In The Beginning, God Said

well we serve a great great god don't we amen and we have a part of a great great church and i'm talking yes about apostolic pentecostal but i'm just talking about god's church it's founded on a rock nothing is going to shake it it is a great church and i am thankful to be a part of it this morning and thankful for your faithfulness to the house of the lord this morning so glad to have you at apostol pentecostal church if you're visiting with us so glad that you're here in our bible class time i mean if you're watching online we're glad to have you with us also amen and invite you to let the word of god touch your heart this morning we're going to read several passages of scripture this morning i'm going to start in genesis chapter 1 and then i'm going to read several different verses and we'll follow along when we get there before we do that this is grandparents day and i'm looking around i'm thinking a huge majority of this class is a grandparent how many of you have grandchildren if you just raise your hand hey man i have a picture if you can put that up because i'm up here so i get the option there's my grandson and he is going to be nine in just a couple weeks and he comes up to about right here on me he's a big boy amen his bike says giant on it i don't know if that's a got some significance there or not but thankful for all the grandparents amen we're thankful for all the grandkids aren't we make us grandparents amen

let's look to the word of the lord genesis chapter 1 encouraged everyone to read this chapter throughout this time begin to read the first three chapters actually i had separate responses on that had some good good comments came in about some things that they read in genesis i had people asking how can i get a copy of that chronological order i want to start reading the word of god through from the beginning so we're just going to start here right in the beginning of the book genesis 1 1 through 3. in the beginning god created the heaven and the earth and the earth was without form and void and darkness was upon the face of the deep and the spirit of god moved upon the face of the waters and god said let there be light and there was light i told someone this morning just looking at that three verses i could probably do at least four lessons just from that we're gonna do two we're gonna do one today and one next week and then we will go on to some some further verses in in genesis here

job 38 beginning at verse 4 says this this is god questioning job and he asked where were you when i laid the foundations of the earth declare if you have understanding speak up let's hear you who hath laid the measures thereof if you know or who stretched the line upon it whereupon are the foundations thereof fastening who laid the cornerstone thereof when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of god shouted for joy from isaiah chapter 46 i'm going to read verses 9 and 10. remember the former things of old for i am god and there is none else i am god and there's none like me declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times the things that are yet not yet done saying my counsel shall stand and i will do all my pleasure john 1 verses 1 through 3 says this in the beginning was the word the word was with god and the word was god the same was in the beginning with god and all things were made by him and without him was not anything made that was made hold on we've got a few more second timothy chapter 1 verse 9 who have saved us and he has called us with a holy calling not according to our works but according to his purpose and his grace which was be given us in christ jesus before the world began first peter chapter 1 you know verse 18 for as much as ye know that you were not redeemed with corruptable things as silver and gold from your vain conversation received by traditions from your fathers but with the precious blood of christ as of a lamb without blemish without spot who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world

but was manifest in these last times for you and then finally revelation 13 8 tells us this and all that dwell upon the earth are going to worship him the beast whose names were not written in the book of life of the lamb slain from the foundation of the world it's a lot of verses we're going to cover some they cover a lot of different things but we're going to try to tie all that in today in this lesson i've titled it simply this in the beginning god said in the beginning god said verse 1 in the beginning god created the heaven and the earth the bible opens with just this very profound declaration in the beginning god notice that it doesn't seek to prove god's existence this isn't a apologetics if you will this book it doesn't say well here's how we know there's god and you can look at this and look it just declares there's a god except that this is it there is a god it does not try to explain it doesn't try to explain everything about why we should believe there's a god it simply declares he's a god he is there he is one single entity he's invisible he's unknowable in some ways yet he is filled with unlimited potential or power it's interesting to deny that if you think about it to deny the existence of god is foolish in fact the psalmist said it this way the fool hath said in his heart there is no god those that do not believe really are presumptuous because in spite of all the millions of unanswered mysteries of the cosmos and trying to figure it all out and what science has done it's just such a small fragment of what we really know and yet they can put together just those few statements and say you know i don't believe in god really you understand everything about this universe enough to know and to be qualified to just write god out of it think about that no wonder the bible said the fool has said in his heart there's no god the bible is a book about god and about god's dealing it is not a book as we said to convince you why they're why you should believe there's a god it just says there is and then it goes on and tells his story he is the focus he is the central personality he is the driving force behind everything in the word of god mankind and creation and everything else that we see really are secondary secondary to god's eternal existence

