We may turn to the Bible for many personal reasons. Perhaps we are searching for answers to questions, or we have problems and are looking for solutions. Could it be that we are in pain, despair, or trouble and need help? If God has given us the Bible to turn to with our questions, problems, pain, and need, we might assume that its focus would be centred on us – what we need to do, or what we need to change. However, when we start to read the Bible, we discover that it does not begin with us – it begins with God.
“In the beginning, God . . .”
(Genesis 1:1 ESV)
Since childhood, we have listened to stories that begin “Once upon a time”. The Bible is different. It begins before time or humankind existed, and introduces us to the eternal God and His creation. It is not until we read into Genesis chapter 3 that we encounter the devastating consequences of the breakdown of humanity’s relationship with God.
The Eternal God
With no introduction, the uniquely eternal and infinite God takes centre stage. He stands before and above all things. According to the book of Psalms, as the dawn of creation broke, He was already there in all His glory: “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting You are God” (Psalm 90:2-3).
He is not confined by time, nor does He travel through it in the way we do. The Bible declares Him to be “the Alpha and the Omega . . . who is and who was and who is to come” (Revelation 1:8), “the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last” (Revelation 22:13).
Furthermore, the Bible reveals that God eternally exists as three distinct Persons:
God the Father
God the Son
God the Holy Spirit
The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are fully and equally God, yet distinct in personhood. This is a mystery – not in the sense of being contradictory, but as a reality that transcends human comprehension. This unity of essence and distinction of persons is evident in Bible passages such as Matthew 3:16-17, where the Father speaks from heaven, the Son (Jesus) is baptized, and the Spirit descends upon Jesus like a dove. Another example is in the commission that Jesus gave to His disciples prior to His ascension to heaven: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19).
Holiness
God’s holiness is one of His defining characteristics. It means He is completely pure, set apart from any other, blazing in glory. In the Old Testament (the first part of the Bible) Isaiah saw this in a vision and cried out: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!” (Isaiah 6:3).
Like Isaiah, when we appreciate God’s holiness, we see our true spiritual condition. Isaiah’s response was: “Woe is me, for I am ruined! . . .” (Isaiah 6:5 CSB). We are faced with the sobering reality that our sin is personal rebellion against the God of the universe.
Justice
The consequences are severe since a holy God cannot overlook sin. His purity and justice mean that every lie, every sinful motive, and every hidden, selfish thought matters to Him. The Bible reminds us, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). And again, “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). God’s justice is not harsh or impulsive; it is the consistent response of a God who is perfectly holy.
Recognizing this truth is an important step toward understanding the gospel, which is good news because, at the most basic level, it reveals that we can be delivered from the righteous judgement of God.
Love
The God whose justice condemns us as sinners to righteous and eternal judgement, is the same God whose love provides the way of salvation for us. Romans 5:8 puts it simply: “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” This is sacrificial love. Probably the best-known verse of the Bible states: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). By using the expression “only begotten Son” this translation of the Bible points us to the uniqueness of Jesus as the Son of God. No other person shares the nature of God in the way Jesus does. God’s love is so great that He gave this Son for us.
By sending His son, Jesus Christ, into the world to die on a cross, God did not ignore justice; He satisfied it (Romans 3:23-26). In His sacrificial death and resurrection, Jesus Christ provided the righteous basis for God to forgive sinners.
God’s love was demonstrated “while we were still sinners” (Romans 5:8).
If we begin the gospel with ourselves, the message we get is, “Try harder, do better, get yourself right with God”. But when we start with God, the message is, “Look at God and what He has done through Jesus Christ, His Son” – that is the real gospel!’
The gospel starts with God. That is what makes it such good news.