First, a proof: baptism and the Lord’s Supper.  Have you ever noticed the spiritual reality of baptizing a body.  When you baptize a body you baptize a soul.  The soul is effected as the body is effected.  Also, notice the spiritual/physical reality of the Lord’s Supper – you take it in through your body and it effects your soul.  Communion was designed to effect the whole person: body and soul – inseparable until death but distinguishable now.

One of the applications of this reality is that practices we typically think just effect our bodies have a profound effect on our souls also (and vice-versa).  So, Christians ought to be working out, eating well, getting good sleep, going in for regular checkups, having faithful spousal sex, having good hygiene, spending time in the mornings getting ready in order to look presentable.  Christians should be the best looking members of our society.   Before you judge me insane for a comment like this allow me to explain.

Understand that I’m not a physical specimen by any means.  I have a wicked overbite, and right now I have a big ol’ cold soar on my bottom lip, and i’m 5′8″ and 200 lbs.  So i’m not on some high Mountain throwing stones.  And when I say Christians should be the best looking members of society I’m not talking about what society deems attractive or unattractive.  If that we the case, I’d be calling for Christian women to wear far less clothes and far more makeup, and for men to begin going to tanning booths.  But this is worldly beauty that really isn’t beauty at all.  I’m also NOT talking about what we’re genetically given in terms of proportions and facial symmetry or other elements of the physical condition that we can’t control.

Rather, I’m speaking to the obvious bodily care that is evident when humans tend to their physical selfs – like do you take care of your heart?  When was the last time your heart rate was above 120? (For the for the majority of us this sort of thing is essential to  a healthy heart) When was the last time you said no to a sugar laden soda pop?  How much time did you give yourself to spend on regular hygiene and preparation this morning?  Does playing tag with your two year old make you winded after 30 seconds?  Questions like these we should not be embarrassed to answer, and our affirmative answers to these questions should be evident to the observer.  Our physical care should be so evident so that when people in society think of the Christians they ought to notice that they care for their bodies as well as their souls.  AND we should be doing these things as much for their effect on our souls as on our bodies. Likewise,  they should not be lazy, promiscuous, gluttons, or physically undisciplined, ingesting drugs in order to alter the state of mind, etc.  And we should engage/refrain in these practices not just for their effect on our bodies but also on our souls.  So while their is no waist size that objectively defines beauty, their is a standard of physical health that is necessary for the disciple of Christ since we are a union of Body and Soul.

Conversely, Christians should be reading their Bibles, spending significant time in prayer, serving their church’s, evangelizing the lost, spending time in regular self reflection, repenting of their sins. Satisfying their selfs in God and not the world, etc.  And they should be doing these things as much for their effect on the body as the soul.  Far less needs to be said here since piety has already been so emphasized in our culture.  However, what is often missed in the discussion if these things is how they effect not just the soul but also the body.

How does working-out effect your soul?  How does daily bible reading effect the body?  Come back later for answers to these questions.

The Apostle Paul tells us in Philippians 3 that he strains to look forward and forget about his past.  Yet there is an unhealthy way to look forward.  That is, we can look forward in such a way that we forget about all the blessings we already have been granted by God.  So often we dwell on our future ambitions: what will we become, what will our children become, how can we afford to buy this, what will tomorrow bring, I hope to have such and such, I hope to gain such and such position, I wish for this and that.  And not that all ambition is bad, but today I met a man who’s ambition was to be thankful.  I want to be ambitious for that also.

“After documenting the highly feminized state of Western Christianity, Dr. Podles identifies the masculine traits that once characterized the Christian life but are now commonly considered incompatible with it. In an original and challenging account, he traces this feminization to three contemporaneous medieval sources: the writings of St. Bernard of Clairvaux, the rise of scholasticism, and the expansion of female monasticism. He contends that though masculinity has been marginalized within Christianity, it cannot be expunged from human society. If detached from Christianity, it reappears as a substitute religion, with unwholesome and even horrific consequences. The church, too, is diminished by its emasculation. Its spirituality becomes individualistic and erotic, tending toward universalism and quietism. In his concluding assessment of the future of men in the church, Dr. Podles examines three aspects of Christianity-initiation, struggle, and fraternal love-through which its virility might be restored.

