In the Beginning
Gen 1:1 and John 1:1-14
December 25, 2020 anno Domini
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
In the first beginning, the Old Testament beginning, the earth was without form and void.
In that first beginning the Spirit of God hovered over the face of the water.
In that first beginning God spoke and it was so.
In that first beginning the light scattered the darkness.
In that first beginning everything was good.
In that first beginning man was made in the image of God.
In that first beginning it was not good for the man to be alone, so woman was made from the side of man.
In that first beginning man accepted everything from God, every green plant in the garden for food, every animal for his care and rule, the woman made from his side to love, and above all the man received the one Word the Lord had given him, “…of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
In that first beginning man was free. He was free to care for the garden and eat its fruit. He was free of self-love so he could love his wife as himself. He was free from fear and death and anxiety. He was free from material needs. He was also free to choose against God.
In that first beginning everything was for the man. The sun, moon, and stars to light the day and night for him. The waters and land to provide food for him The animals and fish and birds to rule and give delight to him. The woman was for the man and the man was for the woman.
In that first beginning they were naked and felt no shame.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.
In the second beginning, the New Testament beginning, the world was void of life and the darkness of death hovered over the face of the earth.
In the New beginning God spoke His Word in the flesh, the Son of God became man in the flesh of Jesus of Nazareth.
In the New beginning nothing was good, not one person, not one work, save for the good Word God spoke in Bethlehem.
In the New beginning what God spoke of Old was done, completed, and fulfilled \in Jesus.
In the New beginning God’s Word was life, and that life was the light of man, that light shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot overcome it.
In the New beginning every man came from woman and was born in the image of Adam, a corrupted sinner.
In the New beginning since it was not good for the man to remain alone his sin, God sent forth His son born of a woman.
In the New beginning man no longer believed everything was from God. We believed it was ours to do with as we please – our lives, our bodies, our desires, our wealth, our time. Our ears do not desire the Word of God. Like Adam and Eve in the garden we change God’s Word to make sin no longer sin but desirable and practical.
In the New beginning man is enslaved. We are bound to sin, subject to the devil. We are ruled by fear, anxiety, pain, and death. No longer does creation is creation subject to us, but we are subject to creation. We are so enslaved we are not even free to choose God, but thankfully He choose us.
In the New beginning, for only the second time in human history, a real and true man came into the world, the true light to give the light of the knowledge of God to everyone. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, but the world did not know Him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.
In the New beginning Jesus came for every man, for every sin, for every affliction and sorrow. He did not come for His own good. He came for us men and for our salvation. He came to give, as God had given in the first beginning. He came to give Himself for our sins, for our salvation.
In the New beginning God hung naked on the cross before the world and endured the shame of our sin.
In the New beginning Jesus took the debt of our sin so we could be credited with His righteousness.
In the New beginning Jesus hung before His Father as the rebel sinner, so that we could stand before Him as righteous children.
In the New beginning Christ loved His bride as Adam should have loved Eve. He laid down His life for His bride to save her from sin, death, and the lies of the devil.
In the New beginning we see our Father in His Son Jesus, full of grace and truth.
In the New beginning we receive grace upon grace from the fullness of God in the person of Jesus.
In the New beginning, all who receive Jesus and believe in His name are born again by the will of God to live forever.
In the New beginning God dwells among us, in the flesh of Jesus, in the Word of God preached truthfully and in the Sacraments administered according to Christ’s institution.
In the New beginning there is no end of life and light.
In the New beginning all things are made new and right and good again for you. In the name of Jesus. Amen.