Bible Studies

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Ge 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

The existence of God is a given. The Bible does not start off giving proofs as to the existence of God. It just assumes it. The existence of God, as someone puts it, is like beauty, it cannot be proved, it can only be shown.

Here Moses, the writer of Genesis, shows his readers (primarily Israel) that the God who redeemed them from Egypt was the God who created the universe, that He originated everything. Back in Egypt they worshiped things in the heavens and creatures of the earth.

They worshiped the sun, the stars, the birds etc. Not to mention creatures of the earth like snakes, cattles to name a few. Hey, even the land itself. They had this earth god called Geb. With just one sweeping motion, he dismissed all their gods in this verse.

Moses sought to show them that their God was infinitely greater. Verse 1, including the entire chapter, was written by Moses to reinforce and support the command he gave to Israel: "You shall have no other gods before Me."

In the entire universe, there are only two modes of existence. It is either you are part of the created or you are the Creator. God is the Creator, all the rest are created by Him. Yes, the entire universe ("the heavens and the earth") including everyone and everything in it are created by Him.

That is why we are to have no other gods except God. There are only two possibilities with regards to worship. Either we are worshiping the Creator or worshiping a creature.

Worship rightfully belongs alone to the Creator of all.
Man, through his idolatry, has turned the world out of order. Everything is upside down. It is not in its proper order. Today, many worship anyone or anything except God. People today have many gods like sex, money, ambition, cars, reputation, other people, self etc.

They "bow down" to it and are willing to do anything for it. Hence, the sufferings, the pain and the sorrows that we experience today.

This one single verse tells us loads of information about God. It is a theological powerhouse. We will only mention some of them as we proceed.

* The Eternality Of God

In the beginning, God was already there. He was already there when time began. He who was already there in the beginning is someone who has no beginning. In fact, it was God who caused the beginning. The beginning began to exists when God created the heavens and the earth. He is eternal. Timeless.

* The Plurality Of God

"God" here is the Hebrew "Elohim." It implies the plurality within the Godhead. The word "Elohim" is plural in the Hebrew. There is only one God, yes, but that one God exists in three persons. The plurality in the Godhead is made even more obvious when we read verse 26: "Then God (Elohim) said, "Let US make man in OUR image, according to OUR likeness..."

* The Capability Of God

God created the universe out from nothing. There were no pre-existent materials that He worked with. For God to create the universe out from nothing implies the infinite resources that God has in Himself. His resources and capability know no bounds.

* The Superiority Of God

Nothing in the universe is a rival to God. The universe had a beginning. It is not eternal. It is temporal. It did not eternally co-exist with God. This means that God is above, over and beyond the universe. That the universe is not a part of God. He transcends it. He is separate from it. He exists independently from it. He is ultimately, totally and utterly the superior "other."

The universe is the effect. God is the cause. The universe is the product. God is the producer. The universe proceeds from God. God precedes it. Surely, the effect is greater and superior over the cause. No doubt, the producer is greater and superior over the product.

* The Infinity Of God

"Heaven and earth" is a Hebraic way of referring to the universe. God created space. Hence, He is before space. He is beyond space. He is not bound by it. There was a time when space was not. There was only God. Anyone who is not limited and bound by space is someone who is infinite.

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