Genesis
1:2 And the earth was without form, and
void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved
upon the face of the waters.
To define without form, and void we
cross-reference to Jeremiah 4 to see how the Holy Spirit guided that prophet to
define the phrase.
Jeremiah
4:23 I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was
without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. 24 I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they
trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. 25
I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens
were fled.
In a statement on
an unrelated subject in Jeremiah we find the definition of without form, and void as being structurally fluid and uninhabited,
without light. In verse 9, with the appearance of dry land the text indicates
the earth was covered by water. We do know that God’s intention was for it to
be inhabited.
Isaiah
45:18 For thus saith the LORD that
created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath
established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am
the LORD; and there is none else.
There is a belief
that there is a gap between verses one and two that allows for long ages of
time or for a brief period of time where the earth was inhabited by someone or
something. We do not have enough evidence in the text to discuss this
possibility which didn’t become popular until the early 1800’s, But I call
those who believe in the authority of the King
James Bible to note that the phrase is And
the earth was without form, and void not, “And the earth became without
form, and void.” In addition, how could
there be death before Adam’s time?
Romans
5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin
entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for
that all have sinned:
There are some
commentators who insist that animal life died in this period but mankind had
not been created yet. However…
Romans
8:22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain
together until now.
1Corinthians
15:21 For since by man came death, by
man came also the resurrection of the dead.
When
I get to the word replenish I will be
forced to discuss this possibility further.
The word darkness will be used in a spiritual
sense later in the Bible as it is used in a physical sense here. The face of the deep is a reference to the
fact that this earth is encased on water and the face of references the surface. The sea or ocean as a distinct
body of water separated from land has not been formed yet. In Job 38 the phrase
is used in an argument God makes to Job about things on earth to things in the
furthest reaches of outer space.
Water is present
in the universe. In the Orion Nebula alone enough water is produced, scientists
estimate, to fill the earth’s oceans every 24 minutes.[1] This water is not
necessarily the same kind of life-giving water we have on earth, though.[2] Even if they are guessing
wrong about the amount the evidence still remains that there appears to be a
great deal of water out there.
The Spirit
of God moved upon the face of the waters. Moved upon shows movement on
something as in Genesis 7:21 and the face
of the waters is the surface of the waters as in Genesis 7:18.
The Spirit of God is one agency by which God works in
His creation. There is named the Spirit of God here and elsewhere as well
as the Spirit of Christ.
Romans 8:9
But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit
of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none
of his.
1Peter 1:11
Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in
them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and
the glory that should follow.
This is the Holy Ghost as a person with the
Spirit being Himself in operation.
Luke 4:1
And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led
by the Spirit into the wilderness,
John 1:33
And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same
said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on
him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.
John 7:39
(But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should
receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet
glorified.)
Acts 2:4
And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with
other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
1Corinthians 12:3 Wherefore I give you to understand, that no
man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can
say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.
When the Holy Spirit’s operative work is spoken of the impersonal
pronoun it can be used.
Romans 8:16
The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the
children of God:..26 Likewise the Spirit
also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we
ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which
cannot be uttered.
But
as a third part of God the Holy Ghost is referred to as he.
John
14:26 But the Comforter, which is the
Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all
things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto
you.
The Spirit is the mind and heart of
God just as the spirit of man includes the heart, reason, emotions, intellect,
and talents. For contexts where the Spirit of God or
the spirit of man can be synonymous with mind please see the following;
Romans
8:27 And he that searcheth the hearts
knoweth what is the mind
of the Spirit, because he
maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
1Corinthians
2:9 But as it is written, Eye hath not
seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things
which God hath prepared for them that love him. 10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit:
for the Spirit searcheth all things,
yea, the deep things of God. 11 For what
man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit
of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might
know the things that are freely given to us of God. 13 Which things also we speak, not in the words
which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy
Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual
things with spiritual. 14 But the natural man receiveth not the things
of the Spirit of God: for they are
foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually
discerned. 15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he
himself is judged of no man. 16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that
he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.
Ephesians
4:23 And be renewed in the spirit
of your mind;
Philippians
1:27 Only let your conversation be as it
becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be
absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the
faith of the gospel;
2Timothy
1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit
of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
[1]
Frank D. Roylance, “Astronomers Observe Water Forming in the Orion Nebula,” The Tech – Online Edition, Volume 118,
Issue 19, April 14, 1998. http://tech.mit.edu/V118/N19/dorion.19w.html
[2]
Justine Alford, “Water on Rosetta’s Comet Different to Water on Earth,” IFL Science, December 11, 2014. http://www.iflscience.com/space/rosetta-data-suggests-water-earth-probably-didnt-come-comets
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