Genesis
The creation narrative will explain that both man and woman are unique and made in the image of God, in likeness and dignity.
Genesis 1:1 says: “In the beginning God” tells us that God existed before anything because He is the author of our beginnings. Every man has contemplated the question of where did everything begin? The reason the unbelieving world has no answer for what came before everything is because they limit their sources of information to what already exists. We must be willing to accept that there was a source of all things, which implies authority and a higher power. God created the world out of nothing (ex nihilo). Genesis 1:2 says: “The earth was without form and void”. Creation was formless and void with the Spirit “hovering”[1], the Hebrew word for hovering is rachaph which translate fluttering. The Hebrew word for formless is tohu, which means confusion and without meaning, and the word for void is bohu which means empty, a vacuum. There was darkness over the deep. The deep here is literally the abyss, tehom, in Hebrew. Then it is said that the Spirit is seen to hover over the deep. The Spirit is introducing energy to matter. The only thing missing to add design to creation is light. God calls “light” in Genesis 1:3: “Let there be light”. God spoke the words into being[2]. God has removed the confusion (tohu and bohu) and has given creation a purpose. The relationship between Energy, matter and Light, is the spoken Word of God, His Son. This is the story of salvation for a creation that God is yet to create. He had already provided a solution before the problem. That is the salvific grace of the Almighty God for creation. Genesis 1:4 says: “God saw the light was good”, the Hebrew word for “saw” is raah and it means reflected upon, concluded. Then God said it was good, the Hebrew word for good is tob and it means, good at its best. What was God reflecting upon that was good at its best? Here the writer is telling us that God had a purpose, why else making a statement? It implied that this light was good and beneficial for something.
First, God is
informing us that darkness is not the absence of sun or stars but the
absence of His light. Secondly, He has created the world with two sides;
light and darkness, so that they serve as powerful metaphors for good and evil.
God created the world with an in-built message of good and evil. Thirdly, God
has already anticipated the entry of sin into His precious creation, man. Fourthly, why
does God describe his work as “good”- tob (in Hebrew)? What is God’s purpose in
creating evil and good before He created man? What is the purpose of God? He has
created man for His glory and man accepted the knowledge of good and evil when
he disobeyed. The eternal order of God is that man will choose to worship God
because the evil side will be purified by His grace.
If God has
determined that He does not need darkness in the eternal order, then why
include it in the first Earth? Rev. 21:25 tells us that there will be no darkness in the new creation.
There was
design and purpose in creation. God spoke any creation into existence, but when
it came to the creation of man, he used his hands, that implied his concern and
personal involvement, even care and love. All other creations were formed from
nothing, while man was created from an existing matter: the earth itself. The
difference here is critical and supremely important. Another important thing to
point out; when God begins to make man, he begins with a new statement.[3] The word for
God in Hebrew is ELOHIM, which is a
plural word, again, God is shown as more than one person. The Immanent Trinity
is perceived here, perichoresis, the unity of love between the persons of the
Godhead to create man, in his own likeness. This now defines the purpose and
design for creation. God has designed to set man apart from all creation.
God is expressing his nature and character into a creature that has the
capacity to appreciate Him and worship Him because we are created in His image.
What is in the image of God (imago dei)? First, we are eternal beings, like God. God
is the author of love, grace, mercy, and charity. We can exhibit these
characteristics to one another as God demonstrates them to us. So, we mirror
God’s own nature and character to those we interact with. Secondly, we can make
moral choices and decision to obey or disobey the authority. Thirdly, we have the capacity and intellect
and reasoning to relate to God, through worship. Besides men and women, the
rest of the creation worship God by their mere existence[4] while we
glorify God by our will. God created us in His image so that we
could have a meaningful relationship with Him. All the attributes above enable
a capacity for true relationship.
Christ was the
perfect example of a man,[5] Jesus the only Perfect Man.[6] He showed perfect obedience up to the cross,
perfectly pleasing to the Father to accomplish his mission. By faith in
Christ, when we are born again in the family of God, we are called sons of God.
