And the earth was without form, and void

In this second verse of the Holy Scriptures, there has been a lot of speculation that has led to odd conclusions about what it represented in the words, which I believe has resulted in a wrong understanding and emphasis.

I'm referring to the assumption that God couldn't create something that was without form and void, so something had to have happened to it as a result. From there a number of scenarios have been created out of thin air, such as Satan destroyed the original creation, or there being a preAdamic mankind before this creation.

In other words, there are those that assert this wasn't really a creation, but a restoration. That is an incorrect conclusion, based upon the fact the Scriptures teach us in 1 Corinthians 15:45 that "The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit." There is no way to get around the 'first man Adam' phrase. It can't be confused or misinterpreted. Either Adam was the first man or mankind, and Jesus Christ the last Adam, or they weren't (Adam refers primarily to mankind).

The Adam of Genesis was representative of all mankind because he was the first man. Jesus Christ as the last Adam or mankind, is representative and first-born of a new mankind that will have no other after it. There can be no improvement upon Christ as the representative of the last mankind, thus his designation as being the last Adam.

Why this is important is it can distort the ways of God and miss some of the benefit of what He's revealing to us. For example, the idea that the earth was without form and void doesn't have to be taken as a negative because God wasn't through yet.

Even when we become born again and are considered perfect in Christ in the eyes of God the Father, that doesn't mean we aren't practically without form and void as measured by the person of Christ. For the rest of our lives God will work on conforming us practically to the actual person of Christ; we will eventually be like Him in His perfect manhood (not deity).

So when we look at the work of God, it isn't hard it all to understand God wasn't finished with His creation work yet, and that applies practically in our own lives in knowing when we are starting something, in the beginning there will be the reality of it being without form and void.

Once the invisible, eternal things were made into physical things, time was introduced with them, and from that point on things were done in an orderly fashion as we understand sequence, and that's why we see one day after another where God adds something to His creation.

A specific example would be when a baby comes into this world. Anyone having children will know what am empty slate an infant is, and other than its physical body, has little inside that is 'formed' yet. It takes a lifetime to grow up and be filled with different qualities.

We could apply this to any area of life we engage in. What marriage isn't somewhat chaotic in the beginning? A man and woman are just starting off (even if they've known one another for some time), and begin this new creative venture together from the beginning. That's simply the way of life.

You could add starting a business, education, becoming a Christian, or any other number of things that have a beginning.

One of the major lessons to learn is that we have to take things one step at a time in this world. Each practical step leads to another, and without each step being incorporated into who we are, we will always have this weak leg that can collapse at any time, like a table with a leg that wears out and topples over to one side.

This is one of the things that we miss when making the mistake of assuming God didn't create the earth in a formless, void less state. He was simply taking one step of time in the process, and was ready to take the next step because He couldn't ever start something and leave that way.

On the other side, many people have pursued these theories about many parts of creation, based upon believing God's had an original creation that had been destroyed, but was now bringing back to the state He wanted it to be.

People with agendas have at times reinforced this because they don't want to face the fact or creation, and would rather promote evolution as the means the world and everything else came into being. Even people naming the Lord have fallen into this lie.

Some people do this out of hatred for Christ and His people, and others do it to make a name for themselves because they won't be accepted and considered serious in their academic circles.