In the otherwise stale and overworked field of “gender studies,” The Church Impotent is the only book to confront the lopsidedly feminine cast of modern Christianity with a profound analysis of its historical and sociological roots. Dr. Podles presents the fruit of his meticulous scholarship in a lucid and readable style thoroughly accessible to the non-specialist.”  (The Amazon Product Description)

After this work came the best selling response to Poddles’ call for reaching the masculine population: Wild at Heart by John Eldridge.  While Eldridge largely missed the theological boat and misleads men to a dangerous non-biblical understanding of masculinity his work was still important in seeking to address the issue, and for the discerning reader will prove to be an minimum an entertaining and slightly helpful read.   A better more recent effort by Mark Chansky called Manly Dominion put’s forth a lucid practical theology on manhood that deserves a fair read by all.  The problem is that men don’t read.  And when they do if it’s not mind-candy they put it down before they get to chapter 2.  And Chansky’s book isn’t exactly man-mindcandy.

Here’s a call to anyone who thinks they might have the ability to write a book that men will read about what it means to be a real man.  Here’s what I think the criteria is (in no particular order):

1.  It needs to be short enough to not turn to drudgery for the average guy working 10 hours a day.  (Or if not short, entertaining enough to keep the attention.)  Better yet: both.

2.  It needs to begin with the premise that God’s word puts forth sin as the number 1 problem facing men today: (the fatal flaw with Eldridge is that he didn’t do this.)

3.  It needs to be gritty dealing with issues like pornography, prostitution, faithfulness, and the consequences of not spending time with your children (Like your daughter ends up the object of pornography and prostitution) .

4.  It needs to be practical – (Eldridge’s practicality tells us that real men run through the woods… naked – we need something a little more helpful to men’s lives than this.)

5.  It needs to be biblical.  I mean really biblical (not proof text biblical).  It must take in the larger theological context of order in creation, Christ’s manhood, and God’s Fatherliness.

6.  It needs to explain how men can be men and still be called to be part of the bride of christ – a thoroughly effeminate  idea on the surface – but a thoroughly masculine idea if understood within the larger context of biblical manhood.

7.  It needs to explain the sociological consequences of an effeminate church (something Poddles has done very well).

8.  It needs to be thoroughly God-Centered.  I know this is a buzz-word, what I mean is that it must help men to see that God is big, and great, and his design for men is nothing short of fantastic.

9.  It needs to appeal to more than just married men with kids.

Any Takers?

Almost a month ago now a group of 10 now famous (or infamous – depending on your perspective) missionaries went to haiti to expedite the establishment of an orphanage that had been in the planning phase for some time.  Under the leadership of Laura Silsby this group gathered orphans and children who’s parents were too poor to feed them.  The plan was to take the children – 33 in all – to a hotel that had been rented in the Dominican Republic, feed them, care for them, educate them, etc.  Eventually, the orphanage would build or buy a compound that would house these children, and more, permanently.  As the world now knows, this plan never came to fruition.

Sometimes when we hear things like this via the media we forget that the media covers real people, with real families, real jobs, real churches, and real lives.  For example, One of the girls that went on this mission trip was an 18 year old homeschooled student who was excited to go play with children less fortunate than herself.  Many of the team members are mothers, fathers, husbands, etc.  Who’s families sent them on what they thought was a short term mission to fulfill a biblical obligation to help those in need.

As I mentioned earlier this plan never came to fruition.  Depending on the news organization you tune into these missionaries are either Christian Zealots who rushed headlong into a situation they had no business being in (CNN, MSNBC).  Or they are the victims of a corrupt government seeking to put on a show trial for the world to see (Fox News).  I think the truth is probably somewhere in between.

The reality is that Laura Silsby probably didn’t have all her ducks in a row and was trying to gather the necessary documents on the fly.   Probably not the best idea – and consequences that nobody could have foreseen occurred.   But hind sight is 20/2o isn’t it?  The reaction both in the media and the government is staggering.  The Media has used this circumstance to criminalize the word missionary, and has painted the group, especially Laura Silsby to be an evil person.  And the government has allowed these 10 american citizens to face the most corrupt legal system in the western hemisphere on charges of kidnapping!  If you follow the blogs these missionaries have been called every name in the book, and most people would just assume that book be thrown at them.

