There are a handful of verses almost everyone knows. Of those, the most “disputed” might be the very first: Genesis 1:1. Clocking in at just ten words, how much can we learn from this passage?
Quite a lot, actually. I’m sure there are plenty more beyond these, but today I’m going to focus on the four main takeaways from Genesis 1:1.
In the beginning
The first three words of the Bible are simple. At a surface-level read, they tell us the “when” of the story. It also raises questions.
For example, when was the beginning? If you ascribe to the Young Earth model, this event took place less than 10,000 years ago. If you choose to adopt a scientific perspective, this took place well over four billion years ago.
I don’t think our minds can comprehend time scales much beyond either of those. Jesus himself walked the earth right around 2,000 years ago, and that itself seems ancient to many people.
Whichever timeline-based model you believe, the fact remains: there is a beginning to the story. This then brings us to the important part of this specific point.
For God, He already existed. There wasn’t a beginning for Him; rather, it was the beginning for humanity. We struggle to understand time; God is beyond time, which in just three simple words paints a picture of His power. He exists outside of what we know of as existence. It kinda puts into perspective the phrase “in God we trust.”
Speaking of God…
I love words. That’s probably why I’m a writer. The fourth word of this verse is definitive. In the beginning was the “when.”
God is the “who.”
As a quick sidebar, the Hebrew word used here is ‘ĕlōhîm which is used over 2,600 times in the Old Testament. For comparison, the Greek equivalent is theos and it’s used over 1,300 times.
If you like math, then know that God is referenced just under 4,000 times across the 66 books of the Bible.
Now, let’s say these verses another way. The Hebrew word for “In the Beginning” is sometimes translated as “First.” In other words, “First, God.”
Let that sink in. Sorta sounds like Matthew 6:33, doesn’t it?
God created
Of all of the words in Genesis 1:1, the next one might be the most straightforward. Created is the past tense version of create. This tells us that the event already happened.
Whereas other verses remind us that we are a work in progress (1 Corinthians 15:2 comes to mind), this is not. The world has been created.
I do want to draw attention to Ecclesiastes 12:1. The same Hebrew word is rendered as Creator, which (as far as I can tell), is the only time it’s used as a noun instead of an action. I could spend a lot of time unpacking that, but I don’t think it’s what God wants us to walk away with today.
Instead, it’s simply this: He is the One who made the world.
The heavens and the earth
So, it would be really easy to get caught up in what “the heavens” refer to. Those would be from less of a spiritual stance and more from the viewpoint of someone who loves astronomy. The stars fascinate me. My favorite constellation is the Pleiades though that’s a topic for another day.
I compared the word “heaven” in both the Old and New Testaments and gleaned a couple of interesting concepts. But first, I want to address the latter part of the phrase: and the earth.
You’re free to take your pick of which definition you want to apply to the Hebrew word ‘ereṣ which is what the author of Genesis used here. Some options include land, country, the ground, earth, and so on.
Back to the things I gleaned. The translation of “šāmayim ‘ēṯ ‘ereṣ” is rendered in Genesis 1:1 as “the heavens and the earth.” More importantly, the words can be summed up in a basic three-letter word.
All.
Whether you think the phrase “the heavens” refers to our eternal resting place, the atmosphere of our planet, the stars in the sky, or whether the earth means the land, our planet, our individual kingdoms, and so on doesn’t necessarily matter.
What does matter here is that God created it all.
How it applies to us
Long-time Christians may gloss over Genesis 1:1 whenever they start to read their Bible from cover to cover. I know I have. I’ve heard and read this verse for decades, so its implications are often lost.
That’s why I thought I’d restart my ministry blog with this. Genesis 1:1 tells us a lot about God, His power, and what He controls.
It’s that same three-letter word from above.
All.