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It should get our attention when Christ Jesus says,
"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal." (Matt. 6:19-20)
The differences between earthly mindedness and heavenly mindedness are matters of the heart.
Here Jesus is drawing a stark contrast between focusing on things of this earth versus things of heaven, especially when he goes on to say, "'For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also'" (Matt. 6:21). In other words, the differences between heavenly mindedness and earthly mindedness are matters of the heart—our desires, likes, and focus are not only external but also internal. Are we seeking first the kingdom of God and his righteousness (Matt. 6:33) or are we fixated on satisfying our own perceived needs?
In his letter to the Philippians Paul explains further when he writes that "enemies of the cross [of Christ]" have their "minds set on earthly things" (Phil. 3:18-19). Our Lord and Savior calls us away from earthly mindedness, but what exactly does it mean to be earthly minded?
Earthly mindedness is conformity to the world.
Being earthly minded first means treasuring material things of this age in our lifetime here on earth; the focus of our heart's desires are things on earth which are mainly material—objects that neither ultimately satisfy nor last. They lose their luster, rust away, or are eaten up by time.
Materialism is earthly, and our obsession with material things is earthly minded. In short, earthly mindedness is conformity to the world (Rom. 12:2). It is thinking and acting like many of those around us who do not know nor submit to our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus. Because they rebel against Christ, they are enemies of the cross of Christ whose end is destruction (Phil. 3:18-19).
We must not allow things that are passing away to distract our eyes, attention, and hearts from Christ.
An enemy of Christ is one whose mind is focused on this world and the things of the earth that are passing away (1 Cor. 7:31). Rather than desiring earthly things that do not last, God calls us to keep at the top of our minds treasures that do last—heavenly treasures. Instead of allowing things that are passing away to distract our eyes, attention, and hearts, our Lord wants us to be heavenly minded and enthralled with our true and everlasting home in God's kingdom.
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The questions often arise: “What must a Christian believe to be saved”? or “What are the essentials?” Most often the broad evangelical answer is “not much.” The tendency is toward minimalism in doctrine (belief) and practice. In some circles it is enough to say that one came forward at a rally, prayed a prayer, and signed a card (or clicked yes on a website). The Reformed Churches, however, confess a different answer to that question in the Heidelberg Catechism:
Q. 22. What then is necessary for a Christian to believe?
A. All that is promised us in the Gospel, which the articles of our catholic, undoubted Christian faith teach us in sum.
The catechism begins with the gospel, the good news about Jesus the Messiah, which is shorthand for his incarnation, death, resurrection, and ascension for us sinners—but there is more.
The Apostles’ Creed contains the articles of our catholic, undoubted faith.
The gospel as we understand it is summarized not just in those events but in “the articles of our catholic, undoubted Christian faith” that teach us what is necessary for us to believe. The articles to which this answer refers are the twelve articles of the Apostles’ Creed, which are in three sections, organized by the Holy Trinity:
Father
I believe in God the Father, almighty, maker of heaven and earth,
Son
And in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord,
Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, Born of the virgin Mary,
Suffered under Pontius Pilate, crucified, dead and buried; He descended into hell;
The third day He rose from the dead;
He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father almighty;
Thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.
Holy Spirit
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
The Holy Catholic Church, The communion of saints,
The forgiveness of sins,
The resurrection of the body,
And the life everlasting.
According to the Reformed understanding, all twelve articles are under the heading “gospel.” This doesn’t mean that there isn’t a narrow sense of the gospel (as sketched above), but it does mean that, when we answer the question of what must be believed, we do not stop at the narrow sense of gospel. We include in it the doctrine of the Trinity, a doctrine of God, a doctrine of creation and providence, of sin, of Christ, of salvation, of the church, sacraments, and last things.
Our doctrine of God is intimately connected to our understanding of man, salvation, church, and worship.
Modern evangelical answers to this question have focused on Christ to the exclusion of these other doctrines, but in Reformed theology they’re all connected. Our doctrine of God is intimately connected to our understanding of man, salvation, church, and worship. The Reformed faith, however, is biblical and catholic, i.e., we believe what the Scriptures teach about God, man, Christ, salvation, etc., as understood by the church in all times and places.
