Genesis 1:1 – “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth”

Not a few of our problems in life come from starting at the wrong place. Building on the wrong foundation always gives the wrong results. Our search for the truth must begin in the right place and it is no coincidence that the Bible begins where it does. The truth that is contained in the first verse is the fundamental truth that the rest of God’s revelation to mankind rests.

The first truth revealed to us in this verse is that God is real! The world exists, there is something rather than nothing, but why is there something rather than nothing? Who is responsible for the fact that we exist? What should our response be to this “person”?

To understand our existence is one of the basic questions of life. Much of modern science assumes that “what” is responsible for the universe and most of these explanations are materialistic in nature. In all reality, life is unexplainable if God did not create the world. The fact that we are persons points to a personal Creator, “God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands.Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things.And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’ Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising” (Acts 17:24-29). 

We understand this fact by faith, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible” (Hebrews 11:1-3). 

Our response can fall one of two ways. We either accept that God is the Creator of all things, ourselves included, and be held accountable by Him or reject God and place our affections in our creations, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened” (Romans 1:20, 21). 

The second truth about Genesis 1:1 is that we learn God is real…right now! There is a difference about knowing a thing theoretically and knowing it is true through experience. God becomes very real to us in times of trouble and when people are on their deathbeds. Sometimes the view going out is different from the view coming in. The challenge is to live right now in such a way that God is real to us, and He has a present impact on our lives, but how can we experience this impact?

First, we need to spend more time in the world of God. The more we contact the creation of God and less we contact the inventions of man, the more we will see God. To see a sunrise or a sunset, to watch the animals in this earth play, and to feel the quiet solitude of the trees remind us that this is our Father’s world, “Nevertheless He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good, gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness” (Acts 14:17).

Second, we need to spend more time in the word of God. The reality of God confronts us on every page of Scripture. Bible study is about coming to know God Himself. The art of reflection, meditation, and serious thought will draw us closer to God, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).

The first verse of the Bible teaches us that we came from God. He is our origin. He is also our destiny. When we die, our spirits will return to God who gave them, “Remember your Creator before the silver cord is loosed, Or the golden bowl is broken, Or the pitcher shattered at the fountain, Or the wheel broken at the well. Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, And the spirit will return to God who gave it” (Ecclesiastes 12:6, 7).

By: Justin Odom