SERMON TEXT: GENESIS 1:1-2 AUTHOR: DR. JERRY VINES OUTLINE I. Creation A. God is Personal B. God is Powerful C. God is Purposeful II. Complication III.Conversion SERMON TEXT I want you to turn in your Bible to the book of Genesis. We're going to begin tonight our study in the book of Genesis and I really have been looking forward to this. Being the first book of the Bible Genesis is indeed a very remarkable book. It is a book which begins in the glory and it ends in the gloom. It's a book which begins with a living God and it concludes with a dead man. It's a book that starts off with creation and it ends with a coffin. So it is a rather remarkable book. The word "Genesis" itself really means "beginning", because in Genesis what you have is the beginning of things. In the first eleven chapters of Genesis you have the beginnings of the human family, and you're told in those chapters about four great historical events in the human family. You're told about creation, you're told about the fall, you're told about the flood, and then you're told about the Tower of Babel. Then in chapter 12 to the conclusion of Genesis you're told about the beginning of the Hebrew family. Out of all of the families of the earth God reaches down in sovereign grace and sets aside the Hebrew family. So you study the Hebrew family around four great personalities: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. So in the beginnings of things you have the beginning of the human family, and then we'll study the beginning of the Hebrew family. I want us to look now at the opening statements of Genesis as recorded in chapter 1, verses 1 and 2. Let me read those two verses tonight and talk about them for a little while. 1. In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. There you have the opening statement not only of Genesis but the entire Bible. It is really the foundational statement in all of the Bible because it is this statement which makes all of the rest of the Bible understandable. If you took this statement right here away then nothing in the rest of the Bible would make any sense at all. "In the beginning God;" that's the only way to really start a Bible. Now here is a statement that is both simple and profound at the same time. For instance in verse 1 you have the whole existence of the universe summarized in ten words: "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." It is also a statement profound. You think about it. Here is a statement about how the whole universe came into existence. It is a statement so profound that it is beyond the power of the human mind to comprehend all that is included in this statement. Now I want you to notice several things about the opening statement. The first thing I want you to notice about it is that it is a statement of truth about the origin of things: how things came into existence. This is God himself telling us how everything in our universe came into being: "In the beginning God;" it is a statement of truth. Now of course, you see, when you deal with the Bible you are dealing with truth, and so when you deal with statements in the Bible about the origins of the universe you accept that as God's truth. You see, if you cannot believe what the Bible says about creation then logically you cannot believe what the Bible says about salvation. Jesus made a statement like this one time, Jesus said, "If I have told you earthly things and you believe not, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?" So if you cannot believe what the Bible says about creation, "In the beginning God," how can you believe what the Bible says about salvation, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son"? So it is a statement of truth. It is in stark contrast to some of the theories of men about the origin of things. You see, the origin of things is one of the great questions of life. Really there are three basic questions that everybody needs to answer about life. Number one, the question, Who am I? Number two, the question, Where did I come from? And then number three, Where am I going? Those are the three fundamental questions in all of life. You know, if you have children, you know that very soon they begin to ask questions like this. I mean it won't be long after they are able to talk that your little boy or your little girl will say to you, "Daddy, where did I come from?" They want to know their origin, they want to know where they came from. And you'll say, "Well, you came from your mommy and your daddy." And then they'll look at you in their innocent little inquiring way and they'll say, "Well where did you and Mommy come from?" And you'll say, "Well we came from Grandmama and Granddaddy." And then they'll just look at you again and they'll say, "Well where did they come from?" It is one of the natural questions that comes to all people: Who am I? Where did I come from? Where am I going? I heard about a father one time who wanted to be rather sophisticated with his little boy when he asked that question, "Daddy, where did I come from?" So the father decided he'd give a sophisticated answer, he said, "Well, Son, you came from the dust and you're going to the dust." Several days later the little boy was upstairs about supper time and he called out, "Daddy! Daddy! Somebody is under my bed: he's either coming or he's going." So it is a natural thing for boys and girls and for people in general to ask the questions, Who am I, where did I come from, and where am I going? Here is the statement of God's truth concerning origin. Now it is, as I have said, in stark contrast to the theories of men. For instance the theory of evolution. The theory of evolution takes an altogether different view of the origins of things. I'm asking them to put up on the image mags now a quotation from Darwin in his book The Origin of the Species. Let me read it for you as it comes down. Here's what Darwin said about origins: "All organic beings which have ever lived on the earth may be descended from some one primordial form." Now do you see the