Several reflections on Genesis 1.
1. God created the heavens and the earth out of nothing, ex nihilo. A human artist must have material to work with, such as clay, paint or a canvas. But God used no material. It is as if a human artist made not only a statue but the clay and all the raw materials that make up the clay. God made everything in the heavens, the earth and the sea. There is nothing that God didn't create. And just as with creation, where everything is of God, so is with our redemption, everything is of God. Salvation belongs to the Lord.
2. God's word is language as well as power. The word God spoke in creation was meaningful and authoritative. God not only spoke all things into being, but he also named them. He called the light 'day', and the darkness 'night'. Five times in Genesis 1 God calls created things by giving them names. This shows His thought, His meaningful purpose, and His authority over all creatures. Because He is the creator and we the creation, we are obligated to believe and obey Him. The creation displays God's lordship from the beginning of time. Will we hear, understand and obey?
3. God sets forth man's basic task to Adam and Eve in Genesis 1:28. God calls man to bring his influence and dominion over the whole earth. a) Adam and Eve were to have children. b) The children were to spread out over the whole earth. c) They were to bring out the potential of the earth (be it science, the arts, agriculture, politics) to meet their own needs more so, glorify God (1 Cor 10:31). The earth was to be subdued to God's glory and worship. God doesn't want the earth to be filled and subdued by people who hate him. Thus lies the significance of Matthew 28:19-20.
4. Thousands of years later, the bible's authors once again penned down the words "in the beginning". And it gave us a deeper knowledge of our triune God in His work of creation, that "All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made." (John 1:3)
References:
John Frame, Salvation Belongs to the Lord
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