What does it mean that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1)?

Answer

The significance of Genesis 1:1 is well articulated by apologist Frank Turek in his book “Stealing from God” (NavPress, 2014). He asserts, “The greatest miracle in the Bible is the first verse: ‘In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.’ If that verse is true, then every other verse in the Bible is at least believable” (p. 187).

God’s act of shaping the world forms the basis for Christianity. If a Divine Being created this world, then that Being would be the center of our existence. Similar to how we create things for specific purposes, this Being would have had a reason behind making the world and humanity. Our main goal should be to discover the right revelation of this Being and align with His desires.

Many other Bible verses support the concept of God creating the world in the beginning. An example is Colossians 1:16, “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities— all things were created through him and for him.” (Also see Psalm 33:6; Hebrews 11:3; John 1:3:)

The Bible takes Genesis 1:1 as an established fact, which aligns with the cosmological argument for God’s existence. By combining scientific facts and philosophical reasoning, one can reasonably conclude that the universe had a beginning and a cause. The cosmological argument can be summarized as follows:

1. Everything that begins to exist has a cause.

2. The universe began to exist.

3. Therefore, the universe had a cause.