Without Form and Void — Welcome Detweiler

The Earth Without Form and Void

Today, I want to read the second verse in the Bible, And the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. It is not likely that God created the earth without form and void and darkness being on the face of the deep, for when God creates something it bears the mark of perfection, and surely something without form and void does not bear the stamp of perfection.

The Gap Between Creation and Chaos

If you will read these opening verses very carefully, you will agree that it does not say, And God created the earth without form and void. The possibility is that thousands of years may have elapsed between these verses.

No one can be sure as to what happened that caused the earth to become without form and void. But there are scriptures such as Isaiah 14, which speak of a day when Satan was cast out of heaven, because he said, I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.

Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that made the world as a wilderness? It has been suggested by many accredited Bible teachers that this may have been the cause of the earth becoming without form and void.

At least some great catastrophe took place which removed the stamp of perfection on God's original creation and left it in a chaotic condition. Most of the content of Genesis 1 is not taken up with acts of creation, but of putting in order that which is in chaos.

I think you will have some difficulty in understanding the opening verses of your Bible unless you draw a line between the first and the second verses. In the first verse I read, In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

Here is a statement of fact that is in agreement with all the latest findings of accredited scientists. This event may have taken place fifty million years before that which we have in the second verse.

The Human Heart in Disorder

The history of creation and reconversion are very interesting, but today I am interested mostly in the practical application of our text. What lessons can I learn from the second verse in the Bible? In the description we have before us of a creation in disorder, without form and void, waste, empty, dark, we have a picture of the condition of the human heart that is without a knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior.

Every unsaved person must admit there is something wrong within, there is confusion and disorder. An unsaved person will sometimes express himself in these words, I don't know what's wrong with me, but I know there's something wrong.

I have a longing for something, and I don't know what it is. My heart seems empty, and I don't enjoy living as I would like to. There's a dull, aching void in my heart. I want peace of mind. I want something to make life worth living.

Will you agree with me that I have a true picture of your heart in the second verse of my Bible? Let me read it like this, and the human heart is without form and void, and filled with darkness. But I'm glad the verse does not end there.

The Spirit of God Brings Order

Listen to the rest of the verse, and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. God looked down and saw the chaotic condition of his once perfect creation, and God made the first move to bring it back into order.

God looked down and saw the chaotic condition of the human heart, and he made the first move to bring that heart back into the true purpose for which he created it. And God made the first move to make it possible that that empty heart of yours might be filled with joy and peace.

God does not want you to live the remainder of your days with an empty void, an aching void in your heart, so that at the close of your life you will have to say there wasn't much to it. God wants you to enter into the enjoyment of life, and that will only be possible when you are born into his family by faith, and without the new birth, life is altogether empty and void.

The Spirit's Conviction and Direction

The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. When the Lord Jesus Christ left the world, he said, and the record is found in John 14, verse 16,. And I will pray the Father, and he will give another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever, even the Spirit of truth.

Do you know what it is that makes you think of eternity? Do you know what gives you some desire to be saved? Do you know what makes you disgusted with yourself and the life you are living? Do you know what makes you feel at times like throwing up your hands and saying, What's the use?

Let me tell you, it's the tender pleadings of the Spirit of God in your heart and life. His mission and work is to bring you to the Savior, and to bring you out of disorder into order. After the Spirit of God has moved upon your heart and has awakened you to see your dire need, he wants to direct your attention to the Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, who came into this world to meet that need.

Christ's Substitutionary Death

Before he could bring your heart out of disorder into harmony with himself, he had to pay a tremendous price, for the wages of sin demands death. The Lord Jesus loved us poor, guilty sinners to the extent that he went to Calvary's cross and shed his own precious blood in order to make our forgiveness possible.

God has declared that without the shedding of blood is no remission. From this we learn that the death of a substitute was absolutely necessary before God could offer pardon to the guilty. When Christ suffered, bled, and died on the old rugged cross, he died in my stead, he died in your stead, and unless he had died for us, there could be no offer of salvation.

Our eternal salvation is based upon the vicarious death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the message that the Spirit of God would bring to our attention after he has awakened us to see our lost and helpless condition.

Responding to the Gospel

After we have heard the challenging message of the gospel, the Spirit of God demands that we act upon the light we have received. The Spirit and the Bride say, Come. The Spirit's work is to bring us, number two.

The Spirit's work is not finished until you have come and accepted Jesus Christ as your own personal Savior. Every time the loving, all-sufficient Savior is presented to you, a decision must be made.

Either you will have to continue in your state of disorder, living aimlessly and hardly living, merely existing, or you will have to allow the Savior to bring you into perfect harmony with himself by saving your soul.

All who have come to him in simple faith have found that his promises are true. He has immediately removed the aching void in the restless heart. He has removed the darkness, the sadness, the insecurity, and the saved person can say, Once I was blind, but now I can see.

Salvation Makes Life Useful to God

While the earth was without form and void, there was darkness upon the scene, number two. While the earth was without form and void, surrounded by darkness, it was of no use to God. Hence, the reconversion was necessary.

Until you are saved, life is of no use to God. You are a liability to God, and that's why he wants to save you. After you are saved, he can use you to glorify his name. May the Spirit of God have the privilege of introducing you to the Savior who loved you and died for your sins, and is able and willing to take you just as you are, and just where you are, and give you eternal life.

I ask you to trust him this very hour. Amen. Amen.