So here is the question.  Is it right to imprison 10 missionaries who desire to help homeless and impoverished children get on their feet, for not having the right paperwork?  Seriously?

Reality Check #1: 4000 hardened criminals escaped the main prison on the island when the earthquake happened and the haitian government is focusing their legal system on holding 10 american missionaries captive for not having the correct documents to move homeless and impoverished children to an orphanage.

Reality Check #2:  It’s easy to sit in judgement from our living room couches when we haven’t lifted a finger to help (save those who have supported Haitian relief through their checkbooks).  Perhaps the only people who have the right to judge in this case are those who patiently and diligently went through the proper channels in order to accomplish the same thing.

Reality Check #3:  Sweden just appealed to NORTH KOREA to free an american missionary who went into the land to tell Kim Jong Ill to resign.  How is it that our own government wont intervene to help 10 american citizens who were trying to rescue children in Haiti?

Reality Check #4: Have you ever gone to the DMV to get your license plates renewed?  Did you have your proof of insurance?  If not did you get thrown in Jail?  Probably not.  Yet it’s probably stated on every DMV website as well as on the front door of every DMV office that you must have your proof of insurance.  The penalty for not having insurance is up to two years in prison.  But your DMV isn’t going to call an officer and have him take you away because you failed to bring your proof of insurance.  Yet that iss effectively what happened to these 10 Americans.  They were turned back at the boarder because they didn’t have a document.  When they went to get the document (IN ORDER TO CONFORM TO THE LAW) they were arrested.  Let me say that again, they were arrested while trying to procure the proper paper work!

What can you do to help.  Probably the best and maybe the only thing you can do to help, is stop judging and then after you’ve gotten all your nastiness taken care of email the state department (you can go to whitehouse.gov).  And ask for Hillary to do something about this unfortunate situation.

p.s. I’m not saying that the group shouldn’t have been more careful, or had the proper paperwork, I’m just asking for reasonable response by the media, government, and average american citizen.

She is honorable – who can say anything bad about Larissa.

She is virtuous – the sort of person who isn’t attracted by evil.

She is patient – constantly persevering with me in my failure.

She is diligent – my-oh-my she doesn’t have a lazy bone in her.

She is stubborn – while sometimes this reality can be exasperating, it is also sweet to me that my wife is stubbornly in love with me.  She fights for our marriage, she fights for my reputation, she fights for my success, she stubbornly pursues my best interest, she is stubborn against evil.  In this way I hope to be more stubborn than her.

She is lovely – She is beautiful, her skin is soft, her hair is smooth, her scent is fine, the way she moves is graceful, her countenance is sweet.

Praise the Lord for a good woman.  She makes my life sweet.

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Many people are familiar with the wicked brutality that lead to the death of Matthew Shepherd.  This was the event that sparked the hate crimes debate that has raged for over a decade.  What is of particular interest in the development of the hate crimes laws is that we have begun to criminalize feelings, in particular the feeling of hate.  I wonder what you hate?  I think that many people hate many different things.  I hate abortion because I hate killing the innocent and helpless.  That’s not to say that I hate those who have had abortions, in fact there are people who I love dearly and passionately who have had abortions, but I still hate the idea of killing the innocent.  I hate black licorice because it tastes like what I image sewage to taste like.  I hate adultery.  Those who have been the victims of infidelity and those who have become slaves to adulterous desires understand why.  I hate drunk driving because I know those who have lost husbands, sons, daughters, fathers, etc. to drunk driving.  I hate war.  Not that I think it’s abjectly sinful, in fact I think it’s necessary in the world in which we live, but I look forward to a day when it’s unnecessary and hate that in this age we are obligated to wage it.  I hate the gang rape that happened outside a homecoming dance this last week.  All that is in me rages against the men who raped that 15 year old girl as she was walking to meet her Dad outside the school.