contrast there? In the Bible you have the statement, "In the beginning God created"; in evolution you have the position, "In the beginning a blob of plasma." Now let me ask you a question; which is the easiest of those two to believe? Is it easier, more logical to believe in the beginning a blob of plasma, or to believe in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth? So we've got to keep in mind we are dealing now with truth, divine truth, revealed truth, God himself making the statements. But, you see, this opening statement is also a refutation of a great many errors. I mean this statement, "In the beginning God created," refutes a whole lot of errors that are out in the world. For instance it refutes atheism, which says there is no God. It refutes polytheism, which says there are many gods. It refutes pantheism, which says God and the material universe are one and the same. It refutes fatalism, which says the world came into existence by accidental forces. It refutes materialism, which says that material things have always been here. And it refutes evolution, which says that all things came from one small-animal beginning. So it is a statement of truth, it is a refutation of many errors. But also this opening statement really is a statement of faith. When a person says, "In the beginning God created," and believes that statement right there, what you have really is a statement of faith. You're saying something that you believe. Now, you see, this statement, "In the beginning God created," that is outside the realm of science. We're talking here about the origin of things and really science actually has nothing to say about the origin of things. You see, what science does is make observations, science observes things, and on the basis of observation it develops hypotheses, or theories, through experiments. And then on the basis of theories, after a series of consistencies of the theories, then they develop axioms. But, you see, we're dealing with something right here that's outside the realm of science. We're dealing with something here that no scientist is able to test. You see, no scientist was present when this right here took place. What you have in the opening statement in the Bible is the statement of God himself about how the universe came into existence and, you see, God is the only one who was present, therefore He is the only one who knows what happened. I heard about a fictitious story about a group of scientists and they compiled all of these facts about the universe and the composition and the complexity of the universe, and they began to pump all of those facts into giant computer. After they had put all of the facts about the universe in the computer then they popped the big question to the computer and they asked the question, "Where did the world come from?" And the computer shook, and the motors turned, and the pulleys pulled, and it spit, and it spat, and it spewed, and in a little while a little slip of paper came out that said, "See the book of Genesis." Ladies and gentlemen, that's what you've got right here, you have got a statement in the Bible about the origin of things and the fact of the matter is you have to accept this statement by faith. Now keep your place here, I want you to turn over to the book of Hebrews, the eleventh chapter, and I want to show you a statement there which makes it very clear how you accept this statement. Hebrews, the eleventh chapter, and I want you to look at verse 3; here's what it says, 3. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. What he's saying here is is that things that were invisible, things that did not exist, were brought into existence by the word of God and he says in this verse that we accept that truth by faith. We have to say, "I believe." Now, you see, even a scientist who is an atheist has to say, "I believe." You see, even a person who doesn't believe that God created all things, if he has another theory about the origin of things, at some point he has to say, "I believe." You either have to say, "I believe God created the universe," or you have to say, "I believe the universe was always here," or you have to say, "I believe that there was one single cell and everything evolved out of that." So sooner or later everybody has to come to the point that they say, "I believe." I don't know about you but the thing that brings comfort to my heart, the thing that rests my restless mind is to believe by faith that there is a God who brought into existence this world, who brought into existence you and me, and that there is a purpose and there is a plan for our existence, and that we're not here by accident but we are here by the divine purpose and plan and program of God. Could I have an amen? Amen and amen and amen. Now then, what I want to do quickly tonight is just to give you three words we're going to study these first two verses around. I want to give you three words. The first word is obvious, it is the word "creation". "In the beginning," verse 1, "God created the heaven and the earth." Now you will notice the Bible here just begins assuming the existence of God. Did you notice that? I mean he didn't start off trying to prove there was a God, he didn't start off trying to argue the existence of God; the Bible just flat out states and assumes the existence of God. "In the beginning God." Did you know that is the natural assumption of the human mind? It is natural for a person to believe there is a God. Did you know atheism, to believe there is no God, is not natural to the human mind? To believe there is no God is as unnatural to a human mind as is singing to a turtle. I mean it just doesn't happen. If a person is an atheist that means somebody has been messing with their mind. And so, you see, he begins by assuming the existence of God. Psalm 14, verse 1, says, 1. The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Now his mind knows better, you see, it's a heart problem. It's not a head problem, it's a heart problem. A few years ago I heard that the atheists