“In the Beginning…”
“In the Beginning…”
This article is condensed from a sermon on the text of Genesis 1 (which can be found here), and is the first in a series titled “Seeing Christ in the Old Testament: Types, Shadows, Prophecies & Promises,” delivered at Cornerstone Christian Fellowship of Vassalboro, Maine.
What is the Bible?
C.S. Lewis once said that the “first qualification for judging [and interpreting] any piece of workmanship from a corkscrew to a cathedral is to know what it is —what it was intended to do and how it is meant to be used.”
Lewis was applying this statement specifically to a literary work when he wrote this and I believe that his thought here is helpful to us when we come to the Bible, even if incomplete. If we are to come to an accurate understanding of the Bible and rightly handle the Word, we must know what it is —what it was intended to do and how it is meant to be used.
The Bible is unlike any other book. The Bible is God’s Word to and for his people. The Bible is God’s divine self-disclosure to humanity—revealing himself to us, who he is and what he has done—through the agency of human authors under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
The Bible is self-referential. 2 Timothy 3:16 “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”
The Bible is self-authenticating. Hebrews 4:12, “…the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
The point is this: if we want to know what the Bible is, we go to the Bible. Apart from God’s Spirit, we will reject the self-revelation of God in His Word. The message of the cross is folly to those without the Spirit. While we believe in the perspicuity of Scripture—the message is sufficiently plain for all—we affirm with Peter that some of what Paul says is hard. We cannot settle for a superficial reading of the text. If we are to rightly understand Scripture, it requires intentional effort. If we are to follow the call of Romans 12 and offer our bodies as a living sacrifice to God, it will only come by the transformative work of renewing our minds and the ongoing ministry of the Spirit, applying divinely revealed truth to our hearts that we may “discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” That is especially true when we come to the Old Testament.
Understanding the Old Testament in Light of the New
As we move through the Old Testament, we must do so with eyes wide open in the light of the fullness of the revelation of Christ. Take, for instance, the creation account. Considering the full witness of Scripture, we come to see that Christ himself is the source and fulfillment of all existence, identity, and authority. Let me explain by first giving an outline and then expounding on each point:
God spoke all things into existence out of nothing (1:1–25). Christ is the all-creating, uncreated Word by, through, and for whom all things were made.
God made man in his own image & likeness (1:26–27). Christ is the image of the invisible God and the exact imprint of his likeness.
God gave man dominion over all creation (1:28–31). Christ is the Lord of Creation and has all dominion over all things.
God spoke all things into existence out of nothing (1:1–25).
The very first words of Scripture present the author of Creation and his absolute self-sufficiency as well as his personal relation to all of creation. God is absolutely self-existent apart from creation and is not dependent on creation or changed by it. The glorious reality that was hidden in this account is that the very source of all existence is Christ himself.
John begins his gospel with this very reality. It is no mistake or creative flourish of the apostle John to introduce the Word made flesh, as the one by whom all things were made, one with the Father. Christ is the all-creating, uncreated Word by, through, and for whom all things were made (Col 1:16-20). God spoke all things into existence out of nothing, and he did this by his Spirit and by His Son. Christ is the source and fulfilment of all existence.
God made man in his own image & likeness (1:26–27).
The final act of God’s creation was that of humanity. We affirm, with the Psalmist that all of creation proclaims the glory of God. Yet there was an even greater display of his glory in the creation of man. No other creature or created thing was made in quite this way. Christ is the image of the invisible God and the exact imprint of his likeness (Col. 1:15–20). While the meaning of this passage carried the weight of glory, even for those who had not beheld Christ, it is in Christ that we come to see the source and fulfillment of our own identity as those made in the image and likeness of God.
God gave man dominion over all creation (1:28–31).
As those created in the image and likeness of God, he entrusted humanity with stewardship and authority over all of his creation. Christ is the Lord of Creation and has all dominion over all things. He is the source and fulfillment of the very authority entrusted to humanity at Creation.
Conclusion
Ultimately, all of Scripture points to the fullness of God’s glory in Christ and what that means for us, and that includes the Old Testament! In order for us to grasp these truths, we have to approach the text of Scripture on God’s terms and read it according to how it was given, not according to our own schemes.
For example, the Old Testament is not merely a part of God’s story concerning God’s people before the incarnation, life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ. It is our story. It is the story of who God is and what he has done. Ultimately, it is the story of redemption in Christ as the source and fulfilment of all existence, identity, and authority.
Coram Deo
