made up of the same basic matter as dirt and everything else. Matter is made up of elements called atoms which join together to form molecules.
Making matter first is like gathering all the needed types of Legos together before building a Legos contraption. You need to have a plan for what you are going to build and a place to build on. Then you gather all the necessary pieces before you start putting it together.
In Genesis 1:2 it says that in the beginning the earth (or matter) was formless and empty. That means that God still hadn’t organized or shaped it into anything specific or purposeful. The verse goes on to say that darkness was over the surface of the deep, meaning that there was no visible light at the very beginning.
God’s Spirit in the Beginning
God’s Spirit was hovering over the waters. Exactly how the water was we don’t know because there was still no form to matter. It may have just been water molecules existing in deep space. The verse does tell us that God’s Spirit was active in the material world from the beginning, and from the Bible and personal experience we know that the Holy Spirit is still watching over creation.
Colossians 1:16-17 in the New Testament affirms what we have learned about the beginning from Genesis. It says, 16For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. 17He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
In these verses, him and he refer to Jesus. It is saying that by Jesus all things were created, which means he is God and has always existed. God is the one who has formed all matter and holds it together.
The Trinity in the Beginning
From the verses in Colossians and Genesis 1:2, we can see the triune nature of the one and only true God at work: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The three persons of God are referred to as the trinity.
To understand better how three persons make just one God, hold a book in your hands and think about the following: How many books are you holding? How many dimensions does the book have? If you took away one dimension what would be left of the book? The dimensions are three separate entities that make up the one book. The book can’t exist if it doesn’t have three dimensions.
Without God’s act of creation, there would be absolutely nothing in existence besides God.
- Comprehension Questions: What existed before creation? When did time begin? What are all things made of? What was matter like in the beginning? What was space like? What was God’s Spirit doing?
- Thought Question: What does thinking about creation help you understand about God?
- Prayer: Thank God that he had a plan for his creation when he created the space in which to put things and the matter which things are made of. Praise him that he is the almighty Creator who is all knowing and all powerful and able to bring matter, energy and life into existence through his design and desire. Thank him for creating and loving you. Pray that you would hear him speak through his creation and learn to love him more.
Week’s Memory Verse: Colossians 1:16-17
Where did created things come from?
Jesus created all things and holds them together
16For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. 17He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
What does thinking about creation help you understand about God?That God created all men equally and no man is better then another.