were complaining a little bit; they were complaining that we Christians seem to have all the special days. We have December 25, the birthday of our Lord. And then we have in the springtime Easter, the celebration of the resurrection of our Lord. And so the atheists were complaining a little bit because they didn't have a special day. Well I think that's fair enough. I think we ought to give the atheists a day, too. I suggest that we give them April 1. "The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God." So, you see, he assumes the existence of God. Thirty-two times in this first chapter, forty-three if you include the personal pronouns, he makes reference to God. "In the beginning God." Now you learn several things about God in this opening statement. You find, first of all, that God is personal. When he says, "In the beginning God," he is talking about a God who is a personal God, a God who is real. He's not talking about some impersonal force. He's not saying here, "May the Force be with you." There's no such thing as "the Force." Ladies and gentlemen, the only reality when it comes to the existence of this universe and its origin is the reality of a personal God. "In the beginning God": he is stating a God who really exists. And when you go down through this chapter you will find that this God who created the universe is a God who sees. God saw, the Bible says. He is a God who speaks: God said. You will find this is a God who has emotions: God saw what was created and saw that it was very good. You see, God is a God with a mind to think, God is a God with emotions to feel, God is a God with a will to act, and so we are introduced, first of all, to a personal God. But now I want you to notice secondly, not only in this creation statement are we introduced to a personal God, we're introduced to a powerful God: "In the beginning God created." Now the Hebrew word for created there is "bara", b-a-r-a, and it is a word that is only used with God as the subject. I mean that word is never used in any setting except as God being the subject. Only God can create. You see, to create means to bring something into existence that did not previously exist. And when it says, "In the beginning God created," what it means is that one moment there was nothing and then the next moment there was everything. I like the way the black preacher put it one time. The black preacher said, "In the beginning the eternal God stepped from behind the curtain of nowhere, upon the platform of nothing, and spoke the world into existence." Amen. Now, you see, only God can create. I hear people occasionally talking about man creating life, they talk about creating life in a test tube; now what they mean by that is is that they take certain materials and they just duplicate what the Creator has done. But, you see, when they are able to take a test tube that is absolutely empty, I mean when there's absolutely nothing in that test tube, and when they can make something where there was previously nothing I'd like to talk to them, I really would. But, you see, no man has been able to do that. Creation means to make something out of nothing. And I want to tell you what, ladies and gentlemen, it takes a powerful God to do something like that. "In the beginning God created." But now notice, not only is God personal, not only is God powerful, but God is purposeful. In the beginning God created what? The heaven and the earth. The universe. Now the question is, Why did God do that? Why did God create this universe of ours? Well it's interesting to notice in the Bible that there are two primary reasons God created the universe. The first reason God created the universe was for the good of man. Keep your place here, turn over to Isaiah chapter 45, verse 18, and I want you to keep that mark and we'll come back to it in just a moment. In Isaiah chapter 45 I want you to look at verse 18, and then keep that verse because I'm going to turn back to it in just a few minutes. In Isaiah chapter 45 and verse 18 look at what it says in the last part of the verse; it says, 18. ...He [God] has established it, He created it not in vain, He formed it to be inhabited... Do you see that little statement? He formed the universe to be inhabited. In other words God created the earth in order to have someone to occupy it. It's just like if you're riding down the street somewhere and all of a sudden you see builders coming, you see them build a foundation. And then you see some other guys coming and they pour a foundation. And then you see some other guys come in, they begin to erect a framework. And then you see some brickmasons come in and they lay bricks. And then you see some men come in on the interior and begin to build, and someone puts a roof on. You get the idea that somebody is building a house for somebody to move into. And when you look at this earth of ours you are aware of the fact that God created this earth of ours to be inhabited. He had someone in mind He wanted to live on this earth. By the way, the word "earth", the root of that word "earth" really means to love. Did you know that? The root of the word "earth" means to love. And do you know what that's saying? That's saying that the very earth itself is an expression of God's love for us. I mean you look out and you look at the beautiful trees, and you look at the gorgeous flowers, and you look at the delicious fruit, all of this is a testimony to the love of God for you and for me. Every time you pull a beautiful flower God says, "I love you." And every time you pluck a delicious fruit from a tree, God says, "I love you." He created this universe for the good of man. The second reason God created did it, not only for our good, but God also created this world for His own glory. Did you know that? In Revelation chapter 4, verse 11, we have a marvelous statement here about the purpose of God in the creation of the universe. In Revelation chapter 4, verse 11, it says this, 11. Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. You know what God is saying? God is saying, "I'm creating this whole universe for my glory." And did you know in Psalm 150 it talks about all creation bringing glory to God, praising the Lord. Everything that hath breath, he says, let it praise the Lord. And did you know that's why you and I have been created? We have been created to give glory unto God. God has made us that we might worship Him. God has made us that we might know Him. God has made us that we might love Him, and that we might serve Him, and one day in eternity that we might live forever with Him. Creation: what a picture, what a beautiful revelation this is of God. You see, we can know God; God has revealed himself in several ways. He's revealed himself in His Son Jesus, He's revealed himself in the Bible, He has revealed himself in His creation. Any reasonable, rational person can walk outside and look at the sky, and the sun, and the moon, and the stars, and the trees, and the grass, and know that there is a God. "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." Creation. But now there's a second word I want you to look at quickly tonight. The second word now may surprise you, because the second word around our study tonight is the word "complication", because when you turn to verse 2 there's a complication. "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." Verse 2: "And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep." That's not what you expect to read. In verse 1 you find a beautiful, breathtaking picture of creation, but now in verse 2 you find a different picture: the earth was without form [that is, wasteness], and void [that means emptiness], and darkness upon the face of the deep [the picture there is of storms upon the faces of the waters of the universe]. That's not what you expect. If you have a New International Version, which many of you do, you may have noticed that down in the notes in Genesis 1:2 it has, "And the earth became without form and void." Now go back to Isaiah 45. Did you save your place? That's one of the reasons God gave you fingers is to save these verses we're going to. So in Isaiah 45 I want you to look at what it says in verse 18. It says that He created it "not in vain, He formed it to be inhabited." Now you have a specific statement there that He didn't create it the way you find it in verse 2. He created it not in vain. That is the identical word that is translated "void" in Genesis 1:2. Now what do you have here? You have a picture of complication, you have a picture here of chaos. The last time I went through this I brought a whole message on this one point right here, so I'm fixin' to summarize a whole lot of things when I say to you that it indicates to me, the evidence indicates to me in scripture, that at this point in time Satan fell from Heaven. Now we know in Genesis chapter 3, verse 1, that Satan is on the earth. Now Satan has to get there somewhere between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 3:1, and it seems to me on the basis of these particular words used here that what you have is the fall of Satan, and when he did he brought chaos and turbulence and turmoil into the creation. And there it is: without form [wasteness], void [emptiness], darkness was upon the face of the deep. The introduction of evil into the world. Now, you see, it doesn't solve the problem of evil here but it just proves the existence of evil in the world. And that's why the devil hates man; because man is the zenith of God's creation. And that's why the devil is the sworn enemy of God; because he exists to complicate the plans and the purposes of God for His creation, man. Chapter 1, verse 1: creation. Verse 2: complication. But now here's the third word; the third word I want to use tonight is the word "conversion." Look at the rest of verse 2: "And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." A picture here of conversion. By the way, you have the Trinity in the opening statements of the Bible. In the beginning God. Verse 2, the Spirit of God. Verse 3, God said, "Let there be light": Jesus Christ the Light, God the Son. Now watch. You have a picture here of conversion. Did you know in the Bible the whole story of the Bible is about the fall of man, what God has done to redeem man from the fall, and the great plan of salvation? That's why every one of us ought to be soul winners tonight, did you know that? If you understand your Bible it will make a soul winner out of you. The more you read the Bible and the more you understand the message of the Bible the hotter your heart ought to be to tell people about the Lord Jesus Christ. The whole theme of the Bible is salvation. You see, Jeremiah 18, you remember when Jeremiah went down to the potter's house? You remember that? And he saw the potter working on the wheel and he was making a vessel of clay. You remember that? And then it says that the clay was marred in the hands of the potter. Remember that? And then it says that the potter made it a vessel again. There you have the whole story of the Bible right there: formed [creation], de-formed [complication], transformed [that's conversion]. That's the whole story of the Bible right there and that's what the Bible is about. And that's what our church is about. And that's what the Christian life is about. It's to tell people that God can do something about the wreck and the ruin that sin has done in the human heart. Keep your place and turn to Second Corinthians chapter 4. The apostle Paul, in talking about the conversion experience, interestingly enough uses an illustration from Genesis 1: 1 through 3. In Second Corinthians chapter 4, verse 6, look at what you read; it says, 6. