Recently I have been drawn, and intrigued, to study the events leading up to the Creation of the universe. God the Father, who has no beginning, and has always been forever in eternity past, decided to create His family in the beginning of what we know as the beginning of time. Now, this can get a little deep, but we must remember that time came out of God, therefore God is outside, and not bound by the dimension of time as we are. Instead of thinking of time in a linear fashion, we need to picture God outside of time, who can see all the events of time, past and present, at once.
Isaiah 46:10- Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done.
Revelation 1:8- “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
Revelation 1:8- “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
So, let’s look at the first fourteen verses of the first chapter of the Gospel according to John. John starts his gospel quite differently than the other three. Matthew and Luke both start with Jesus’ physical heritage, Mark begins with John the Baptist, who was the predecessor of the Messiah, but the gospel of John begins literally in the beginning. Now this is the beginning of time as we know it, not the beginning of God, because God has no beginning. He said it Himself in Rev 1:8, which we just read above, He is the beginning, meaning the beginning came out of Him.
There is so much to talk about concerning these verses, but I want to focus on one specific Greek word, ἐγένετο, transliterated as egeneto. This appears seven times in these fourteen verses, and no, seven is not a coincidence. You will find that the Holy Spirit uses multiples of seven often.
This word, ἐγένετο, from the lemma γίνομαι, ginomai, means to be born, to become, to be made, to exist. This word is implying the purpose behind the creation, or the manifested existence of His creation; a purposeful act of the Father to create His family. Galatians 4:4 uses the same word to describe Jesus being born of a woman, born under the law, however, it wasn't merely coincidence, but He was sent by the Father, organized and planned before time began. This sense of the Father through Jesus, thoughtfully planning the creation of His family, and then sending His Son into this very creation to be the Savior of the world, is what I believe John was conveying when he, through the influence of the Spirit, used γίνομαι seven times.
What I find interesting is the Holy Spirit did not use the word created, κτίζω, ktizo, as in Eph 2:10, but instead used the existence of His creation, the created man manifested in physical form, which I believe is something much more personal. The Father created us in Christ Jesus, and through Jesus we were manifested into physical existence. As in Col 1:17, by Him all things consist. The Greek literally says, the all, meaning the all of everything that exists in this universe, is held together and stands together by Him and in Him and through Him. And also our text of John 1:3 says, all things were made through Him, and nothing was made that was made. Therefore, it is the physical existence of the Father's creation, through Jesus, that is the primary focus in these first fourteen verses of the first chapter of John. This was the beginning of His family, and the whole purpose of His creation, to have a family to love and in turn His family would love Him for all eternity. Therefore, in writing this account of creation and the events leading up to it, John, led of the Spirit, uses the word γίνομαι to express His creation.
Below are these fourteen verses in the Greek with the word ἐγένετο highlighted red. You will see that two of the words are spelled differently; in verse three it is spelled γέγονεν, and in verse twelve it is spelled γενέσθαι. These are the same exact word from the lemma γίνομαι. The Greek language just changes the beginning and ending of the word as the tense, mood, or voice changes. It is like us using the word run. We spell it differently based on how it is being used in a sentence. For example, you can say I will go for a run, or if it is past tense you would say, I ran, or if you were in the middle of the action you would say, I am running.
There is also one more Greek word highlighted blue that uses γίνομαι as its root word. It is ἐγεννήθησαν, eganethesan, meaning to become the parent of. Again, giving us a much more personal understanding of God starting His family and His family accepting His free gift of grace and receiving His Son, in Whom all the riches of His grace and mercy reside.
Below is a comparison of the Greek text because, although I believe the English is translated correctly, it doesn’t convey the importance of what the Holy Spirit is focusing on. For years, before I knew Greek, I always read these verses as His creation, but now I understand the true purpose of the Father-
There is so much to talk about concerning these verses, but I want to focus on one specific Greek word, ἐγένετο, transliterated as egeneto. This appears seven times in these fourteen verses, and no, seven is not a coincidence. You will find that the Holy Spirit uses multiples of seven often.
This word, ἐγένετο, from the lemma γίνομαι, ginomai, means to be born, to become, to be made, to exist. This word is implying the purpose behind the creation, or the manifested existence of His creation; a purposeful act of the Father to create His family. Galatians 4:4 uses the same word to describe Jesus being born of a woman, born under the law, however, it wasn't merely coincidence, but He was sent by the Father, organized and planned before time began. This sense of the Father through Jesus, thoughtfully planning the creation of His family, and then sending His Son into this very creation to be the Savior of the world, is what I believe John was conveying when he, through the influence of the Spirit, used γίνομαι seven times.
