GOD AT THE BEGINNING
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1 NKJV).
“In the beginning God;” this means that God was there in the beginning. God - the Supreme Person, the Supreme Being, the Supreme Intelligence, the Supreme Force - who had the intelligence and power to create the universe was there in the beginning. Further, it also means that God existed before the beginning; He preceded the beginning. God began the beginning. All that followed is due to Him. This means three significant things.
God is Almighty – God is the God of all might and power. He is the Sovereign Majesty and Supreme Master of the universe. He existed before anything else; therefore, everything owes its existence to God. This includes man. Man owes his life (all he is and has), his obedience, worship, and service to God.
God is self-existent and eternal - God existed before anything else. Nothing created God; nothing gave life to God. On the contrary, God created the universe and all matter and all atoms and all energy and force within the universe. God created all life including the life of man. Therefore, man owes his life - all he is and has - his obedience, worship, and service to God.
God is totally self-sufficient - God possesses everything that He needs within Himself, within His very own being and personality. He is perfect - perfect in an absolute sense - within Himself. Man on the other hand is not self-sufficient. Therefore, man must cast his life - all he is and has - upon God. Man must obey, worship, and serve God in total dependence, trusting God to provide for all of his needs.
Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)
Quotation of the Week
“There is no greater discovery than seeing God as the author of your destiny!”
Anonymous
Word Study
Beginning
In Genesis 1:1 we read, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth!” (NKJV)
Beginning is the Hebrew word Reshith (רֵאשִׁית = ray-sheeth). The word refers to the first thing or the originating event. On other occasions, the word signifies the highest of anything, i.e., the best or most excellent, such as the choicest parts of offerings (1 Sam. 2:29); the best of the spoil (1 Sam. 15:21); or the finest in oils (Amos 6:6). Further, reshith is used to designate the earliest or firstfruits (Lev. 23:10; Deut. 18:4). It can even refer to the firstborn (Gen. 49:3; Deut. 21:17).
Genesis 1 describes the beginning of the universe, a real beginning to all that is, apart from God, Who created everything out of nothing. Further, Genesis 1 reveals what we need to know about the beginning of the world, and especially the beginning of humanity, of sin and of the plan of redemption.
Reshith is also used of the beginning of a year (Deut. 11:12) and of the beginning of the history of things such as kingdoms (Gen. 10:10). As a result of this, the word came to be used of the best of something (Deut. 33:21). In Prov. 4:7, wisdom is said to be “the principal thing,” the beginning or supreme. The Lord alone knows everything from the beginning to the end of all history and announces events that are coming, thus showing His awesome sovereignty (Isa. 46:10).
Prophecies Fulfilled by Jesus
Old Testament Prophecy – That He would be given the throne of David (2 Sam. 7:11-12; Ps. 132:11; Isa. 9:6-7; Jer. 23:5)
New Testament Fulfillment – Luke 1:31-32
Bible Facts
The Bible specifies the perfect dimensions for a stable water vessel: “And this is how you shall make it: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits“ (Gen. 6:15). Ship builders today are well aware that the ideal dimension f or ship stability is a length six times that of the width. Keep in mind that God gave Noah the ideal dimensions for the ark 4,500 years ago.
Bible Quiz
According to Genesis 1, what was the first thing God said?
**Answer to last week’s trivia: According to Genesis 1, what was the purpose of the heavenly bodies (lights in the firmament)? The heavenly bodies were to serve “for signs and seasons, and for days and years” (Gen. 1:14).
That’s in the Bible
“Through a glass darkly”
“For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known!” (1 Cor. 13:12 KJV).
The Biblical expression “through a glass darkly” describes how we don’t see the spiritual world clearly at the present time. When we are changed and enter into heaven, then we will “know even also as I am known,” said Paul. However, the Bible does say that “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him” (1 Cor. 2:9).
Did You Know – Christian History
Charles Thomas Studd (aka C. T. Studd) was born December 2, 1860, in Spratton, Northamptonshire, England. He was a British cricketer, missionary, and a contributor to ‘The Fundamentals.’ As a cricketer he played for England in the 1882 match won by Australia which was the origins of The Ashes. As a British Protestant Christian missionary to China he was part of the Cambridge Seven, and later was responsible for setting up the Heart of Africa Mission which became the Worldwide Evangelization Crusade (now WEC International).
Studd emphasized the life of faith, believing that God would provide for a Christian’s needs. While in China, his father died and left him an inheritance of £29,000 which he gave away - £5,000 to the Moody Bible Institute, £5,000 to George Muller mission work with orphans, £5,000 to George Holland’s work with England’s poor in Whitechapel, and £5,000 to Commissioner Booth Tucker for the Salvation Army in India. Studd believed that God’s purposes could be confirmed through providential coincidences, such as a sum of money being donated spontaneously at just the right moment. He encouraged Christians to take risks in planning missionary ventures, trusting in God to provide. He believed that missionary work was urgent, and that those who were un-evangelized would be condemned to hell. Of his missionary work he said, “Some want to live within the sound of church or chapel bell; I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of hell.”
Studd wrote several books, including The Chocolate Soldier, and Christ’s Etceteras. His essay, The Personal Testimony of Charles T. Studd became part of the historic ‘The Fundamentals: A Testimony To The Truth, R. A. Torrey and A. C. Dixon.’ Studd is best remembered by many for the poem, “Only One Life, ‘Twill Soon Be Past”. Its memorable verse states: “Only one life ‘twill soon be past. Only what’s done for Christ will last.”
A Little Humor
Teacher: “Who were the first human beings?”
Student: “Adam and Eve.”
Teacher: “And what religion was Adam and Eve?”
Student: “Communism, of course.”
Teacher: “And how do you know that they were Communist?”
Student: “Easy, they had no roof over their heads, no clothes to wear, and only one apple between them, yet they still called it paradise!”
Thought Provoking Church Sign
“Where one goes hereafter depends on what he does after here!”
