First Words Recorded in the Bible: Genesis 1:1-2
There’s great significance in God’s first words He inspired to be recorded in the Bible.
For us to know where we’re headed, we need to know where we came from.
What better place for us to answer this question than to examine the first words recorded in the Bible?
There’s a longing in each person to know our origin, and how we answer this question reveals a lot about our worldview.
The definition of a worldview, according to John MacArthur is, “One’s collection of presuppositions, convictions and values from which a person tries to understand and make sense out of the world and life.”
As followers of Jesus who are convinced that God’s Word is inerrant, infallible, God-breathed, living, and active — our goal is to have a Biblical worldview.
The Barna research group describes a Biblical worldview as:
“Believing that absolute moral truth exist; that such truth is defined by the Bible; and firm belief in six specific religious views:
- Jesus Christ lived a sinless life
- God is the all-powerful and all-knowing Creator of the universe and He still rules it today
- Salvation is a gift from God and cannot be earned
- Satan is real
- A Christian has a responsibility to share their faith in Christ with other people
- The Bible is accurate in all of its teaching”
The First words recorded in God’s Word
The first thing the Lord God inspired to be recorded in Scripture is the answer to the origin of everything — including every living thing.
This good news is recorded in the Creation account in Genesis.
Every person, plant, animal, atom, and cell – every living creature has been accounted for in the beginning.
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the Earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the spirit of God was hovering over the waters” (Genesis 1:1-2)
Important truths from the Word of God from the First Words recorded in the Old Testament
God is eternal.
No one or no thing created God; He always was, is, and is to come.
He is infinite and eternal.
Difficult concept to wrap our minds around, and one we believe by faith.
There was a beginning of the world as we know it, and God is its Creator.
The words, “In the beginning, God created” reveal there was a literal beginning to our world, and God created it all from the first through the sixth day of creation
- He created light and darkness
- Land, seas, sky, and vegetation – including seed-bearing plants
- Living creatures – the fish of the sea, the fowl of the air, and every animal
- Man and woman – made in the image of God
God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit represented
Each member of the Godhead is eternal and was therefore present in the beginning.
The Trinity is comprised of
- God the Father
- Jesus Christ
- The Holy Spirit
Genesis 1:2 tells us the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters; this refers to the presence of the Holy Spirit.
The gospel of John in the New Testament begins with a reference to the presence of Christ at Creation:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word WAS God.” (John 1:1)
Verse 14 continues, “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.”
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is eternal.
It’s noteworthy that the plural form “us” is used in Gen. 1:26:
“Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
The first recorded words in God’s Word impact our daily life
What we believe to be true regarding where we came from determines:
- The way we think, our worldview
- The decisions we make
- The way we live
A Biblical apologist and expert on creation, Ken Ham, emphasizes the relevance and authority of the book of Genesis in the life of every Christian.
Ken Ham poses this poignant question that each one of us must answer, “If you can’t trust the Bible’s history, how can you trust its morality?”
Allow me to offer a loose paraphrase of the question Mr. Ham posed, “If one part of the Bible is wrong, how can we trust it at all?”
The Bible is either completely perfect and true, or it’s not at all.
It’s trustworthy or it’s not.
It’s either worthy to anchor our entire belief system into its truth, or its not.
We can’t pick and choose parts of the Bible we like or want to accept as truth based on:
- The parts we’re comfortable with
- What we think appears logical and rational
- What we like or want to be true
If we don’t believe and trust where it tells us we came from, then how can we believe and trust where it tells us we’re going?
If we doubt the beginning God provided, how can we trust in the end He’s proclaimed – eternity with Him?
Ken Ham was instrumental in the building of the Creation Museum and the life-sized replica of Noah’s Ark in Kentcky.
I’d highly recommend a trip to these two museums. Our family loved our visit.
The sight of the ark took our breaths away as we approached and toured.
The first words in the Bible are essential to an accurate identity in Christ
Knowing and believing we were Created by our God is essential to not only having a Biblical worldview but also to having an accurate understanding of our identity in Christ.
If we omit the Creator from our perspective, the Created will begin to create, modify, tweak, or define their own identity.
This is rampant in our society today as people reject the Creator and define who they are according to their desires and volition.
