"In the beginning _______" (Genesis 1:1).
"In the beginning was ______ ____________
(John 1:1; compare verse
14 for the identify of "the Word")
If you could go back all the way to the beginning, GOD WOULD BE THERE. God has always existed! There has never been a time when God was not. Before there was anything else, God was.
God never had a beginning. In the beginning HE already WAS (John 1:1; 1 John 1:1). God never BEGAN, but you did! When was your BEGINNING? ________________________ (Write your birth date). MANKIND (the human race) had a BEGINNING: "Have ye not read, that He which [who] made them at the ____________________, made them male and female" (Matthew 19:4). The Lord's question, "Have you not read?" refers to a passage in the book of Genesis that the men He was speaking to (the Pharisees) should have known.. Can you find the verses in Genesis Chapter 1 which describe the creation of the first parents of the human race? Genesis 1:_________
The UNIVERSE (the heavens and the earth) also had a BEGINNING (see Genesis 1:1). There was a time (before Genesis 1:1) when the universe did not exist, but there was never a time when the CREATOR did not exist. The CREATOR inhabits ________________ (Isaiah 57:15)!
Read carefully Exodus 20:11. Before these six days of creation there
was no H _____________; there was no E_________, and there was no S________.
There was nothing in H_____________ (the birds, the stars, etc.); and there was
nothing in the E_________ (man, animals, plants, etc.); and there was nothing in
the S_____ (fish, whales, etc.) because before these six days the H____________
and the E________ and the S________ did not exist! All these things had a BEGINNING!
Even the DEVIL had a BEGINNING: "He was a murderer from the
_______________" (John
Other angels also had a beginning: "For by Him were ______ things ______________, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible (angels are invisible to us), whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities or powers" (Colossians 1:16). This verse is speaking of the creation of angels and angels normally are invisible. See also Romans 8:38; Ephesians 1:21; 3:10; 6:12; and Colossians 2:10,15). Colossians 1:16 says, "_______ things were __________ by Him." God the CREATOR, however, had no BEGINNING!
Please MATCH the following:
|
1. _______ |
The beginning of God |
A. EZEKIEL 28:13,l5 |
|
2. _______ |
The beginning of Lucifer |
B. GENESIS 1:1 |
|
3. _______ |
The beginning of angels |
C. GENESIS 1:26-27 |
|
4. _______ |
The beginning of the universe |
D. He had no beginning. He already WAS. JOHN 1:1 |
|
5. _______ |
The beginning of mankind |
E. COLOSSIANS 1:16 |
NOTE: The book of GENESIS is the book of BEGINNINGS. In this book we are told about the beginning of the universe (Gen. 1:1), the beginning of man (Gen. 1:26), the beginning of sin and death (Gen. 2:17; 3:6), and the beginning of marriage (Gen. 2:24). Can you think of other BEGINNINGS that we are told about in the book of Genesis?
BEFORE anything was ever created, GOD was already there: "and He
is ___________ all things" (Colossians
GOD’S ETERNAL LIFE
(Psalm 90:2)
|
EVERLASTING |
|
EVERLASTING |
MAN’S FLEETING LIFE
(Psalm 90:10)
In Psalm 90:10 Moses says that the average life span (the number of
years a person lives) is THREESCORE YEARS AND TEN. A score = 20 years; therefore, a man’s average life span is 3 X 20 = ______ + 10
= ______ years. Do all men live this long? _____ Also
in verse 10, Moses says that some people even live to be
__________________ years (4 X 20 = ________ years). How many people do you know
who are as old as 70 or older? How old was Moses when he died (Deuteronomy
34:7)? __________ years. Notice the great DIFFERENCE
between man’s short life and God’s unending life:
|
|
||
|
The average man |
70 |
Men are born, they live so |
|
An old man |
80 |
|
|
Moses |
120 |
|
|
Genesis 5:27 |
969 |
|
|
What about you? |
? |
|
Think of a birthday cake. When the candles are lighted, they are immediately blown out and you see smoke for a time. How long does the smoke last? This illustration demonstrates the length of your life compared to eternity. Read James 4:14. Compare Isaiah 40:6-8 and 1 Peter 1:242,25.
