1:1–5 Time and matter had no existence before the beginning; only the one living God, who had no beginning, was in existence. created: Here a bringing into existence from nothing (see Heb. 11:3). the heavens and the earth: The entire universe. “New heavens and a new earth,” as part of a new creation, are anticipated by Isaiah (see Is. 65:17; 66:22) and John (see Rev. 21:1). without form, and void: The unordered conditions on earth before God made it habitable for man. The Spirit of God, the third