Before the beginning mentioned in the first verse of the Bible, one written, by the way, far after it happened, there was something, or should I say - Someone that was. The reason why is there can never be a beginning unless there is a living being behind starting something. No being ... no start. It's as simple as that.
Everything about something that begins demands that there is a personal force and idea behind it. Nothing that is just starts off from something that isn't, it must begin somewhere as a thought or idea, or as part of who someone is.
So before anything mentioned in Genesis 1:1 happened, there was someone that was; someone that existed. As a matter of fact, there were three beings living, although they were identical as to characteristics, and so they identify themselves as one and testify to that fact and reality, confirming it by what happened in verse 1 of the Holy Scriptures.
Now what's very interesting about this is the majority of those studying and reading these verses immediately make some wrong conclusions about the narrative and record of creation in a way that results in many distortions emerging because of those faulty assumptions concerning the beginning. We'll get into that in a moment.
Again, the immediate point that must be seen is that verse one of Genesis may be the beginning, but it wasn't the first among things. The triune God was the first, although He had no beginning, and will have no end. He existed before the beginning.
So here we have this community of eternal beings living and doing something before anything happens concerning "In the beginning." The Bible actually talks about many of these things, but, again, we won't focus on those things at this time. They're only mentioned for you to be aware of them as we get into these first verses of the creation account.
Another thing to be aware of is there was nothing else that existed but these three beings before the beginning, and while impossible to comprehend by us human beings - specifically those that have been born from above - it is still a fact.
One of the reasons that's important is because creation had to be based upon something; it's not based upon nothing. The best way to explain it is the Godhead decided that they would reveal, express and communicate themselves through what at that time, as far as has been revealed to us, and as far as we know, was identified as the Word. John reveals this in the first part of his gospel concerning Jesus Christ.
This is extremely important to understand. What happened is the person of the Godhead identified as the Father, along with the Holy Spirit and the Word, agreed together to pour all that they were into the Word (the reason He was identified as the word, and still is) and express that through a creation that reflected all that they were in types, shadows and symbols.
All of that doesn't mean they didn't retain their person hood, just that all were the same, and if you saw One of Them you saw all of Them. They had different operations and jobs to do, but what and who they were was completely one; there was nothing in their union and unity that would ever change concerning that. One of the Godhead didn't carry a different thought in His head while another one carried another; it was impossible. They were a unity, and that is why revealing Themselves in One of Them was possible to do.
Jesus confirmed this when talking to His disciples when He said if you've seen Me, you have seen the Father. Even though Jesus was the only person of the Godhead to become a man and physically die, doesn't change the fact that He was completely one with the Father and Holy Spirit. This is why He was confident in sending the Holy Spirit, whose job was and is to reveal who Christ is within men and women born again from above. They are so one with one another that Jesus had no qualms about remaining in heaven and entrusting that job to the Holy Spirit on earth who dwells in those whom came to truly believe in Christ.
What was and is true in time, was and is true outside of time as well, meaning before the beginning the Godhead were one and the same as far as what their makeup was, and so looking inside of Christ, and all of them working together, the Word was about to make His personal statement on Who it was that God was. It is in that idea and thought that we approach the first verse of the Bible as it records the first moment in history ... or at least a description of what we perceive as the first moment in history.
By that I simply mean that an unusual thing was described about the first moment, and that is that God created the heavens and the earth, yet other than that phrase, absolutely nothing else is mentioned about the creation of heaven. It is simply left blank as it is, and it is surely done so for a number of reasons.
One of those reasons is the Holy Scriptures were written so man would know and understand what it was God did and why, and in regard to heaven, as far as its creation goes, it wasn't related at that time to man, as God retained jurisdiction over it and man was to focus on duplicating what was happening and going on in heaven onto the earth. That remains true to this day, although the importance of bringing the Lordship of Jesus Christ in heaven and earth remains a part of the eternal purpose of God in Jesus Christ, and to be accomplished by His people as it relates to the earth.
The other unique thing that happened was the interesting revelation that the earth was without form and void, with darkness covering the deep; referring to the waters which covered the earth.
This is one of the most misinterpreted and misunderstood Scriptures I've seen in the Bible, as the idea has been put forth by numerous men of God that something had to have happened because God could never create something in that condition. That's a huge assumption, and a misreading of what was actually happening.
What has come about from all of that wrong thinking is a bizarre tale of some type of pre-Adamic race which God had to judge the world over, which left the earth in the state described as being without form and void and with darkness upon the face of the waters. Others believe Satan destroyed the former inhabitants of the earth and God had to start over with a renewed creation.