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Do I hate homosexuality?  More so than I hate black licorice, less so than I hate the rape mentioned above.  Do I love homosexuals?  Absolutely.  I have known and know homosexuals (those who are proud of their homosexuality,and those who wish they weren’t homosexual), and I love them dearly and passionately and would do almost anything for many of them.  Yet I believe that their sexual orientation is settling for something less than they were designed for.  (I realize that I just provoked many readers but this isn’t a blog on the logic and science behind homo/heterosexuality.)

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The point is this: we have begun criminalizing the feeling of hate but we haven’t criminalized those feelings against everything or everyone.  Shouldn’t the same protection be extended to all citizens of our country?  What I mean is that it’s okay to hate politicians because they’re liars and cheats, but it’s not okay to hate homosexuals.  It’s okay to hate republicans because they’re a bunch of white guys in cowboy hats, but not it’s not okay to hate suicide bombers that kill our people in the name of Allah (religion is one of the things protected in the hate crimes bill).  It’s okay to hate democrats because they want universal health care, but it’s not okay to hate incest or polygamy (or did you not think that this wasn’t included in protection of sexual orientation).  Clearly there are severe imbalances here.

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Additionally hard to stomach is the reality that those men who raped that 15 year old girl will receive a lesser punishment because they didn’t rape her because of her sexual orientation.  Try explaining that to that 15 year old girl and her parents.  The question we must ask ourselves is this: are we comfortable allowing our government to play the role of a psychiatrist who determines if what you hate, or how much you hate it, is criminal?  It will be interesting to see what other emotions and feelings are made illegal in the future.  One thing is certain: I hate this law.

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For clarification: we understand the law not to punish those who hate without acting upon it.  Rather the law places stricter punishments on crimes done against certain individuals who fit the protected category.  There was already hate crimes legislation.  The difference between what already existed and this new bill is the narrowing of protected groups.  The previous law offered protection to everybody whereas this new bill specifically protects the following: race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or mental or physical disability.”  In effect If someone kills a Muslim extremest out of hatred for Islamic radicalism, according to this bill they could receive a more severe punishment than someone who kills a liberal because they hate PETA.

Occasionally the point of a biblical passage can be obscured by controversy surrounding the text.  Sometimes the controversy regards the historical accuracy of the text, other times it may be the theological implications of the text, while still other times people may dispute the alleged authorship of the text.  In the first three chapters of Scripture there is controversy over in all three of these areas – and many more.  While often times controversy can serve to sharpen and hone our understanding of Scripture, other times it serves only to distract us from the central thrust of a passage.  Many will read the account of a serpent convincing the woman to eat a forbidden fruit and ask the question, “How can a snake talk?”, while totally missing the larger theological truth.  Satan is giving the woman an alternative word to God’s word and presenting her with a decision that will determine the course of human nature for millennia: submit to God’s creative word or Satan’s destructive word.  In fact, the motif of God’s word is massive throughout scripture.  Established in chapter one, the motif becomes more and more prevalent the further into the Bible we read.  It then finds its greatest fulfillment in Jesus.  The scope of this study will be limited to the first three chapters of Genesis.

Fundamentally, Genesis chapters one through three follow a pattern of creation, decreation, and re-creation.  In chapter one we see God overcoming chaos and creating the cosmos by the power of his word.  This first chapter culminates with a divine imperative calling humanity to pursue the same program of bringing order to the whole earth.  Humanity is specially equipped for the task as God’s image bearers.  Implicit in the charge to rule and subdue is that mankind must employ God’s image in such a way that His image/glory accomplishes their task.   Chapter two presents rest as the ultimate goal of God’s creative word.  The author displays this rest both in the paradise called Eden and in the harmonious relationships that Adam and the woman share with each other and with God as he dwells with them in the garden.  Chapter three presents sin as an act of decreation resulting in more decreation.  Mankind, instead of pursuing the program of ruling and subduing the earth by the glory and image of God, now will be ruled by the earth.  However, chapter three also shows us that God recreates by the power of His word.  He promises that He will regain the rest that sin lost, and He will do it through humanity.  This time, Adam believes God’s word and salvation is born in him.  In short, God created the world by the power of his word, rebellion against that word (sin) was an act of, and resulted in, decreation, but God recreates by the power of his word.

