In the Beginning

What a blessing to know that before anything was, God was. And not just God the Father, but the Triune God also manifest as God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

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

The word translated as “God” in the first chapters of Genesis is “Elohim,” a plural noun using a singular verb, indicating that the three aspects of God act as One Being. The Spirit moved upon the surface of the waters (Genesis 1:2), showing His role from the beginning of creation in providing the power or energy needed to carry out the plan of God the Father. And the Son also played an integral role, speaking into existence the Father’s plan.

As God said, so it was created: light (Gen. 1:3); Heaven (Gen. 1:6-8); Earth and Seas (Gen. 1:9-10); vegetation and trees (Gen. 1:11-12); sun, moon and stars (Gen. 1:14-16); sealife and birds (Gen. 1:20-21); and land animals (Gen. 1:24).

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

The Word is another name for Jesus Christ, King of Kings (Revelation 19:13), so given because whatsoever He speaks is done, whether it be creation of the universe, healing and forgiveness of sins (Luke 5:12-13; 18-25; Matthew 8: 1-17), or defeating the enemies of Israel at the Battle of Armageddon (Revelation 19: 11-16).

John 1:1 tells us that Jesus Christ was not only there at the beginning with God the Father, but that He Himself was (and is) equally God, the Creator of all. He is the First and the Last, the Alpha and the Omega (Revelation 1:8,11; 21:6; 22:13), existing before time and eternally present when time is no more.

Genesis 1: 26 And God said, Let US make man in OUR image, after OUR likeness.
(capitals mine)

This verse is another clear indication of the triune nature of God -- one of the divine mysteries that we will never fully understand until we reach glory. Yet we may draw some insight from this verse, because human beings also have a three-part nature: body, mind and spirit. Each of us is a unique person defined by these three aspects, which must all be present and functioning for us to realize our God-given potential.

Before we do anything, we must first think of what we are going to do, even if the time between the thought and the action is so short that the action seems like an involuntary reflex. Thus, our body responds to our mind and carries out the planned action. But our soul or spirit – our motivating force that underlies and determines all we do and how we react to what happens to us – shapes and energizes our thoughts. So our soul or spirit determines what we think, and, accordingly, what we say and do.

That is why believers are a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 6:15), as His indwelling Holy Spirit motivates and directs our thoughts (Romans 8:9-11), giving us the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16; Philippians 2:5). If we die to our sin nature and follow the mind of Christ, our words and behavior will show others that we belong to Him (Romans 12:1-2), and our body will be His temple reflecting His presence (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

God made us in His image; He is a triune Being; and we have a three-part nature. One way to consider the triune nature of God is that God the Father is the Originator or the “mind” of the plan, including the plan of creation, of salvation, or of anything in between or thereafter. God the Son could be regarded as the Embodiment of the plan, the One Who spoke the worlds into existence and Who wrapped Himself in human flesh to redeem us (John 1:14), and the Holy Spirit as the Empowerment of the plan (Micah 3:8; Luke 4:14; Romans 15:19; 2 Timothy 1:7). The purpose of the Holy Spirit is to draw attention to Jesus Christ (1 John 4:2-3; 1 John 5:6), Who is the only Way we can know the Father (John 1:18; 5:37; 14:7,9).

How amazing it is to think that the Creator of all loves us so much that He created us in His image, gave His Son to redeem us, and indwelled believers with His Holy Spirit to empower us with the mind of Christ. May we glorify Him in all we think, speak and do (Romans 15:6).