The First Act of Will

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

- Genesis 1:1

The opening line of Scripture is not a hypothesis, nor a poetic reflection. It is a statement of divine fact. The rest of Genesis 1 unfolds as the explanation and elaboration of that fact – not from a human vantage point, but from God's.

Divine Fact and Human Limitation

Human beings can perceive the truth that creation exists; our senses affirm it, and our reason confirms that something cannot come from nothing. Yet Genesis 1:1 takes us further than human logic can go. It tells us that everything began because God willed it so. The fact of creation can be apprehended by human reason, but the process of creation can only be grasped by faith.

This distinction matters deeply. Science may examine how things interact within creation, but it cannot explain how creation itself came to be. Human observation begins at the point where God has already acted. Faith alone perceives the first cause – the divine will that spoke the universe into being.

The Power of the Divine Will

"In the beginning God created" is not merely the start of a story – it is the record of the first exercise of divine will. God does not labor or construct; He wills. His thought and intention carry creative power. In this act we see that God's will is not a reaction to anything; it is the source of everything.

The Hebrew term bara ("created") is used exclusively for divine action. It denotes something new brought into existence by God's command. Matter, form, and life are not byproducts of chance but the expression of His purposeful will. This reveals that creation is not just about power but about intent – the expression of divine purpose through divine volition.

The Cooperative Work of the Trinity

Even in this first verse, the fullness of God's nature is implied. Scripture reveals that creation was not a solitary act but a Trinitarian harmony.

• The Father wills: The origin and purpose of creation flow from His sovereign desire.
• The Son creates: "All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being" (John 1:3). The Word acts as the agent of divine will, the voice through whom the Father's intent becomes reality.
• The Spirit animates: "The Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters" (Genesis 1:2). The Hebrew word ruach means breath, wind, or spirit – a living force that infuses creation with order, vitality, and purpose.

From the very beginning, we witness divine cooperation – a single will expressed through three persons. This shared work becomes the golden thread that runs through the rest of revelation: God acting in unity to create, redeem, and ultimately renew His creation.

The Beginning of Divine History

Genesis 1:1 is the first gleam of that golden thread. Here God moves from eternity into history, from infinite being into tangible reality. What begins as an act of creation becomes the story of divine interaction – the Creator engaging with the created.

The will that called light out of darkness will later call a people out of bondage, a Son out of death, and a new creation out of corruption. The first act of will sets in motion every subsequent revelation of God's nature and plan. Creation, covenant, cross, and consummation all proceed from this same divine source: the will of God expressed in love.

Why This Matters

Recognizing creation as an act of divine will reshapes our entire worldview. We are not random products of cosmic accident but deliberate expressions of divine intention. Every particle, every heartbeat, and every moment of human existence rests upon God's continuing choice for the world to be.

Faith, then, is not blind trust but clear vision – seeing that behind all things stands a will that is personal, purposeful, and benevolent. The same God who willed creation into being continues to will redemption for His creation through Christ.