In the Beginning, God
Genesis opens with what I would argue are some of the most powerful words in all of Scripture:
“In the beginning, God…”
Think about that for a moment.
Before there was a universe, there was God.
Before there were stars, there was God.
Before there was the earth, there was God.
Before there was time as we know it, there was God.
Genesis does not begin by trying to explain where God came from. It simply introduces us to Him as the One who already is.
And then Moses tells us:
“God created the heavens and the earth.”
The Bible begins by answering one of the most fundamental questions human beings have ever asked:
Where did everything come from?
And the answer is not that everything simply appeared.
The answer is not that matter has always existed.
The answer is not that the universe is simply the product of blind, unguided natural processes or randomness.
The answer is:
“In the beginning, God created…”
God Created Out of Nothing
What we need to understand as Christians is that God is the Creator.
And because God is the Creator, everything that exists ultimately belongs to Him and is accountable to Him.
When we talk about God as Creator, we are talking about what theologians have historically described with the Latin phrase creatio ex nihilo, meaning “creation out of nothing.”
Before God created, there was no independent universe existing alongside Him. There was no eternal matter competing with God. There was no other god who helped Him create.
God alone is eternal.
John makes this clear in John 1:3:
“All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.”
Paul says in Colossians 1:16:
“For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible…”
And Hebrews 11:3 says:
“By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God…”
So when Genesis says, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth,” we are being introduced to the God who is not part of creation.
He is the Creator of creation.
And that distinction is incredibly important.
Because if God created everything, then God is not subject to creation.
God is not defined by creation.
God is not dependent upon creation.
Creation is dependent upon God.
But What About the Age of the Earth?
Now, whenever you begin teaching Genesis 1, there is eventually a question that comes up:
How old is the earth?
And I want to slow down here because this is an important question, but we need to handle it carefully.
There are faithful Christians who disagree over the age of the earth.
Some Christians believe the earth is relatively young, generally around 6,000–10,000 years old.
Others believe the earth is much older and understand the creation account differently.
There are several different approaches within old-earth creationism.
The day-age view understands the creation days as extended periods rather than literal 24-hour days. This view points out that the Hebrew word yôm, translated “day,” can have different meanings depending upon its context. Genesis 2:4, for example, uses the word to describe the entire creation process.
Another view is progressive creationism, which understands God as creating over vast periods of time while still affirming that God intervened in creation at specific points.
There is also the gap theory, which proposes a period of millions of years between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2. According to this view, Genesis 1:2 describes a world that had been ruined and then reconstructed by God.
These views attempt to understand the biblical text while also accounting for scientific claims about the age of the earth and universe.
But each of these positions comes with theological and interpretive questions that have to be considered.
For example, one of the major questions concerns death before the Fall. If millions of years of animal life and death occurred before Adam’s sin, how does that fit with the biblical teaching concerning sin and death entering the world?
There are also questions about how we understand the language of Genesis 1 and the repeated description of “evening” and “morning.”
So where does that leave us?
I think there is something very important we need to recognize:
The Bible never gives us a verse that says, “The earth is exactly 6,000 years old.”
The young-earth calculation comes from interpreting the creation days and genealogical information in Genesis and other passages.
Likewise, the commonly accepted scientific age of approximately 4.5 billion years is not something scientists simply “read off” the earth. It is a calculated conclusion based upon scientific dating methods and assumptions about the history of the earth and the universe.
So we need to be careful about saying more than Scripture says.
There is an important principle here:
The main things are the plain things.
The Bible is incredibly clear about the things we absolutely need to know.
It is clear about who God is.
It is clear about sin.
It is clear about our need for salvation.
It is clear that Jesus Christ died for sinners and rose from the grave.
It is clear that salvation is by grace through faith in Christ.
But when it comes to certain questions—such as precisely how old the earth is—the Bible does not give us an explicit number.
Why I Hold to a Young-Earth Understanding
Now, having said that, I want you to know where I stand.
I believe the young-earth position is the best interpretation of Genesis 1–2.
