Tag: Creation

The Spirit of God…Part 1

On By rcannata7In Biblical Literacy, God's Word, Walk of obedience1 Comment

“And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” (Genesis 1:2, ESV)

            What kind of images does this opening passage from Genesis create in the mind of man? What might this new nation of people that have been redeemed from Egypt by the hand of God think when they heard “The Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters”? The Spirit here is called the ruah of Elohim which can mean breath, wind, or spirit of God. This Spirit of God would become an active agent of God’s power manifest throughout His creation, and would also become a very hotly debated aspect of the nature of God down through the history of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim religions. Here in the opening of the book of beginnings we have a picture of the Earth formless, void and covered in waters, possibly an expression of chaos and disorder, and the Spirit of God hovering or vibrating over the face of these waters. Many of the creation stories of the ancient eastern cultures feature a theme of chaos to order, with chaos being very much associated with water. It was also expected that order would follow out of this chaos.[1]  So, here in the beginning of Genesis we begin to see one aspect of the Spirit of God’s power and actions in the creation story, bringing order out of chaos. Later when God creates man in His image is it then possible that one of man’s roles as an image bearer (one who acts as a representative of God) is to also continue to bring order out of chaos. (subdue the earth)

God would continue to give us more insight into His very nature as the scriptures would unfold to His people. At this point, we should stop for one moment and consider a very important aspect of how God has revealed himself to man. It is through His Word, and in His Word, we have ways in which God has described himself in terms that we can relate to.  One way this is done is through what is called in the theological world an anthropomorphism. What that means is that God describes himself with human-like terms that we can associate with. When it says God’s righteous right arm, it does not mean that God who is spirit and invisible has arms or legs or anything else of that nature, but that for us to understand an aspect of His nature that is how He is described. This is very important to keep in mind, if we forget that basic concept we can begin to bring God down to our human level rather than keep him exalted.

That said, God’s Spirit, the very essence of who he is, is first revealed in the very opening passage of the scripture. It is the ruah of God that is hovering over the waters closely followed in the text with God speaking. What would Spirit, a word that also means breath mean to a people that had just some come out of Egypt?

Breathing is what shows life, so the Spirit would be seen as the source of life, and it is that source of life that is later shown to have given life to the first man. (Gen 2:7) We now have a theme about the very nature of God in that it is He that gives life to all things. We see this theme, as well as the creative theme, vividly displayed when Job says “The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.” (Job 33:4, ESV).

We will continue this Journey to discover more about the Spirit of God in Part 2.

[1] A Study on the dual form of Mayim, Water; Min Suc Kee, Ph.D. University of Manchester (England), teaches Bible at the Korea Baptist Theological University in Daejeon, South Korea

the Radiance

On By rcannata7In Worship1 Comment

“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,” (Hebrews 1:1–3, ESV)

One cool night I was gazing into the heavens with my telescope and observed some of many star clusters that are easily found even when there is a fair amount of light pollution. These clusters alone where amazing to observe, marveling at the splendor and majesty of the night sky.

Right before I packed up my equipment, I noticed a light fuzzy area appearing right above the trees in my neighborhood and quickly looked at my star chart to see that this was the star cluster called the Pleiades. I quickly turned my telescope upon them and was just awestruck and how beautiful and powerful they looked. All through this night I could not help but think about what the psalmist penned 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.” (Psalm 19:1–2, ESV)

I can only imagine what the Psalmist was able to see in his day when there was so little light pollution, and the nights were very dark. The closest I have ever come to that was on a lake in California that was surrounded by mountains and far away from any cities. They sky was dazzling, and the milky way just glowed in the sky.

I sometimes wonder if Paul had this same thought in his mind when he wrote in Romans…

“For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 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. So they are without excuse.” (Romans 1:19–20, ESV)

Of course, what Paul was writing was a stern warning that man is without excuse and that God’s wrath is revealed from heaven against ungodliness and unrighteousness for those who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.

If in all this observable majesty were God is so easily perceived, how much more amazing is it when we read about Jesus the Christ and that He is the radiance of the glory of God, the exact imprint of his nature and it is he who upholds this universe by the word of his power. Let that sink in for a moment, Jesus, who as God humbled himself and became a man and walked among us upholds the universe by the word of His power.

I was reading a daily devotion by Skye Jethani and the last section of this devotion just fit in what I was experiencing…

“…maybe that’s what worship is. It’s what happens when God’s delight in us inspires our delight in him sparking an endless loop of joy between Creator and creature; between Lover and beloved.”1

May we gaze upon the beauty of the heavens and the earth an enter into a spirit filled time of worship and sing the words of the psalmist in Psalm 136.

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. Give thanks to the God of gods, for his steadfast love endures forever. Give thanks to the Lord of lords, for his steadfast love endures forever; to him who alone does great wonders, for his steadfast love endures forever; to him who by understanding made the heavens, for his steadfast love endures forever; to him who spread out the earth above the waters, for his steadfast love endures forever; to him who made the great lights, for his steadfast love endures forever; the sun to rule over the day, for his steadfast love endures forever; the moon and stars to rule over the night, for his steadfast love endures forever;” (Psalm 136:1–9, ESV)

1 Skye Jethani · WITH GOD DAILY – A Nonsensical Gesture of Love 10.16.20