[How Firm a Foundation] CreationSýnishorn

God in Creation

In the opening chapter of Genesis, we read, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” God is not only the absolute reality from which creation derives its existence, He’s also the primary character of the Scripture He inspired. In fact, the designation “God” appears more than 30 times in the opening prologue of Genesis (Gen. 1:1–2:3). History is ultimately not about us, it’s all about God. We know the truth because He has revealed it to us.

The creation account in Genesis 1 states that God created the heavens and earth in six days and that on the seventh day, He rested, setting that day apart as special (Gen. 1:6–2:3). This serves as the pattern for us to model as we engage in the cultural mandate of Genesis 1:28. We are to conduct our work over a six-day period, and to rest on the seventh day.

The Gospel of John opens with a prologue introducing us to Jesus, the only begotten Son of the Father (John 1:14, 18). The Gospel’s opening phrase, “In the beginning,” takes us back to Genesis 1:1, where we already read about God creating the heavens and the earth. But John tells us that a person called “the Word” was with God in the beginning—before the world was created. John also affirms the Word was God. There were two persons at creation who are both called God and who both preexisted the creative work that resulted in the heavens and the earth.

We must not forget that there was also a third person at the beginning. The Holy Spirit was present, brooding over the deep, ready to bring forth light and life to the world through the eternal word that was spoken by the Father (Gen. 1:2).

The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three persons who share the one divine nature we call God, or the Trinity. We need God’s special revelation to understand these things. At best, humanity can employ God-given reason to deduce logical truisms from patterns observed through natural revelation, but these observations can never arrive at the fullness of truth. Therefore, if we are to know God as He is, He must reveal Himself to us.

God, help me to know You—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—through the world You created and through Scripture.