In other words, what earth was at that moment was an unformed object with water covering every part of it, and completely hidden by darkness because of some assumed events that we aren't left in the dark about.
In that regard the Scriptures teach us that darkness and light are the same to the Lord, as far as His ability to see, and so this (the darkness) wasn't meant to be something important to God as far as He Himself goes, but was revealed for our understanding and edification. God already knew the narrative about to be revealed, and it was the unveiling of types and shadows of who He was; at least until the pinnacle of the creation was reached where His very image was unveiled in Adam and Eve as representatives of all of mankind.
The point is that there was no human or other race created before Adam, which is identified in the Scriptures later on as the first Adam, or the first mankind. That's in 1 Cor. 15:45. The silly assertions by men who don't understand there's more than one meaning for darkness in the Bible, apparently aren't aware that the fantasy they created about a pre-Adamic race completely contradicts the declaration that Adam was the first mankind.
Some could attempt to get cute at this point by taking the so-called and alleged discovery of other types of beings that aren't human, but that's ridiculous and a fantasy; one created and espoused for the purpose of undermining the Biblical account, which can't be broken. Adam was the first mankind, and the only mankind until a new mankind came in the person of Christ. There are only two according to the Holy Scriptures, and I believe what God says in His word concerning it. There is a first Adam and a last Adam. No others.
So the idea of a pre-Adamic race is a lie perpetuated in some cases by well-meaning men, but who don't comprehend it totally conflicts with what the Bible clearly states concerning Adam being the first mankind.
One scripture that is used to primarily support this false idea is in Genesis 1: 28, where God says this to Adam and Eve, "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth...." The problem with that is the word replenish doesn't only mean to refill something, but also means, as is the case here, to fill something. God is simply telling Adam and Eve to begin to fill the earth with people, and they were to teach their offspring to do the same. How that becomes an entire teaching based upon someone choosing which definition of the word to use to support a nonsensical theory to create their own story is strange to say the least.
All of this is tempered by the scripture in 1 Cor. 15:45. This is the first man, who represents the race of mankind which came from the earth. There is no other man, as the genealogy in Matthew also confirms. It goes back to Adam and no other. No other group of human beings or other earthly beings were created by God. Adam was the first of mankind, and it all begins from there. Period.
Now let's go to the question of what was meant then by the Biblical account of how things were at the beginning of the physical creation.
The darkness wasn't reference to sin or a destructive act of Satan, it was a reference to a mystery hidden beneath the waters that the Godhead was passionately moved to reveal. That's why the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters in anticipation of the Word of God possibly speaking the first utterance in His eternal existence. That may not be the case, but it's a legitimate possibility.
What else needs to be understood is why the earth was covered with water and the darkness covering the waters of the earth. This is a great mystery, but one that isn't that difficult to understand.
Waters in the Bible, for the most part, are a reference to death. That is expressed numerous times throughout the Scriptures, including the Jordan when it was strategically crossed over by the Children of Israel; as well as some of the individual prophets; along with the laver in the Tabernacle; and of course in the New Testament with baptism.
And death, as far as it relates to the Godhead, is the eternal denial of each one of them; death not meaning the end of life, but rather the end of self. Of course there was never any selfishness within the Godhead, so it was an expression of that lack of self-centeredness that was part of God, not the need to eliminate it that was being expressed in the beginning.
In other words, it's a reference to the cross, which was far from being only displayed at Calvary, but was inherent in the person hood of the Godhead. The earth was created crucified is the point I'm making here. This is why while God was and is very interested in what happens on the earth (as He created it for a very distinctive purpose). He is also completely dead to it, and will only interact with it on His terms and not our own.
Not only was He dead to it, but He reveals to us that the cross and being dead to self is the center of all things in the Godhead, and will also be in those who follow Him. This is why we begin at the cross of Jesus Christ when we come into salvation. It's not the end, but the beginning of life. That's also the case in the beginning of the physical creation.
Jesus Christ, when He created the earth, showed forth through the earth being covered with water so that everything as it relates to man and as practiced among the community of the Godhead, begins with a total denial of self. The revelation of the creation account begins there, as does life in God for His people.
All of that means the cross wasn't some secondary thought or simply a provision for mankind in case something went wrong. God already knew it would and of course provided for that eventuality in Christ coming to the earth as a man. As important is the fact that this isn't something external to God that only happened because man sinned and needed a Savior, but was the very core of the person and nature of God, who totally lived by pouring out Themselves to and for one another before creation and outside of time and space.