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness [When did God do that? In Genesis 1:3. God who commanded the light to shine out of the darkness has done what?] hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. You know what he's saying? He's saying every time God saves a soul He's doing exactly what He did when He created this universe and when He reconstructed a universe that had been wrecked by the fall of Satan. You see, that's the picture of a lost sinner: wasteness. I want to tell you what, friends, you just look at a person without Jesus Christ and you see the potential for terrible wasteness. Sin turns a human heart into a howling wilderness. Oh, the wreck and the devastation and the ruin of sin: wasteness. But I'll tell you what else, friends, sin turns a life into emptiness. Emptiness. Void. No meaning. No purpose. If you don't know Jesus Christ as your Savior you don't know who you are, you don't know where you came from, you don't know where you're going; life is totally meaningless. It's the book of Ecclesiastes all over again: "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity." There's no purpose, there's no meaning to life whatsoever if you don't know Jesus. Amen? Amen! But then darkness. Oh, the darkness that sin brings into a human heart. And so, you see, in Genesis 1:2 you have a picture of what sin does in a life. But then notice, "And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." The word "moved" there is a beautiful word, it is a word that really means hovered, or brooded; like a mother bird brooding over its little ones in the nest. In fact the only other time this particular word is used is in Deuteronomy 32:11 where it uses the illustration of the eagle. You remember that? And it talks about the eagle fluttering over her nest. And it's the picture of that old mother eagle hovering, brooding over her nest, warming and caring for her little ones. So here is a picture of the Holy Spirit of God moving with compassion, moving in creative power over wasteness, and over emptiness, and over darkness. You see, that is exactly what the Holy Spirit does in the human heart. Somebody is sitting here tonight and you need Jesus Christ as your Savior, and God's Holy Spirit, like a sweet dove from heaven, has been brooding over your heart. You see, the Holy Spirit, the Bible says, will convict people of their need of Christ. Sometimes He does it in the light of a Christian. You may be working around some sweet Christian and they've just been living for Jesus, they've just been letting the light shine, and the Holy Spirit is using that light of another Christian to bring you under conviction of your need of salvation. Or it may be you just picked up a Bible somewhere, maybe you started reading your Bible lately, and the Bible says, "The entrance of thy Word gives light," and it says, "Thy Word is a lamp unto me and a light unto my path." We have some folks sitting right here tonight who came to Christ because they started on their own reading the scriptures, and as a result of reading the scriptures God's Holy Spirit brooded upon their heart and the light came on. And you see, my friends, when the light of a Christian and the light of the Word begins to move in the heart of a person it won't be long until God says, "Let there be light." And you know what? When the light shines wastefulness is turned into usefulness, and emptiness is turned into fullness, and darkness is turned into brightness, and out of the chaos comes order, out of the confusion there comes conversion, out of the sin their comes salvation. And, my friends, exactly what God did in the creation He can do in a human heart and in a human life. Now quickly I want to show you something and then we're going to close. There's a statement over in the book of Romans, the eleventh chapter, I think is so graphic. Look at Romans the eleventh chapter and I want you to look at verse 36, and then there's one other verse I want you to look at. Look at what it says, 36. For of Him [that's origin: where did I come from?], and through Him [that's who am I?], and to Him, [that's where am I going?] are all things... You see that? Of Him, through Him, to Him. God created all things, God sustains all things, and God will consummate all things. You know what it's saying? It's saying everything is heading toward the Creator. You see, in the morning you'll get up and you'll start walking toward your high school, but the truth of the matter is you're walking toward God. And in the morning you'll get in your car and you'll park in the parking lot where you work and you'll start walking toward your building. You think you're walking toward your work, you're walking toward God. And you go over to the mall tomorrow and you're walking toward a store; you think you're walking toward that store but the truth of the matter is you're walking toward God. Of Him, through Him, to Him are all things. One of these days you're going to have to meet the Creator. Now look at First Peter chapter 4 and verse 19. "Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to Him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator." You know what that verse is saying basically? It is saying that the same God who is your Creator wants to be your Savior, and that if the God of this universe is big enough, and powerful enough, and wonderful enough, and loving enough to create a beautiful earth like this upon which we live, this same God is big enough, and powerful enough, and wonderful enough, and loving enough to save you and give you a life that really has meaning and purpose. "In the beginning God..." You know what? That's really the only way to start a Bible. And do you know what? If you're a young couple out here and you're getting ready to get married, please, when you get ready to get married, say, "In the beginning God;" it's the only way to really start a family. And oh, dear young person tonight, just getting ready to start your life, oh, please, please, as you begin your life, say, "In the beginning God." Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth. And, my friend, if you'll come to the Lord Jesus Christ tonight He'll save you, He'll change your life, He'll forgive your sins, He'll change you. The Bible says, "If any man be in Christ he is a new creation, old things are passed away, all things are become new." Wouldn't you like to come to the Lord tonight?