if there were no god there would be no creation if there were not god none of this would exist and the central message of the bible the interesting thing is it's god's revelation of himself to mankind how he dealt with mankind and his desire for us to have a relationship with him aren't you thankful that's possible not just a god that's just out there somewhere but a god that desires in fact he created for his pleasure everything so that he could have this relationship with mankind and he get created man and made overtures toward him revealing himself to the human race and we think of god trying to think of all that he is there are some clues from scripture that talk about him not so much to convince us there is one but just to tell us a little bit about him it's impossible to know for us what it was like at the beginning i think probably i thought about this a lot more when i was young when you lay in bed at night and try to think what is forever what is eternity what was before that and what was before that and how does it go we just can't comprehend things that are beyond our frame of reference which is time you know it's easy one thing to say in the beginning well what was before that well god that's all we can say we have no frame of reference to compare with that point and i can't even say in time because there was no time that point in eternity we don't understand that we can't grasp that the nothingness we live in a world of of time which we follow right we've got a few minutes here to teach we live in a world of energy and substance heat and cold and things we can feel things that we can touch but before that what was it just emptiness a black vacuum no matter nothing you could touch smell hear see any of that kind of stuff there was no light there was no energy there was no time no life forms nothing inert but yet there was this all-powerful god the only thing that was there what is god what was god what what is he jesus declared to the woman at the well in samaria that god is a spirit and john reminds us in his book in chapter 118 he said no man hath seen god at any time so we can understand that much about god he is a spirit what is a spirit well webster's defines that as a supernatural incorporeal in other words with no body it's a rational being usually invisible to human beings the hebrew word wash talks about the wind it can mean the wind it can mean breath it can mean life or it can mean the spirit of a rational being so when it

talks about the spirit of the lord later in genesis moved upon the waters moved on in verse 2 there that spirit the breath if you will the life the wind the spirit of god the thoughts of god who god is the greek word translated spirit pneuma from where we get pneumatics or we talk about air can mean air it can mean breath it can mean a blast it can mean a breeze it can mean spirit a soul or the thing that makes us alive and it refers to god i think what all three definitions emphasizes the spirit does not have flesh and bones so when the bible says god is a spirit it means we can't physically see him we can't physically touch that eternal spirit and as a spirit he also we understand that he is an intelligent supernatural being who does not have a physical body not just a wind that just randomly blows but something with purpose and something as the bible lets us know is omniscient and knows all thing however what we do understand is god is not just nature or a force he is a being he exists in the beginning god is he has attributes and characteristics that we can give him personality that make him unique he has a mind and a will and not maybe like our human brain but but he has a will because he purposes and he speaks and he is capable of action and even capab of emotion to be touched by our infirmities he is a spirit being divine entity many wonderful attributes we do know from the bible that he had manifest himself to the human race in numerous ways through creation and ultimately through jesus christ the old testament does let us know that there is one god he wasn't there with several others there wasn't a pantheon of gods there wasn't a whole group of them and one of them stood up said well i think i'm going to create something the bible says hear o israel the lord our god is one lord there is no other in fact god said it specifically in isaiah 44 and 8 he said is there a god beside me ask the question yea there is no god i know not any well if he doesn't know any how can you know him right i mean he knows all things he's omniscient and he says i don't know any in isaiah 44 and 24 he said i am the lord i maketh all things that stretches forth the heavens alone did it myself that spreadeth abroad the earth by my self god is unique no other creature is comparable to god's holy powerful creative omniscience there is no equal to god there's not even an equal opposite if you will you know if we say white most of you would answer what's the opposite you'd say black you know if we say fast you'd say slow if you say god some of you say the devil well no no con no comparison there god is so much more in fact the very idea behind god god is a holy god the idea behind that word is a set apartness or a separateness god is what nothing else is so everything you look at is not god that's why he said don't make unto me a graven image because it's not like me you can look at it you can say this is my god you can put a statue in your yard you can do whatever you want it's not god there's only one god everything else is creation god alone is creator and those two can never be equivalent we don't have god on one side and creation on the other and there are two opposing or two forces that j joined they're never equivalent god is always above all of that whether angel man or beast we are all creation there is nothing like our god

