I heard a statement in a presentation recently, and it bothered me. I’ve heard it several times before, but this time, I thought about it until I realized why I didn’t agree.
First, let me state a few things:
- “12 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
Each of us has but a micro understanding of God. We can’t know and appreciate Him fully in our current state, but one day we will have a clearer picture. Right now, many share what we’ve learned to lift and encourage each other. - When I say, “I don’t agree,” I’m saying that I don’t agree with what is recognized as “first” – not that the expansion on the idea is wrong.
- Several people I respect or listen to for information share this understanding. It doesn’t mean we’re of different faiths or that I would stop listening to them. It’s simply a reminder that no one person has everything figured out on this side of Heaven. That’s to be expected.
The statement: The first thing God lets us know about Himself is that He’s creative. Before “anything” else, we learn about His creative abilities.
This statement comes from Gen 1:1 “1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”
From here, someone usually moves into the trinity of trinities, which becomes interesting based on the Lord being a triune Being. It goes:
“1 In the beginning [time: past, present, future] God created the heaven [space: length, width, height] and the earth [matter: solid, liquid, gas].”
It’s actually kind of cool to listen to someone expand on that. I believe there is great depth and meaning to Scripture, and we’re not going to catch it all. I appreciate when things like this are found. I have no problem with people recognizing God as creative. I had difficulty agreeing with the idea that creativity is the first thing God wants us to know about Him.
I think our focus influences where we choose to place emphasis on words as we read. So, let’s look at it.
“In the beginning God created…”
The first three words are a prepositional phrase and dependent clause. In reality, these three words could be eliminated without affecting the core sentence. They could also be added after “earth,” and the sentence would be much the same. The phrase is necessary to set the when and where so that we recognize it as the beginning of the world as we know it.
As someone who spends a lot of time emphasizing sentences in school, especially subjects and verbs, I was almost surprised I didn’t lean on the “God created” like so many others had. It was like I had an internal battle. My mind wanted a complete sentence, but my spirit wouldn’t let “created” be the ending thought.
“In the beginning God…”
“In the beginning, God…” Remove the dependent clause “…God…” Move the phrase to the end of the sentence. “God…in the beginning…”
I understood why I was uneasy. We tend to want to bring God to us and to make Him relatable to us and what we do. We looked right at that first verse and made God some kind of ideal creative artist to model.
When I read that first verse, I see an inequality.
God existed in perfect harmony with Himself – in need of no one and nothing. This is why there is no passage that says God “needs” us, that He “got lonely,” or that He “misses” us so much He lets us die so we can comfort Him by showing up to keep Him company in Heaven.
I believe that before we recognize anything else about God, we are supposed to recognize that God is. There are many descriptions that expand, but we need to recognize that God is before all, created all, sustains all, and is the reason anything exists. Without Him, there is nothing.
“God is.” Two passages came to mind shortly after I thought about how limited our words are to accurately describe Him or to properly cover Who He is with one name. God showed us this when Moses spoke with the Lord at the Burning Bush.
“13 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is His name? What shall I say unto them? 14 And God said unto Moses, I Am That I Am: and He said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I Am hath sent me unto you.” – Exo 3:13-14
Jesus used this name when He spoke to the Jews. “Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I Am.” – John 8:58
While He has made us in His image, given us abilities, and redeemed us to Himself, we are never to become so familiar that we no longer recognize first that He is God. All of Scripture reminds us.
- At least four times in Isaiah, we read a version of “I am God, and there is none else.”
- Have you read the description of the Lord on His throne? (see Rev 4).
- Ever thought about the talk He had with Job? Imagine if this question were directed at you: “4 Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if thou hast understanding.” – Job 38:4
- How often need we be reminded that we are the clay, and the Lord is the Potter? (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Romans)
- We gloss over words and phrases like “predestined,” “foreordained,” “before the foundation of the world.” We like to consider that God was thinking about us, but the plan for redemption came before Creation.
- Even King Nebuchadnezzar wrote a psalm recognizing Him. “34 And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto Heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honoured Him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom is from generation to generation: 35 And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and He doeth according to His will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay His hand, or say unto Him, What doest Thou?” – Dan 4:34-35
What are you saying?
“16 For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and FOR Him:17 And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist.” – Col 1:16 – 17
In those two verses, our creation is stressed. “In the beginning, GOD…”
As these thoughts were rapidly coming to mind, I had a thought that made the idea clearer. Typically, what comes after something is in place “adds to” comfort and joy. We tend to be free with the word “need” and don’t actually recognize when it fits. Usually, if something is “needed,” it’s because we are trying to fix an error or an injustice.
For example:
- Texts and emails are convenient, but we used mail, telephone, and visits before their inventions.
- Microwaves, dishwashers, and washing machines save us time. However, we could have survived if we’d only had stoves (or pots over fire), washed and dried by hand, or washed clothes using a board (or hand) and line dried.
- If our current modes of transportation hadn’t been invented, we would have used a wagon, animal, or walked.
My point is that these things were brought into our lives to “enhance” them. We didn’t “need” them to function, and we certainly didn’t need them to exist. Even the warm words we say to “the one…one…one…” we love are due to our deep appreciation for the place they have in our hearts – not because we can’t exist without them. Not wanting to be apart from someone who has come into your life is not the same as not being able to function without introducing this person to your already existing self. This is why I stress the fact that God doesn’t “need” us. He was already a whole and “complete” Entity by Himself. We were created as bonuses for Him.
So, sure, appreciate God’s creativeness. Learn about additional meanings in words. Figure out how to use the abilities that God gave you. Just don’t be so swift to make Him relate to us because before we were, God is.
“In the beginning, God…”
Pic because it’s pretty
