IN THE BEGINNING
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." (Gen. 1:1)
This creation was not limited to just the heavens and the earth, for God created all things.
"You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things, and
by Your will they exist and were created." (Rev. 5:8)
A question that a person might ask is, "Why?". One of the answers is found in the book of
Romans. In the first chapter of his first New Testament epistle, Paul begins with a discussion of
creation and its relationship to God's attributes.
"For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by
things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,"
(Rom. 1:20)
This verse implies that God's character is demonstrated through things that He made. The word
"excuse" implies that rewards may not be given or perhaps even punishment may be in order if one
does not have knowledge of God's attributes, or respect His power and authority.
But, what about people? Why were they created? The answer lies within the following verse:
"He gives to all life, breath, and all things. And He has made from one blood every nation of men
to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the
boundaries of their habitation, so that they should seek the Lord". (Acts 17:24-28)
The purpose for our existence is to seek God.
Every nation of men includes the gentiles. Gentiles, as called out in Scripture, are those of
non-Jewish faith.
"After this I will return and will rebuild the tabernacle of David which has fallen down. I will
rebuild its ruins, and I will set it up, so that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, even all the
gentiles who are called by My name, says the Lord who does these things." (Acts 15:16-17, Amos
9:11,12)
Knowing that the purpose of life is to seek God, the question now becomes, "What does it mean to
seek God?" To seek God is to desire to become like Him.
"Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we
know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone
who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure." (1 John 3:2,3)
The following verse reinforces the premise that God desires that we are to purify ourselves,
just as He is pure.
"Therefore, you shall be perfect, just as the Father in heaven is perfect." (Mt. 5:48)
If we are to become like Him, then, we must become perfect. Perfection in God is measured by
the fullness of God. In Christ, perfection is a measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.
"till we all come to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man,
to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;" (Eph. 4:13)
This does not mean that individuals will acquire the all encompassing perfection of God.
"Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of
that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have
apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to
those things which are ahead," (Phili. 3:12,13)
We should continually move towards perfection, or towards the fullness of Christ.
"Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to
perfection...." (Heb. 6:1)
In perfecting ourselves, we should seek after God's attributes and apply them to our way of living.
A person who desires to be perfect in accordance with the Kingdom of God, also desires to become holy. Holiness is a quality of being without sin. Sin is the actual breaking of God's law or an act against God's will.
"Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say to them: 'You shall be holy, for I
the Lord your God am holy.'" (Lev. 19:2)
THE FALL
Mentioning that we are to become like God, using such terms as holiness, perfection, purity and
sinless, will set off an alarm in those familiar with Scripture, for these people will recall the five "I
will's" of Satan and how he fell.
"How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the
ground, you who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: 'I will ascend into
heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the
congregation on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will
be like the Most High.'" (Isa. 14:12-14)
One must not be endangered with a philosophy that parallels Satan's fall. Yet,
Scripture says to be like God, and at the same time it says not to be like God. In order to resolve this dichotomy of Scripture, it is necessary to examine God's attributes.
GOD'S ATTRIBUTES
Describing God is extremely difficult. Because of His overwhelming nature, He seems
incomprehensible. From an individualistic viewpoint, God can be described in, but not limited to,
the following three terms;
Omnipotent (almighty):
"...the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, 'I am Almighty God;...'" (Gen. 17:1)
Omnipresent (present everywhere):
"'Can anyone hide himself in secret places, so I shall not see him?' says the Lord; 'Do I not fill
heaven and earth?' says the Lord." (Jer. 23:24)
Omniscient (all knowing):
"...God is greater than our heart, and knows all things." (1 John 3:20)
God's all knowing, all powerful and omnipresent character makes Him the God of gods. Satan
tried to exalt himself to the throne of God and acquire these characteristics. As a result of his
attempt to usurp God's authority, Satan was cut down like a mighty tree.
From a relationship point of view, God is good, kind and full of compassion. He is
concerned with our welfare, and that we care about each other.
"And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, 'The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and
gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands,
forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin,..." (Ex. 34:6,7)
His nature is further described in one format as the fruit of the Spirit.
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness, self-control...." (Gal. 5:22,23)
In order to avoid the same mistake that Satan made, those who seek to be like God should limit themselves to such attributes as the fruit of the Spirit. We should cloth ourselves in these attributes, and humble ourselves before the throne, rather than exalt ourselves to the throne.