god's creation is separate from his being there are those that teach it nature is god no god reveals himself through nature but it's not god don't worship it all throughout the bible you see when people would see an angel or something would happen and they'd fall down and he said don't do that i'm a creation just like you are you don't worship me nature is not god creation is independent from who god is even though it reveals him and at the same time it is dependent upon his care why because the bible tells us he upholds all things by the word of his power so he speaks it and it is so god spoke through isaiah and we read the verse in 40 chapter 46 he said remember the former things for i am god there is none else i'm god there's none like me and here's why because i declare the end from the beginning i think what he is saying there is at the very beginning when god began to create in the beginning god created god began to declare some things and the things he declared and the things he spoke or what come into existence are what we know

you see we have to understand that everything emanated originally from the mind of god the origin of all things came through his wisdom and his creativity god envisioned everything of this time that we called time from creation until the day the angel says time will be no more and we go to the new heaven and new earth until that god envisioned everything before creation and then he spoke everything into existence perhaps no one captures that idea better than john in language very reminiscent of genesis 1 where it says in the beginning god created the heaven the earth john begins his in the beginning was the word the word was with god and the word was god the same was in the beginning all things were made by him without him was not anything made that was made john sees the word in genesis first is god's idea or god's plan we need to understand that god who is declaring the end from the beginning first formulated it in his mind he had it all laid out before he began to speak you see creation was no accident god didn't just say well let's just see what happens you know oh i don't like that let's fix this and let's change that let's do that what do we do now oh what do i do with that that's how we do right get a piece of play-doh and you start smashing and making this and you get so far with it and just crunch it all up and start over and it didn't turn out quite the way i wanted it was no accident and here's the thing we have to understand neither was anything that has happened since creation god knew all from the very beginning he foresaw it all he planned it all even the fall of man which we'll study later on as we get later into genesis did not catch god by surprise he already had everything planned out to fix the problem of sin he had a plan in place to redeem mankind from the bondage of sin even before sin had ever entered the world he already knew in reality the plan was the entirety of god's creation this plan is the word that john uses when he says the word is logos the word in the greek it was a plan it was a plan that would culminate in jesus christ

well genesis 1 1 declares that god created the heavens and the earth verse 3 begins the story of god ordering the creation and i said there's several other lessons that we could do we could talk about the earth being without form and void the darkness we could talk about the spirit of god moving over the waters we get to verse 3 and he said and god said let there be light and there was i want to pull just those six words out and god said and there was or if you want to get rid of the and just put it two four words god said there was god said there was and that god said there was in genesis 1 3 bears a very symbiotic relationship to john 1 1 and john 1 14 which we did not read in genesis god spoke and the thing he spoke came into existence right god said and there was in john 1 1 the logo says that word was in the beginning and then in john 1 14 it said that word was made flesh and dwelt among us so god had it in his mind and he spoke it and it became flesh and dwelt among us

