In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The Bible begins with the most fundamental reality of all existence, that before there was a universe, there was not nothing, there was God, who himself has no beginning, who is not himself made, who is not subject to time, but the creator of time, who is not subject to space or matter, but is the Lord of space and matter. I don't know if you've heard this line of thought before, but I've heard it on a number of occasions where an atheist will say to a Christian, listen, we can sit down and name out 999 gods that you don't believe in. I just believe in one less god than you. So see, we're not really so different after all. You disbelieve in 999 gods, and I happen to disbelieve in 1,000 of them. What might we say to a line of thought that sounds like that? Well, we've already read from Jeremiah 10. And I think Jeremiah has some key words to speak to that argument. There is none like you, O Lord. You are great, and your name is great in might. For among all the wise ones of the nations and in all their kingdoms, there is none like you. What are the idols like? They're but stupidness and foolishness. The instruction of idols is but wood. They are the work of the craftsmen and of the hands of the goldsmith. But the Lord is the true God. He is the living God and the everlasting King. We would simply say those 999 other gods, as you call them, are vanity and foolishness because they are the creation of the imagination of the sinful human heart. But not so the Lord. It is he who made the earth by his power, who established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding stretched out the heavens. From beginning to end, the Bible so very clearly discriminates. Yes, there are things in the world that men call gods, but they are emptiness and vanity. But the Lord is the maker of heaven and earth. And it is this glorious central reality of all existence itself that is proclaimed to us in the first verse of the Bible. And last week, as you'll remember, we thought about the way in which the central truth of Genesis 1 is not, first of all, the what and the how of creation, as wonderful as Genesis 1 discourse is about the creation of all things. But the most central truth is not the what of creation, but the who, the who of its creator. And as we continue to meditate on Genesis 1.1 this morning, We're going to turn now to the rest of the Bible. There's, of course, a very real sense in which every verse, every chapter, and every book of the Bible that follows is a meditation on the reality and the significance of Genesis 1. As scary as it might sound in terms of our time together this morning, that's what we're going to do. We're going to look to the rest of the Bible to lead us and to guide us in how to profitably meditate on the very first verse of the book of Genesis. Now, quite clearly, we cannot take in everything that the Bible has to say about the significance of its first verse, but we're going to do something more narrow. We're going to take the language of Genesis chapter one and verse one, particularly the language of heaven and earth. Remember from last week, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, and we talked about the way in which that's simply the Hebrew way of saying everything. that in the beginning, God created everything. Everything that exists in this universe had its origin in the God who has no beginning. And we're going to look at that language of God creating the heavens and the earth. And we're going to see if that language pops up anywhere else in the Bible, and if when it occurs, does it help us to understand creation better? What does it teach us about how we meditate on the great and glorious fact of our creation? By the will and good pleasure of the everlasting God. Now, all of that being said, it's still no small task. I've not done the calculation myself, but I've seen various figures, and the combination of those two words, heaven and earth, occur together in the same verse over 200 times throughout the course of the Bible. And that's not even taking into account where they occur separated by a verse or where maybe other synonymous words are used in their place. Or to put that a different way, the Bible meditates on Genesis chapter one and verse one from beginning to end. It never stops. reveling in the glory of what is revealed there, never stops delighting in the implications of those opening words. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. And each time scripture returns to these truths and meditates on their significance, more and more of their depth is revealed to us. And so, in a sense, what we're going to do this morning is just get a taste of how the entire Bible helps us to meditate on the significance of its very first verse, and how the truths of this verse touch and penetrate every aspect of our lives. Again, we can think about creation as, oh, it was something that happened a very long time ago, very far removed from my present circumstances, when in fact, that isn't the case at all. Creation is near to us in as much as our Creator is near to us. In as much as everything we are, everything we see, is made and sustained by this same Creator God. And so we're going to begin in the Book of Psalms. I should have mentioned, there are kind of two choices here. If you have a Bible with you, and you'd like to be turning to different passages as we make our way through, I suppose you can buckle up and get your flipping fingers ready to go, or you can simply sit and listen. But we're going to begin in Psalm 19. