The first chapter of the Bible is comprised of thirty-one verses describing two particularly important characteristics of God:
- His Power.
- His Pleasure.
His power is seen in the fact that He is able to create and sustain all of creation by the very word of His mouth (Gen. 1:3). His pleasure is emphasized as He looked over all that He had made and declared it to be good (Gen. 1:4).
What is held within this chapter is the truth that everything began with God. He is the Creator of the planets and stars and He administrates and organizes them all into their glorious galaxies. Through spoken word all things were made out of nothing and He alone holds all things together so that they may remain as something (Col. 1:17). He is the great Creator and Sustainer.
From the smallest particle to the largest star, He governs all of creation with a firm hand. The best part about all of this is that He made it all for Himself and His eternal plan is to share it with us (Eph. 1:18). This may sound odd to you that He would create it for Himself but, if the joys of creation please Him and He is the source of our pleasure, then we who are in Christ will likewise be eternally pleased.
What we learn about God in this chapter is that He is both sovereign and good. He is sovereign because He reigns as the supreme authority and owner over our lives, and He is good because He focuses His attention on benefiting the lives of His people. He laid the foundations of creation without any power tools and He developed every square inch to be good and pleasurable through all the senses — sight, sound, taste, touch and smell.
However, it is not stuff that you and I will find endless comfort in, but God Himself. He is not only our Creator and LORD, but He alone is to be our Great Satisfaction. Nothing will satisfy us or meet our deepest needs like God. Things are good, but God is great!
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Biblical Perspicacity 