and we beheld his glory the glory is the only begotten of the father full of grace and truth from the very beginning in other words god had a plan in mind and that plan is fulfilled in john 1 14 that that word that idea that plan would become flesh and dwell among us it's significant that when you read john's prologue chapter 1 he talks about the word talks about the logos jesus is never again called logos in the bible for this pre-existence logos this pre-existent idea that was from the beginning becomes flesh in verse 14 and now he's no longer called logos because the word has been fulfilled god said and now it is you see jesus was no accident god had him in my mind at the very beginning of creation the word the verse we read in revelation 13 8 said this he was the lamb slain when from the foundation of the world now it's obvious calvary didn't occur at creation did it i mean it was 4 000 years later from the time of adam did not occur there yet john wrote jesus in in revelation he writes that jesus was slain from the foundation of the earth jesus was not crucified when the world was created but it was the imperative peace in god's envisioned plan it was there from the very beginning the word was in the beginning was there in the beginning and it was going to be accomplished in god's timing that could give us all kinds of sermon material couldn't god speaks it and it's going to happen when he's ready for it to happen god i don't get it why hasn't hold on took 4 000 years from the time i envisioned jesus don't worry about it put it in god's hand paul would say would say it this way in galatians 4 4-5 he said but when the fullness of the time was come when god was ready he had it all right at the beginning but when he was ready he sent forth his son made of a woman made under the law but to redeem them that were under the law that we might receive the adoptions of son and perhaps that verse in peter that we read says it even more succinctly than that he's talking about being redeemed not of corruptible things you can't buy your way into this not of the things that you do the vain conversation would refer to the way you live the things that you do does not redeem you but you are redeemed with the precious blood of christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot and then listen to this part he was foreordained when in the beginning genesis 1 1 in the beginning when god's ready to create he was foreordained there before the foundation of the world and then he said

but was manifest in these last times to you the word translated for ordained literally means to have knowledge beforehand so god had the knowledge beforehand that jesus was going to come into the world because it was his plan that is the logos if you will of john 1. this was the god said of genesis 1. this was the declaring the end from the beginning of isaiah 46 the four ordained it was there the idea that jesus was going to come and shed his blood be the lamb without blemish and was going to pay the price for our sins the precious lamb of god and the blood he would shed for our sins were in the thoughts of god right from the beginning of creation and then peter goes on to say but he was manifest in these last times for you that word means to make actual invisible or to be realized so god foreknowledged it in genesis and he manifested it or he made it realize the realization came when jesus shed his blood on the cross for us isn't it amazing how this word of god is put together isn't that amazing that god had a plan and god has a purpose and god had a thing to build his church and it started from genesis 1 1 when god begins to create the book of job introduces another concept inherent in the creation another idea that we see we read in our text some questions that god asks of job job as got a lot of questions god why is this happening to me god why am i going through this god why are you doing this to me god i don't understand what's what's happening in my life and finally god stops him and he begins to ask questions and he never really answers job's questions he didn't say well job here's what i do instead he said job tell me a few things where were you when i laid the foundation of the world of the earth where were you in the beginning when god created where were you at job declare speak up say it if you have understanding if you could tell me that you know if you know what was going on why don't you tell me that job who laid the measures thereof if you know who laid the measures who drew the plans if you will who made the blueprints who had it all laid out here's how it's going to work and here's what's going to happen or who has stretched the line upon it you know getting everything straight everything in line everything measured out who did that where are the foundations thereof fastened or who laid the cornerstone thereof with the morning stars sang together and all the sons of god rejoiced there's some interesting concepts or words here