Creation

Original creation finds its definition in the bringing about of order from either chaos or nothing.  When we look at the cosmos and see order we are beholding the handiwork of God wrought by the power of His word.  Order exists in the celestial bodies, in the atomic structure, in the physiology of animals and humans all because of the mighty word.  But the order God created, originally, went far beyond the physical world.  Originally, God’s word also ordered a rest to which we have been trying to return since being vanquished from it.  Originally, God’s word brought forth a humanity that was marked with His very own image.  It is to this subject of creation – the bringing of order – to which we now turn.

Cause of Creation: God’s word

Genesis opens with a display of raw sovereign power.  There was no cosmic battle, no mustering of strength, and no question as to whether or not God’s purposes would stand.  There was only a word.  God willed to create, and His will was accomplished through the might of His word.  With abject authority His word went out and completed His purpose.  Mathew Henry describes earth as the “immense mass of matter out of which all bodies, even the firmament and visible heavens themselves, were afterwards produced by the power of the Eternal Word[1].”   What did God’s word actually do though?  Was anything overcome?  Henry argues that chaos was overcome.  He notes that the author employs the terms “‘Toho’ and ‘Bohu,’ confusion and emptiness…. It was shapeless, it was useless, it was without inhabitants, without ornaments, the shadow or rough draught of things to come and not the image of things…. There was nothing to be seen but confusion and emptiness[2].”  If we accept Henry’s notion of the state of matter after it was created but before it was formed, we are led to understand that integral to the creative process is a bringing of order. The creative process is a development from chaos and confusion to arrangements, categories, and types of things.  These arrangements, categories, and types can now be clearly seen by the human mind, as science testifies.  But there was once a time when science would have been impossible, a time when chaos ruled.  But the Word overcame the chaos.

Goal of Creation: Rest

Of course, the goal of all that God does is ultimately and supremely His own glory[3].  In a day where this theological jewel is lost on many, this cannot go without being said.  However, for the remainder of this treatment this reality will be assumed allowing us to turn to a goal subservient to that greater one: rest.  The author writes in Genesis 2:1-3: “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.  And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done[4].”  Essential in understanding the goal of creation is understanding what God did after creation: he rested.  When a carpenter finishes a project, in order to understand the purpose of what the carpenter built you must see what he does with it.  He will live in a house.  He will store things in a cupboard.  He will sit on a bench, and so on.  Its function serves to reveal the builder’s intent.  In the same way, we observe the goal of God’s creation in the function that it served for God: rest.

Now it is important to note that when many of us think of rest our ideas are vastly different than God’s.  When we think of rest we think of a Sunday afternoon nap or a Saturday morning cup of coffee while reading the paper.  Additionally, we tend to equate the rest of Genesis 2:1-3 with a particular day of the week.  But what is original rest?  What is biblical rest?  Conspicuously absent in the seventh day narrative is any mention of morning and evening.  Many scholars view this omission as an indication that the seventh day rest was not limited to a twenty-four hour period.  Rather, this rest was ongoing and realized in three ways: God dwelling in His creation, harmony in relationship between God and man, and the paradise called Eden.

Rest as God’s dwelling. First we see God dwelling in His creation.   The language used in 2:19 seems to indicate that the Lord was physically with Adam in the garden bringing the animals to Him.  If the Lord existed as some ethereal spirit in an unknown dimension it seems the author would say something like, “the Lord caused the animals to go to Adam,” or “the Lord sent the animals to Adam,” but that’s not what he says.  Rather, it says the Lord brought the animals to Adam.  So it seems that we have good reason to believe that the physical presence of God was dwelling in the garden with Adam in some way.  We also see a more direct indication of God’s dwelling with man in 3:8 when “they heard the sound of God walking in the garden in the cool of the day.”  Clearly, this is the physical presence of God since His walking creates a noise that both Adam and the woman hear.  We must be careful not to go beyond what the Bible teaches here.  There is great mystery entwined throughout the narrative.  We aren’t told exactly what this means, only that God existed in some way inside His created order.

