Genesis 1:1 (KJV): In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
The words 'In the beginning' here are 'Be-Reshiyth' in Hebrew, and these are the words that lead the way for all the other words in the Bible! According to Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, the word 'Reshiyth' here in Hebrew means 'first, beginning, head, chief, choice part, best, firstfruit'.
Genesis 1:1 (word for word) sounds like this in Hebrew: Be (In the) reshiyth (beginning) bara (created) Elohim (God) et hashamayim (the heaven) ve'et ha'aretz (and the earth).
Let's look now at the words 'Be-Reshiyth' ('In the beginning'), which consist of the Hebrew alphabets 'Beth' and then 'Resh-Aleph-Shin-Yod-Tav':
The alphabet 'Beth' (בְּ) is a picture of a 'house', and in the context of Genesis 1:1, it means 'housed in'.
The alphabets 'Resh-Aleph-Shin-Yod-Tav' (רֵאשִׁ֖ית) picture this: 'The Head (Resh), being sacrificed (Aleph), the God (Shin/Shaddai), whose hands (Yod), are at the cross (Tav)'.
Note: Hebrew is written right to left, and every Hebrew alphabet (i.e. alefbet) has a picture.
Do you see Jesus Christ (Yeshua HaMashiach) now from the very beginning in Genesis 1:1? As a teacher of the Word, I'm here to unveil Christ in the Word of God (for He is in the Old Testament concealed, and He is in the New Testament revealed); and yes, Christ is there even from the very first verse of the whole Bible! Because He is the Word!
Let's now cross-refer to John 1:1. It says, 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God'. See the words 'In the beginning' again? John 1:2-4 then follows, 'He (The Word) was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him (the Word), and without Him (the Word) nothing was made that was made. In Him (the Word) was life, and the life was the light of men'.
Note: 'The Word' here refers to 'Jesus Christ our Lord' (John 1:14).
John 1:9-10 continues, 'That (The Word) was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him...' Psalm 119:130 confirms this, 'The entrance of Your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple (i.e. those who lack understanding)'. John 1:12 then says, 'As many as received Him (The Word), to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.' Amen.
The book of Colossians explains much about Christ being the Head, the Firstfruit (see Colossians 1:15-18). Here, the apostle Paul wrote clearly to show that Christ is preeminent ('proteuo' in Greek), i.e. first and foremost in everything, and that a believer's life should also reflect this priority: In all that you are and you do, you are in Him (in Christ)...
- alive in Him (Colossians 2:13),
- walking in Him (Colossians 2:6),
- rooted in Him (Colossians 2:7),
- built up in Him (Colossians 2:7),
- hidden in Him (Colossians 2:3),
- established in Him (Colossians 2:7), and
- complete in Him (Colossians 2:10).
Praise the Lord!
Acts 17:28 also says, 'In Him (In Christ), we live, we move, and we have our being'. Amen!
In conclusion, as believers, and together in one body (of Christ), let us continue to 'hold fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments; and grow with the increase that is from God' (Colossians 2:19). In Jesus' name. Amen.