the word translated foundation is not necessarily even though it figuratively is it is not necessarily a foundation like on a building in other words it doesn't mean who put down the you know laid the blocks and who poured the concrete and who built the foundation it literally means to found or to fix or to establish so he's asking job in the beginning who established and who fixed and who had the plans and and who put it all together how did how was it determined how was it founded how was all that you see established what god has established and here's what we have to understand from that what he established and what he fixed and what he founded at creation will never change if he said it he said it is established it is fixed it is not going to change it is not going to go away and so in genesis 1 1 when he says in the beginning god creates and he's putting this foundation he is fixing it together he has fixed the whole history in what we know of the times that we live in and so he said how did i determine that job do you have any idea do you know how i establish it can you answer me but here's what we get from that again we know that it was established at creation to digress again to the last point god established or fixed the sacrifice of jesus christ from the very beginning it had to happen it was going to happen there's no way the devil could have prevented it there's no way man could have prevented it anything that happened could never have changed god's plan why because it was a foundation that god laid it was a plan that god fixed what i'm hoping you're getting a hold of right now is that you know as being part of his church god has fixed this there's so few things in your life that you can say this is fixed and this is established and this will not change oh i got a great 401k and it is fixed i'm going to have well you see what the stock market's done last few i don't care what we do and what we plan we can't fix it or make it established so that it will not change but when god does it it's not going to change we can look at society and we look at the world around us and we look at everything that happened and saying god is it going to fall apart what no it's fixed he said it from the beginning he laid that foundation he established it and he said i will build my church don't get discouraged don't walk away from it don't let anything in your spirit say you know i just can't do this yes god has fixed it so that you can he is there he then asked this question who laid the cornerstone thereof he's talking about creation of the world he's talking about the things that are fixed from the very beginning and then he asked this question well who fixed the cornerstone if what god had established and fixed was of such great rep importance i asked the question how much greater is the cornerstone now we don't build with stone so much anymore but when you built a building out of a stone you start with the cornerstone because how that stone is set determines the lay of the entire building you put it in there crooked then your building isn't going to line up with the street right it's going to go this way you put it in where it's leaning a little bit and the whole building is going to go that way because you line up off the cornerstone it is if you will the focal point of the foundation it must be set correctly for it determines the stability of the entire structure and so whatever this cornerstone was the idea was so extraordinary that god said when i laid it in the beginning he said the morning stars sang together and all the sons of god or the angels shouted for joy wow god what an awesome plan what an awesome cornerstone we look at and they were so excited you have to turn to isaiah to get an answer in isaiah 28 16 therefore saith the lord god behold i lay in zion a foundation for a foundation a stone it's a tried stone it's a precious cornerstone it's a sure foundation and he that believeth shall not make haste what was that cornerstone what was isaiah prophesying about he was talking about jesus so from the beginning from the foundation when god setting everything in place and everything in motion he said and you know what i said i set a cornerstone here's the focal point of everything i am creating he not only is the cornerstone but he comprises the whole of the foundation notice what he said there behold isla and zion for a foundation a stone it's a tried stone it's a precious cornerstone it's a sure foundation he didn't say i laid one foundation as one thing as a cornerstone and then i build a whole bunch more to make up the whole foundation he said you know what it's it the cornerstone is the foundation that's why peter would write wherefore it is contained in the scripture behold i lay in zion at chief cornerstone it's a lectin precious paul gives us no doubt who that is in first corinthians three for other foundation can no man lay that is laid which is jesus christ he is the foundation where was he laid when was it given at beginning of creation at the very start god says i'm putting a cornerstone here is the focal point of all of creation now we understand jesus didn't come on the scene as we said to 4 000 years later but all of history looked forward to when jesus christ would come on the scene and since then all of history looks back to the sacrifice of jesus christ on the cross he is the focal point

there is no other foundation and we have to ask again if there is no other foundation that is fixed that is established that is sure why would you build on anything else why would you build your life on anything else jesus in his parable makes it very clear he said there is a foundation there is a way to build a house you build it on a rock and when things happen and the storms come and the winds blow and the floods rise the house stands sure anything else you build he says you're building on sand and when the cares of life come in and the floods and the rains and the winds blow it's going to be washed away don't build your life anywhere else but the foundation that god established in the beginning when god said and there was

the last lesson we emphasized the idea that new testament interpretation of the old testament the way that people in the new testament looked at those writers the new testament looked at the old they always looked at it through that lens if you will of the gospel of jesus christ everything they looked for in the old testament they were looking for jesus they were saying how did he fulfill this where does he fit into that and we've done that today with this study in genesis 1 1-3 we look at this and say in the beginning god created and then god lays this foundation and god spoke at all and when god begins to speak those things happen and when he declares it from the beginning it will be and nothing is going to thwart him and nothing is going to change that

