Genesis 1 teaches that God made us.  We are the product of his fabulously inventive mind, created out of dust to enjoy and honor him.  But Genesis 1 not only speaks to how all things began; it also teaches us something else.  Something very important and very practical…

It also teaches us how God RELATES to us — and indeed to all the things that he has made.  He relates to us BY HIS WORD.  That’s how God related to his creation in Genesis 1 and 2, and even after the fall into sin (in Genesis 3) that’s still how God relates to his creation.  To be sure, our sin has confused and fractured God’s relationship with us in many ways… but nevertheless, this is still how God chooses to relate — by his Word.

It may seem like a simple point, but when you consider how emphatic the Bible is about this point, it seems worthy of few minutes’ consideration and exploration.  It is the breath of God’s Word that calls things into existence (Genesis 1; Psalm 33.6).  In fact, every time the wind blows, it is merely fulfilling the Word of God (Psalm 148.8).  The New Testament also makes this point (Hebrews 11.3; 2 Peter 3.5-7); not only was everything created by God’s Word, but everything is even now being preserved by his Word. 

Second by second, every detail of our creaturely existence — the very hairs on our heads, the very beating of our hearts — continues to be constituted by nothing other than the Word of God.

If you want to have a proper view of creation, stop and reflect upon the supreme authority of God’s sovereign Word.  This is absolutely vital.  All creatures must bow to the Word of the Creator.

Consider also the praiseworthy artfulness and skill of God’s creating and relating Word.  Genesis 1 tells us that when God first created the earth it was “without form and void.” Picture the empty and void frame of a house, just waiting to be finished and furnished.  Picture the empty and void canvas of an artist, just waiting to be filled out with dramatic color and beautiful detail.

God spoke into that which was empty and void.  By the authority and skill of his Word alone, he began to shape and form it, to fill out and to furnish it.  And then he continued to elaborate upon it until it became a beautiful world, a stunning masterpiece of artwork with infinite and delightful complexities — a world of seemingly unlimited potential! 

And he chose to do all of that by his Word.  That’s how our Creator relates to us — through his Word.  And in the gospel of his Son, God is restoring all things through his Word — the incarnate Word, his Word made flesh, Jesus Christ.

Does your life seem a bit empty and void at times?  Pick up the written Word of God, which bears witness to the incarnate Word of God.  This is how God authoritatively and artfully (skillfully) relates to you.  This is how he speaks into your life to form and shape you into a beautiful creation, a stunning masterpiece of artwork with infinite and delightful complexities.

You cannot properly understand anything in creation (including yourself!) without grasping this point.  It’s that significant.  God relates to you in a very concrete manner — through his Word.