Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth…”
There are many scientists that believe that the universe started with a big bang. After the big bang, the atoms and the physical laws of nature interacted with one another. And after billions of years they produced this complex universe with all the plants and animals that we see today. For many this is a way of saying that everything happens by chance and there is no such thing as an intelligent designer for the universe.
However, the Bible testifies that there is a great designer behind the universe. There is a “big banger” if you will. There is an original thinker. There is a genius that lies behind every law in the physical universe and this genius, God, is personally and creatively communicating with us:
...consider carefully the many wonders of God. Can you explain why lightning flashes at the orders of God who knows all things? Or how he hangs the clouds in empty space? You almost melt in the heat of fierce desert winds when the sky is like brass. God can spread out the clouds to get relief from the heat, but can you? Job 37:14-18 CEV
You see, our place is not at the beginning for we are the created. We are not the creator. We need to listen when God speaks and says,
"Tell them this: 'These gods, who did not make the heavens and the earth, will perish from the earth and from under the heavens.' " But God made the earth by his power; he founded the world by his wisdom and stretched out the heavens by his understanding. When he thunders, the waters in the heavens roar; he makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth. He sends lightning with the rain and brings out the wind from his storehouses.’ Jeremiah 10:11-15 NIV
When we say “In the beginning” it acknowledges our place as the created in relationship to the Creator. God is in the beginning – God is the beginning.
There is a second “in the beginning.” In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. (John 1:1 NIV)
John deliberately echoes the first words in the Bible (Genesis 1:1). John comes straight out with the message. He does not begin with the easy to digest and work towards the more difficult. He does not work on the area of universal agreement and then move towards the more divisive topics. John instead comes out and says in verse one the most demanding and potentially divisive message that has ever been given. He simply states Jesus is God. John communicates this to us in a most interesting way by using the word “Word” as a description of Jesus (John 1:14).
To fully understand this verse, we need a quick Greek lesson. The word “was” appears three times in verses one and two. But it is not, as it appears in English, a simple past tense verb. In Greek, it is the imperfect tense, which gives a sense of continuing. If we were to give this a more accurate translation, it would read: “In the beginning was continuing the Word, and the Word was continuing with God, and the Word was continually God.” To put it wrong grammatically, we would say, “Jesus always was wasing.” Perhaps a more simple way of saying all of this would be that there has never been a time when the Word did not exist.
Just as a man’s word is the means by which he reveals what he is thinking; Jesus reveals God to us. God reveals Himself to us through Jesus, the word. John’s statement flies in the face of those that say Jesus was a nice man, an outstanding teacher, or a wise man. To establish the eternity of the Word, John is saying that the Word existed before creation. Jesus was not created and He is not to be included with created things. He has no start. There is only a state of being. So when we think of Jesus, we do not start in the manger, or the announcement to Mary, or with the prophets. He was and is God in every way. And though they are separate and not identical, they are one.
The Word is the same as God in essence and character. When you see the Word, when you see Jesus, you see God. All that may be said about God may be said about the Word. John is not saying that there is something divine about Jesus. Rather John is saying that when you look into the face of Jesus, you look into the face of God. And if you want to know what God is thinking, listen to Jesus.
John wants us to see that there is continuity between what is observed in Genesis and what is observed in Jesus. But John wants us to do more than think of ‘in the beginning.” We are being introduced and urged into a new beginning for ourselves.
The third beginning comes to us in Acts 2:1-2:13
"When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated & came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them" (Acts 2:1-4).
We celebrate the birth of Jesus and all the world pauses to celebrate Christmas with us. We celebrate His resurrection and most of the world recognizes Easter as a very special day on the calendar, but today is Pentecost and hardly anyone realizes it. Yet, this day is important, because it is the birthday of the Church. Pentecost was a once-in-history event, when the Church was born and God’s Spirit arrived. So from the beginning the Church was created by God. From the beginning of time, God had in His mind the church and His Spirit.
The Church comes into reality on the Day of Pentecost. Sometimes we act as if we think that Simon Peter called a meeting of the apostles and said to them, "Now we are here today to talk about whether or not we ought to start a Church." They discuss that for a while and then James makes a motion that they start a Church. John seconds the motion and they vote 10 for and 2 against to start a Church. So they start a Church in Jerusalem and begin to raise funds to build a building.
It didn’t happen that way! The Bible says, "Suddenly, a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from. . ." Where? "From heaven." God delivered the Holy Spirit and created the Church. God brought the Church into being, and it is His Church and not ours. It is essential for us to realize that. The Church may never be the most popular institution in the world, because the Church goes counter to popular culture. The church may never be perfect because it is made up of a collection of imperfect people, but God wants the Church to stand for the truth and to be unshakable in our presentation of the Gospel
The Church is to communicate the love of God to a lost and dying world. The theme of Pentecost is communication. It really is a shame that the whole idea of speaking in tongues has become such a controversial issue. When you read about Pentecost, the truth that comes to the surface is that God gave the gift of tongues to the apostles for the purpose of communication. They had a problem with communication because people had come from so many different nations. And when you read the long list of nations, you realize that a language barrier existed. God wanted each of them to hear the message in their own language. So, He performed a miracle and gave the apostles the gift of tongues so that they could communicate His message.
The purpose of the Church then is the same we have today and that is to communicate the message. We must do whatever we can do to communicate the message. The purpose of the church has never changed and the moment you become a Christian, the moment I become a Christian, God calls us through the Holy Spirit to share His message with others. He even gave to some the gift of translating His word into different languages and He continues to call people to become missionaries to deliver the message around the world.
On the Day of Pentecost there are 3,000 new believers. Suddenly, they are part of a new group – the church. They have come out of a world of slavery and superstition. They have come out of a world of selfishness and greed and dishonesty. Now they’re part of a new fellowship. They know that they will hear the truth. They don’t have to question everything that they are being told.
Suddenly a whole different atmosphere prevailed because here were 3,000 changed people that God had made different and new. They were "born again" and beginning a new beginning. No wonder their numbers grew. More and more people were attracted to them for they were different from rest of the world.
That is what should set the church apart from the world – New Beginings! The Church must always be about a place where we can start anew. Most institutions are only interested in what they can get from you, but the Church wants to give. The Church is where you can come and hear the truth, be ministered to, and have your needs met.
We are to be a different people, with a different culture. We are to be an oasis in the midst of a desert, a shade tree on a summer day, a cup of cool water when you are thirsty, a place to come and to know that you won’t be rejected, a place that you’ll be accepted and loved.
This morning, if you’re lonely, or tired, or feel taken advantage of, then know that within these walls there are people just like you. So we can come without pretending. We can just be ourselves with all of our warts & blemishes & scrapes & scratches, & find love & acceptance, because that is what the Church is to be, the family of God. We invite you to become a part of that fellowship this morning as we extend the invitation of God.
There is a new start that is happening. There is this thing called a new creation that is happening. This is the very thing that Jesus is saying to Nicodemus: “In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” (John 3:5 NIV)
Today could be for you a new beginning, Perhaps today is the day you will talk about in the future by saying, “One day everything changed for me.
Let me tell you my story. In the beginning . . .”