GOD'S ETERNAL AND UNENDING LIFE is quite different! Consider these verses:
1) Isaiah 44:6; Revelation
|
F___________ |
|
L__________ |
2) Revelation 1:8, 21:6;
|
B______________________ |
|
E________ |
3) Revelation 1:8,11; 21:6;
|
A_____________ |
|
O_____________ |
ALPHA (
) is the first letter of the Greek Alphabet.
Compare the English letter A.
OMEGA (
) is the last letter of the Greek Alphabet. Compare the English
letter Z.
God the Creator is the FIRST and the LAST, the BEGINNING and the END, the
ALPHA and the OMEGA. He was never created. He was never made. He was never
born. He never came into existence. He never had a beginning. HE ALWAYS WAS.
He is the God "which [who] ______ and which [who] ________, and who ____
____ ___________ " (Revelation 1:4,8; see Exodus
"In the beginning ________ CREATED" (Genesis 1:1). According to this verse, WHO is the CREATOR? ________ This name for "God" is the Hebrew word "ELOHIM" (el-ō-heem). The ending of this word ["...IM"] is a PLURAL ENDING ("plural" means more than one). In the English language "S" is a PLURAL ENDING. Can you make the following words PLURAL?
|
1) DOG__ |
4) GRANDMOTHER__ |
|
2) PENCIL__ |
5) GOD__ |
|
3) WATERMELON__ |
6) BUMBLEBEE__ |
Very good! Can you make the following HEBREW words plural? [Use the Hebrew plural IM]
The Hebrew word ELOHIM is a PLURAL word. Many times it is used in the Bible to describe gods (false gods):
"Thou shalt have no other _________ [ELOHIM] before Me" (Exodus 20:3).
"And make no mention of the name of other
__________ [ELOHIM]" (Exodus
". . .then will they turn unto other __________[ELOHIM]" (Deuteronomy 31:20; see also verse 18).
"God forbid that we should forsake the LORD, to serve other _________[ELOHIM]" (Joshua 24:16; see verse 2).
When ELOHIM is used to describe the TRUE GOD (as in Genesis 1:1) the word is translated "God," but it is a PLURAL word. Should not Genesis 1:1 say, "IN THE BEGINNING GODS CREATED THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH"? How many true GODS are there (Mark 12:29-30; 1 Corinthians 8:5-6; Deuteronomy 4:39; Isaiah 44:6-8; 45:5-6)? ________ Did three GODS create the universe? _______
In Genesis 1:1 the verb "CREATED" is a SINGULAR verb so it could be translated "HE CREATED." Two answers may be given to the question, "WHO CREATED THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH":
So, the ONE who created the universe is both SINGULAR and PLURAL. HE is ONE,
but HE IS MORE THAN ONE. HE is a PLURAL UNITY. Deuteronomy 6:4 says: "Hear, O
Israel: The _________ [singular] our _______[ELOHIM-plural]
is ________ ___________ (a PLURAL UNITY)." Because our God
is ONE LORD, how can we love Him (Deuteronomy 6:5)?
________________________________________________________________________________ If there were
two GODS, do you think we
would be able to love both of them in this way (compare Luke
In Genesis 1:26-27 we again discover that God is a PLURAL UNITY. Verse 26 shows us that GOD is plural. Verse 27 shows us that GOD is singular (a unity).
Genesis 1:26 (Plural)
"And _______ [ELOHIM] said, Let _______ make man in _______ image,
after ______ likeness." See also Genesis
Genesis 1:27 (Singular)
"So God _______________ [HE CREATED = singular verb] man in _______ own image, in the image of God ___________________ him; male and female ____________________ them."
How can the CREATOR be both PLURAL and SINGULAR? How can the CREATOR be a PLURAL UNITY? The answer is found in the New Testament where we find that this ONE GOD appears in THREE PERSONS:
One God In
Three Persons
|
MATTHEW 28:19 |
2 CORINTHIANS 13:14. |
|
1. _____________________________ |
1. _______________________________ |
|
2. _____________________________ |
2. _______________________________ |
|
3. ______________________________ |
3. _______________________________ |
We call this the TRINITY or the TRIUNITY OF GOD:
The following is an analogy to help you understand the idea of the Trinity, though we recognize that any illustration is inadequate to explain the true nature of God:
WATER appears in three different forms: 1. ICE 2. LIQUID 3. STEAM. Each of these forms is WATER and is made up of the same SUBSTANCE (H2O). Likewise, God is in three different PERSONS (1. F_____________ 2. S_______ 3. H__________ S_____________) but each of these PERSONS is GOD, and each is made up of the same substance or ESSENCE. GOD'S ESSENCE IS EVERYTHING THAT GOD IS!
| God's Essence | ||
| God is... | ||
| All-Powerful | All-Knowing | Wise |
| Everywhere Present | Unchangeable | Faithful |
| True | Eternal | Love |
| Holy | Righteous | Sovereign |
AND, GOD is MUCH MORE than ALL OF these qualities or attributes!