In contrast, for evangelicals, so long as one affirms a personal relationship with the risen Christ, everything else is negotiable. It is not even always certain what an evangelical means by “Christ.” Is she referring to the Christ of Scripture and history, confessed in the Creed, or to the Christ of subjective, mystical experience?
The Reformed answer to the question, “what must a Christian believe?” is not minimalist, but neither is it maximalist. We don’t ask Christians to believe everything possible. We ask them to believe all that is necessary. There are limits to what may be set as a condition of salvation. There is a hierarchy of beliefs. They aren’t all equally ultimate or necessary. There are fundamentalist groups that require adherents to believe that the King James Version of the English Bible is the only acceptable translation, but that’s not a necessary belief. The King James Version is a wonderful piece of work, but it’s just one translation among many.
The Geneva Bible pre-existed the KJV, the Tyndale translation pre-existed the Geneva Bible, and we’ve had many fine translations since 1611. Others would set the length of creation days as a necessary belief. One is certainly entitled to one’s opinion about the meaning of the “day” in Genesis 1 and 2, but historically the emphasis has been on the reality of the creation days and upon the truth that we are created and not the Creator.
The Christian faith is distinct from other religions.
Reformed churches are Trinitarian. This puts us at odds not only with Jews and Muslims who reject the Trinity, but also with those evangelicals who seek some détente with Mormonism, which denies the catholic (universal) Christian doctrine of the Trinity.
We believe in divine providence, that God is the same God who spoke creation into existence by the power of his Word and is actively upholding and governing all things. We reject deism. We reject pantheism (everything is God). We reject panentheism (everything is in God). God is. He isn’t becoming. Whatever comes to pass does so only because and under the control of God’s good providence.
We believe the catholic doctrine of the two natures of Christ as summarized in the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed (381), in the Definition of Chalcedon (451), and the Athanasian Creed (7th century). He is true God and true man. He remains one person with two distinct, united, inseparable, unconfused natures. What is true of Christ’s natures is true of his person, but the distinct properties of each nature are unchanged.
We are not Gnostics. We believe that God created humanity good, righteous, and holy; able to fulfill his law and enter into eternal blessedness through obedience to that law (the commandment of life—the covenant of works). Our first parents, Adam and Eve, disobeyed God, and Adam, as the legal representative of all humanity, died spiritually. In Adam’s fall into sin, death, and guilt, all humans were implicated. We are all born in sin and death.
The Spirit gives the grace of faith to all Christians.
There is salvation by (a covenant of) grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Just as God, in the garden, offered to Adam life on condition of obedience, so now he has promised life to his elect on the basis of the obedience of the Second and Last Adam, Jesus. His Spirit grants life to those for whom he obeyed, suffered, was crucified, died, was buried, and was raised, and for whom he now intercedes.
The Spirit gives the grace of faith to those to whom he has given life, and through faith he grants us free acceptance with God, unites believers to the risen Christ, and adopts them as sons. We do believe heartily in a personal communion with the risen Christ, but the Christ to whom we are united, with whom we commune, is the Christ of Scripture and history. He is not the figment of our imagination or the creature of our experience.
The true church exists where the gospel is preached purely, the sacraments (baptism and the Lord’s Supper) are administered purely, and where there is discipline.
We are not saved alone, nor are we saved to be alone. The Triune God administers his salvation in the visible church. Where the gospel is preached purely, the sacraments (baptism and the Lord’s Supper) are administered purely, and where there is discipline, there is a true church. In those assemblies is where the Spirit is at work bringing the elect to faith and where believers are growing in sanctity as a consequence of God’s grace and fellowship with one another.
These visible covenant assemblies are mixed. In them are believers, those who are yet to believe, as well as those who profess faith but who do not believe. There has always been a universal church—composed in all times and places of believers—since the beginning of the world, and there shall always be this body, united by true faith, in the visible assembly.
Believers are freely accepted by God (justified) through faith (knowledge, assent, and trust) alone in Christ.
