"In the beginning God...." --Genesis
1:1a
Suggested Reading: Genesis 1:6-8
The purpose of the Bible--Genesis in particular--is to reveal God to us. It
is to show us His person and nature, insofar as we are able to know Him;
His plans and works, insofar as we are able to understand them. The very first
words in the divine canon--"In the beginning God"--set us in the presence of the
living God in whom we live, move, and have our being, both physically and
spiritually.
The
Bible begins with God. His existence is presupposed as a fact to be believed.
With a few strokes of his pen, Moses, the author of Genesis, repudiates atheism
(for he declares the existence of God), materialism (for he distinguishes
between God and His material creation), pantheism (for he presents God as a
personal Creator), and polytheism (for he sets God forth as the only God).
The
infinite source of true blessedness is set before us in four words: "In the
beginning God." The purpose of Genesis is to reveal God to us in His person as
the Creator and Provider, as the Redeemer and Lord of history. Like all of
Scripture, Genesis is not so much a history of man as of God's sovereign,
gracious redemption of fallen sinners.
Genesis
is primarily theocentric (God-centered) and only secondarily anthropocentric
(man-centered) and geocentric (earth-centered). "In the beginning God" is the
foundational truth of Genesis, the Bible, and all theology. False systems of
theology begin with man or this earth and attempt to work up to God, whereas
true theology begins with God and works down to man.
Genesis
is not primarily a book about biology or geology but theology. That does not
mean it is scientifically inaccurate. Rather, the focus of the book of Genesis
is on God, which sets the foundation for the God-centeredness of the Bible.
Genesis is written and designed that we as needy sinners might come to know and
worship God in Jesus Christ, whom God has sent to us unto our everlasting life
(John 17:3).
Is
God the center and focus of your life? Do you know Him in Jesus Christ?