The Critical Importance of Genesis 1:1


“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” 

Scripture begins with these ten words.  This is the Bedrock of the Bible, the first, earliest, and most irreducible foundation for the remaining 31,000 verses of God’s Word.  Genesis 1:1 encompasses the Totality of Truth.  Without it, there’s nothing but despair.  With it, there’s everything we need.  If this verse is true, everything in the rest of the Bible is plausible and logically consistent.  Genesis 1:1 tells us that God is, that He creates, and that He speaks; and this is the basis of all clear thinking and existential hope.

1.  Genesis 1:1 gives us roots.  We’re not accidental blobs of dying chemicals mysteriously evolving from primordial sludge without purpose or meaning.  We have a past rooted in the glory of the God whose image we bear.  We’re wonderfully made and placed in an environment fine-tuned for our needs.  The book of Genesis gives us the history of creation, of sin, of the beginnings of human society, and of the wondrous plan of redemption introduced by God.  If you discard Genesis 1:1, you abandon the roots and reality of humanity on earth.  By removing this text from conscious thought, we lose all inherent moral law in the universe, all intrinsic bases for self-image, all eternal purpose to life, and any and all hope in the human heart.

2.  Genesis 1:1 gives us routes.  If we have a past, we have a future.  If we were created in God’s image, we have eternal potential.  If we have an intelligent Creator who knows and loves us, He must have a purpose and plan for time and eternity.  Without Him, we’re dying embers in a dying universe with no ultimate significance.  With Him, we have roots in a dignified past and routes to a great future.