In the visible church is where all believers are ordinarily found. Believers are those who have been given a knowledge of the faith, assent to the truth of the faith, and a hearty trust that the promises of the gospel are true not only for others but for themselves also. Believers are freely accepted by God (justified) through faith (knowledge, assent, and trust) alone in Christ.
In that communion of saints God uses visible signs of his promises. To those who believe, these signs (sacraments) testify that what they signify is really true for the believer. Christians follow in the footsteps of Abraham and Moses by initiating their children into the visible covenant community in baptism and, upon profession of faith, communing with him at the Lord’s Table. These signs and seals are not magic; but they do tell the truth, and the Spirit does use them to strengthen our faith and to help us grow in Christlikeness.
Sin (violation of God’s holy law) corrupted creation and especially human nature and brought death, but that is not the end of the story. Just as there is forgiveness of sins in Christ, so too our Lord has, by his bodily resurrection, begun to reverse the effects of the fall. His bodily resurrection is a promise that, when Christ returns, believers too will be raised from the dead. As we wait for the final day, we do so with the confidence that Jesus ascended bodily and that he, in his true humanity, is at the right hand of our Father praying for us.
We live our life in union with Christ and in communion with believers.
The new life that believers have by grace alone is a down payment of the eternal life that is to come in the new heavens and new earth. We live our life in union with Christ and in communion with believers, patiently waiting and serving him by fulfilling our earthly vocations as citizens of his twofold kingdom (eternal and temporal).
The Christian faith has objective content that must be believed. Those propositions are more extensive than many might like to think, but all that content must be appropriated personally by faith or it remains only theoretical. The Spirit works through the proclamation of this gospel, these truths, to produce new life, true faith, and sanctity. Those to whom he has given new life he has also given a new identity shaped by the catholic, Christian faith.
The biblical faith, the catholic faith, is an integral, coherent, whole. It isn’t a patchwork, but neither is it an endless garment.
R. Scott Clark is professor of Church History and Historical Theology at Westminster Seminary California (Escondido, California) and the author ofRecovering the Reformed Confession(P&R, 2008). For more content from Dr. Clark, please visitheidelblog.net.
If you’ve ever gone to a church service where the liturgy is done well, you’ll know what I mean when I say there is uplift at the end. You leave looking up—perhaps physically, if the architecture embodies this theology of worship. Yet most importantly, your heart has been focused on God who, metaphorically speaking, is high. Your heart has been lifted up to him by the power of the Holy Spirit and with the creaturely aid of the liturgy. The liturgy is intentionally constructed to lift your gaze to God Most High.
Likewise, the rituals of daily life direct our gaze. Our hearts naturally wander away from God. We love so many other lesser things. Thus, we must train our hearts to gaze upon God. Our lives must be lived in such a way that we leave them one day also with uplift.
Our daily life moves us toward a telos, a final endpoint that is our purpose. By seeing ourselves within our Creator’s grand narrative, we are able to remember that our story is not the story. Rather, we are part of a much greater one. In this chiasm of redemption, (beginning in Eden, centering at the cross, and ending in Paradise), we see that our telos is in enjoying and glorifying God.
United already to God in Christ, this telos is brought into our daily lives. We find that we are more than our careers, our achievements, our social media images, and, yes, even our coffee habits. We find that we are lovers, and more importantly beloved by God, the Lover.
How do we incorporate this into our lives practically? How do we live as both lover and beloved on a daily basis? By being intentional with our daily rituals. Here are a few suggestions to get you started, but feel free to build upon any of these, adding personality and creativity.
1. In Your Home
A few months ago I got married. This is the event that led to my interest in ritual in the first place. I began to think about the structure of home life and ways to shape it with intention, so that God would be enjoyed and glorified in our new home. Practices like praying together, family devotions, being in God’s word, and singing together are a few options. Other helpful ideas include memorizing Scripture together; reading a book as a family that can be discussed throughout the week; and even table talk during shared meals wherein conversation is purposefully about one another’s spiritual lives.