Rest as harmony between God and man. The second component of rest was harmony in the relationship between God and man.  Not only did God abide in some way in His rest, but He also communed harmoniously with mankind in His rest.  They lived in harmony. Their relationship was full and complete.  There was no conflict.  So harmonious was the relationship between God and man that the Bible notes the blessing that God gave to mankind[5].  We see later in Scripture that God’s blessing is the result of keeping the covenant (God’s people living in God’s place, under his rule) with God.  In other words God achieved with Adam what He attempted to achieve with Noah, Israel, David, now what He has achieved with us through Christ, and what He will achieve more fully when Christ returns.

Rest as a land of paradise. The third part of rest depicted in original creation is the land of paradise called Eden.  The land of Eden will turn out to be an integral part of every covenant that God makes from Eden onward.  The most essential thing about this paradise is already noted above – effectively, that God dwelt there in harmony with mankind.  Though it is also instructive that, not only was God in harmony with mankind, Eden/creation was also in harmony with mankind.  Man was lord of Eden.  We arrive at this conclusion if we allow the curse on the ground[6] to mean the ground was, at one point, obedient to man’s will and only became contrary to man after sin.  Originally, it did what man wanted it to do.  Additionally, we must understand that the term Eden is simply the transliteration of the Hebrew word meaning delight or paradise. Helpful on this topic is Bavnik who says, “This Eden (delight, land of delight) is not identical with paradise but a region in which the garden was planted.  [Once planted] this paradise is then called ‘the garden of Eden.[7]’”  So, according to Bavnik, Eden was a region which, when part of it was planted by God, became paradise for God and man to dwell.  So a synthesis of what we understand is that Eden is the paradise where God dwelt in harmony with man.

To recapitulate, the goal of creation was rest.  Rest can be summed up through God dwelling in His paradise with humanity.

Objects of Creation: Humanity

So God’s word was the cause of creation, rest was the goal of creation.  Now we turn to the objects of God’s creation.  God created human beings as the pinnacle of the creation.  He crowned him with glory and bestowed upon him His very own image:  “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them[8].”  What is instructive in this text is that man images forth God as male and female.  It is in relationship that human’s image forth the glory of God.  Dr. Bruce Ware in his book on the Trinity argues, “God intends that his very nature – yes his triune and eternal nature – be expressed in our human relationships (emphasis mine).[9]”  He continues to argue that the eternality of the triune relationship in the Godhead “calls for and calls forth a created community of persons[10].”   In the garden this is precisely what we see.  We see a community of persons in Adam and the woman imaging forth God’s divine relational nature.  Ware calls this the “unity and harmony[11]” that exists in the trinity of God.  We can see in Genesis two the reality of this unity and harmony as man and women image forth God.  Genesis 2:24 is a display of the unity and bliss man and woman shared:  ”And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed[12].”  Man and women were co-existing in a state of relational perfection where sin was not a hindrance to their bond.  This is demonstrated by the fact that holy God was able to walk among them and commune with them[13].

As argued earlier, creation at its most fundamental level was an act of bringing order.  Arguably, the greatest demonstration of this order is the creation of men and women in relationship with each other.  More clearly put, we see order in the positional nature of the created genders as well as the tasks assigned to each gender.

First, headship is demonstrated in the actual progression of creation.  In Genesis 2:7 God makes man.  He forms him and breathes into him the breath of life.  God proceeds to give Adam rule over the garden and calls him to the program of ruling and subduing the rest of the earth[14].   In 2:15 the author expands on the duty.  Adam was to start this program in the Garden of Eden.  He was to keep it and tend it, while being careful not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.  The Lord then brings to him all the animals to name.  By doing this he shows him that none of the animals would make a suitable helper for this task of ruling and subduing.

It is after Adam has established his authority over all the beasts of the earth through naming them that God creates women, brings her to him, and establishes a complimentary relationship of headship and submission by allowing Adam to name her as he did the animals.  Only this time he is naming not an animal but his suitable helper.  Clearly, this does not show that all facets of the relationship between Adam and the woman were the same as Adam and the animals.  However, the function of headship and rule is similar – though these will manifest themselves differently in marriage.  Secondly, we see order in the diverse roles that man and women are assigned.  The woman was identified as a helper[15] ruling and subduing the earth by being oriented towards the man, while the man was to rule and subdue by being oriented towards the creation (something he had already begun through the naming of the animals).  By maintaining their respective roles both would accomplish the chief goal of spreading the glory of God over all the earth.  So we have order established by God’s word: man as head, women as helper.  All of this is accomplished by God’s word.