but i think we have to take it one step farther we show how jesus was the plan from the foundation he was there from the beginning that plan from the beginning of creation but not only jesus was the plan but the church is god's plan i said earlier right at the very beginning thank you be a part of a great church yes this is part of that church but we're talking about the church of jesus christ the church that god has established when did he establish it from the beginning of creation not only was jesus the plan but because he was the plan his church is god's plan jesus came to establish his church and he said upon this rock i am gonna build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it so he said this is the only foundation to build your life on

there are several scriptures several different areas that we could go to we're just going to look at three of them the first i read i i want to read to you this is from the phillips translation the king james is very a little more convoluted to read so i'm going to read it from here ephesians 3 8 through 11. paul's writing he said yes to me i'm the least of all the christians and to me god's given grace to enable me to proclaim to the gentiles the gospel the incalculable riches of jesus christ so god chose me he chose me to go to the gentiles and to make plain to all men the meaning of that divine secret which he kept hidden which has been kept hidden from the creation until now king james talks about the mystery that was going to be revealed he said a mystery that we did not understand from creation from way back then and he said and here's why he did it the purpose of that mystery is that all the angelic powers should now see the complex wisdom of god's plan so all of creation all the angels all those that were shouting for joy when the cornerstone were laid are going to see this wisdom of god i'm sure there were times the angels looked down and said god what in the world's going on think about the days of noah when the hearts of men were on evil continually and they say god is this what you had in mind is this this why you created this don't worry don't worry it's all going to work out i've got a plan looks at sodom and gomorrah and the sinfulness that was there and have to rain fire down and destroy they said don't worry i got a plan he watches israel who he gives him the law and he comes down meets with them and gives a man a leads and by does all these things form and they turn to idols and they burn their kids on altars to false gods and everything else don't worry angels it's all in control and then jesus comes on the scene and the gospel message goes forth and they say wow who would have anticipated that god did this wisdom in conformity to that timeless purpose he goes on which he centered in christ jesus that purpose is centered in jesus christ our lord

the church was god's plan from creation this mystery that paul writes about you read it several times when he talks about in in corinthians and talks about ephesians talks about colossians most often he is referring to the plan of god to have a church and to build a church he said this was god's plan from genesis 1 1 in the beginning when god when the logos declares i'm going to build a creation god has established this church and nothing is going to shake it it is established it was fixed at creation it is the center of his eternal purpose it is why all of creation exists because he is going to have a people called out by his name second timothy 1 9 who hath saved us he's called us with a holy calling not according to our works but according to his purpose and his grace notice this next line which was given us in christ jesus before the world began so before the world was ever even here in the beginning god said i'm going to call out a people by my grace and for my purpose it's a holy calling he said not according he hath called us with a holy calling we mentioned earlier that word holy talks about a separateness or apartness he has called us out of bondage he has called us out of sin he has called us out of the world through faith in jesus christ and when did he do it he did it in genesis chapter one in the beginning i am going to call out a people for my name wow

finally one more verse titus chapter 1 and verse 2. paul writes of the hope that we have in him in hope he said of eternal life that's what our hope is one of these days we're going to live eternal life time is no more but we're going to continue right in that heavenly place and here's what he said which god that cannot lie promised when before the world even began the beginning of time genesis chapter one in the beginning when god gets ready to create he said you know what i'm going to create not only a people called for my name but i am going to give them eternal life

i think if we could just grasp what we have just talked about this morning it would change our perspective on life it would change our perspective he created the heavens and the earth yes but he did so that he would have a people who would live eternally and fellowship with him

i'll tell you i'm excited today i can't express it any other way i guess but to think that he has done all this because he said i am going to have a people called out for my name you know the only thing that that should do it should just really stir up a praise in your heart why don't you just stand and give it to him and we'll close this lesson out think of what god has planned and what he has prepared and what he has declared and will be and