PHExegetical Notes on Genesis 1:1
Genesis 1:1 — “In the beginning God created the
heavens and the earth.”
— ESV
Hebrew Text
בְּרֵאשִׁית בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ
Transliteration:
Berēʾšît bārāʾ ʾĕlōhîm ʾēt haššāmayim wəʾēt hāʾāreṣ
Literal rendering:
“In beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”
---
1. “In the beginning” — בְּרֵאשִׁית
(berēʾšît)
The verse begins with בְּרֵאשִׁית
(berēʾšît) commonly translated “In the beginning.”
The noun rēʾšît means beginning, first, beginning-point, or first part.
The prefixed בְּ (be-) generally means “in,”
giving the E×ρréššion “in the beginning.”
The important theological point is that Genesis does not
begin with an explanation of where God came from.
It begins with God already existing.
Genesis does not say:
“In the beginning God came into existence.”
Rather:
“In the beginning God created…”
God is therefore presented as existing before creation.
This immediately distinguishes the biblical worldview from
pagan creation accounts in which gods themselves arise from some primordial
substance or participate in cosmic conflict.
The biblical text presents God as **prior to and
independent of the created order**.
Exegetical observation
The “beginning” here is best understood as the beginning of **the
created universe**, not the beginning of God's existence.
God has no origin.
Creation does.
This becomes foundational to biblical theology:
God is eternal; creation is contingent.
Compare:
---
2. “God” — אֱלֹהִים (ʾĕlōhîm)
The subject of the sentence is:
אֱלֹהִים (ʾĕlōhîm) — “God.”
Interestingly, ʾĕlōhîm is grammatically plural in form, yet when referring to
the God of Israel it normally takes singular verbs and adjectives.
That is exactly what happens here.
The verb בָּרָא (bārāʾ), “created,” is **third-person
masculine singular**.
Thus:
אֱלֹהִים בָּרָא
ʾĕlōhîm bārāʾ
“God created.”
The grammar presents one God acting as the Creator.
It would therefore be going too far to use the plural form ʾĕlōhîm
by itself as proof of the doctrine of the Trinity.
However, Christians can legitimately read Genesis 1:1 canonically
in light of later revelation concerning the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Genesis itself progressively introduces God's Spirit (Gen. 1:2), while the New Testament identifies Christ as active in creation (John 1:1–3; Col. 1:16).
So: Genesis 1:1 does not fully reveal the Trinity (yet), but it is fully compatible with—and ultimately illuminated by—the doctrine of the Trinity.
3. “Created” — בָּרָא
(bārāʾ)
The verb בָּרָא (bārāʾ) means “to create.”
This verb is particularly significant because its subject in the Old Testament is frequently God.
Genesis repeatedly uses bārāʾ in connection with God's creative activity:
The emphasis is therefore not merely on manufacturing something, but on God's sovereign creative activity.
God is the Creator. Everything else is creature. That distinction is one of the most fundamental distinctions in Scripture.
Creator–creature distinction
Christian theology must preserve this distinction:
God ≠ creation.
God is not merely the greatest thing within the universe. He is the One upon whom the entire universe depends for its existence.
This stands against pantheism—the belief that God is identical with everything—and panentheism—the idea that everything exists within God.
Genesis presents God as distinct from His creation.
4. “The heavens” — הַשָּׁמַיִם
(haššāmayim)
The Hebrew E×ρréššion is:
הַשָּׁמַיִם — haššāmayim
Literally, “the heavens.”
The term can refer to the sky, the atmospheric heavens, or
the celestial realm.
Within Genesis 1, however, the phrase participates in a
comprehensive description of the created universe.
The text does not merely say:
“God created the earth.”
It says:
“God created the heavens and the earth.”
This is a Hebrew E×ρréššion known as a merism—two
extremes used to communicate a totality.
For example:
“day and night”
can communicate the entire cycle of time.
Likewise:
“heavens and earth”
communicates the totality of the created order.
Thus Genesis 1:1 functions as a cosmic declaration:
**Everything that exists apart from God owes its existence
to God.**
---
5. “And the earth” — וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ (**wəʾēt hāʾāreṣ)**
The Hebrew word אֶרֶץ (ʾereṣ) can mean earth, land, territory, or ground, depending on context.
