Bible Reading: Genesis 1; Ezra 1; Matthew 1; Acts 1
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
To the dismay of the postmodern philosopher, time is linear. There was a beginning. There was a point in time when there was nothing (except God).
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
There was nothing except God and he created everything out of nothing. The Greek philosopher Parmenides coined the Latin phrase ex nihilo nihil fit, which means 'out of nothing comes nothing'. The ancient Greeks believed that the universe was eternal. They believed that the present universe was made up from some preexisting matter. The Bible says:
Hebrews 11:3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
Here in the first verse of Holy Scripture, we have the answers to many questions that man has been asking for thousands of years.
Is there a God? Answer: Yes.
What is the origin of our universe? Answer: God created it out of nothing.
When did time begin? Answer: In the beginning when God created everything we can see.
What is the center of the universe? Answer: the earth. (Not in a geographical sense, but in the sense of importance. Out of all the solar systems, galaxies and planets in existence, God specifically tells us he created the heaven and the earth.)
Where did God come from? Answer: He is! The Bible gives us no explanation for God here. It immediately begins without explaining God in any way. Why is that? Because the Bible is beginning in the beginning and there was no man yet to know God. When God creates man, he will reveal himself to man in a progressive manner over time.
This verse is a foundation stone upon which the rest of the Bible rests. Beginnings are very important. In Genesis 1:1 we see the beginning of the creation of God. In John 1:1 we learn that God was in the beginning. In Mark 1:1 we learn about the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Mark 1:1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
We must begin at the beginning or our story will be wrong. God was in the beginning. He created everything in the beginning. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the beginning of our understanding of God because he is the Son of God. Have you begun at the beginning? Do you believe God's word on creation? Do you believe the gospel of Jesus Christ? Then you have a good beginning and a solid foundation. If not, your house is built on the sand! Let's build a house on the rock this year.
In Christ,
Rody
