Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”

These are the first words of the Holy Bible. More than a statement, I believe this is God’s great take-it-or-leave-it verse, setting up the rest of Scripture.

The reason Genesis 1:1 sets up the rest of Scripture is that God wants us to take the Bible by faith, and the first verse of Scripture leaves us with no choice. Much of the Bible can be backed up by archaeological discoveries, ancient government documents, and written personal accounts, but with this verse, there are no eyewitnesses. We have to take God’s Word for it. You either believe it, or you don’t.

God deals with the world through faith. Salvation is through faith (John 3:16; Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 5:1; Romans 1:16; and many other verses). The saved are to live by faith (Romans 1:17; Habakkuk 2:4; Galatians 3:11; Hebrews 10:38).

How important is faith? Many people try to please God through their actions, choosing to do the right thing, performing some religious ritual, and the like, but God says that He cannot be pleased without faith. Hebrews 11:6, “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”

God, with His first Words, describes the creation of the universe without using the words faith or believe, yet He establishes that a person must take God’s Word by faith, or not take it at all.

When we get to the New Testament, John provides more detail about creation. John 1:1-3, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.”

A casual reading of these verses and of Genesis 1 makes the passage in John seem like a summary of the creation. As you read Genesis 1, you will read, “And God said…” nine times. God leaves no doubt that He spoke the universe into existence. But John 1 is more than a summary. John uses the word “Word” three times in verse one, and every time a capital W is used. He is telling us that He is not just talking about words that are spoken, but he is speaking of a person, he is speaking of God. Remember the phrase, “and the Word was God.” John also uses the phrase “and the Word was with God,” indicating that another person was present at creation. The fact that this “Word” is another person and that this “Word” is God establishes the doctrine of the Trinity. In Genesis 1:26, we read a conversation among the three persons of God about creating man in their image. Mankind is created in the image of God, and that image shows the three persons of the Godhead. We are made up of spirit, soul, and body.

But who is this Word? John 1:14 gives us the answer to that question. “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”

The only begotten of the Father can be none other than Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the Word of John chapter one, and when we read in Genesis one, all those “And God said…” that created the universe, it was Jesus Christ doing the talking.  

The creation of the universe is something that must be taken by faith. Either you believe the first chapters of Genesis and John, not to mention the dozens of other Biblical verses that speak on the subject, or you don’t.

What difference does it make if someone believes the Biblical creation story or not?

John emphasizes that Jesus is God and the Creator. If Jesus is not God, all worship for Him should stop. Why worship a man? If He is not God, then the Bible cannot be trusted because one of its main themes, the deity of Christ, is a lie. If He is not God, His death cannot save anyone; the eternal life He claims to give is an empty hope.

But if the Biblical account of creation is true, then Jesus Christ is God. If He is God, the blood that He shed can wash away your sins and grant you eternal life. If Jesus is God, then His Word is truth. If Jesus is God, then the guidelines the Scripture gives us for life are far more than good suggestions; they are the marching orders the Creator has given us to live by.

Whether or not we believe the Biblical creation story is proved by how much we obey the rest of Scripture. After all, if the creation story is true, then Jesus is God, and we should follow the Scriptures. If the creation story is not true, then Jesus is not God, and what difference does it make if we follow the Scriptures or not?

Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”

Take it or leave it.