Here, in the E×ρréššion:
“the heavens and the earth”
it is best understood in the broad sense of the earth as part of the created universe.
The following verses will explain the condition and ordering of the earth:
“The earth was without form and void…”
Genesis 1:1 therefore establishes the great theological premise before the narrative proceeds to describe God's ordering of creation.
---
6. The word אֵת (ʾēt)
You may notice something interesting in the Hebrew:
אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ
There are actually two occurrences of אֵת (ʾēt).
This word generally functions as the definite direct-object marker in Hebrew.
It normally isn't translated into English.
So:
בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם
literally has the grammatical structure:
“God created [direct object marker] the heavens.”
And:
וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ
“and [direct object marker] the earth.”
This grammatical construction makes the structure of the verse particularly clear:
Subject: God
Verb: created
Objects: the heavens and the earth
The emphasis is unmistakable:
God is the Creator; the heavens and earth are His creation.
---
7. Theological significance: Creation is not God
Genesis 1:1 destroys the ancient idea that nature itself is
divine.
The sun is not God.
The moon is not God.
The stars are not gods.
The sea is not God.
The earth is not God.
Creation exists because God created it.
Interestingly, Genesis will later describe the sun and moon without even using their ordinary names in the creation account, referring to them as the “greater light” and “lesser light” (Gen. 1:16).
This fits the biblical polemic against ancient Near Eastern cosmologies.
What surrounding cultures could worship as gods, Genesis presents as mere creatures under the sovereign authority of God.
---
8. Creation establishes God's absolute sovereignty
Genesis 1:1 establishes a fundamental biblical doctrine:
God possesses absolute authority over everything because everything belongs to Him as Creator.
This theme appears throughout Scripture.
Psalm 24:1 says:
“The earth is the LORD's and the fullness thereof.”
Why?
Because God created it.
Creation establishes divine ownership.
And divine ownership establishes divine authority.
God doesn't need permission from creation to rule creation.
He is the Creator.
---
9. Creation and God's independence
Genesis 1:1 also establishes God's aseity.
Aseity means that God exists from Himself, rather than depending upon something outside Himself for His existence.
Creation, however, is completely dependent upon God.
This creates a fundamental distinction:
God
Creation
Eternal
Has a beginning
Uncreated
Created
Independent
Dependent
Sovereign
Subject to God
Necessary
Contingent
Creator
Creature
Genesis begins with the Creator rather than with the
creature.
That is extremely important.
The Bible's starting point is not:
“What is man?”
Nor:
“What is the universe?”
It is:
“God.”
---
10. Genesis 1:1 and creation ex nihilo
A major theological question is whether Genesis 1:1 teaches creation ex nihilo—creation “out of nothing.”
Christian theology historically understands Genesis 1:1 together with the rest of Scripture as teaching that God is the ultimate source of everything that exists.
Hebrews 11:3 says:
“what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.”
John 1:3 says:
“All things were made through him.”
Romans 4:17 speaks of God as the One who:
“gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.”
Thus, biblically considered, nothing exists independently of God's creative activity.
There has been considerable discussion among Hebrew scholars concerning the precise grammatical relationship between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2, particularly whether verse 1 is an independent sentence or a temporal clause. But either way, the larger canonical witness clearly teaches God as the ultimate Creator of all things.
---
11. Genesis 1:1 and John 1:1
One of the most beautiful canonical connections is between Genesis and John's Gospel.
Genesis:
“In the beginning God created…”
John:
“In the beginning was the Word…” John deliberately echoes Genesis. But John takes us further.
The Word was:
Then John says:
“All things were made through him.”
Thus the New Testament reveals that the Son was active in the creation described in Genesis.
Genesis begins:
In the beginning, God created.
John begins:
In the beginning, the Word was.
The contrast is profound.
Creation began.
The Word already was.
---
12. Genesis 1:1 and Christ
The New Testament explicitly attributes creation to Christ.
Colossians 1:16 says that:
“by him all things were created”
and Hebrews 1:2 describes the Son as the One through whom God made the world.
Therefore, Christians should not read Genesis 1 merely as an isolated Old Testament account.
