Tuesday, December 26, 2017

It All Depends on What the Meaning of "In" Is

"In the Beginning God created the heavens and earth" Gen. 1:1 emphasis mine.

Does "in" here denote time, as in "once upon a time" or does it designate a location, such as "deep in the heart of Texas"? How one interprets this two letter word can place one comfortably in the camp of current scientific thought about the age of the cosmos and in the crosshairs of fundamentalists. I now believe "in" pertains to location and is Paul's proof text for Col. 1:17. Concerning Christ the Apostle writes,

"He is before all  things and in Him all things hold together" emphasis mine."

According to Paul all things are located in Jesus and have been there since creation. John also bolsters this notion by tying Jesus to "the Beginning" of Gen. 1:1.

"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the Beginning and the End" Rev. 22:13.

Interpreting the "in" of Gen. 1:1 as a statement of position makes the opening line of the Bible about more than creation alone (which is a big enough subject in and of itself). It is about the grandeur and majesty of God. All of our ever-expanding cosmos is safely contained in Jesus. Paul then adds more to this most intriguing paradox.

"For you died and your life is now hidden in Christ in God" Col. 3:3 emphasis mine.

We're not just in Christ but we're also in God and here we glimpse the interconnectivity of the Trinity. Because this is true, Paul could assure the Roman church that no one could possible separate them from God's love (Rom. 8:5). As an interesting side note, the whom in this verse isn't people, but circumstances. John tacks on more to the mystery of the meaning of 'in" by defining love, not as an emotions, but as God Himself.

"God is love. Whoever lives in love, lives in God and God in him" 1 John 4:16.

How can this be? How does Jesus hold all things together in Himself and yet manage to reside in individuals? I have no idea...but it's worth pondering and talking to God about.

Returning to the original question concerning the meaning of the word "in" found in Gen. 1:1. I am in agreement with Paul's position stated in Col. 1:17 and then re-emphasized in Col. 3:3. We're actually "in" God. He is love and those in Him also live in love. According to 1 John 4:16 it's all about location, location, location. Because Christ is The Beginning, Gen. 1:1 is about where and not when creation took place.

I recognize this is radical. Understanding that creation since its inception has been in eternity helps explain how science can state that the earth is much older than 7000 years as we compute time. Time is part of creation and is for our benefit. God has no need of it because He's outside of time. That said, God's version of a day may be very different than our understanding of a 24 hour time sequence. Perhaps, since God exists in eternity, outside the confines of time, He gave us this explanation in order that we would have a frame of reference. On the other hand, could God compress billions of years into a literal 7 day period if He wanted to? Why not. He's more marvelous and mysterious than we can imagine.

I accept "In the Beginning" to be about location and not time which agrees with both Paul and John. Now I view science's estimate of the cosmos' age with wonder. How did God do all this in His version of 7 days? What does it say about His willingness to take as much time as necessary to accomplish His purposes? Wouldn't it be wonderful to live as God does, free from the tyranny of the urgent?

How about you? If Gen. 1:1 is about place and not about time how does this change your understanding of this verse? How might it help you understand that your present position is in Christ now and not a future event? In the event that science is correct about the universe's age would this interpretation help you reconcile it's findings with the Biblical account of creation? What new avenues of mystery does this open up for you to explore?


We might have to wait to really understand how this all works. Once free from time's restrictions in the physical world, things will probably become crystal clear. For now, we're free to explore these mysteries with God who has all the answers. Who knows. He just might explain it all to you if you ask.

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