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their measuring line goes out throughout all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. And so you can hear in those opening verses of Psalm 119, the psalmist is speaking of the heavens and the earth. And what is he revealing to us? What is the Lord revealing to us about the heavens and the earth? Not only did he create them, but in creating them, he made them to be a revelation of his glory. that the heavens cannot exist except that they declare the glory of God and proclaim his handiwork. As far as the eye can stretch across the face of the globe where the heavens can be seen and the glory thereof, the creator is made known. The creator is made known. And if that is true, then what else is true? Well, we can go now to Psalm 148. If the glory of God is made known by the heavens before all nations and the whole earth, then what must we do? Psalm 148, praise the Lord. Praise the Lord from the heavens. Praise him in the heights. Praise him all his angels. Praise him all his hosts. Now we won't read the entirety of this Psalm, but if you're open there, look where it goes. Verses three and four, sun and moon and stars. Verse seven, praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all you deeps. Verses nine and 10, the mountains and the hills, the trees and the animals. And then verses 11 and 12, kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all the rulers of the earth, young men and maidens together, old men and children. If the glory of God is proclaimed by the heavens across the face of the whole earth, then everything is to praise him. His glory is made known and there is no response appropriate to that revelation except that we worship Him. That we join all of creation itself in the worship of the one true and living God. But we know that this is not the present state of things. Yes, the glory of God is declared by the heavenly bodies. And all of creation is called to worship Him. But we do not. And of course, we'll have to get to later chapters in Genesis to really investigate why that is the case, but it is the reality of sin and unbelief. We have rebelled against our Maker. Our nature has been corrupted by the deceitful lies of the evil one. And we now worship not the creator blessed forever, but we worship the creature. Whether that's the sun, whether that's the ocean, whether that's trees, or whether it's ourselves, we worship the creature. rather than the creator. Now turn with me to the book of Deuteronomy. God saves a people for himself. He rescues them out of slavery in Egypt. He gives them his law. And they are in the process of being brought by His gracious hand into the land of promise. Look with me at Deuteronomy chapter four. And we're going to read several verses here, but first of all, Deuteronomy chapter four and verse 26. God is speaking to Israel, I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that you will soon utterly perish from the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess. Likewise, Deuteronomy chapter 30 and verse 19, I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Deuteronomy chapter 31, verse 28 and following. Assemble to me all the elders of your tribes and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears and call heaven and earth to witness against them. And then Deuteronomy chapter 32 in verse one, give ear, O heavens, and I will speak. And let the earth hear the words of my mouth. Isn't that fascinating? This is Moses, of course, speaking. The heavens and the earth have been made. God has called a people to himself and saved them out of bondage in Egypt. But God knows their hearts and knows that the future of Israel will bring much sin and unbelief and idolatry. And against that sin and unbelief, what does Moses do? He calls the works of God's hands to witness, even against the unbelief of his people. He calls heaven and earth to be witnesses against the apostasy of Israel. And things would happen and the history of Israel would unfold exactly as the Lord said that it would. And so if you go forward to the book of Isaiah, many, many years, centuries after Moses? What do we see in Isaiah chapter one and verse two? Hear, O heavens, and give ear. O earth, for the Lord has spoken. Children have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me. Deuteronomy chapter 32, Moses calls on the heavens and the earth to give ear to his words. And then in Isaiah chapter one, so many centuries later, Isaiah calls upon those witnesses that exactly as the Lord had said, it has happened. And Israel has rebelled, not just against their maker, but against the one who saved them out of Egypt and brought them in to the land of promise. Now to stay in the prophets, but to go forward in time, we read from Jeremiah already earlier in the service. What was Israel's great sin? What was it at the heart of their rebellion such that Isaiah could call heaven and earth again as witnesses against God's people. Well, it was their idolatry. It was that their hearts were so quick to abandon the worship of the one true and living God, and to follow after the stupidity and foolishness of idol worship. that being afraid of the things of this life, the nations of the world, the trials and tribulations of this present age, they did not believe the Lord could meet those needs. And so they sought after the counsel of vanity. Every man is stupid and without knowledge. Every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols, for his images are false, and there is no breath in them. They are worthless, a work of delusion. At the time of their punishment, they shall perish. Not like these is he who is the portion of Jacob, for he is the one who formed all things. How does Paul make comment on all of