If you live alone, invite friends into your home, start/join a book club, or read a book of the Bible with another person and discuss it together. Home is a sacred place where God should be remembered daily; he is our only constant companion. Remember that as individual believers, we should each spend time in the word and in prayer daily on our own.
If you spend extended amounts of time at home, one ritual that can be beneficial is playing worship music in the background during your day. Simple things like God-glorifying music can change the entire spirit or feel of a space, and promote God-focused thoughts, even while you are involved in mundane things like responding to emails or doing dishes.
2. In Your Relationships
1 Thessalonians 5:11 says, “Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.” Make a habit of encouraging others; write an uplifting note; make time for a hurting friend; practice forgiveness; speak words of peace and truth; and pray for and with others.
I once knew a fellow congregant who prayed through the church directory each day, lifting up in prayer every single member. When I learned this, I was so touched to know that this person had literally prayed for me personally every day for years. Another helpful way to remember to pray for others is to make either a prayer list or a calendar in which you rotate through people for whom you’d like to pray.
Know your friends’ needs and how you can be there for them. As Galatians 6:2 says, “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” Don’t forget to let others be there for you, too. Part of making our relationship with God part of our other relationships is by preaching the gospel to one another. How can others do this if you won’t let them share in your own struggles? You need grace too, and the only way you can receive it relationally is by being open to others. You are not loving your neighbor by always being the “strong one.”
3. In Your Vocation
Be aware of the concept of “calling,” and seek the Lord in prayer for a sense of your calling if you do not have it yet (it takes time), or for direction if you do. Pursue habits that help you in this calling, and say no to what will hinder you. Remember, a vocation is not simply a job. It is the “good work” for which God has created you (Eph. 2:10). Your very identity is God’s workmanship. You are meant to do certain things, and in doing them God is glorified. Be aware of this and do not settle for less.
Make nurturing/preparing for your calling a part of your daily life. How you do this will depend on your particular calling. As a personal example, I feel called to write, so I make it a habit to write daily. I also read daily, because I know this will help me grow as a writer.
These things aren’t super “spiritual.” Sometimes I read something as basic as an essay on poetics in which religion is not mentioned at all, or I read a piece of literature just because it’s really good. These rituals help me grow in my calling, and in that God is glorified.
Living Each Day with Intention
In a letter to his brother Theo, Vincent van Gogh wrote the following:
For the great doesn’t happen through impulse alone, and is a succession of little things that are brought together. What is drawing? How does one get there? It’s working one’s way through an invisible iron wall that seems to stand between what one feels and what one can do. How can one get through that wall?—since hammering on it doesn’t help at all. In my view, one must undermine the wall and grind through it slowly and patiently. And behold, how can one remain dedicated to such a task without allowing oneself to be lured from it or distracted, unless one reflects and organizes one’s life according to principles? And it’s the same with other things as it is with artistic matters. And the great isn’t something accidental; it must be willed.
Our hearts are so easily distracted; we are prone to wander, even from what we love. The only way to live a life of intention rather than a life of wandering is to live our days with intention, to think about what we do each day, to implement rituals that will help us grow. Above all else, as Christians we are lovers of God, for he has made us so. As 1 John 4:19 says, “We love because he first loved us.” What better way to spend your days than in growing in this truth and responding to it in love!
Let your days stretch out into a portrait of this love, as an embodiment of it, reflecting what is true. Keep looking upward to God, and at the end of your life you’ll see the arch of its expanse, moving upwards still, until finally you breathe your last and your time here ends too with uplift.
This article was originally published on November 26, 2018.
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If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. — 1 John 1:9
When our lives are under a great amount of stress, it is easy to fall back into the mindset that our acceptance with God is performance-based. The best of saints struggle with this problem. Do you experience the sense of guilt that you are never doing enough to please God? Is there a lingering fear that maybe God does not love or accept you?
Stressful times can lead to the resurrection of old addictions and struggles of the past.
Most likely, those sentiments arise in connection with certain sins in our lives. Maybe it is that same sin you have struggled with for years without the deliverance you thought would be given by now. Maybe it is because you struggle with how little your devotion is to the Lord. Maybe the experience of constant failure has become overwhelming.
