It's time to look at the last half of the first verse of the Bible. Genesis 1:1 states "In the beginning, God made the heavens and the earth." We have already checked out the "In the beginning, God" part (see below). Now we'll look at the claim that God "made the heavens and the earth."
Two separate claims are being made here. FIRST is the claim that God "made the heavens." This literally means that God made all of the universe except the earth. I know that the popular scientific "explanation" for the origin of the universe is the so-called "Big-Bang Theory." The theory could be stated non-scientifically, but accurately, like this - In the beginning was a very compressed ball of matter that exploded with so much force that it sent all kinds of 'stuff' flying outwards from the point of the explosion. Eventually, as the speed of this stuff slowed down enough, the stuff began to become organized into galaxies, solar systems, planets and moons, and the rest is history! Let's say, for the moment, that this claim is accurate. One of my first questions would be this, "Where did this ball of stuff come from?" The answer can really only be one of two things. Either this stuff was always there, or it just appeared out of nothing! If the stuff was always there, it means the universe is eternal, and the explosion just happened, or God caused the explosion to happen. Either way, we are facing the same problem I noted before. The "beginning" is not really the beginning at all. An eternal universe, whether in the current form or not, means that there can never be a real beginning!
If the stuff just appeared out of nothing, we are looking at magic without a magician again! That is, unless you say that there is a magician, God, who started it all by at least creating the ball of stuff. Some people believe this and say that is what the Bible means in Genesis 1:1 and the verses that follow. But, the Bible itself doesn't state that at all. As we will see in the later verses, the Big Bang theory is not what the bible describes here.
The SECOND claim is that God "made the earth." How God did this is explained later. I think it is easy to see if it is true that God made the heavens, it should be easy to believe that God made the earth as well.
What all of verse one means then, is that God did it all; He made all that there is and, as we will see, He did it for His grand purpose as a loving God.
Next time we will move to verse 2, finally ;), and begin to see what God's method of creation was according to the Bible.
Your Joyfully Loquacious Believer,
LEE
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Welcome to B.I.B.L.E.! I aim to provide an accurate and practical interpretation of biblical texts for any and all who would care to view this blog. I do so to make it plain that the Word of God written is indeed just that, and as such provides all the answers we need for any life situation or quandry of any importance.
LEE's Keys
Here are some "keys" to making sense of what the Bible says.
1. - BELIEVE to RECEIVE
A famous teacher of Scripture from long ago once wrote that he didn't "understand in order to believe," he "believed in order to understand." The Bible should be taken as God's message from Him to us, it is His written Word without any mistakes. If you want to receive anything meaningful from the Bible, you have to believe that God is the Ultimate Author.
2. - Let the SON shine in!
The Bible is all about the SON of God, Jesus Christ. HE is the center and point of everything else, and every part of the Bible will be clearer if you can get that. The first part of the Bible, known as the Old Testament, points toward His coming. The second part, known as the New Testament, looks at His earthly life and points ahead to His Kingdom on earth.
3. - K.I.S.S. Keep It Simple Stupid!
There are some complicated things in the Bible, but most of what you need to understand is not that difficult to understand. In many cases, the plain meaning of the text is the correct meaning.
WISECRACKS from God
Proverbs is a book of the Bible that gives a lot of good advice for everyday life. Here is today's Wisecrack from God from the English Standard Version.
Proverbs 27:2 (ESV)
Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips.
Here is another piece of advice that goes against the tide of popular culture. Humility doesn't seem to wear well, especially among those we admire. Yet, God says that it is wiser to let others give you praise then to "toot your own horn" so to speak. Might it be that true greatness is never declared so much as discovered by deeds that others see? As one speaker said, "Conceit is a weird disease, it makes everybody sick except the one who has it."
Proverbs 27:2 (ESV)
Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips.
Here is another piece of advice that goes against the tide of popular culture. Humility doesn't seem to wear well, especially among those we admire. Yet, God says that it is wiser to let others give you praise then to "toot your own horn" so to speak. Might it be that true greatness is never declared so much as discovered by deeds that others see? As one speaker said, "Conceit is a weird disease, it makes everybody sick except the one who has it."
Blog Archive
About Me
- LEE
- United States
- I am LEE, which stands for Loquacious Expositor Exemplar. I live in the midwestern region of the United States. I hold the M.Div degree in both Biblical Interpretation and Theology from a protestant seminary. I am ordained and have served as a pastor of two churches for almost 14 years, though I am currently on a hiatus from the pastorate and pursuing a PhD in Theological Studies.
No comments:
Post a Comment