So the earth was revealed as covered with water as the first part of the revelation of what the Godhead was like, which was revealed as being totally selfless, as represented by the water covering the earth.
Also important to note is the fact that Jesus Christ was crucified from the foundation of the world. That means there is a connection between the initial creation and the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. It's hard to fathom and understand, but the Holy Scriptures are completely clear on this: Jesus Christ was crucified from the foundation of the world. This has to do with living outside of time and space and dwelling as an eternal being. I'm not going to pursue that train of thought at this point so it isn't distracting to the purpose I'm writing this for. But the connection was made by the Holy Spirit Himself, and so it is completely true even if we can't figure it out or know why it's important. We need revelation from Christ in this area, and all we have to do is ask Him and He'll help us to see.
One thing I will touch on is this is related to the darkness on the face of the earth. Remember when Jesus died on the cross and it got dark out immediately afterwards? That's because the light of the world had been temporarily extinguished. It was a testimony to the fact that the earth and the world is not relevant and dwells in darkness if the light of the world isn't there for it. The earth was created for Christ, so when the purpose for the creation was removed from the earth, the reason for the earth to exist was also removed.
This is why the earth was dark and without form and void and the water covered the earth long ago at the beginning. It is the story of the crucified Lord expressing that crucifixion at the beginning of the creation. The connection between the two are inescapable or the Scriptures can't be trusted. So when Jesus was crucified and died, the earth was darkened, as was the crucified earth when it was initially created.
It was darkened because the light hadn't been created yet, and Jesus Christ was teaching us that everything is dead and dark until He as the light of the world reveals Himself as the light. That happened in creation at the moment He spoke.
His life is the light of men, and until His life is revealed by revelation from God, we remain in darkness. That's the case whether it's related to sin or not seeing who He is. Either way we're blind unless we have our eyes cleansed and we see the true light of the world.
This is extremely important because while taking up our cross and dying daily is vital, it does no good unless the life of Christ is manifest in us.
So the world being created crucified and baptized was meaningless unless the light shone upon it. And that is exactly what happened. There is no life, especially resurrected life, unless someone dies. You can't be brought to life unless you're first dead. That's the same with the earth, and the first step towards bringing it to life was for it to be created dead, and from there the life of God, first via the light, started the process of bringing it to life. This is why the creation story from day one was a revelation of the person of Jesus Christ revealing the true nature of the Godhead to man. This is after all why the creation account was revealed by God and written down.
In other words, this was part of the very nature of God, and even though Jesus Christ had to die for our sins to make those who believe in Him right with God, the cross was part of His very nature, as confirmed by the creation of the earth as it was, which held the hidden mysteries of His true nature for us to learn by revelation and experience. That's what the meaning of the water covering the earth is, and it's why darkness was over it. The life of God had to be expressed as light in order for the earth to come to life, and that isn't just a light to see by by man's eye balls, but a pointer towards the fact that unless He allows us to see by revelation who He is, we can never discover it. That is another way of saying we're completely dependent upon God to give us light about Himself, and our job is to hold to Him in faith as the process of that revelation is unfolded.
This is difficult to explain, and it's something I see much more clearly within that I am able to explain without. The bottom line, again, is creation was an account and revelation of what God is actually like, as He based it upon His very nature in order to be a reflection of who He was, and so man could live in the midst of it to help see what the invisible attributes of God actually were. It begins with total selflessness, which was expressed in the creation by the water-covered earth, which agrees with the revelation and fact that Jesus Christ was crucified from the foundation of the world.
With the light I have now concerning this, it appears that the creation of the earth cost Jesus everything, and history proves that that is the case, culminating in His death on the cross in space and time. Yet that event also happened when the earth was formed. It's a mystery, which is why the beginning of the creation account was shrouded in the darkness and needed the light of the life of Christ to help us see and understand what it is He is like. It's about laying down His life for us in order to create the earth we would be formed from, and about a love that was impossible to keep to Himself.
In the end that's what's important. Creation was inevitable because of the selflessness of God. He had to share Himself through fellowship with others who would ultimately become His sons, and so that demanded a creation in order to bring those sons into being. That act of love cost Him everything, although the Father, because of Christ's obedience, gave it all back to Him and more. Ultimately Jesus will present His completed work in us to the Father that God may be all in all.
Now as to a secondary reason, God also revealed that when He created the heavens and the earth, things in the physical realm, unless He intervenes, will be run on a sequential and progressive level, meaning you have to take one step in the physically created world before you take the next step.