THE FALL OF MAN
At some point in time after God created the earth, the earth is found to be in a state of
darkness.
"...The earth was without form, and void;..." (Gen. 1:2)
What was the earth void of? The Bible, being good to interpret itself, provides an answer in the
book of Jeremiah. The Lord draws upon Genesis 1:2 & 3 as He speaks to Jeremiah concerning
His people.
"For My people are foolish, they have not known Me. They are silly children, and they have no
understanding. They are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge. I beheld the
earth, and indeed it was without form, and void; and the heavens, they had no light." (Jer.
4:22,23)
The earth was void of knowledge concerning the ways of God, and the people had no form of
understanding.
Paul also reveals an answer as to what the earth was void of following his statement relating
creation to the attributes of God.
"because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but
became futile in their thoughts, and...exchanged the truth for the lie,..." (Rom. 1:21,24)
In the beginning, man knew the truth concerning the ways of God, and lived according to this
truth. However, man rejected this truth and lived according to his own thoughts. Thus, the earth
became void of truth concerning the ways of God.
The pattern of "good" existing before the earth became void of the ways of God is demonstrated
through the fall of Adam and Eve. Things were pleasant in the garden of Eden until Satan offered
a lie to Eve. Eve accepted the offer and rejected God's word. She exchanged the truth for the
lie.
"but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat it,
nor shall you touch it, lest you die.' And the serpent said to the woman, 'You will not surely die.'"
...So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a
tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate...(Gen. 3:3,4,6)
As a result of this sin, man was driven from the garden. When men were left in the hands of
Satan, the earth became wicked, and knowledge of God's character became void on the earth.
This one deception was enough to cause great wickedness on the earth. God's answer to this
wickedness was a great flood.
DARKNESS
Since creation relates to God's character, lacking the knowledge of God's ways would blind one's
eyes to the surrounding creation. Thus, creation would have no spiritual form. This condition
is reflected on the innermost being of man, as shown in the remaining part of the first sentence of
verse 2.
"...and darkness was on the face of the deep..." (Gen 1:2)
Darkness as an objective situation is concealment or obscurity. As a subjective attitude, it is
secrecy and deception. It is a lack of knowledge or insight, i.e. error. The mention of darkness
serves to offset light. Light and darkness is contrasted throughout the New Testament. The
following list covers some of these contrasts:
Mt. 4:16 Darkness is a region and the shadow of death
If Jesus is the light of the world and the true way to eternal life, then, the opposite, darkness, must
be a place of death. Death is the complete absence of light just as when the earth was void. In
total darkness, the attributes of the Father are completely missing. This is outer darkness.
One way to describe outer darkness is to select someone who you are closely attached to, be it a
parent, spouse, child or sweetheart, and imagine that they are somewhere in the vast star system,
unreachable by the chasm of space. Earth becomes a prison and thoughts of the loved one will
cause a person to weep. The inability to escape the prison will cause anger. Thus, the separation
results in weeping and gnashing of teeth.
"Then the king said to the servants, 'Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into
outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'" (Mt. 22:13)
Genesis 1:2, mentions water twice; the face of the deep and the face of the waters. The waters are
nations and peoples of the earth.
"And he (angel) said to me, 'The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples,
multitudes, nations, and tongues.'" (Rev. 17:15)
The deep is the inward portion or heart of the waters. The Hebrew word for heart is "labab,"
which in a general sense means the midst, the innermost, or the hidden parts of things. The
expression "heart of the sea" is used in the Song of Moses.
"...The waters were gathered together; the floods stood upright like a heap; and the depths
congealed in the heart of the sea." (Ex. 15:8)
The expression "Darkness was upon the face of the deep" means that darkness was on the hearts
of the people of the earth. Paul's parallel to "darkness was on the face of the deep" is found
further on in Romans 1.
"...and their foolish hearts were darkened." (Rom. 1:21)
It is interesting to note how Paul, in his epistle to the Romans, in a step-by-step fashion, interprets
Genesis 1:1,2. Also, it may not be by coincidence that it is the first epistle of the New
Testament.
WICKEDNESS
In the next sequence of events in Genesis 1, the Holy Spirit hovered over the face of the waters
and saw the outward condition of the people.