What I find interesting is the Holy Spirit did not use the word created, κτίζω, ktizo, as in Eph 2:10, but instead used the existence of His creation, the created man manifested in physical form, which I believe is something much more personal. The Father created us in Christ Jesus, and through Jesus we were manifested into physical existence. As in Col 1:17, by Him all things consist. The Greek literally says, the all, meaning the all of everything that exists in this universe, is held together and stands together by Him and in Him and through Him. And also our text of John 1:3 says, all things were made through Him, and nothing was made that was made. Therefore, it is the physical existence of the Father's creation, through Jesus, that is the primary focus in these first fourteen verses of the first chapter of John. This was the beginning of His family, and the whole purpose of His creation, to have a family to love and in turn His family would love Him for all eternity. Therefore, in writing this account of creation and the events leading up to it, John, led of the Spirit, uses the word γίνομαι to express His creation.
Below are these fourteen verses in the Greek with the word ἐγένετο highlighted red. You will see that two of the words are spelled differently; in verse three it is spelled γέγονεν, and in verse twelve it is spelled γενέσθαι. These are the same exact word from the lemma γίνομαι. The Greek language just changes the beginning and ending of the word as the tense, mood, or voice changes. It is like us using the word run. We spell it differently based on how it is being used in a sentence. For example, you can say I will go for a run, or if it is past tense you would say, I ran, or if you were in the middle of the action you would say, I am running.
There is also one more Greek word highlighted blue that uses γίνομαι as its root word. It is ἐγεννήθησαν, eganethesan, meaning to become the parent of. Again, giving us a much more personal understanding of God starting His family and His family accepting His free gift of grace and receiving His Son, in Whom all the riches of His grace and mercy reside.
Below is a comparison of the Greek text because, although I believe the English is translated correctly, it doesn’t convey the importance of what the Holy Spirit is focusing on. For years, before I knew Greek, I always read these verses as His creation, but now I understand the true purpose of the Father-
The Father is Creating His Family
| John 1:1–14- 1 Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος, καὶ ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν Θεόν, καὶ Θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος. 2 οὗτος ἦν ἐν ἀρχῇ πρὸς τὸν Θεόν. 3 πάντα διʼ αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο, καὶ χωρὶς αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο οὐδὲ ἕν, ὃ γέγονεν. 4 ἐν αὐτῷ ζωὴ ἦν, καὶ ἡ ζωὴ ἦν τὸ φῶς τῶν ἀνθρώπων, 5 καὶ τὸ φῶς ἐν τῇ σκοτίᾳ φαίνει, καὶ ἡ σκοτία αὐτὸ οὐ κατέλαβεν. 6 ἐγένετο ἄνθρωπος ἀπεσταλμένος παρὰ Θεοῦ, ὄνομα αὐτῷ Ἰωάννης· 7 οὗτος ἦλθεν εἰς μαρτυρίαν, ἵνα μαρτυρήσῃ περὶ τοῦ φωτός, ἵνα πάντες πιστεύσωσι διʼ αὐτοῦ. 8 οὐκ ἦν ἐκεῖνος τὸ φῶς, ἀλλʼ ἵνα μαρτυρήσῃ περὶ τοῦ φωτός. 9 ἦν τὸ φῶς τὸ ἀληθινόν, ὃ φωτίζει πάντα ἄνθρωπον ἐρχόμενον εἰς τὸν κόσμον. 10 ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ ἦν, καὶ ὁ κόσμος διʼ αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο, καὶ ὁ κόσμος αὐτὸν οὐκ ἔγνω. 11 εἰς τὰ ἴδια ἦλθε, καὶ οἱ ἴδιοι αὐτὸν οὐ παρέλαβον. 12 ὅσοι δὲ ἔλαβον αὐτόν, ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς ἐξουσίαν τέκνα Θεοῦ γενέσθαι, τοῖς πιστεύουσιν εἰς τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ· 13 οἳ οὐκ ἐξ αἱμάτων, οὐδὲ ἐκ θελήματος σαρκός, οὐδὲ ἐκ θελήματος ἀνδρός, ἀλλʼ ἐκ Θεοῦ ἐγεννήθησαν. 14 καὶ ὁ λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο, καὶ ἐσκήνωσεν ἐν ἡμῖν, (καὶ ἐθεασάμεθα τὴν δόξαν αὐτοῦ, δόξαν ὡς μονογενοῦς παρὰ πατρός), πλήρης χάριτος καὶ ἀληθείας. | John 1:1–14- 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. 6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. 8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. 9 That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. |
These fourteen verses are packed with the riches of His grace and the exceeding greatness of His power and love toward us who believe. We will continue unpacking these verses next time.
Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ
Zack
Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ
Zack
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