What may actually be happening to many believers in times of uncertainty is not stronger devotion to Christ but rather the resurrection of old addictions and struggles of the past. Stress and anxiety have a strange way of prompting us to reach for old idols. Those idols always have been and still are death to us, and yet we grab them for relief. Through it all we wonder, does the Lord still accept us?
In 1 John 1:9 God provides ongoing help for those who are already forgiven of all their sins.
At times like this, it is good to meditate on the promise of 1 John 1:9. The Holy Spirit inspired these words to reassure believers who are confused and struggling over the continued presence of sin in their lives. Here, God gives his prescription for how we can respond in faith when we find ourselves doing the things we do not want to do, or neglecting to do the things he wants us to do (see Romans 7).
In this remarkable promise, God provides ongoing help for those who are already forgiven of all their sins. While we were still sinners, Jesus died for us, so that all of our sins are atoned for—past, present, and future. If this were not so, his words on the cross, “it is finished,” would mean nothing to us outside of Jesus breathing his last. Jesus finished the work of actually atoning for our sins.
Having received Christ by faith, the Scriptures make clear that we have been forgiven (χαρισάμενος) of all our trespasses (Col. 2:13). The aorist tense of the Greek verb “forgiven” is telling us this was a completed action. The force of this is to communicate that the objective work of Christ has secured the forgiveness of all your trespasses, now and forever. It was in this connection that Jesus assured the disciples that they were “already clean” based on his sacrificial work. 1 John 1:9 is a recognition of our ongoing need for help and reassurance of the work of Christ for us. Nevertheless, forgiveness is a definite outcome based on Jesus’ work on the cross.
We don’t need a priest, pastor, or any other mediator outside of Christ to confess our sins to God.
“Confess your sins to me,” says the Lord. You don’t need a priest, pastor, or any other mediator outside of Christ to do this. Our heavenly Father is inviting us to be honest and open with him, with specificity, about the sins we have committed. When we sin, we experience a disruption in our fellowship with God through the defilement sin brings. Sin is alienating and disruptive to proper fellowship with Christ. As saints who still sin, we regularly have need to be restored in the knowledge that we are forgiven and cleansed before the Lord.
The Lord lifts us out of the guilt and defilement that we bring on ourselves. He assures us of his faithfulness to forgive and cleanse us once and for all, based on the sacrifice of Jesus for our sins. He renews these objective realities to our hearts when we draw near to him burdened over our sins, with our eyes fixed on our righteous advocate who has already made propitiation for them all (1 John 2:2).
The Lord is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
What a relief it is to remember and be renewed in the joy of our salvation; assured of the forgiveness and cleansing that is ours in Christ. Through prayer, by his grace, the Lord renews us in his promises as we receive from him the washing of our consciences from sinful works (Heb. 9:14). In this way, our hearts are “reassured before him” (1 John 3:19).
In your struggles with sin, talk with your Lord. Your heavenly Father is gracious, merciful, and long-suffering. As the Heidelberg Catechism says,
For it is much more certain that God has heard my prayer than I feel in my heart that I desire such things from him. (Q &A 129)
Therefore, confess your sins to the Lord. He is faithful and just to forgive them and cleanse you from all unrighteousness, so as to reassure you of his steadfast love for you in Christ.
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Embracing Strength and Dignity: Navigating Life's Challenges (Proverbs 31:25)
Life, with all its beauty and complexity, often presents us with a series of challenges that test our inner strength and resilience. As women, we wear many hats—mothers, daughters, professionals, caregivers, and so much more. In the midst of our multifaceted roles, it's easy to lose sight of our own worth and the strength that lies within us. Yet, in the timeless words of Proverbs 31:25, we are reminded: "Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come."
This powerful verse offers a beacon of light in the face of life's challenges. Let's delve deeper into its wisdom and explore how it resonates with our journeys.
