The Holy Spirit’s Role in Creation

The Holy Spirit “fluttered” over the shapeless void and formed the order and beauty of creation.

Scripture indicates that each of the three persons of the Godhead plays a distinct role (Wood, 16):

  1. God the Father is the author, planner, and designer
  2. God the Son is the worker who carries out the directives of the Father especially giving revelation of the Godhead
  3. The Holy Spirit is the completer or consummator, bringing to final form that which has been brought into existence by the Son at the Father’s command.

Regarding Creation, the Father planned and designed. The Son created ex nihilo (out of nothing). Regarding the Spirit and creation, Wood writes:

The word moved (merahapeth) used in Genesis 1:2 is especially important in this context. It was noted to mean a “fluttering over,” or “caring for,” the chaotic world, like a mother bird providing for her young. The word does not, then, refer to an act of initial formation, from nonexistent substance. Such an act performed, certainly, for the world is not eternal; it was brought into existence when there was no substance from which to form it. But this act was that of the Son; he created ex nihilo (from nothing). The Spirit, however, quite clearly worked with what the Son had already created, fashioning it into the design planned by the Father . . . Before [the Holy Spirit] began to work, the world lay in a formless mass, call in Genesis 1:2 a state of being “without form and void” (tohu w-bohu); after He worked everything was fashioned into its respective, perfect form. From chaos had came order, from shapelessness design, from a non-functioning universe one that could operate and display the glory of God (Wood, 33-34).

Wood, Leon J. The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament, 16, 33.

Published by Chris

4 thoughts on “The Holy Spirit’s Role in Creation”

  1. Over @ the Ligonier website you can access Sinclair Ferguson’s series on the Holy Spirit. In that he has an informative teaching on some of the implications of this work of the Holy Spirit to bring order from chaos. Good stuff.

  2. Scott,

    Sinclair’s book on the Holy Spirit is my number 1 resource on the Holy Spirit. I love his book.

  3. Looks like I will be getting this book as well.I will be teaching a class on the Holy Spirit within a couple of weeks.

    Thanks!

  4. Interesting…always went more along great th line that when Jesus created all things for Himself that it was perfect and wouldn’t be described as formless or void. Is there more reason to believe that the Spirit didn’t just crown the created Earth by being present within it?

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