The idea is that while God created the earth covered with water as an expression of who He is, and to show us that reality and fact, secondarily it also teaches us that things done in this realm are done one step at a time, and not all at once. There's much to learn practically from that, but that's the essence of it.
Faith of course can change some of this, but even there man is still man, and God will perform the miraculous at times to remind us that the He rules from heaven, and the earth is to also ruled in that manner. But it must be line upon line and precept upon precept for everyday life, with God sometimes intervening and performing miracles to reveal His power so our faith in Him is built upon the power He has and His person.
Another very important thing to understand in the creation account is that there is no mention as to how the earth is made. Other than saying God created it, there is nothing told to us as to whether it was spoken into existence, or if there was another means used. Since everything was created by Christ working with the Father and the Holy Spirit, the assumption has to be made that was spoken into existence, but God chose to leave that unsaid as well, supporting the fact that He wanted us to realize this was a mystery that He was revealing concerning Himself, as well as something we must embrace by faith in Him and what He revealed to us.
I know that the Holy Spirit reveals in Job some of the preliminary aspects of creation, but it's not real clear as to the means employed to create the earth even though the plans had been drawn up.
Leaving out facts shouldn't be a problem in any way for us, as the just live by faith, and by faith we understand He created the heavens and the earth. That should be enough for us. The major reason for the creation was to design an environment that was filled with types and shadows of God within it, and then the very image of God was expressed in the creation of man. Not only was man provided for a perfect environment, but was also able to enjoy it as man for the purpose of learning much about God through the creation itself, as well as direct fellowship with Him. Creation after all, is said to speak to man of who God is, and it's as real as anything other than God himself, although tainted now through the curse coming from the sin of Adam and Eve.
As to the earth being without form and void, it was that way simply because God had to take step one in order to take step two. He created this great mystery covered with water to first reveal that the earth was created crucified in order to show that this was the starting place with God in relationship to man, and also that it was a vital characteristic of the Godhead themselves.
It was also so that man would understand that until God reveals who He is out of the cross or baptism, there is no hope of man being anything but without form and void. Only God can bring order out of chaos, and until He takes the next step, there is nothing but a formless void covered in darkness.
There can never be redemption unless there is a dying to self. There can never be creation unless God sheds light on the circumstances of life and gives revelation of how to emerge out of this chaotic world. All of this was represented in the creation without sin. The emphasis isn't on sin at all at this point, but what this world would be like if God doesn't bring light to us concerning its purpose.
Even God's creation will never make sense to His people unless He brings us revelation as to what that meaning is. That's what creation is all about and why God created; not just to give us an environment to live in, but that that very environment testified and revealed who He is to us. Because He looked inside Himself and knew and understood who He was, upon that basis, in an orderly fashion, God began to create the heavens and the earth, with the earth being the focus of the narrative and revelation for man.
So with the darkness hiding the mystery hidden under the waters of the created earth, and the earth itself created as a crucified entity, at this point the Spirit of God is fluttering or hovering over the waters, with the goal of changing this formless and void place into an orderly work. But it was to primarily reveal His eternal purpose in its embryonic form. So at that point the Word of God utters the first words we know of, which is of course: "Let there be light."
It starts with selflessness and crucifixion, but goes on with the mighty creation of light, which is a reflection of the very life of God Himself, and of course the beginning of the revelation of who He is as far as moving out of death to self into life. Remember, this is all written so we can know and understand who He is, and not for God.
Again, this isn't something God does as finding out something of Himself. He's simply expressing who He is, which is in itself an act of selflessness and love, as He is passionate about expressing Himself in a people in order to fill a created earth with Himself to reflect what has already happened in heaven. The invisible and visible worlds were always meant to be an exact reflection and image of who Jesus Christ is. Man was created in order to bring the invisible quality of God's into themselves and then express it into the earth. That way Jesus Christ would the be the Lord of heaven and earth. There has been no change or alteration to that purpose, and the Holy Spirit continues to work in us to that end to this day.
While the focus of this has been largely on creation before light was spoken into existence, in fact this is completely about the life of Christ as expressed by light. We are taught that His life is the light of men. And so it is.
But that light or life makes no sense unless it comes forth out of death to self, which is revealed in the mystery of creation from the moment of conception.
All of this is a drama emerging from a selfless loving God, who in the Son was crucified from the foundation of the world, and through death, as represented by the waters covering the earth, gave everything in order to pour out His love on a people and be received and embraced as the God of the universe. This is part of His great inheritance in the saints, and for the joy that was set before Him, was more than willing to endure the cross so He could share of Himself with those who believe in Him ... forever. What an eternal purpose He has had from before time.