As we study CREATION, we learn that all three of the PERSONS of the Trinity were involved in the work of CREATION:
Ephesians 3:9 says, "God [God the Father], who _____________ _______ _____________" (see also Hebrews 1:2).
God the Son was the MAIN ACTOR in creation. He actually did the work of creating. JESUS CHRIST is the CREATOR! God the Father created all things through Him.
Colossians l:16 says, "For by ______ [GOD’S SON, see verse 13]; were _______ ____________ _________________ that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or power--all things were _______________ _____ _______ and for Him."
John 1:3 says, "______ ____________ were __________ by _______ ("him" refers to "the Word" of verse 1. See verse 14 which identifies "the Word" as Jesus Christ), and without Him was not anything made that was made." Apart from God the Son, how much was made or created? ____________________
Hebrews 1:2 says, "(God the Father) hath in these last days spoken unto us by His _______, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he ___________ the worlds [ages]."
Ephesians 3:9 says, "God the Father, who created all things by ____________ ____________"
Genesis 1:2 says, "And the ___________ ____ _______ moved upon the face of the waters."
Job 26:13 says, "By His Spirit He hath garnished the heavens." The word "garnish" means "to decorate, to make beautiful." The Holy Spirit is the Divine Artist in creation! When the earth was "without form and void" (unformed and unfilled), the Spirit of God moved and began to form and shape and beautify and give life to the young earth (Genesis 1:2).
Not only was the TRIUNE GOD involved in the work of
CREATION, but the TRIUNE GOD was also involved in the work of the NEW CREATION
(2 Corinthians
THE TRIUNE GOD AND OUR SALVATION:
| 1. THE FATHER | He planned our salvation
(Rom. 8:28-31). He sent His Son (1 John 4:9-10). He gave His Son (John 3:16; Rom.8:32). |
| 2. THE SON | He did the actual WORK of
salvation (John 17:4;19:30). He was the Great Saviour (Titus He died to provide salvation (1 Tim. 2:6). |
| 3. THE HOLY SPIRIT |
He gives the saved person
a NEW LIFE (2 Cor. 3:6). He gives the saved person a NEW BIRTH (John 3:5; Tit. 3:5). He garnishes and makes the sinner beautiful by placing him IN CHRIST (2 Cor. 5:17), and thus He provides him with the beautiful garments of redemption, sanctification and justification (1 Cor. 6:11, and see 1 Cor. 1:30). |
Compare John
For a detailed study of the Tri-Unity of God (The Trinity) see The Trinity -- A Detailed Study of the Tri-Unity of God.
Only God the CREATOR deserves to be worshipped: ". . . W______________
Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters"
(Revelation 14:7). "Get thee hence [be gone], Satan; for it is written, Thou shalt _________________ the Lord, thy God, and Him
_________ shalt thou serve" (Matthew
The Creator is a ________________ God (Exodus 20:5); even His NAME is ________________ (Exodus 34:14). Consider the following:
Jolly John is madly in love with Sweetheart Susan. One day he discovers that Susan is taking an interest in Rival Richard, and in fact, she even walked home from school with him! Jolly John suddenly becomes Jealous John! He wants Susan to take an interest only in him, and not in anyone else!
This story shows the negative side of jealousy. Here Jolly John is selfish and possessive of this girl for his own gain. In contrast, God is jealous of our love because He knows that He is the only One who can truly satisfy us and meet our deepest needs. God IS the highest and best, and He wants us to have Him who is the highest and best.
GOD the CREATOR is JEALOUS with a HOLY JEALOUSY! He wants men to worship Him and no one else! He does not want us to love anyone else or anything else more than we love Him. He does not want His children to have less than the best, and He knows that He is the BEST that we can have. He wants us to give Him first place in our lives:
