In the Bible we have God’s great story of the world from its beginning to its end. This story includes not only complexity and beauty but also great tragedy and sorrow. One of the golden threads woven into this story focuses on the world’s true King. Who is this King, and what does true kingship look like on the earth?

In the Bible’s opening verses we hear God speaking. In the ancient world, no one could make things happen the way a king could by just speaking. If the king said, “Let there be a banquet,” the servants jumped into action. “Your wish is our command,” they would say.

In Genesis, God speaks as King, and the cosmos itself springs into being. God can even make something out of nothing! Light and darkness, day and night, water and sky, sun and moon, vegetation and creatures. Whole arenas of life are formed and filled. And the King says, “It is good.”

This Creator King builds by speaking, and his lordship over all things is put on display. Ancient kings in their earthly kingdoms would build temples, palaces, and gardens. The Creator King has built the marvelous temple-palace-garden complex that is creation, the whole universe, including our earthly home. The world in which we “live and move and have our being” exists because our King continues to speak and uphold its existence (Colossians 1:16-17). Amazing!