The opening sentence of the Bible begins not with an argument but with a declaration: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1, WEB). Genesis 1:1-5 is a foundational passage, like the cornerstone on which the whole Bible stands. In these five verses, Scripture gathers up who God is, where the world came from, and whose hand holds the order of light and darkness. That is why this is one of the first passages worth recommending to anyone beginning to memorize the Bible.
Today’s Memory Passage — Genesis 1:1-5 (WEB)
The English Scripture quotations in this article are from the World English Bible (public domain).
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
2 Now the earth was formless and empty. Darkness was on the surface of the deep. God’s Spirit was hovering over the surface of the waters.
3 God said, Let there be light, and there was light.
4 God saw the light, and saw that it was good. God divided the light from the darkness.
5 God called the light day, and the darkness he called night. There was evening and there was morning, one day.
(Genesis 1:1-5, WEB)
The Faith of Creation in Five Verses — Four Meditation Points
1. In the Beginning God — God is the beginning of all things
Genesis 1:1 does not try to prove God’s existence. The Bible assumes that God is there and declares that he stands at the beginning of all time and space. The opening words of Genesis, in the beginning, fit exactly with the first sentence of John’s Gospel: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1, WEB). John takes up Genesis 1:1 and bears witness that in that beginning Christ the Word was there in the work of creation. “All things were made through him. Without him was not anything made that has been made” (John 1:3, WEB). Paul likewise says that all things were created in Christ and through him (Colossians 1:16). To memorize Genesis 1:1 is also to confess that Christ is the Creator.
2. Created the Heavens and the Earth — the One who calls into being what does not exist
Human beings can only make something from materials that already exist. God’s creation is different. The writer of Hebrews says it this way: “By faith, we understand that the universe has been framed by the word of God, so that what is seen has not been made out of things which are visible” (Hebrews 11:3, WEB). This declaration, that the visible world did not come from visible materials, teaches us that creation was accomplished solely by the power of God’s word. Paul describes the God in whom Abraham believed in the same way: “…God, who gives life to the dead, and calls the things that are not, as though they were” (Romans 4:17, WEB). When we memorize this verse, the way we look at the world begins to change. The heavens and the earth, and everything in them, are not the product of chance but the workmanship of one Creator.
3. God’s Spirit Was Hovering over the Waters — the Holy Spirit present over the chaos
Genesis 1:2 paints the state before creation with three words: formlessness, emptiness, and darkness. Yet over those dark waters, the Spirit of God was hovering. Scripture repeatedly testifies that the Spirit of God is the giver of life. Elihu confessed, “The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life” (Job 33:4, WEB), and the psalmist sings, “You send forth your Spirit: they are created. You renew the face of the ground” (Psalms 104:30, WEB). It is a scene in which the Spirit of God rests over disorder, preparing the way for order and life. That picture applies directly to our lives as well. Even in moments when life feels formless and empty, the Spirit of God is hovering over the deep. Darkness does not get the last word. That is the comfort Genesis 1:2 gives us.
4. Let There Be Light — God creates by his word
God did not call forth light by means of tools or process but by his word. The psalmist sings of this moment: “By Yahweh’s word, the heavens were made; all their army by the breath of his mouth” (Psalms 33:6, WEB), and “For he spoke, and it was done. He commanded, and it stood firm” (Psalms 33:9, WEB). When God speaks, it comes to pass. That is his power. Paul then connects the light of that first day with the light of the gospel: “seeing it is God who said, ‘Light will shine out of darkness,’ who has shone in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6, WEB). The God who cut through the darkness in the beginning now cuts through the darkness of our hearts by the gospel.
The Background of the Passage — The First Day of Creation Week
Genesis 1 records the whole week of creation, when God made the world in six days and rested on the seventh (Genesis 2:2-3). Within that account, Genesis 1:1-5 belongs to the first day. The creation of the first day is light. God separated the light from the darkness and named them day and night. Scripture warns against being drawn away to worship the sun, the moon, and the stars (Deuteronomy 4:19). Genesis declares that even these were only creatures made on the fourth day (Genesis 1:14-19). The light of the first day was already there before the sun was made. The source of light is not the heavenly bodies but the word of God.
Another detail worth noticing is the refrain, “There was evening and there was morning” (Genesis 1:5, WEB). This refrain is repeated through all six days of creation (Genesis 1:8, 13, 19, 23, 31), showing that the world God made exists in rhythm and order. The fact that each day turns within the order God has established plants the same confession into the daily life of the one who memorizes these words.
Why Memorize These Five Verses?
First, this passage is the key that opens the whole Bible. We need to understand creation rightly if we are to see the great biblical story that moves from the fall to redemption and finally to new creation. The new heaven and new earth (Revelation 21:1) is the scene in which the heavens and the earth of Genesis 1:1 are restored and brought to completion.
Second, this passage answers the root questions of faith. When we face questions like where I came from and to whom this world belongs, Genesis 1:1, once memorized, becomes a confession ready on our lips.
Third, this is a word to hold onto in dark times. The Spirit of God hovering over chaos and emptiness, and the voice that called light into being, are still at work now. The psalmist confesses, “I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you” (Psalms 119:11, WEB). Jesus promised that the Helper, the Holy Spirit, would bring to remembrance all that he had said (John 14:26). The word we store in our hearts becomes the strength that holds us at the moment we need it.
How to Memorize It — Divide It into Five Parts
The most natural way to memorize these five verses is to learn them as five parts, one verse at a time.
- Genesis 1:1 — Declaration: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1, WEB). Because it is short and complete, memorize it as one whole sentence.
- Genesis 1:2 — Condition: First hold onto the three words formlessness, emptiness, and darkness, then finish with “God’s Spirit was hovering over the surface of the waters” (Genesis 1:2, WEB).
- Genesis 1:3 — The Word: “God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light” (Genesis 1:3, WEB). Remember that command and fulfillment come in a single breath.
- Genesis 1:4 — Evaluation and Separation: Divide it into two phrases: “it was good” (Genesis 1:4, WEB) and “God divided the light from the darkness” (Genesis 1:4, WEB).
- Genesis 1:5 — Naming and Rhythm: Close with the naming of day and night, and then the refrain, “There was evening and there was morning, one day” (Genesis 1:5, WEB). The World English Bible renders the Hebrew of this phrase literally as “one day” (Genesis 1:5, WEB); it is the first day of the creation week.
If you draw back the curtains in the morning and recite Genesis 1:3, then speak Genesis 1:5 aloud as you lie down at night, tying the passage to the rhythm of your day, the order of evening and morning in this passage will begin to settle into your body and soul.
Meditation Questions for Application
- Am I confessing the beginning of the world and of my life with the words “In the beginning God” (Genesis 1:1, WEB), or am I explaining them by chance and anxiety?
- What area of my life feels “formless and empty” (Genesis 1:2, WEB) and dark right now? Do I trust the Spirit of God who is hovering over it?
- To whom am I speaking the light of the gospel (2 Corinthians 4:6) that God, who called light into being, has shone into my heart?
- Am I looking at the world and at people with the eyes of “it was good” (Genesis 1:4, WEB)?
Scripture Reading Videos
References
- Korean Revised Version (KRV), Genesis 1 — bible.com
- Korean Revised Version (KRV), John 1 — bible.com
- Korean Revised Version (KRV), Psalm 33 — bible.com
- BibleHub — Genesis 1:1 Parallel Translations (WEB, KJV)
- BibleHub — Genesis 1 Interlinear (Hebrew text)
- GotQuestions Korean — What happened on each day of creation?
- GotQuestions Korean — What is the creation story in the Bible?