I sat under someone in my Christian science courses who laid out so much information that if I gave you just a bit of it, you would be reading for hours. But through that study, I came to believe that the young-earth understanding is the right way to look at the biblical text.
I believe the natural reading of Genesis presents six days of God’s creative work.
As we go through Genesis 1, we repeatedly see the phrase:
“And there was evening and there was morning…”
The creation account establishes a repeated pattern of evening and morning for each of the six days.
Then Exodus 20:11 says:
“For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them…”
Exodus 31:17 similarly says that the Lord made heaven and earth “in six days.”
So when I read Genesis, I believe the most straightforward reading is that God created in six ordinary days.
But here’s what I want you to understand:
My commitment to young-earth creationism isn’t primarily because I have a calculator that proves the earth is 6,000 years old.
My primary concern, like all things, is biblical authority.
I came across an interview with Ken Ham where he was asked why being a young-earth creationist was important to him. His answer was very simple:
“The reason I believe this is because of scripture.”
That’s really the heart of the issue.
The question isn’t simply:
“How old is the earth?”
The deeper question is:
“Do we allow God’s Word to establish our understanding of reality, or do we allow our understanding of reality to determine how we interpret God’s Word?”
Now, that doesn’t mean Christians should be afraid of science.
Science is the study of God’s creation.
We should examine evidence.
We should ask questions.
We should think carefully.
We should not be afraid of what can be discovered about the world God made.
But science is not infallible. Some people might disagree with that, but scientific models change. Interpretations of evidence change. And when we’re talking about the distant past, we are dealing with events that none of us personally observed.
**God was there.
We weren’t.**
And so our ultimate authority is not human speculation about the past.
Our ultimate authority is God’s revelation.
The Issue Is Bigger Than the Age of the Earth
Ken Ham made another statement that I think gets to the heart of the issue. He said:
“The issue is more than just the age of the earth. The issue is naturalism and putting man in authority over God’s word.”
And I think that’s an important distinction.
Because the battle isn’t ultimately between Christians who believe in 6,000 years and scientists who believe in billions of years.
The deeper issue is authority.
Who gets the final word?
God?
Or man?
If Scripture says God created, then Christians begin with the conviction that God created.
We don’t begin with the assumption that natural processes must explain everything and then try to figure out how God might fit into that explanation.
We begin with God.
“In the beginning, God…”
Why This Matters for the Gospel
And this becomes even more important when we move beyond Genesis 1 and into Genesis 3.
Because Genesis isn’t simply telling us how the universe began.
Genesis is telling us how our problem began.
In Genesis 3, we encounter the Fall.
Sin enters the world.
Humanity rebels against God.
And the rest of the Bible tells the story of God’s plan to redeem fallen humanity.
This is why the historical reality of Adam matters.
Paul doesn’t speak about Adam as though Adam were merely a fictional character used to communicate a spiritual lesson.
Romans 5:12 says:
“Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin…”
Paul then develops an entire theological comparison between Adam and Christ.
Romans 5:18–19 says:
“Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.”
That’s huge.
Adam and Christ are connected.
The first Adam brought sin and condemnation.
The last Adam, Jesus Christ, brings righteousness and life.
1 Corinthians 15:22 says:
“For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.”
So when we talk about Genesis, we’re not talking about some insignificant opening chapter of the Bible.
We’re talking about the foundation upon which the rest of the biblical story is built.
Is Young-Earth Creationism a Salvation Issue?
Now, I want to make something very clear.
I believe the young-earth position is the best interpretation of Genesis, but I do not believe believing in a young earth is a condition of salvation.
You are not saved because you believe the earth is around 6,000 years old.
You are not saved because you believe in six literal days.
You are saved because you have repented of your sin and placed your faith in Jesus Christ.
Ken Ham was asked directly whether he believes someone has to believe in a young earth and six literal days to be saved.
His response was emphatic:
“Never said that in my life.”
And that’s an important clarification.
The gospel doesn’t say, “Believe in six literal days and you will be saved.”
The gospel is Jesus Christ.
He lived the righteous life we could never live.
He died the death we deserved.
He was buried.
He rose again.
And everyone who turns from sin and trusts in Him will be saved.
