The Beginning, Part 1

The following comments were posted under Part 4 of our study, Bible Students and Seventh Day Adventist, by Robert Derrick in regards to the following statements:

We were reviewing the beliefs of our Seventh Day Adventist friends in regards to The Son of God.

The Seventh Day Adventist state:

“John, the disciple, says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God” (John 1:1, 2, NKJV).

Adventists believe Jesus was co-existent with God from “everlasting to everlasting” (Psalm 90:2). Jesus, the same “Word” that “became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14), is the eternal God who “inhabits eternity” (Isaiah 57:15, NKJV).

Our Reply to this:

Here again we must disagree. It is expressly stated by our Lord himself, that he is THE BEGINNING of the creation of God.” (Rev 3:14) John’s statement supports this thought, viz. “In THE BEGINNING was the Word”.

What “BEGINNING” are we speaking of here, certainly not God’s beginning, for he had no beginning nor has he any ending, as stated ‘From everlasting to everlasting thou art God’ -Psa 90:2

It is the Faithful and True Witness (our Lord’s) beginning, which is referred to in Rev 3:14, the very first creation of God.

If something HAS A BEGINNING it implies that it did not exist prior to that time, this in contrast with God who HAS NO BEGINNING and who always existed.

Robert states: I don’t know what Adventists you are talking about…

In reply, we were talking about our Seventh Day Adventist friends and their beliefs on who they believe The Son of God is.

This is taken from the official website of the Seventh Day Adventist World Church (Adventist.org): Official Beliefs of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Roberts continues: …but ‘In the beginning was the Word’ is definitely NOT saying ‘In the beginning OF the Word’ As thought Word that was with God and was God Began in the beginning. No more than Gen 1:1 was saying ‘In the beginning of God…” Or that God began in the beginning when He made the heaven and the earth.

In reply, the text is clearly speaking about “a beginning”, and since we can exclude the Father, the Lord God Almighty from this equation as he had no beginning, it is evident that it is the Logos i.e., the “Word” whose beginning which is being spoken of here.

The word “beginning” is Strong’s # 746: arché: beginning, origin; commencement.

arxḗ – properly, from the beginning (temporal sense), i.e., “the initial (starting) point“; (figuratively) what comes first and therefore is chief (foremost), i.e., has the priority because ahead of the rest (“preeminent“).

The Lord can speak for himself here:

“I am the Alpha (the First) and the Omega (the Last), the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” (Rev 1:8)

The meaning seems best shown by rearranging (and even slightly re-wording) the sentence:

According to the LORD, (ho Theos) THE God, The Almighty, who is, and who was, and who is to come, I (Jesus) am the Alpha and the Omega.

Or if you prefer:

“I (Jesus) am the Alpha and the Omega the first or BEGINNING (of the creation of God), and the last (direct creation of God),” says the LORD (The Father), who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” All subsequent creative work was done by or through the power of God working through the Word, his Son, his representative even as stated in Verse 3, viz.

“All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.” This includes everything in Heaven and on Earth, whether seen or unseen, Angels, men, planets, stars, the universe, whatever.

Now someone may question whether or not the one, “who is and who was and who is to come” is not the Lord Jesus himself, but a simple reading of John’s opening statement in Revelation Chapter 1 Verses 5-6 will quickly clarify this, viz.

“John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace FROM HIM who is and who was and who is to come, AND FROM the seven Spirits who are before His throne, AND FROM Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and FATHER, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

The word FATHER signifies cause or authorship of being, life-giver, one who bestows life and the word son, correspondingly signifies one who receives life from a father that is one produced, generated, or begotten of another.

And so, we read: “Thou art my [special] son, this day have I begotten thee.” (Heb 1:5; 5:5)

Thus, we understand, “In the beginning (of creation) was the Word,” the first, last and only direct creation of God Himself.

The Father, the Lord God Almighty as stated had no beginning, no origin, no commencement or initial starting point so we know right from the beginning that this is not speaking about Him.

However, what we do know about the Son is that he most certainly had a beginning, and origin or starting point, that he is the first or chief one, and that in all things he should have preeminence.

“‘These things say the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, THE BEGINNING of the creation of God.” (Rev 3:14)

A very clear statement here, there needs not be any bending, twisting or wrestling with the text in an attempt to make it mean something else.

We will continue with Roberts comments in our next post.