Genesis 1:1

¹ “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”

 Of course He did! He had to! There is NO OTHER reasonable, logical, or scientifically rational possibility of how the things that now exist came to exist. None! Science, almost from its beginning, has been based upon, (and, in fact has demanded) a logical, rational, application of empirical evidence to the known laws of the universe.

Let me say that again… Science, almost from its beginning, has been based upon, (and, in fact has demanded) a logical, rational, application of empirical evidence to the known laws of the universe.

So now, (at least since the mindless acceptance of Darwinian evolutionary theory) logic, rationality, and the application of empirical evidence has been thrown out the window in order to escape the patently obvious scientific FACT that “Out of nothing, nothing comes!” The Latin for that, (I knew you would want to know) is “Ex Nihilo, Nihil Fit.” This was, in fact, first argued by the Greek philosopher Parmenides around 550BC.

Hear me! It does not take a Greek Philosopher to know that “out of nothing nothing comes.” The very word “nothing” is simply a contraction of the words, “no thing.” That is exactly what nothing is… “no thing.”

Technically, it is a grammatical error – as well as a scientific error – to say the words, “nothing is” since “is” is the third person singular present tense of the verb to be; which, nothing is not, because it is “no thing!”

Any elementary school kid educated in the Atwood-Hammond School District; the Arthur-Lovington School District; the Arcola School District; the Tuscola School district; the Arthur Christian School; or, Homeschooled by one of our godly families, knows enough science to know that “out of nothing nothing comes.”

Nothing multiplied by any possible amount of time still equals nothing! Here’s an experiment for you: put nothing in a jar, seal the lid, and let it set for a billion years or so and then look to see what is in the jar!

WAIT! WE CANNOT DO THAT! IF THERE WAS “NOTHING”… WE COULD NOT HAVE THE JAR; WE COULD NOT HAVE THE LID; WE COULD NOT HAVE THE YEARS OF TIME; AND, THERE WOULD NOT BE ANYONE TO LOOK IN THE JAR!

As Dr. R.C. Sproul loves to point out, “If there had ever been a time when “nothing” existed, then nothing would exist today because out of “nothing” nothing comes!”

Here I am again… stuck in a grammatical trap. It is both grammatically and scientifically incorrect to say that “nothing would exist” because nothing is “no thing” has no being; therefore, “no thing” cannot exist. It is scientifically impossible for nothing to exist. If “nothing” did exist then you could not mix it with “anything” because if “nothing” is what existed then “anything” could not exist to be mixed with “nothing” in order to evolve into “something!”

I am getting a headache. I imagine I am giving you one as well.

Beloved Ones, this is what not only passes for “science” today – it is the sacred altar upon which almost all secular academia stands!

This is even true in “so-called” Christian Universities. In July of 2000, Baylor University in Waco, Texas, dismissed Dr. William Dembski for suggesting that “Intelligent Design” (which is not – by the way – a full-fledged endorsement of Creationism) be allowed to be mentioned in their science classes.

So, how do we explain how everything that exists came to exist?

Good question! The answer can be stated in two scientifically rational and unchangeable laws:

#1: In John 17:17, Jesus said of the Bible, “Your Word is Truth.”

#2: There are NO EXCEPTIONS to #1!

Therefore, since Jesus said the Bible is truth; and, since there are no exceptions to that; and, since Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” ergo: everything that exists came to exist because: in the beginning of Creation, the One True Living God of the Christian Bible created everything that exists!

Just to be clear, let me say that again…

Everything that exists came to exist because: in the beginning of Creation, the One True Living God of the Christian Bible created everything that exists!!

Let’s examine our text:

“In the beginning”

These three English words, “In the beginning” are a translation of a single Hebrew word, “Berasheth.” This speaks of the beginning of Creation. God had no beginning as HE has always existed. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, have existed for all eternity – and will exist for all eternity yet to be.

In his Gospel, The Apostle John tells us that Jesus Christ was; HIMSELF, the Creator of the Universe!

John 1:1-3 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.”

The Apostle Paul confirms this in his Epistle to the Colossians!

Colossians 1: 15-17 “He (Christ) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”

“God”

The Hebrew word here is “Elohim.” As you likely already know, this is a compound word with the primary root being “El” which is a Hebrew Name for God; and it has the addition a modifier (“im”) which designates it as a plural noun. It is no accident that when God revealed Himself to Moses as the Creator of Creation HE used the plural noun since HE is indeed a Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Genesis 1:26 “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

As we move along in these verses, we will see that all Three Persons of the Holy Trinity are actively involved in Creation!

“created”

Here we are confronted with a clear Hebrew word: “bara”. It means exactly what its English counterpart means, “to bring into existence.” This word is used 5 times in Genesis 1-5, and a total of 13 times in the Old Testament. Every time it is used, it speaks of God as being the “cause” or “source” of something that exists.

One of the most easily provable and universally accepted so-called “Laws of the Universe” (which – in reality – are nothing more than the outworking of God’s providential decrees) is the Law of Cause and Effect.

This simple law states that “For every cause there must be a corresponding effect; and, for every effect there must be a corresponding cause.”

“Cause and Effect” – we see it every day!

God is the Cause of Creation! HE is; HIMSELF, the Creator! Someone once sincerely asked me, “OK, so what caused God?” Answer? Nothing “caused” God. God is not an “effect” God is a “cause.” In fact, HE is the “First Cause” of everything else!

“Bara” does not mean the same thing as the Hebrew word “asah” which means “to make” something. The difference is that “bara” refers to creating something while “asah” refers to making something new out of something that already exists.

A good illustration would be:

God “created” clay that did not exist before HE created it.

A Potter can “make” pottery out of clay which does exist before he can make anything with it.

So we have it: “Berasheth Elohim bara” “In the beginning God created…”

“the heavens and the earth.”

The usual Hebrew word for “heavens” (and the one used here in Genesis 1:1) is “shamayim.” As we can tell from the “im” ending, it is plural and basically means “heights” or “that which is above.”

The Bible reveals the existence of “Three Heavens” the first being the atmosphere of the earth; (Genesis 1:6-8) the second being the rest of the universe beyond the atmosphere of the earth; (Genesis 1:14-16) and, the third being the Eternal Place where God dwells. (2^nd Corinthians 12:1-5)

On the first day of Creation, God created the atmosphere of the earth and the rest of the Universe.

Consider the glory of God that is seen in HIS Creation:

Psalm 19:1-6 “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above1 proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun, which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy. Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them, and there is nothing hidden from its heat.”

Consider that the very nature of God is seen in HIS Creation:

Romans 1:18-20 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.”

The Hebrew word for “earth” is “adamah” which refers to the soil and ground of the earth. It is the basic material from which the soils of the planet are formed.

In the beginning of Creation, the One True and Living God of the Christian Bible, by an act of His Own will, decreed into existence everything that exists other than HIMSELF!

On the First Day of Creation HE created time, space, material, and light. And, HE created everything that exists in six literal days.

Amen.