"...And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters." (Gen. 1:2)
Paul makes an extensive description of this condition. Because this condition runs counter to the purpose for which God made man, not to mention that it is stressed at the beginning of the Bible
and at the beginning of Paul's epistles, it seems fitting to quote the complete passage describing
what the Holy Spirit was witnessing while hovering over the face of the waters.
"Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their
bodies among themselves, who exchange the truth for the lie, and worshiped and served the
creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason God gave them up
to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature.
Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of their woman, burned in their lust one for another,
men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error
which was due. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them
over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all
unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder,
strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud,
boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving,
unforgiving, unmerciful;" (Rom. 1:24-31)
If the Holy Spirit was to hover over the nations of the world today, what would He see? Would
He see nations being destroyed by the flood of wickedness? Would He see a nation that
tolerates homosexuals and other forms of sexual immorality?
God's judgment concerning sexual immorality is found in the Old Testament.
"The man who lies with his father's wife...shall surely be put to death...if a man lies with a male as
he lies with a woman,...they shall surely be put to death." (Lev. 20:13)
This judgment did not change after Christ died on the cross. Here's what the next verse in
Romans 1 has to say with respect to the long list of unclean activities listed above.
"who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of
death,..." (Rom. 1:32)
In Romans 1, man is shown the ways of God by things that are made, so that he will have no
excuse when faced with the righteous judgment of God.
"Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived.
Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor
covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God." (1 Cor.
6:9,10)
KNOWLEDGE
Because our God is a merciful God, He is good to make known again His ways to the nations,
peoples and tribes of the earth.
"Then God said, 'Let there be light'; and there was light." (Gen. 1:3)
This was the true light, which enlightens everyone with knowledge of God's ways.
With the introduction of this truth, the earth now contained a mixture of truth and error.
Unfortunately, those who were in darkness didn't recognize the truth.
"And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it." (John 1:5)
One of the reasons people do not accept the light is that they are afraid to have their evil deeds
exposed.
"And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness
rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and
does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed." (John 3:19,20)
UNDERSTANDING
The truth had to be separated from the error.
"And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness." (Gen.
1:4)
When the earth became void, truth was exchanged for the lie. Now, the lie has to be exchanged
for the truth. This is accomplished with another Helper; the Spirit of truth. The first helper is the
light, and the second helper is a way to separate the light from darkness.
"And I (Jesus) will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with
you forever, even the Spirit of truth,..." (John 14:16,17)
The Spirit of truth is none other than the Holy Spirit.
"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all
things,..." (John 14:26)
"However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth;..." (John
16:13)
Without the proper guide, the blind lead the blind.
"...And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch." (Mt. 15:14)
Properly interpreting the light is the key to opening the eyes of the blind. This key separates truth
and error. When light arrived, the earth was no longer void of the attributes of God. When
understanding arrived and separated the truth from the error, the earth took form. Form comes
from understanding. The spiritual aspect is the form derived from physical things. Things take
shape when we understand them.
The expression "without form" or "without understanding" is very significant in it's
relationship to salvation. Philip demonstrated the need for understanding to go with knowledge
when he encountered the eunuch from Ethiopia.
"So he arose and went. And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under
Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury, and had come to
Jerusalem to worship, was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet.
Then the Spirit said to Philip, 'Go near and overtake this chariot.' So Philip ran to him, and heard
him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, 'Do you understand what you are reading?" And he said,
'How can I, unless someone guides me?'...Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this
scripture, preached Jesus to him. Now as they went down the road, they came to some water.
And the eunuch said, 'See, here is water.' What hinders me from being baptized? Then Philip
said, 'If you believe with all your heart, you may.' And he answered and said, 'I believe that Jesus
Christ is the Son of God.'" (Acts 8:27-37)
The eunuch could not see that Jesus was the Son of God by just reading the Holy Scriptures or
having knowledge of the works of Jesus. He needed understanding. When Philip provided the
understanding, the eunuch's eyes were opened and he saw the light; i.e. Jesus was the Son of
God.
Philip gave the following response to the eunuch, when the eunuch asked what hindered him from
being baptized: "If you believe with all your heart." The eunuch had received understanding from
Philip, and this understanding had lodged in his heart. Notice the relationship between
understanding and the heart in the following verses.
"having their understanding darkened,...because of the hardening of the heart;" (Eph. 4:18)
"He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, lest they should see with their eyes and
understand with their heart,..." (John 12:40)
As Paul continues writing in Romans 2, he wrote concerning the Old Testament law and its
inability to separate light from darkness.