So I don’t want us to make the age of the earth the gospel.
It isn’t the gospel.
But neither do I want us to act as though our understanding of Genesis doesn’t matter.
Because it does matter when we’re talking about the authority of God’s Word.
The Foundation
Think about a building.
The foundation may not be the first thing people see, but everything else depends upon it.
And Genesis is foundational.
Genesis tells us:
God created.
Genesis tells us:
Humanity was created in God’s image.
Genesis tells us:
God’s creation was good.
Genesis tells us:
Humanity rebelled against God.
Genesis tells us:
Sin entered the world.
And Genesis introduces us to the promise that God would ultimately provide redemption.
And as we continue through Scripture, we eventually arrive at Jesus Christ.
The Creator enters His creation.
The One who made the world takes on flesh.
The One who gave life lays down His life.
And the One who created the universe rises from the grave.
So don’t miss what Genesis 1:1 is telling us.
The first question isn’t ultimately:
“How old is the earth?”
The first question is:
“Who made it?”
And the answer is:
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”
He created it.
He owns it.
He sustains it.
And because He created us, we belong to Him.
The Creator has authority over His creation.
And if the Creator has authority over His creation, then He has the authority to tell us how we are to live.
That is why Genesis matters.
That is why creation matters.
And ultimately, that’s why the first four words of the Bible are so incredibly powerful:
“In the beginning, God.”
The Spirit Hovering Over the Waters
Now, look at what Genesis 1:2 says:
“The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.”
After this beginning, we see the state of the earth.
There was darkness.
There was the deep.
And then we see something incredibly important:
The Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
As I studied this passage, I noticed there was a real pattern in Scripture concerning the Spirit of God hovering or overshadowing as God brings about new creation.
One commentator pointed out the connection between Genesis 1:2 and the language used when Gabriel tells Mary that the Spirit of God will overshadow her.
Luke 1:35 says:
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you…”
And when the Spirit “overshadows” Mary, she conceives the Son whose coming ultimately launches a new creation and a new humanity.
Then, when Jesus is baptized, the Spirit descends upon Him after He comes through the waters of the Jordan.
And Jesus is ultimately raised from the dead by the Spirit of God, bringing life out of death.
There is something beautiful happening here.
The Spirit of God is present when God brings order out of what is dark and disordered.
And this also gives us an early glimpse of the Trinitarian nature of creation.
The Father creates.
The Spirit is present and active over the waters.
And throughout Scripture, we discover that the Son is also central to creation.
Colossians 1:16 says:
“For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible…”
And it goes on to say that all things were created through Him and for Him.
The beginning of the Bible is already pointing us toward Christ.
The same God who created the universe is the God who brings about redemption.
Christ-centered redemption comes for a universe established by Christ-shaped creation.
And that should cause us to step back and recognize something:
The God who brought order out of darkness can bring order into our lives.
The God who brought life out of what was empty and void can bring new life to sinners.
The God who was present over the waters of creation is the same God who works in us through His Spirit.
Live Like You Belong to Your Creator
So what do we do with all of this?
If God is our Creator, then this isn’t merely information to fill our heads.
It should change the way we live.
1. Submit to the authority of your Creator.
Because God made you, He has the right to tell you how to live.
We don’t get to create our own morality.
We don’t get to decide for ourselves what is right and wrong.
We belong to the One who made us.
So if God speaks, we listen.
If God commands, we obey.
If God corrects us, we repent.
If God calls us to follow Him, we follow.
2. Trust the Spirit of your Creator.
Genesis 1:2 shows us the Spirit of God hovering over the waters as God begins to bring order and life to His creation.
So when your life feels dark, empty, or disordered, don’t run from God.
Surrender to Him.
You may look at your life and think, “There is no way this can be fixed.”
But remember who your God is.
He created light in the darkness.
He brought order out of what was without form.
He brought fullness out of what was empty.
And He brings life where there was death.
So trust Him.
Submit to Him.
Follow Him.
Because you were created by Him, you belong to Him.
And the God who created you is the God who can make you new.
In the beginning, God.
And that same God is still at work today.
Amen.
