“Then God said, ‘Let there be light, and there was light…'” Genesis 1:3
Throughout Scripture the Lord God declares Himself to be the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last. The Lord Jesus specifically declares that He is the Alpha and Omega. What does this mean, and how does it affect the faith of men?
First of all, it means that nothing of this creation came about but by God’s intervention and power, His wisdom and goodness. Every aspect of creation before the Fall, was the expression of the unfathomable knowledge of God, His gracious blessing, and the revelation that He is holy, without spot or blemish, perfectly good in all of His being. The whole of creation was the declaration of His goodness, for He IS good.
Secondly, concerning man, it was God who specifically formed him from the dust of the earth, and breathed into him the breath of life. God was the beginning of man. He would also become the sole Redeemer and Savior of man after sin entered into the world, man having fallen from that noble position and state of being like Christ, without sin, only to discover later the certainty of sin’s end, spiritual death. Christ, before the Fall, was the total sufficiency of man, reflecting His goodness every day and moment of the day. It would be man’s sin against God, the sin of unbelief and disobedience, which would bring the curse of death upon humanity. And yet, God would not forsake man, and mankind. As God was the Beginning of the creation of man, so He, that is Christ, would become the beginning of the “new creation” of man, the man who would believe unto salvation in Christ. This great and marvelous new beginning would be by the action or initiative of God, for no one can come to the Father but by the Son, and by the drawing power of the Father. Sinful man was born in sin, “nature’s night,” in a state of blindness and death spiritually. It will take the direct intervention of God to awaken the sinner, lost and dead in his sins, to the awareness of God’s presence, but also, to the power of His Son to save the sinner by the working of His Spirit. Forever secure IN Christ when this “new beginning” occurs, life becomes a series of multiplied new beginnings. These beginnings are more than points in time, when necessity demands them. They are characterized by the evidence of the Hand of God in them, creating them, and calling the believer to respond in faith to the revealed word and will of God. It is a certain rule of Scripture, that when God speaks, there is power. We know also that the believer is called to hear His voice, and respond immediately, and whole-heartedly to know the power of God.
The voice of God is very real. In the book of Hebrews, on several occasions, we find the phrase: “Today, if you will hear His voice.” In the book of Revelation, we find the Lord addressing the church at Laodicea by saying: “If any man will hear My voice…” In the gospel of John, the Lord Jesus said very clearly: “And when He (the Shepherd) brings out his own sheep, He goes before them; and the sheep follow Him, for they know His voice.” (10:4) Throughout Scripture, we find that God speaks to the hearts of godly men and women, servants and kings alike, but most certainly to those of a humble and contrite heart who tremble at God’s words. Why? The Lord seeks those who will truly trust Him, and this proven by obedience to the revealed will of God.
The life of new beginnings to which every believer is called, begins with Christ, and His word. The Spirit of God takes that living word, daily word, convinces the believer of its truth, as being that of Christ, appealing to the believer to respond obediently to it. The new beginning begins where Christ speaks Life.
Dear Father, Make us hear Thee. In Jesus’ name, Amen.