Genesis 1:1-25 (January 1 & 2, 2026)
- Brian Lee
- Jan 2
- 3 min read
Summary
Genesis opens with the Creator (God), not with us (the created).
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (v. 1).
Before there is the material universe, there is the Creator God. The first scene is not “nature,” but this God speaking. The earth is “without form and void” and covered in darkness (v. 2), but it is not outside God’s rule; the Spirit of God is “hovering” over the waters (v. 2). Then God speaks light into darkness:
“Let there be light” (v. 3).
Here, a pattern appears. God speaks, reality obeys, God names and separates, and God declares it “good.” The biblical definition of "good" is whatever is fitting according to how God intended it.
Genesis tells us that since the world is not an accident, neither are we. Creation is purposeful, ordered, and morally meaningful.
Let's not forget the artistry of Genesis. Its structure reads like a “song," which doesn’t weaken its truth-claims. It clarifies that God alone is the Creator, and that everything else is created.
By v. 25, God has formed realms (light/dark; sky/sea; land/vegetation) and begun to fill them with living creatures (swarms in the seas; birds in the sky; animals on the land). Seen as a "song," we see that the refrain “according to their kinds” underscores stable distinctions and God-given order. This is not chaos becoming cosmos by chance. It is God’s wise rule bringing a good world into being.
Who is God
God is the first reality and the final authority.
Genesis 1:1 settles the ultimate question of origins by asserting God’s sovereign act at the foundation of everything.
God is also the God who rules by His Word. God speaks not as a wish, but as a royal decree.
Creation is not an extension of God’s being, and God is not one more part of the universe. The world is not divine, and God is not dependent. This protects us from both deism (a distant God) and pantheism (a God dissolved into nature).
And God is generous. He makes a world that is “good” before we contribute anything at all.
What is our guilt
Our guilt shows up as “practical atheism” in everyday forms. We live as though creation explains itself, as though we are self-made, self-owned, and self-defining. We also resist God’s separations. In Genesis, we see God who sets his boundaries and distinctions, but because we want autonomy from God, we blur the boundaries. The result is often a return to a state of “formlessness.” When we seek autonomy from the Creator, it is only natural that our loves will be disordered. We will be anxious, grasping for meaning in material things rather than the Creator.
These opening chapters are not trivial. They expose what’s wrong with us at the level of worship and worldview. When the Creator is not first in life, everything else is mis-ranked.
How does Grace shine
God is everlasting to everlasting. God speaks light into darkness. God's “commanding voice” is the meaning of our lives. We, the creation, have a purpose for existence by God's decree.
The Bible’s opening recounts how the world was made, then ruined, then redeemed through Jesus Christ, who is the Creator himself. Genesis 1 is the first act of that drama.
Because God is distinct from creation and free, redemption is not God “fixing himself,” but God rescuing what he made through covenantal grace.
Prayer
Heavenly Father,
You are the Creator of heaven and earth, and you spoke light into darkness.
Forgive us for treating created things as ultimate and for living as though we are self-made.
Help us to reorder our loves. Make us steady beings who gladly live under your Word. Renew us through Jesus Christ, the Word through whom you made all things.
In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.
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