Beginning
Overview
Few words carry as much theological weight in Scripture as "beginning." It opens the Bible's first book ("In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth," Genesis 1:1) and its most theologically dense Gospel ("In the beginning was the Word," John 1:1). The concept touches on questions of time and eternity, creation and pre-existence, and the relationship between God and the world he made.
Beginning in Genesis
The Hebrew word re'shith, used in Genesis 1:1, refers to the starting point of something, the first in a sequence. When applied to creation, it marks the origin of time, space, and matter. Before this beginning, there was only God. The text does not attempt to explain what came before or how long God existed prior to creating; it simply declares that God was there at the start and that everything else derives from him. This opening statement establishes monotheism, divine sovereignty, and the goodness of creation as the foundation for everything that follows in Scripture.
Beginning in John's Gospel
John 1:1 deliberately echoes Genesis 1:1 with its opening phrase "In the beginning." But John makes a stunning theological move: while Genesis says God created in the beginning, John says the Word (Logos) already "was" in the beginning. The Greek verb en ("was") is in the imperfect tense, indicating continuous existence in the past. When time began, the Word already existed. This grammatical detail carries enormous christological significance: the Word did not come into being at the beginning but was already present, sharing in God's eternal nature. John then makes this explicit: "the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1).
The Beginning of Wisdom
Proverbs uses "beginning" in a different but equally important sense. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge" (Proverbs 1:7) and "the beginning of wisdom" (Proverbs 9:10). Here re'shith means "chief part" or "foundation" rather than a chronological starting point. The fear of the Lord is not merely where wisdom starts; it is the essential foundation without which true wisdom cannot exist. This figurative use elevates "beginning" from a temporal concept to one of priority and excellence.
Christ as the Beginning
The New Testament applies the term "beginning" directly to Christ in striking ways. In Colossians 1:18, Paul declares that Christ is "the beginning, the firstborn from the dead." The Greek word arche here means origin, source, or first principle. Christ is the starting point of the new creation inaugurated by his resurrection. In Revelation 3:14, Christ identifies himself as "the beginning of God's creation," which does not mean he was the first created being but rather that he is the source and originator of all that God has made.
Beginning and Ending
The book of Revelation pairs beginning with ending in one of Scripture's most powerful declarations. Christ says, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end" (Revelation 21:6; 22:13). This title claims that Christ encompasses all of history, from its origin to its consummation. Nothing exists outside his sovereign scope. What began in Genesis 1:1 will reach its fulfillment in the new heaven and new earth described in Revelation 21-22.
The Practical Beginning
Scripture also uses "beginning" in practical, historical senses. The month of the Passover was declared "the beginning of months" for Israel (Exodus 12:2), marking a new calendar starting point that commemorated their liberation from Egypt. This practical use reminds readers that God's acts of salvation create new beginnings for his people, reorienting their entire understanding of time around his redemptive work.
Biblical Context
The concept of beginning appears at the opening of Genesis (Genesis 1:1) and John's Gospel (John 1:1), in wisdom literature (Proverbs 1:7; 9:10), in Pauline christology (Colossians 1:18), and in Revelation's declaration of Christ as Alpha and Omega (Revelation 21:6; 22:13). Exodus 12:2 uses it to mark the Passover month as Israel's new beginning.
Theological Significance
The word 'beginning' anchors key doctrines: creation ex nihilo (Genesis 1:1), the eternal pre-existence of Christ (John 1:1), the foundation of wisdom in reverent fear of God (Proverbs 1:7), and Christ as the source of new creation (Colossians 1:18). The pairing of 'beginning and end' in Revelation affirms God's comprehensive sovereignty over all history.
Historical Background
The Hebrew re'shith and Greek arche both carry meanings beyond mere chronological sequence, encompassing ideas of origin, source, chief part, and first principle. Ancient Greek philosophy used arche to discuss the fundamental substance or principle underlying reality. John's use of the term in connection with Logos engages both Hebrew creation theology and Greek philosophical concepts, making his prologue accessible to a wide audience in the ancient Mediterranean world.