The whole biblical revelation eventually gives us:
Father — Creator
Son — Creator
Spirit — active in creation
This does not mean Genesis 1:1 by itself gives us the complete doctrine of the Trinity.
Rather, the doctrine of the Trinity is progressively revealed throughout Scripture, and Genesis provides the foundational monotheistic framework into which the later revelation fits.
---
13. Genesis 1:1 and the doctrine of providence
Creation isn't merely about how the universe started.
It also establishes God's continuing relationship to creation.
The God who creates also sustains.
Colossians 1:17 says of Christ:
“in him all things hold together.”
Hebrews 1:3 describes the Son as:
“upholding the universe by the word of his power.”
Thus creation is not an event after which God simply steps away. The universe remains dependent upon Him.
---
14. Literary function within Genesis
Genesis 1:1 serves as the opening theological declaration of the creation account.
The subsequent verses explain how God brings order to the created world.
There is a movement from:
formlessness → ordered creation
and
emptiness → fullness
God brings structure, distinction, purpose, and life. The creation account repeatedly emphasizes God's Word:
“And God said…”
God speaks, and creation responds. This demonstrates that God's sovereignty is exercised through His authoritative Word.
---
15. The central theological proposition
If we reduce Genesis 1:1 to its fundamental theological assertion, we could state it this way:
The eternal God is the sovereign Creator of the entire universe, and everything that exists apart from Him is dependent upon His creative authority.
Or even more simply:
God existed before everything, God created everything, and therefore everything belongs to God.
---
Exegetical Outline
Genesis 1:1
“In the beginning”
→ Creation has a beginning.
→ God does not.
→ God is eternal.
“God”
→ God is the subject of creation.
→ He is distinct from creation.
→ He is sovereign over creation.
“created”
→ Creation originates in God's sovereign action.
→ The universe is not self-existent.
→ Nothing in creation possesses independent existence from God.
“the heavens”
→ The celestial realm belongs to God.
“and the earth”
→ The terrestrial realm belongs to God.
Central idea:
Before there was a universe, there was God; and the universe exists because God sovereignly brought it into being.
---
Doctrinal Implications
Genesis 1:1 establishes at least these major doctrines:
1. God's eternality — God precedes creation.
2. God's aseity — God does not depend upon creation.
3. Creation— the universe is God's work.
4. Divine sovereignty — God has absolute authority over creation.
5. Creator–creature distinction — God is not part of creation.
6. Human accountability — humanity exists by God's creative will.
7. Anti-idolatry — creation must not be worshiped as God.
8. Providence — creation remains dependent upon God.
9. Monotheism — there is one sovereign Creator.
10. Christological fulfillment — the New Testament identifies the Son as active in creation.
11. Trinitarian framework — Father, Son, and Spirit are revealed in the complete biblical doctrine of creation.
12. Biblical worldview — reality begins with God, not matter, chance, or humanity.
---
A concise preaching/exposition framework
If you're preparing this for a Bible study or sermon, I would structure Genesis 1:1 around three propositions:
I. GOD IS ETERNAL
“In the beginning God…”
Before creation existed, God existed.
II. GOD IS THE CREATOR
“…created…”
The universe is not self-generated. It exists because God willed it into existence.
III. GOD OWNS ALL CREATION
“…the heavens and the earth.”
Everything—from the highest heavens to the earth beneath our feet—is ultimately God's possession and therefore subject to His authority.
Main proposition
Genesis 1:1 teaches that the eternal God is the sovereign Creator of all things, establishing His absolute authority over the universe and everything within it.
And there is a wonderful gospel trajectory here:
Genesis 1:1: God creates the heavens and the earth.
John 1:1: The Word is in the beginning.
John 1:3: All things are created through Him.
Colossians 1:16: All things are created through Christ and for Christ.
Revelation 21:1: God brings about a new heaven and a new earth.
So Scripture begins with:
“In the beginning God created…” and ultimately moves toward:
“Behold, I am making all things new.” The God who began creation is also the God who will consummate and renew creation.
Genesis 1:1 — “In the beginning God created the
heavens and the earth.”