this? All the way into the New Testament, Romans 1, for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. Remember Psalm 19, Through the glory of the heavens, the very glory of God is shown forth. And what can be known about God is plain to the nations of the earth because God has shown it to us. For his invisible attributes, namely his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world in the things that have been made. And so, Paul says, we are without excuse. The heavens declare His glory to the whole of the earth. His eternal power and divine nature have been made known to us, and if we do not worship Him, we are without excuse. But such is the depth of the corruption of our hearts. For although they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks to Him. but they became futile in their thinking and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore, God gave them up in the lust of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie. and worshiped and served the creature rather than the creator who is blessed forever. Amen. And that's the Apostle Paul looking back on the whole history of Israel as indicative of the entire plight of sinful man. God's glory is made known to us through the splendor of creation. God has not left a single part of the universe without a stamp of his glory that we might look upon it and know his eternal power and divine nature and worship him as is his due. And yet, although we know these things, although we see his glory in creation, we do not honor him as God, nor give thanks to him. because we are futile in our thinking and our foolish hearts are darkened by the corruption of sin. And yet, that is not the end of the story. And if we turn back to the book of Isaiah, it's an amazing thing. The book of Isaiah begins, and Isaiah with lament and grief in his heart must call again heaven and earth to witness against the unbelief of God's people. And yet, by the time you get, for example, to Isaiah chapter 44, this is now what we read. Sing, O heavens, for the Lord has done it. Shout, O depths of the earth. Break forth into singing, O mountains, O forest, and every tree in it. for the Lord has redeemed Jacob and will be glorified in Israel. Isaiah 49, verse 13, sing for joy, O heavens, and exalt, O earth. Break forth, O mountains, into singing, for the Lord has comforted his people and will have compassion on his afflicted. And of course, if we were to go back to Romans and continue reading, not only is the wrath of God revealed, but the grace of God is revealed through the gospel of our Savior. God has not left us to the wicked rebellion of our corrupt hearts. He has seen us go astray and worship the creature rather than the creator, but has had pity and compassion upon us. according to the love that he has had for his people from before the world began. And so, yes, heaven and earth must be called as witnesses against our sin, but because of the Lord's grace, heaven and earth are also called upon now to sing and to exalt for the Lord has redeemed his people. And then even more climatically, Isaiah chapter 51. I am he who comforts you. Who are you that you are afraid of man who dies, of the son of man who is made like grass, and have forgotten the Lord your maker? And I wonder how that applies to us this morning. As you take refuge in the Lord Jesus Christ, these words are as much for you as they ever were for Israel. I am he who comforts you. Why are you afraid of man who dies? Of the son of man who is made like grass and have forgotten the Lord, your maker, who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth. that you fear continually all the day because of the wrath of the oppressor who sets himself to destroy. There is so much we could possibly fear in this life, isn't there? Our strength is weak, and there are so many forces in this world set against us who seem so much stronger than we are. The temptation is fear. The temptation is hopelessness. But again and again, the Lord comes to us. Have you forgotten the Lord, your maker? The spiritual danger, brothers and sisters, is that when we do forget him, where do we go? We don't stop worshiping, we don't stop hoping, we don't stop looking for rescue. We simply place those things in idols and not in the one true and living God. We seek for our hope and our comfort in the creation, doomed to perish, and not in the creator who has no beginning and whose years have no end. And none of this stops when you turn from the Old Testament to the New. The Lord Jesus himself delights to call upon God as Lord of heaven and earth, and to delight in all of the glorious implications of that shattering truth. Matthew chapter 11. At that time, Jesus declared, I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. The Lord Jesus has come to make known to us the Father. And this is eternal life, that we might know the Father and His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. And to know that it is in the one true and living God that all hope and salvation is to be found. And that coming to the Lord Jesus Christ, we come to our Maker and we have our rest in Him. And at the very end of the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus again invokes heaven and earth, but in a glorious and a stupendous way. We often think about the Great Commission. We speak often about what it means for the job of the church here in this present age. But do we give enough attention to the words that begin the Great Commission? where Jesus comes to his disciples and he says to them, do you remember what he says to them? All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. The glory of God as the maker of heaven and earth reaches its climax here with the exaltation of the Messiah. And remember how Paul meditates on this in Colossians 1. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation, for by him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible. Whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities, all things were created through him and for him. That is our Savior, brothers and sisters, the eternal Word through whom all things are created and for whom. For whom all things are created. Now, at this point, it would have to be an entirely different sermon, but if you go through the book of Acts, you know, you might think, well, Yes, I see how important the truths of creation are throughout all the passages that you've quoted, but perhaps not as much after Pentecost, right, when the apostles are called to go out and to proclaim Christ. Maybe then, perhaps, the themes of creation recede more into the background. Well, just to cite one passage, we're going to go to Acts chapter 14 and think about the preaching of Paul. They're in Lystra, and the pagan men and women of that city see Paul and Barnabas, and they try to worship them. They think that the gods have come down in the likeness of men, and remember Paul's response. Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men of like nature with you, and we bring you good news that you should turn from these vain things to a living God who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. So even in the preaching of Christ, what is the preaching of Christ except that we abandon the vanity and foolishness of the idolatry of our wayward hearts and return to the God who made us. For coming to the Lord Jesus Christ, again, we come to our creator. We return to the one who breathed life into us. finally and at last to worship him as is his due, to be reconciled to him by the Savior that he has appointed, who is none less than the eternal Son himself, through whom and for whom are all things. And turning now to the very end of all things, Revelation chapter 21. And I've skipped over some passages, there's preparation for this in the New Testament. But what do we read in Revelation 21? Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more. Neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The words are simple enough as they confront us there in the very first verse of the Bible. But there follows 66 books where the richness and the depth and the power of God as our everlasting maker is unfolded before the eyes of faith that we might abandon the foolishness of our hearts, corrupted by sin, and worship Him and return to Him and hope in Him. And this is no easy task, brothers and sisters. The reason the Bible returns so very frequently to the majesty of God as our creator is because of how easily our hearts are led astray by fear and by doubt to give more power to created things than we ought ever to give them. To give them more fear than we ought ever to give them. And so in conclusion, I'd like us, we began in the Psalms, and so let's return there once more. And there's a passage I'd like for us to read from Psalm 121. What does all of this mean for our present existence? It means everything for our present lives, brothers and sisters. These aren't just theological truths to increase our proficiency on a theology exam. These are truths meant to strengthen us in the dark moments of life, to hold fast to us when we are tempted to fear the things of creation, that we might hold fast to our Creator even when the paths before us are darkness and suffering. I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. Yes, the nations can have the 999 other gods, for they are the vain imaginations of the human heart. But let us look to the Lord who made heaven and earth. He alone is God, and there is no other. He will not let your foot be moved. He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. What shall separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord? Nothing in all creation, because it is all the work of his own hands. And He, as our Maker, and as our Redeemer, is shepherding us through the darkness of this present evil age, and will shepherd us safely through this pilgrimage into the new heavens and the new earth. This is the power, as a quick side note, of why all the early creeds of the Christian church start this way. We believe in God the Father Almighty. maker of heaven and earth, because our maker is our husband. Again, Isaiah 54. And as he has made us, as he has loved us from before the foundation of the world, so nothing will separate us from his love. And he will carry us safely through all the trials and sufferings of this present age. and he will deliver us safely into the new heavens and the new earth that he has promised, into the glory that he is preparing even now for those that love him. Let's pray. Gracious Heavenly Father, I pray now that this would just be a taste of the magnificence, Lord God, of how you have revealed yourself to us as our creator, and all that that means for our lives, and the way in which now, for thousands of years, this has been a strength and a buttress for the church. Why should we fear man? who fades like the grass. If God is for us, who can be against us? We praise you, Father, that our God is the living God, the everlasting King, the one and only who has no beginning and no end, whose existence is of himself, not subject to time, but Lord of time and of history, and who is preparing an eternal weight of glory for those who trust in him. Strengthen our hearts, Lord God, for our help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. We pray all this in Jesus' name and for his eternal glory. Amen.