“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.”
1. In the beginning… Because God is God, he neither has beginning nor end. Because humanity is humanity, we a have a beginning and no end. To know our true beginnings is momentous and humbling. It leads us to see God in a clearer light. God has no beginning. He is.
2. God created the heavens and the earth… God gave a beginning to creation, and he started with the heavens and the earth. He separates and defines. He conceptualizes and reveals reality, and he does it for humanity. God needs no explanation of his own handiwork. God is the creator of all things, and his intentionality can be seen in his creation.
3.The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep… God’s intentionality carries into process. Instead of creating everything at once, for the sake of his highest creation (humanity), a process is revealed. That which is without form and void can and will have form in the hands of God. That which has never known light—true darkness—can be illuminated by God’s own shining power. God not only makes but completes.
4. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters… God is outside of creation because he is not created. God is outside of time because he is timeless. God is outside of the process because he is complete. But in beautiful revelation of mercy, grace, and love, God willingly enters the fray—even hovering over the face of the waters. By definition, God is far off, but he chooses to come near. God is with us.
5. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light… God’s desire is to illuminate—to reveal. His desire is to finish the process—to complete. And though it is seen in grandiosity here at the beginning of all things, it is seen at its fullest in Jesus Christ. There is no greater revelation of God than his Son, Jesus, who is the light of the world. There is no way around the finished process of Jesus’ salvation work—perfect life, sacrificial death, and triumphant resurrection. Indeed, God said, “let there be light,” and there was light is a direct revelation of Jesus Christ and his work that would come some thousands of years later.
Be blessed today by the lovely truths of God’s Word to us.