— ESV
Hebrew Text
בְּרֵאשִׁית בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ
Transliteration:
Berēʾšît bārāʾ ʾĕlōhîm ʾēt haššāmayim wəʾēt hāʾāreṣ
Literal rendering:
“In beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”
---
1. “In the beginning” — בְּרֵאשִׁית
(berēʾšît)
The verse begins with בְּרֵאשִׁית
(berēʾšît) commonly translated “In the beginning.”
The noun rēʾšît means beginning, first, beginning-point, or first part.
The prefixed בְּ (be-) generally means “in,”
giving the E×ρréššion “in the beginning.”
The important theological point is that Genesis does not
begin with an explanation of where God came from.
It begins with God already existing.
Genesis does not say:
“In the beginning God came into existence.”
Rather:
“In the beginning God created…”
God is therefore presented as existing before creation.
This immediately distinguishes the biblical worldview from
pagan creation accounts in which gods themselves arise from some primordial
substance or participate in cosmic conflict.
The biblical text presents God as **prior to and
independent of the created order**.
Exegetical observation
The “beginning” here is best understood as the beginning of **the
created universe**, not the beginning of God's existence.
God has no origin.
Creation does.
This becomes foundational to biblical theology:
God is eternal; creation is contingent.
Compare:
- Psalm 90:2 — God is “from everlasting to everlasting.”
- John 1:1–3 — the Word exists “in the beginning” and all things are made through Him.
- Hebrews 11:3 — the visible universe was made by God's command.
---
2. “God” — אֱלֹהִים (ʾĕlōhîm)
The subject of the sentence is:
אֱלֹהִים (ʾĕlōhîm) — “God.”
Interestingly, ʾĕlōhîm is grammatically plural in form, yet when referring to
the God of Israel it normally takes singular verbs and adjectives.
That is exactly what happens here.
The verb בָּרָא (bārāʾ), “created,” is **third-person
masculine singular**.
Thus:
אֱלֹהִים בָּרָא
ʾĕlōhîm bārāʾ
“God created.”
The grammar presents one God acting as the Creator.
It would therefore be going too far to use the plural form ʾĕlōhîm
by itself as proof of the doctrine of the Trinity.
However, Christians can legitimately read Genesis 1:1 canonically
in light of later revelation concerning the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Genesis itself progressively introduces God's Spirit (Gen. 1:2), while the New Testament identifies Christ as active in creation (John 1:1–3; Col. 1:16).
So: Genesis 1:1 does not fully reveal the Trinity (yet), but it is fully compatible with—and ultimately illuminated by—the doctrine of the Trinity.
3. “Created” — בָּרָא
(bārāʾ)
The verb בָּרָא (bārāʾ) means “to create.”
This verb is particularly significant because its subject in the Old Testament is frequently God.
Genesis repeatedly uses bārāʾ in connection with God's creative activity:
- Genesis 1:1 — God created the heavens and earth.
- Genesis 1:21 — God created the great sea creatures.
- Genesis 1:27 — God created mankind.
- Genesis 5:1–2 — God created humanity.
- Isaiah 40:28 — God is the Creator.
The emphasis is therefore not merely on manufacturing something, but on God's sovereign creative activity.
God is the Creator. Everything else is creature. That distinction is one of the most fundamental distinctions in Scripture.
Creator–creature distinction
Christian theology must preserve this distinction:
God ≠ creation.
God is not merely the greatest thing within the universe. He is the One upon whom the entire universe depends for its existence.
This stands against pantheism—the belief that God is identical with everything—and panentheism—the idea that everything exists within God.
Genesis presents God as distinct from His creation.
4. “The heavens” — הַשָּׁמַיִם
(haššāmayim)
The Hebrew E×ρréššion is:
הַשָּׁמַיִם — haššāmayim
Literally, “the heavens.”
The term can refer to the sky, the atmospheric heavens, or
the celestial realm.
Within Genesis 1, however, the phrase participates in a
comprehensive description of the created universe.
The text does not merely say:
“God created the earth.”
It says:
“God created the heavens and the earth.”
This is a Hebrew E×ρréššion known as a merism—two
extremes used to communicate a totality.
For example:
“day and night”
can communicate the entire cycle of time.
Likewise:
“heavens and earth”
communicates the totality of the created order.