The Beauty of Inner Strength:
Life's challenges can often leave us feeling vulnerable and unsure of ourselves. However, Proverbs 31:25 encourages us to clothe ourselves in strength and dignity. It reminds us that within us lies a wellspring of resilience, courage, and fortitude. The strength we possess is not just physical—it's the unwavering determination to overcome obstacles, the courage to rise after a fall, and the tenacity to pursue our dreams against all odds.
Dignity in Adversity:
Dignity is a quality that radiates from within, regardless of circumstances. It's the ability to carry oneself with grace and self-respect, even in the face of adversity. When challenges threaten to shake our foundation, we can draw inspiration from the dignity depicted in Proverbs 31:25. It reminds us to hold our heads high, remain steadfast in our values, and approach difficulties with a sense of poise and self-assuredness.
Facing the Unknown with Laughter:
The verse's assertion that she "laughs at the time to come" is a testament to a heart that remains unburdened by worry. Life is filled with uncertainties, but instead of succumbing to fear, we are invited to greet the unknown with a spirit of joy and anticipation. This laughter is not one of naivety, but a celebration of our ability to find hope and positivity, even when circumstances seem daunting.
Navigating Personal and Professional Challenges:
As we juggle our various roles, challenges arise in both our personal and professional lives. We may encounter setbacks in our careers, experience health struggles, or face interpersonal conflicts. Proverbs 31:25 encourages us to approach these challenges with the same strength and dignity that define us. It reminds us that our journey is not defined by the obstacles we face, but by how we navigate and overcome them.
Creating a Legacy of Strength:
Each challenge we overcome contributes to the legacy we leave behind. When we stand strong and dignified in the face of adversity, we inspire those around us—our children, friends, colleagues—to do the same. Our ability to laugh at the uncertainties of the future sets a tone of hope and resilience, creating a ripple effect that extends far beyond our own lives.
Proverbs 31:25 serves as a timeless reminder of the inherent strength and dignity that lie within every woman. As we navigate life's challenges, we are called to clothe ourselves in these qualities, to face adversity with grace, and to greet the unknown with laughter. Let this verse be a guiding light, inspiring us to embrace our unique journeys with unwavering courage, unshakeable dignity, and a heart full of joyful anticipation. Through every trial and triumph, we emerge stronger, more resilient, and deeply empowered.
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Kindness matters. Yet, as we watch the evening news, it sure seems lacking. On the other hand, I'm sure we can all name those who have shown kindness to us when most needed.
Kindness is a virtue well worth pursuing.
People who are nearest to us often give us the best glimpses of what kindness truly is—those with whom we work and friends and family whom we know well and who know us. And this experience of kindness goes both ways—kindness shown to us and kindness we give.
The wisdom of God calls us to pursue kindness—that is, to look for opportunities to be kind to others. The ultimate worth of kindness is found in God's kindness. Proverbs 21:21 says,
In the Old Testament, kindness is a word translated from the Hebrew word, hesed, which has no equivalent in English. Its meaning is broad and full, often translated as steadfast love, faithfulness, loyalty, graciousness, goodness, or, as in Proverbs 21:21, kindness.
May we all find opportunities to show kindness to others.
Kindness is good. It means being steadfast in love toward another person, even as God has loved us with a steadfast love that never fails. It means being faithful to another—trustworthy and loyal. Kindness is gentle and loving, even when there are times in our lives that tempt us to be harsh and hard.
Rather than showing the rough edges of anger or frustration, may we all find opportunities to show kindness to others, especially those who are near and surely need a gentle touch, a kind smile, a pleasant word, and love that never fails.
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In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. — Genesis 1:1-2
If we are going to get anything out of Genesis, then we must prepare ourselves.
Basil of Caesarea (330-79) said at the beginning of his Hexaemeron, a series of sermons on Genesis 1,
How earnestly the soul should prepare itself to receive such high lessons! How pure it should be from carnal affections, how unclouded by worldly disquietudes, how active and ardent in its researches, how eager to find in its surroundings an idea of God which may be worthy of Him!
And John Calvin (1509-64) said in his commentary on Genesis, “The world is a mirror in which we ought to behold God.” “If my readers sincerely wish to profit with me in meditating on the works of God, they must bring with them a sober, docile mild, and humble spirit.”
