Start with Scripture:
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OBSERVE:
The first lines of Genesis begin with an assumption. The assumption is that God, THE God, the one who is also known as the I AM who reveals himself to Moses in the Book of Exodus, is the one and only creator of all that exists.
There is no effort to prove God’s existence here, or to justify him. The first sentence is a statement of faith.
St. Augustine points out that the supernatural and the natural realms are included in this statement, that God created the heavens and the earth. I’m not sure this was the original intent of the author of Genesis, but it makes for a nice, comprehensive view of creation. All creation is included, both visible and invisible.
The description of creation prior to God’s first words is that of chaos. It is formless and empty and dark.
However, there is the potential of divine power inherent in the words the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. One has the sense that something is about to happen.
What happens is seemingly effortless. God speaks, and bids for light. And the light comes into existence.
What God has done is to begin to create boundaries that will bring order to the chaos that has existed up until now. There is a border between light and darkness, and between day and night.
Some commentators suggest that Genesis chapter one is a clear statement of faith in the reality of THE God who i.s above nature, not a part of nature. In other words, unlike the polytheistic and pantheistic and animistic religions, biblical religion insists that God transcends his creation. God creates; God is not created.
The sun, moon, stars, waters, vegetation, animal life that is created later in the account are part of the created order. They are not imbued with divinity as gods and goddesses. There is One God and One Creator
APPLY:
Even an amateur astronomer still learning to identify the constellations can quickly notice a dramatic similarity between the creation account of Genesis and what many astrophysicists describe as the “Big Bang” cosmology.
That very suddenly, without any warning, the universe began to explode and expand into the light of innumerable stars.
For some astrophysicists, this is a confirmation of the biblical account of creation, and causes them to transition from doubt to faith in God.
I believe it is also very possible to see the presence of the Triune God, One God in Three Persons, insinuated here. Genesis begins with the declarative statement that God created the heavens and the earth. Then there is the statement that the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. There seems to be a distinction between God and the Spirit of God, and yet they are indistinguishable in identity – just as we might say “my spirit is brooding over a problem.”
And – stay with me here – I can even find evidence in my own mind that the Second Person of the Trinity is here, with a little creative biblical parallelism. The Prologue to the Gospel of John says In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made (John 1:1-3).
This principle of the Logos, the Word, is interpreted as the Thought or the Mind of God. And how is it that God creates? And God said. God speaks his thoughts into existence. The Word causes all creation to come into existence. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made
And one more thing – light is considered one of the absolute constants in nature, to which everything else is relative. Einstein’s theory of relativity has taught us that. How appropriate that light is the very first act of God. And even more so that Jesus tells us that he is the Light of the world!
RESPOND:
Lord, my mind boggles when I consider the acts of creation, and the created order of this universe! When I consider the stars, the moon, the earth and the teeming life on this tiny planet that is made possible by your delicate and careful boundaries and balances, how can I not believe in you? How can I not praise you? Amen.
SOAR Lectionary Bible Study 