A junior reporter of a major London newspaper was once asked by his editor to cut his report to one sheet. He protested that it was impossible, but the editor replied: “Young man, you have evidently failed to observe that the story of creation is told in just ten words.”¹ In fact, in the original Hebrew, Genesis 1:1 is only seven words long!

The whole of inspired Scripture begins with this brief but powerful declaration, that God is the Creator of everything that exists. Thereafter, we are given some idea of how God did this (Genesis 1:2–31; 2:4–25). But instead of focusing on all the processes that must have gone into creating such a complex universe, the Bible tries to do two things: first to show us the nature of the Creator as He sets about His awesome work; second, to help us appreciate the world that He has made.

To begin with, we see how God is the originator of the whole creation. The phrase “the heavens and the earth” (1:1) is used to express this, and it corrects the opinion that matter simply exists, without beginning or end.

Second, we are shown a God who is an orderly designer. The work of creation is done in six days, divided into two sets of three days each. In the first three days (vv. 3–13), God sets about creating distinct categories of time and space—day and night, earth and sky, land and sea. In the next three days (vv. 14–27), God goes on to populate these spheres with His varied and marvellous creations. We also see orderliness in how, before He brings about these living creatures, including man and woman, God first creates an environment that sustains life. He does this by producing seed-bearing plants and fruit-bearing trees (vv. 11–12).

Third, we note that God makes everything by simply commanding them to come about: “God said, ‘Let there be . . .’” (e.g. vv. 3, 6, 14; italics added). Some of the people who lived in biblical times believed that the gods created the world through elaborate rituals and with much effort. Genesis, by contrast, emphasises the power of God’s word.

Fourth, the writer repeatedly says that whatever God made “was good”. This phrase occurs six times in Genesis 1 (vv. 3, 9, 12, 18, 21, 25) and on the seventh occasion the writer notes, “It was very good” (v. 31; italics added). This tells us that in spite of all the evil that exists today, God’s creation was, originally, intrinsically good (see 1 Timothy 4:4).

Some who lived in biblical times also believed that the material world was somehow evil and inferior from the start. The Bible corrects this view too.

This opening section of Genesis says much about what the God of the Bible is like. It helps us to recognise the truth that He is the ultimate Creator of everything that exists.

¹ John Phillips, Exploring the Scriptures (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Kregel, 2001), 13.