Thus Genesis 1:1 functions as a cosmic declaration:
**Everything that exists apart from God owes its existence
to God.**
---
5. “And the earth” — וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ (**wəʾēt hāʾāreṣ)**
The Hebrew word אֶרֶץ (ʾereṣ) can mean earth, land, territory, or ground, depending on context.
Here, in the E×ρréššion:
“the heavens and the earth”
it is best understood in the broad sense of the earth as part of the created universe.
The following verses will explain the condition and ordering of the earth:
“The earth was without form and void…”
Genesis 1:1 therefore establishes the great theological premise before the narrative proceeds to describe God's ordering of creation.
---
6. The word אֵת (ʾēt)
You may notice something interesting in the Hebrew:
אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ
There are actually two occurrences of אֵת (ʾēt).
This word generally functions as the definite direct-object marker in Hebrew.
It normally isn't translated into English.
So:
בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם
literally has the grammatical structure:
“God created [direct object marker] the heavens.”
And:
וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ
“and [direct object marker] the earth.”
This grammatical construction makes the structure of the verse particularly clear:
Subject: God
Verb: created
Objects: the heavens and the earth
The emphasis is unmistakable:
God is the Creator; the heavens and earth are His creation.
---
7. Theological significance: Creation is not God
Genesis 1:1 destroys the ancient idea that nature itself is
divine.
The sun is not God.
The moon is not God.
The stars are not gods.
The sea is not God.
The earth is not God.
Creation exists because God created it.
Interestingly, Genesis will later describe the sun and moon without even using their ordinary names in the creation account, referring to them as the “greater light” and “lesser light” (Gen. 1:16).
This fits the biblical polemic against ancient Near Eastern cosmologies.
What surrounding cultures could worship as gods, Genesis presents as mere creatures under the sovereign authority of God.
---
8. Creation establishes God's absolute sovereignty
Genesis 1:1 establishes a fundamental biblical doctrine:
God possesses absolute authority over everything because everything belongs to Him as Creator.
This theme appears throughout Scripture.
Psalm 24:1 says:
“The earth is the LORD's and the fullness thereof.”
Why?
Because God created it.
Creation establishes divine ownership.
And divine ownership establishes divine authority.
God doesn't need permission from creation to rule creation.
He is the Creator.
---
9. Creation and God's independence
Genesis 1:1 also establishes God's aseity.
Aseity means that God exists from Himself, rather than depending upon something outside Himself for His existence.
Creation, however, is completely dependent upon God.
This creates a fundamental distinction:
God
Creation
Eternal
Has a beginning
Uncreated
Created
Independent
Dependent
Sovereign
Subject to God
Necessary
Contingent
Creator
Creature
Genesis begins with the Creator rather than with the
creature.
That is extremely important.
The Bible's starting point is not:
“What is man?”
Nor:
“What is the universe?”
It is:
“God.”
---
10. Genesis 1:1 and creation ex nihilo
A major theological question is whether Genesis 1:1 teaches creation ex nihilo—creation “out of nothing.”
Christian theology historically understands Genesis 1:1 together with the rest of Scripture as teaching that God is the ultimate source of everything that exists.
Hebrews 11:3 says:
“what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.”
John 1:3 says:
“All things were made through him.”
Romans 4:17 speaks of God as the One who:
“gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.”
Thus, biblically considered, nothing exists independently of God's creative activity.
There has been considerable discussion among Hebrew scholars concerning the precise grammatical relationship between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2, particularly whether verse 1 is an independent sentence or a temporal clause. But either way, the larger canonical witness clearly teaches God as the ultimate Creator of all things.
---
11. Genesis 1:1 and John 1:1
One of the most beautiful canonical connections is between Genesis and John's Gospel.
Genesis:
“In the beginning God created…”
John:
“In the beginning was the Word…” John deliberately echoes Genesis. But John takes us further.
The Word was:
- already existing in the beginning,
- with God,
- and Himself divine.
Then John says:
“All things were made through him.”
Thus the New Testament reveals that the Son was active in the creation described in Genesis.
Genesis begins:
In the beginning, God created.
John begins:
In the beginning, the Word was.
The contrast is profound.
Creation began.
The Word already was.
---
12. Genesis 1:1 and Christ
The New Testament explicitly attributes creation to Christ.
