Text: Genesis 1:1–2

1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2 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.   

Thursday, 11^th April 2024        

THE HOLY SPIRIT WAS INVOLVED WITH THE CREATION

Text: Genesis 1:1–2

Memory verse: John 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God; John 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

If we look closer at the word “hovering,” we find that it conveys the idea of a bird sitting in a nest, hovering, and brooding over her eggs, caring for the new lives. The same word is used to describe how “an eagle stirs up its nest, and hovers over its young” in Deuteronomy 32:11. What a beautiful picture of God preparing to bring life into the world through His Spirit, God designed all of creation for life, our lives. “By His Spirit God adorned the heavens” Job 26:13, and they were designed with us in mind:

For thus says the Lord, who created the heavens . . . who formed the earth and made it . . . he did not create it empty, he formed it to be inhabited. Isaiah 45:18.

The Scripture describes a similar “hovering” of the Holy Spirit in Luke 1:35, in the miraculous conception of Jesus Christ: “And the angel answered and said to Mary, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you’”. Just as God worked through Jesus and the Holy Spirit to bring life into the dark, formless world at Creation, so also, He now offers eternal life to any who repent and believe through the Spirit in the name of Jesus Christ. All the three persons of the Trinity were involved in Creation, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

The plurality and unity of God in the Hebrew word Elohim used for God’s name in the text, yet we also see the distinct manifestations of the trinity in the process of Creation. The second sentence in the Scripture reveals the power of the Holy Spirit already at work as we see the “Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.” The Hebrew words used to communicate the Holy Spirit’s role in creation are unique and reveal the source of the energy of our world as the Holy Spirit Himself. This was the process of creating, not making. We make dinner from ingredients in our kitchen. We make cars from materials and parts formed into useful parts. But here is the Hebrew word bara, which speaks of creating from nothing. When we imagine waters, we probably have a wide ocean in our mind. The word doesn’t communicate that, it’s more like water substance or materials from water. These early verses in Genesis record the forming of not only the world we observe but also the laws of nature that hold our world together. The Holy Spirit plays an important role in the origin of these binding forces in our universe.

CGDS HYMN 46: SS & S 585: 

JESUS CHRIST, GROW THOU IN ME

1. Jesus Christ, grow Thou in me,

And all things else recede !

My heart be daily nearer Thee,

From sin be daily freed.

2. Each day let Thy supporting might

My weakness still embrace;

My darkness vanish in Thy light,

Thy life my death efface.

3. In Thy bright beams which on me fall

Fade every evil thought ;

That I am nothing, Thou art all,

I would be daily taught.

4. More of Thy glory let me see,

Thou Holy, Wise, and True !

I would Thy living image be,

In joy and sorrow too.

5. Fill me with gladness from above,

Hold me by strength Divine :

Lord, let the glow of Thy great love

Through my whole being shine.

6. Make this poor self grow less and less,

Be Thou my life and aim ;

Oh, make me daily through Thy grace

More meet to bear Thy name !

   Prayers:

1.  Holy Spirit, hover around my life and recreate my world to Your satisfaction and glory.

2.  LORD God Almighty, bring me into the new heaven and new earth You have created for me by the Spirit in Jesus’ name. Amen.    

3.  Pray for others in this regard.