Our word for today is first used in the Bible in the context of God creating. We see our all-powerful God making value judgments about his work that it was good. This is our word טוֹב  good, pleasant, desirable, merry, agreeable. It is used 480 times in the Hebrew Bible our Old Testament. We see this word used seven times during his creating everything that exists, always in the phrase that God saw that it was good. The last time he declares that it was very good. The word for very is מְאֹד which means strength, power. So, it was powerful good, strength good, very good. God literally says Behold, look at how good it is for emphasis. Something beyond what we have experienced. A creation that was over the top good. That is what God made for us. We know that God is the creator and that he creates over the top good stuff for us. Our Word talks about God doing amazing things to get our attention. Tomorrow we will talk about the other word that God uses to describe himself which has to do with showing his affection for us. 

The Hebrew word for God אֱלֹהִים is used 2,597 times in the Old Testament. What is interesting about the form of the word is that it is plural “Gods” some say that is because God is so big that it is a way to express his majesty calling this the literary device of the “Majestic Plural.” Christians say that this is the trinity which is consistent with the rest of the Bible where Jesus the son is identified as being also eternal, God himself as a member of the trinity and an active participant in creation along with the Father and Spirit. The spirit is identified as being involved in creation from this opening chapter.

In this first chapter of the Bible, אֱלֹהִים is used 31 times in 31 verses. The word is used more than once in a few verses. And almost every verse except 5 and those are mostly the transitional ones like it was evening and morning the next day. God is the actor of the first chapter of the Bible he was there creating with his words. Our word emphasizes God’s power that he alone has. We see him as one who has the power to simply speak things into existence that did not previously exist. Our word shows God doing amazing things that get our attention and remember he does this to show us his affection. 

John 1:1 the Holy Spirit writes through John “In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God.” So our word for today is λόγος. This is the Greek word from the common Greek or Koine Greek in the New Testament, used 329 times. The idea is word, message, reasoning, understanding. The Greeks were interested in how life fit together. They were into philosophy and finding truth that would make sense of all of life. The good news is that Jesus became flesh, God in flesh, and lived among us. And as the creator, He knows how everything works in his creation. This is good news for us. 

A great part of Knight Vision is the Inspiring Word. Words are like windows they give us insight into another’s perspective. When God uses a word, we can see things the way he does. God knows how life works because he created it for us, for our benefit, and for our enjoyment starting now and into eternity. By joining me for just a couple minutes a day can help you see life the way God does. I want to look at not all the words in the Bible but some of the words starting at the beginning. I hope you will join me on this journey, a couple minutes a day. God wants to get our attention to show us his affection.