So remember that the author of these words, Moses, saw an appearance of God at the burning bush, and God spoke with him “face to face, as a man speaks with his friend” (Exod. 33:11; cf. Num. 12:6-8). And don’t forget the power of these words, “which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Tim. 3:15).
The Hebrew word for “beginning” is ראשׁית (rēshīt), which may also mean “starting point” or “first,” and is closely related to ראשׁ (rōsh), which means “head.” The word God translates אלהים, Elōhīm, which may be the plural for אל (el), the generic word for god. The plural does not in itself teach the doctrine of the Trinity, that there is one God and three persons in the godhead, but is more likely a “plural of majesty.” God is not just god, he is GOD. Elōhīm. GOD! The very sound of this word, naming as it does the Creator of the universe, should fill us with awe, dread, and love.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Before there was an earth and atoms, life and light, time and tide, there was God. He is eternal, which does not mean that he is very old, but that he had no beginning. He always was, is, and will be. Many have mockingly asked, “What was God doing before he created the world?” In his Commentaries on Genesis, Calvin relates a humorous answer he had read to this question:
When a certain impure dog was in this manner pouring ridicule upon God, a pious man retorted that God had been at that time by no means inactive, because he had been preparing hell for the captious.
We cannot speak reasonably of what God was doing “before creation,” because before creation there was no time as we know it—there was no “before.” Certainly there was nothing that brought God himself into existence.
The Hebrew verb for create is ברא (bārā);it is only ever used with God as the subject. What did God create? The “heavens and the earth.” Heaven, שׁמים (shamayīm), also means sky. Earth, ארץ (erets), also means land and ground. These words do not have a special meaning in Genesis 1:1; but when put together like this, “heaven and earth,” that is, “sky and ground,” “everything that’s up and everything that’s down,” they emphasize that God made everything. Only God himself is not made.
There are no time indications in these first two verses. The earth (erets) was formless and empty. There is some lovely alliteration here in the original, the earth was תהו ובהו, tōhu va bōhu. These words are neither “good” nor “bad” but are exceedingly and perhaps unpleasantly bland. Tōhu can refer to a barren wasteland, “a barren and howling waste” (Deut. 32:10; also Job 6:18). It can refer to futility (1 Sam. 12:21) and meaninglessness (Isa. 29:21). Bōhu appears only three times in the Old Testament. Isaiah 34:11 describes how “God will stretch out over Edom the measuring line of chaos and the plumb line of desolation,” and Jeremiah uses just the same phrase as Genesis 1:2: “I looked at the earth, and it was formless and empty (tōhu va bōhu); and at the heavens, and their light was gone” (Jer. 4:23). We will return to Jeremiah’s hugely significant phrase in a moment.
Darkness was over the surface over the deep.
Creation at this point was empty and black. The same word describes the penultimate plague over Egypt: “The LORD said to Moses, ‘Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that darkness will spread over Egypt—darkness that can be felt.’ So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and total darkness covered all Egypt for three days. No one could see anyone else or leave his place for three days” (Exod. 10:21-23).
This blackness was over the surface of “the deep.” תהום, tehōm, refers only to “deep waters.” The Septuagint reads ἀβυσσος (abyssos, “abyss”). The Old Testament talks about God leading Israel through “the depths of the sea” (Isa. 63:13, Ps. 106:9) and Pharaoh’s army being drowned in the “depths” (Exod.15:5). In Deuteronomy 8:7, it refers to subterranean water.
So here is our first look at God’s creation: formless, empty, black, and watery. Light was yet to be created. The water was yet to be put into its place. Solid ground for living and walking on had yet to be exposed. The celestial mirrors of God’s light had yet to be fashioned. God’s life had yet to break out on the earth. Humanity was yet to be fashioned and enlivened in the delightfully different forms of male and female.
Calvin calls creation at this moment “the seed of the whole world,” and Basil “the foundation of a house, the keel of a vessel.” These are pleasing and correct analogies, for it is neither beautiful or ugly, pleasant or unpleasant. It is full of potential.
The Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
The Hebrew word for Spirit in verse two, רוח (ruach), is a wonderfully rich Old Testament word that can refer to wind, breath, or a personal spirit. Exactly the same range of meaning applies to the NT πνευμα (pneuma, from which we get such words as pneumatic and pneumonia). Ruach (elohīm, Spirit of God) always refers in the Old Testament to a person, God the Holy Spirit. So the Spirit was near to his creation, but not just near. He was hovering—fluttering is probably a closer translation—like a mother bird flutters over her young. Basil describes the early Syrian Christians’ delightful interpretation of this: “The Spirit cherished the nature of the waters as one sees a bird cover the eggs with her body and imparts to them vital force from her own warmth.” And in his epic poem Paradise Lost (1667) John Milton sang:
Darkness profound
Covered the abyss; but on the watery calm
His brooding wings the Spirit of God outstretched,
And vital virtue infused, and vital warmth,
throughout the fluid mass.
“Hovered” is used by Moses again almost at the end of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible) to describe God’s intense care of Israel his people:
In a desert land he found him, in a barren and howling waste. He shielded him and cared for him; he guarded him as the apple of his eye, like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, that spreads its wings to catch them and carries them on its pinions. (Deut. 32:10-11)
Whatever we might think about God’s formless, empty, lifeless, black, and watery creation, the Spirit of God loved it and sustained and upheld it (John 3:16); for as Psalm 104:29-30 says: “When you hide your face, they are terrified; when you take away their breath (ruach), they die and return to the dust. When you send your Spirit (ruach), they are created, and you renew the face of the earth.”
Why didn’t God complete creation instantaneously?
The burning question is this: “God is omnipotent and omniscient, so why would he not bring about a fully developed and complete creation instantaneously?” If the universe’s greatest good is that God glorify himself, then we can know that it was more glorifying for him to develop his creation over six days, to allow his great power and wisdom to unfold over this time. Moreover, by creating the world in this way, God taught the world that he can rescue us from darkness, lifelessness, and chaos, and that when he rescues us, he does it not instantaneously, but in a way that unfolds his omnipotence, omniscience, and omni-benevolence step-by-wonderful-step.
For although I have said that Moses’ description of initial creation in itself is neither beautiful nor ugly, similar words were used in different contexts to describe God’s people in distressing circumstances. As I mentioned above, Jeremiah uses this kind of language in the sixth century BC to describe Judah in a state of godless apostasy, who were about to face the fierce judgment of God by the hands of the brutal Babylonian army:
My people are fools; they do not know me. They are senseless children; they have no understanding. They are skilled in doing evil; they know not how to do good. I looked at the earth, and it was formless (tōhu) and empty (bōhu); and at the heavens, and their light was gone. I looked at the mountains, and they were quaking; all the hills were swaying. I looked, and there were no people; every bird in the sky had flown away. I looked, and the fruitful land was a desert; all its towns lay in ruins before the LORD, before his fierce anger. (Jer. 4:22-26; cf. Isa. 34:11)
Moreover, the very first readers of Genesis, the Israelites who had just emerged from centuries of brutal slavery and death in Egypt—slavery to Pharaoh’s building projects and slavery to the false gods of Egypt—would also have seen their situation mirrored in what was “formless and void,” black, and chaotically watery. Indeed, as we’ve already seen, God would rescue them from the “deep” (Ps. 106:9).
Perhaps these adjectives describe your own situation.
Confused. Empty. Lifeless. Dark. Chaotic. You are not yet a Christian, and you don’t know why you are on this planet and what is the meaning and purpose of your life. There is spiritual blackness and obscurity, and everything is immersed in chaos. Or you are a Christian, and the chaotic trials of life are pressing on you, and even the darkness of despair. You feel the “waves and breakers” crashing over you (Jon. 2:3).
Whoever you are, and whatever the depths and agony of your trials, God is hovering over you: he loves you, he is near to you, and he can rescue you. We see a living picture of his rescue unfold in the subsequent six days of creation.
God does not stand aloof from the world in all its chaotic agony. His caring, brooding presence is very near, and he is at work.
