Genesis 1:1 Part 1

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Genesis 1:1 Modern English Version (MEV)
 
Undertaking a study of the Book of Genesis is a huge project. There is so much information packed into this book, most of it misused, misunderstood and, quite frankly, used for purposes that do not bring glory to God. It is long past time for us to try to return to the real meaning that God is conveying to us, and in order to do that, we will be taking as much time as may be necessary to try to make sure we are understanding things as God intend for us to. In the process of doing this, I may make more than a few of you angry, as I will attempt to debunk many things that a lot of Christians have held to be the truth. However, for those of you who have been following my teaching for a while, I pray that you will, at least, give me a fair hearing. It will, I believe, make perfect sense in the end.
 
We are immediately faced with a dilemma. The Hebrew word that is commonly translated as, "In the beginning," can mean the first in place, the first in time, the first in order, or the first in rank. It is variously translated throughout the Old Testament as beginning, chiefest, firstfruits, part, time, and principal thing, depending on the context in which it is used. Our dilemma here is that the context suggests that one, or even all, of the meaning indicated, could be proper. While most have probably limited their understanding to a particular point in time, it is my belief, based on the fact that this is the opening statement of the Bible, that all of the possible meanings come into play. While this may seem confusing at first (in the beginning), my hope is that it will be much less confusing in the end.
 
We will begin by considering the phrase, "In the beginning," as it should be understood as, "first in place" or, as we would speak of it today, "in the first place." In other words, before we consider anything else, we need to first establish that God created the heavens and the earth. In this aspect, we aren't considering when it happened, but that we must understand that it did happen, and that it was God who did it. This must first be clearly understood before anything else makes sense.
 
Now we come to the concept of, "In the beginning," as first in time. In doing so, we find ourselves at the edge of a vast swamp, filled with bottomless pits of quicksand. We humans are obsessed with time. We have this all-encompassing need to know when everything began. Is the universe 6-7,000 years old? It is billions of years old? The arguments over this are endless and, in reality, meaningless. The following formula will show you  just how meaningless these arguments are.
 
Question: When did God create the heavens and the earth? Answer: God created the heavens and the earth in the beginning.
 
Question: When was the beginning? Answer: The beginning was when God created the heavens and the earth.
 
So, now you know. You're welcome.
 
We now consider the phrase, "In the beginning," with the thought of meaning, first in order. This is a very simple and logical thought, as the first verse of Genesis was placed at the beginning of God's word, before everything else. It is from this starting point that all else flows. The basic truth is, if God hadn't created the heavens and the earth, there wouldn't be anything else to follow.
 
It would be easy for us to become much to focused on what the phrase, "In the beginning," means, and whole volumes have be created which do just that. The truth is, however, that the "beginning" isn't the focus of this verse, or even of the entire account of creation. The focus is, always will be, God, the Hebrew name being "Elohim." We cannot stress this enough: the primary focus of the creation story is God. In fact, it is God who is the primary focus in all of Scripture. It is when we lose that focus and understanding, all sorts of strange and erroneous interpretations can result. The words in this verse are introducing us to God the Creator, the sole Creator, the God above all other gods. We will take an in-depth look at God in the next installment.