Colossians 1:16 says that:
“by him all things were created”
and Hebrews 1:2 describes the Son as the One through whom God made the world.
Therefore, Christians should not read Genesis 1 merely as an isolated Old Testament account.
The whole biblical revelation eventually gives us:
Father — Creator
Son — Creator
Spirit — active in creation
This does not mean Genesis 1:1 by itself gives us the complete doctrine of the Trinity.
Rather, the doctrine of the Trinity is progressively revealed throughout Scripture, and Genesis provides the foundational monotheistic framework into which the later revelation fits.
---
13. Genesis 1:1 and the doctrine of providence
Creation isn't merely about how the universe started.
It also establishes God's continuing relationship to creation.
The God who creates also sustains.
Colossians 1:17 says of Christ:
“in him all things hold together.”
Hebrews 1:3 describes the Son as:
“upholding the universe by the word of his power.”
Thus creation is not an event after which God simply steps away. The universe remains dependent upon Him.
---
14. Literary function within Genesis
Genesis 1:1 serves as the opening theological declaration of the creation account.
The subsequent verses explain how God brings order to the created world.
There is a movement from:
formlessness → ordered creation
and
emptiness → fullness
God brings structure, distinction, purpose, and life. The creation account repeatedly emphasizes God's Word:
“And God said…”
God speaks, and creation responds. This demonstrates that God's sovereignty is exercised through His authoritative Word.
---
15. The central theological proposition
If we reduce Genesis 1:1 to its fundamental theological assertion, we could state it this way:
The eternal God is the sovereign Creator of the entire universe, and everything that exists apart from Him is dependent upon His creative authority.
Or even more simply:
God existed before everything, God created everything, and therefore everything belongs to God.
---
Exegetical Outline
Genesis 1:1
“In the beginning”
→ Creation has a beginning.
→ God does not.
→ God is eternal.
“God”
→ God is the subject of creation.
→ He is distinct from creation.
→ He is sovereign over creation.
“created”
→ Creation originates in God's sovereign action.
→ The universe is not self-existent.
→ Nothing in creation possesses independent existence from God.
“the heavens”
→ The celestial realm belongs to God.
“and the earth”
→ The terrestrial realm belongs to God.
Central idea:
Before there was a universe, there was God; and the universe exists because God sovereignly brought it into being.
---
Doctrinal Implications
Genesis 1:1 establishes at least these major doctrines:
1. God's eternality — God precedes creation.
2. God's aseity — God does not depend upon creation.
3. Creation— the universe is God's work.
4. Divine sovereignty — God has absolute authority over creation.
5. Creator–creature distinction — God is not part of creation.
6. Human accountability — humanity exists by God's creative will.
7. Anti-idolatry — creation must not be worshiped as God.
8. Providence — creation remains dependent upon God.
9. Monotheism — there is one sovereign Creator.
10. Christological fulfillment — the New Testament identifies the Son as active in creation.
11. Trinitarian framework — Father, Son, and Spirit are revealed in the complete biblical doctrine of creation.
12. Biblical worldview — reality begins with God, not matter, chance, or humanity.
---
A concise preaching/exposition framework
If you're preparing this for a Bible study or sermon, I would structure Genesis 1:1 around three propositions:
I. GOD IS ETERNAL
“In the beginning God…”
Before creation existed, God existed.
II. GOD IS THE CREATOR
“…created…”
The universe is not self-generated. It exists because God willed it into existence.
III. GOD OWNS ALL CREATION
“…the heavens and the earth.”
Everything—from the highest heavens to the earth beneath our feet—is ultimately God's possession and therefore subject to His authority.
Main proposition
Genesis 1:1 teaches that the eternal God is the sovereign Creator of all things, establishing His absolute authority over the universe and everything within it.
And there is a wonderful gospel trajectory here:
Genesis 1:1: God creates the heavens and the earth.
John 1:1: The Word is in the beginning.
John 1:3: All things are created through Him.
Colossians 1:16: All things are created through Christ and for Christ.
Revelation 21:1: God brings about a new heaven and a new earth.
So Scripture begins with:
“In the beginning God created…” and ultimately moves toward:
“Behold, I am making all things new.” The God who began creation is also the God who will consummate and renew creation.