"but he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, and not in
the letter;..." (Rom. 2:29)
For one may not steal or commit adultery because of the law, yet from the heart that same person
may not see the golden rule behind the reason for not stealing or committing adultery.
Understanding, i.e. interpretation, was the vehicle that separated light from darkness. One
well-known interpreter of the Light was John the Baptist. He bore witness of the Light. A
witness is a person who gives evidence regarding matters of fact under inquiry. John provided
understanding to the facts concerning the Light. This understanding caused others to believe that
the Light was the Son of God.
"This man (John the Baptist) came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through
him might believe." (John 1:7)
The sequence of events in John 1 has the darkness not comprehending the Light (John 1:5), John
the Baptist arriving on the scene (John 1:6) and then John the Baptist bears witness of the Light.
What was different about John the Baptist that enabled him to bring understanding concerning the
Light to the people? John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Spirit (of truth).
"For he (John the Baptist) will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor
strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb." (Luke
1:15)
If man comes under the obedience of Christ, God is good to provide the Holy Spirit of
understanding of the written word. Christ, being filled with the Holy Spirit, provided this
understanding.
"And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures." (Luke
24:45)
ELOHIM
The plural use of God in the first three chapters of Genesis has puzzled many readers. In
general, theologians refer this plurality as being the triune God consisting of the Father, Son and
Holy Spirit.
The Hebrew word for God used in these passages is "elohim". It is the plural form of "Eloahh"
which means "a deity or God". In the beginning, the triune God created things in order to
demonstrate the Father's attributes. Creation is centered around providing man an opportunity
to perfect himself with God's character. The Father orchestrates the whole scheme of things
through the use of the Son and the Holy Spirit.
The focus of Scripture is on the knowledge of God as demonstrated by Christ, the light of
the world. This light (Logos) was an expression of God.
The Holy Spirit interpreted this expression of God.
"Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God,
bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ," (2 Cor. 10:5)
THE CHOSEN ONES
Prior to Christ, a select group of people were led by the law of God. They were the Jews,
God's chosen people. The law was designed to lead them to the Messiah, the Christ.
"Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith."
(Gal. 3:24)
Jesus acknowledged that He was the Messiah when He spoke to the woman at the well.
"The woman said to Him, 'I know that Messiah is coming' (who is called Christ). 'When He
comes, He will tell us all things.' Jesus said to her, 'I who speak to you am He.'" (John
4:25,26)
In general, the world, both Jews and Gentiles, did not recognize Him as the Messiah.
"He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know
Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him." (John 1:10,11)
Those who accepted Him as the Messiah were given the right to become sons of God.
"But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to
those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of
the will of man, but of God." (John 1:12)
AT DAY'S END
After God separated light from darkness, He gave names to light and darkness.
"God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning
were the first day." (Gen. 1:5)
The first six enlightenments end with the expression "the evening and the morning were the...day".
The evening is the time when light is replaced by darkness. The morning is the time when
darkness is overcome by light. Each of the first six days is concerned with various aspects of
man's progression as he struggles in an arena of truth and error as typified by light and
darkness.
Knowledge and understanding, light and separation of light from darkness, or the Son and the
Holy Spirit are parallel entities that provide us with the way we are to live as God's chosen people. Knowledge and understanding were the first of five ingredients for establishing a school that was to provide man the opportunity to be molded into the image of God. Given these relationships, Genesis 1:1,2 could be rewritten as:
In the beginning, God made His attributes known by the things He created. The earth became
void of knowledge and understanding of God's ways. The result was darkened hearts and
wickedness. In His great mercy, God again provided knowledge and understanding of His
ways.
copyright 1996 by Dana George Cottrell
Mt. 6:23 Light is good; darkness is bad
Mt. 22:13 Outer darkness is a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth
Luke 1:79 Darkness is conflict; light is peace
Acts 26:18 Darkness is being under the power of Satan;
Acts 26:18 Light is being under the power of God
2 Cor. 4:6 Light is knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ
2 Cor. 6:14 Light is righteousness; darkness is lawlessness
Eph. 5:11 Darkness is unfruitful works
Eph. 6:12 Darkness is wickedness in heavenly places
Col. 1:13 Light is the kingdom of the Son
2 Pet. 2:17 Darkness is a place of gloom
1 John 1:6 Light is truth; darkness is lying, falseness and error