Connection to unit theme
Almighty God is. That is, He exists. There never was a time when He did not exist. And, out of His sovereignty and divine prerogative, He created. While there was nothing lacking in God, He took the initiative to create. In so doing – both in terms of what He made and how He made it – He taught us much about Himself, ourselves, and our relationship to Him.
Introduction
We take so much for granted. We walk outside and experience the world around us, often without any thought of its majesty and grandeur. We see the sky, the trees, the ocean, the mountains, any of which is immense enough to overwhelm us as we try to consider its beauty and magnitude. In our defense, from our experience, there has never been a time when those things did not exist. So, it would be easy for us to take them for granted. However, there was a time they did not exist. In fact, there was a time when nothing existed at all – nothing, that is, except the God that made all we see and experience. And, it is His existence and activity that should cause us to marvel to an even greater degree.
As we begin our study through the Old Testament, it is important for us to remember that the beginning of the story starts with God Himself. It is not that God was the first thing created, but rather that God was always there. The question, then, is why did God create at all? Was He bored? Did He simply need something to do? Today, we will see where it all began.
I. God is . . . (v.1a)
The Old Testament begins with a mind-blowing declaration: “In the beginning, God . . . ” Moses says nothing of God’s origin because there is nothing to say. God had no origin. He always has been. There has never been a time when He was not. Why is this such a big deal? Because He owes His existence to no one and nothing. Moses knew this all too well. God introduced Himself to Moses this way in Exodus 3. Moses asked God who he should say sent him to Pharaoh. To translate God’s response into improper English, God said “I be” – that is, “I am” or “I exist.” He, therefore, as the only, divine, eternal, Supreme Being, stands above everything else.
This God who exists has a plan, one He has revealed progressively since He created the world. This plan began with God Himself. He works it out according to His will and by His mighty power. As His written revelation to us begins, we see that He is the central actor in this grand narrative. He is the one who alone existed before the world was created. He is the one who acted to create. He is the one who will continue to work until the culmination of His great plan.
Application: How should the reality of God’s existence impact our lives today? If He alone is the eternal, sovereign God, working to bring about His will and plan, how do our lives and our plans relate to His?
TO BE CONTINUED …
MANAGING YOURSELF 