And we come to share an even greater portion of his nature. We share in Christ’s
perfect nature to the degree that we can set aside our old self and pursue
righteousness and the knowledge of Christ in His word[7].
God put men and women on the earth to till it
and keep it[8] (Gen. 2:15), cultivating and preserving the
earth mean caring for creation. Cultivating means to care with great enthusiasm
and dedication. It is part of God’s plan; to make the world increase with
responsibility and nurture in the hope for a better place for His children.
Tilling does not mean dominating for selfish reasons, but to look after. We
need to have a kingdom mindset. We join in the activity of God to care for his
creation; to create harmony. It is the first vocation of man and it gives him
dignity and share in the likeness of God. Caring is a golden rule of our nature
as human beings, especially during the pandemic, it brings health and hope.
The
unwillingness to acknowledge the Biblical account of creation begins with an
unwillingness to acknowledge a higher authority who hold us accountable. Our
contemporaries must therefore acknowledge that, that source implies an
authority or a Judge. The irony is that we are eternal, and this world has an
end while it is the opposite viewpoint of our contemporaries, who believe that
the world is billion years old and will never cease and death is the end of us.
The Atheists do not believe in God, yet they are still puzzled with the beginning
of all things. The Pantheists worship the creation itself. By default, human
beings seek to worship a higher power because we are created in the image of
God with the design to seek a relationship with his creator. The narratives of
Creation place man in the limelight and is given a place of pride over all
other creatures. The most important creation is Humankind, and it becomes
his/her responsibility to ensure that he/she serves his/her
Creator well.
It is
paramount for the church, in the contemporary society, to understand its
beginning to be the light and salt of the earth[9]. The Scriptures
attest that everything was designed and created by God[10] for His divine
purpose. We are not a product of accident. We are fearfully and wonderfully
made.[11] God was not alone that He needed to create us for fellowship (Grudem, 2000, p. 160, 440). There was
always a perfect fellowship among the members of the Trinity for all eternity[12] and God
created us for his own glory. This fact implies that our lives and all of
creation are significant and we are designed for one single purpose, that is to
glorify God. God, the author of creation, has deposited in us: faith that is
produced by the Sacred Scriptures to understand Him.
Bibliography
Armstrong,
S., 2011. VERSE BY VERSE MINISTRY INTERNATIONAL. [Online]
Available at: https://www.versebyverseministry.org/images/uploads/Genesis_1A.pdf
[Accessed Thursday, 07 January 2021].
Grudem,
W., 2000, p. 160, 440. SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY An introduction to Biblical
Doctrine. Second ed. Michigan: Zondervan.Ska, J.-L., 2006. Introduction
to Reading the Pentateuch. First ed. s.l.:Eisenbrauns.
[1]
“And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters” Genesis 1:2b
[2]
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and
apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.” John 1:1-3
[3]
“Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” Gen. 1:26
[4]
“Praise the LORD from the earth, you great sea creatures and all deeps, fire
and hail, snow and mist, stormy wind fulfilling his word! Mountains and all
hills, fruit trees and all cedars! Beasts and all livestock, creeping things
and flying birds! Psalm 148:7-10
[5]
“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:17
[6] “Who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in Him.” 1 Peter
2:22 and “You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him
there is no sin.” 1 John 3:5
[7]
“to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created
after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” Ephesians
4:23-24
[8] “The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to
work it and keep it.” Genesis 2:15”
[9]
“You are the salt of the earth…. You are the light of the world…. Let your
light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father
in heaven” (Matt 5:13-16)
[10] “For every house is built by someone, but God is the
builder of everything”( Heb. 3:4)
[11] Psalm 139:14 “I praise you because I am fearfully and
wonderfully made”
[12] “And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the
glory that I had with you before the world existed. … Father, I desire that
they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory
that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the
world.” (John 17:5,24)
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