"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
"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.
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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