INTRODUCTION: In Genesis 1:1 we have the beginning of God's great revelation to mortal man through His written Word. Belief in God's Word provides an understanding of creation that cannot be obtained in any other manner [Hebrews 11:3].

I. A GREAT REVELATION. No man could know by experience or research the things recorded in Genesis 1:1-2. Our Great God and Father has seen fit to reveal the facts of creation to us. While God has spoken to man in many ways [Hebrews 1:1], yet it seems logical that He would give us this revelation in a written and permanent form. What a treasure the Bible is.

Faith in God's Word is the only true safety from error. Belief in Genesis 1:1 saves us from the great erros of human philosophy.

The following errors have enslaved millions; yet in one verse God contradicts them all:
A. Atheism - Genesis 1: 1 asserts the existence of God.

B. Agnosticism - Agnostics believe that no one can know if there is a God. Genesis 1 : 1 assumes that all men by nature know that God exists.

C. Polytheism - What masses of humanity have believed in mant gods. Genesis 1:1 speaks of one God.

D. Pantheism - This philosophy teaches that God and the universe are one. Most of the Far Eastern religions are based on such concepts. Genesis 1:1 teaches that God is separate from, and transcendent to the universe. He is a personal God, not just a universal force.

E. Materialism - This philosophy teaches that matter is eternal. True evolutionists are materialists. Genesis 1:1 states that matter had a beginning.

F. Dualism - Dualists teach that the universe was created and is controlled by two opposing forces: one good and one evil. Genesis 1:1 teaches that there is one living and true God who is obviously supreme.

These and a multitude of other "isms" are destroyed by a mere statement from God. Man without an inspired revelation is like a ship without a compass.

II. AN EXPOSITON OF GENESIS 1:1-2.
Verse 1 - In the Hebrew language this verse is just seven words. How much the Lord can say with such few words.

"In the beginning" - This refers to the beginning of the universe: the origin of time and matter. It is not the same "beginning" as in John 1:1, which refers to the eternal existence of God's Son. The Lord Jesus was not created, but is co-eternal with the Father. In the "beginning" of Genesis 1:1, God created the universe, but in the "beginning" of John 1: 1, Jesus "was."

"God" - Fittingly God is the first noun mentioned in the Bible. Notice that the Bible does not argue or attempt to prove His existence. It is taken for granted that honest people recognize the existence of God. This knowledge is universal among men [Psalms 14:1; Psalms 19:1-3; Romans 1:18-20]. It takes effort to become an athiest.

The word translated God is Elohim in the Hebrew language. This is a rather mysterious word because it is singular/plural. Christians have always seen in it the implication of the doctrine of the Trinity. This is further implied in the use of plural pronouns [Genesis 1:26; 11:7]. The rest of the Bible makes plain the truth of the Trinity so dimly seen in the word Elohim.

In other parts of the Bible we are taught that creation was the work of all three persons of the Godhead. This proves that all three are Elohim.

A. God the Father - Genesis 1:1; Job 38:1-4.

B. God the Son - John 1:1-3; Ephesians 3:9; Colossians 1:16-17.

C. God the Holy Spirit - Genesis 1:2; Job 26:13.

"Created" - This word means to create from nothing. It is used only of God.

"Heaven and the earth" - This phrase refers to the entire universe.

Verse 2 - Here God begins to explain exactly how He created the universe. First, the mass of matter was created. It was "without form and void.“ This expression means that the universe was without shape and empty. In the following days of creation, God shaped the mass into the world we know. He then filled it with plants and animals.

How interesting that in this verse the Holy Spirit is mentioned. He worked in the design and beautification the universe [Job 26:13]. He is said to have "moved upon the face of the waters" because at that time water covered everything [verse 9].

CONCLUSION: Several things come to mind as we reflect upon these Scriptures:
A. Only sin can keep a person from seeing God revealed in creation. The Bible assumes that God's existence is a self-evident fact.

B. How glorious is the Bible account of creation. What a contrast to the myths of paganism or the theories of false science. How profound is the thought that the universe was created by an all-wise, all-powerful, yet personal God.

C. How wonderful is the unity of the Bible. Though it was written by more than forty authors over a period of fifteen hundred years, yet it is one book. Think how mysteries like the Tri-unity of God are gradually made plain, yet implied from the very beginning of Scripture.

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