GENESIS, The book of, Harold Hunt The book of Genesis is the first book of the Old Testament. The name means beginnings or origin, and that is what it does; it tells about the beginning of those things which have a beginning. It tells about the beginning of the universe, the beginning of mankind, the beginning of sin (original sin), the beginning of marriage and the home, the beginning of human government, the beginning of the Jewish nation, and so on.
Not everything has a beginning; God has no beginning; he always has been, and he always will be. The very first thing the book of Genesis does is to introduce the subject of God. Its first expression is, “In the beginning God . . . . .” The Bible is addressed to those in whose heart God already lives. They do not need proof there is a God. God’s Spirit already lives in their hearts. One of the ways in which the Bible differs from systematic theologies is that it makes no effort to prove the existence of God; it assumes the existence of God, and begins from there.
“In the beginning, God . . . . ” He is the beginning and the end, the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last. He is the beginning in creation; before him, nothing, and no one existed. He is the beginning in regeneration; before he does his work in the heart, the sinner is dead in sins, and totally unable to do anything spiritually good.
One of the most common expressions among modern religionists is, “God wants to save you, but you will have to take the first step.” God answered that notion before anybody ever thought of it. The very first verse in the Bible says that it is “in the beginning God.” Until God acts in regeneration, the sinner cannot act in faith.
Genesis is the book of firsts; it provides the first mention of God: “In the beginning God . . . . ” (vs. 1). It provides the first indication of the Trinity: “Let us make man in our image . . . . ” (vs. 26). It provides the first glimpse of the adversary Satan: “Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field.” (ch. 3:1)
It provides the first promise of the Redeemer. (Ch. 3:15) and the first indication that he would be virgin born: “. . . the seed of the woman . . . . ” Outside of the Lord Jesus Christ every person who has ever been born has been the seed of the man. It provides the first glimpse of substitutionary atonement. An animal died in the stead of Adam and Eve, in order that they might have a “coat of skins” to cover their nakedness (ch. 3:21).
It provides the first indication of the sovereignty of God; God chose Abel and passed by Cain; he chose Abraham and passed by every other person in Ur of the Chaldees; he chose Jacob and passed by Esau.
“In the beginning God . . . . ” It is amazing how much God can say in a very few words. With these four words, he denies Arminianism; God is first in regeneration; man cannot act in faith until God acts in regeneration. He denies atheism; he assumes the existence of God. He denies pantheism; he makes a distinction between God and creation. Pantheism is the doctrine that God and the universe are one and the same. It is the fundamental principle in the theory of evolution.
Evolution credits the universe with the power to create itself. It asserts the eternity of God; he was before all creation. It asserts the infinity of God. Only a God who is all-wise, all-powerful, and everywhere present could create the almost limitless universe.