Summary of Creation

God’s word is powerful.  Through His word chaos was overcome and order was implemented.  Through his word rest was established in the land of paradise where God dwelt with mankind in harmonious relationship.  Through His word God created man and women in a type of relationship that imaged forth His own triune glory.  In the beginning everything was wonderful.  But it was too good to last.

Decreation

If creation was accomplished by God’s word, de-creation happens because of rebellion against God’s created word.  God’s word creates, while sin destroys.  Put this way, sin must be seen as a refusal to submit to the authority of God’s life giving, creative word.  This is exactly what we see in chapter three of Genesis.  We see sin as an act of exchanging God’s word for Satan’s word.  We see the consequences of sin in the reversal of created order and in expulsion from the rest.

The Act of Sin

Satan begins his attack on God and humanity through a great reversal.  God created humanity as head of the animals, Adam as the head of women, and Himself as the head of Adam.  Satan attacks all three levels of order.  First, He attacks the authority of humanity over the animals by becoming/entering an animal and giving the woman a directive.  Nowhere in the created order do we see animals having the right to instruct humanity.  The snake was attempting to rule the woman, and through her, the man.  Second, Satan attacks the order of headship by not approaching Adam, but instead, the woman.  He does not begin his dialogue with man but the text says that in his craftiness “he said to the woman[16]….”  Thirdly, he attacks the authority of God.  First, by feigning indignation at God’s supposed command, which he misrepresents:  “Did God actually tell you that you cannot eat from any tree in the garden[17].”   Then, by directly contradicting His creative word:  “But the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die[18].’”   So Satan reverses the lines of authority that the Lord had established.  (Clearly we can see that the term ‘original sin’ is unhelpful to describe humanity’s fall since here we have Satan sinning before Adam ever did.)  Adam at this point was charged to keep the garden.  Instead of following Satan’s reordering (or de-ordering) of creation, he should have killed the snake right there reestablishing the original order that God had told him to maintain.  But, sadly he doesn’t.  Instead he and the woman abandon the creative, order-bringing, life-giving word of God and exchange it for the destructive word that Satan gave – effectively accepting Satan’s re-ordering (or de-ordering) of creation.  The consequences are devastating.

Consequences of Sin

The reversal of created order. Before God ever pronounces judgment on his creatures for their sin, its consequences are already being felt.  The sexual intimacy and connection that man shared with the woman is now lost as they both felt shame from their nakedness.  The narrative is mute on why nakedness is the point of shame for humanity.  Various scholars speculate that it is because of sexual awakening[19], but this seems to ignore the reality that man and women were already sexually awake[20].  Additionally, the harmony that existed between man and women and between humanity and God was shattered – once again before the curse.  Evidence of these broken relationships is the blame that man and women place on each other and God[21].  Even more, man and women fear God and hide from Him[22].  This demonstrates the catastrophic loss of harmony between creator and creature.

If the act of sin itself results in tumult, judgment is even greater tumult put in place by God.  God effectively hands humans over to the de-creation they already wrought by their own sin.  He does this first by further disrupting the relationship between man and women.  He tells the woman that her desire will be for Adam’s rule, but instead of her gaining that position, the opposite will happen.  Man will inflict his position of authority over her in brutal and wicked ways[23].  Second, he tells Adam that the ground will be of disorder.  It will no longer accept his headship, indeed the ground now will rule over him[24].  Lastly their dominion over animals will be difficult and chaotic.  To the serpent he curses him to crawl on his belly but then explains that there will be enmity between humanity and the animal kingdom[25].  There is more in this statement to the snake of course than simply animal kingdom tumult, but we cannot miss the reality that God is cursing more than Satan here.  He curses the relationship between humans and animals.

Exile from rest. Perhaps the most crushing act of judgment that was pronounced on humanity was exile from rest:  “Therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life[26].”  No longer would God dwell with man.  Man’s sin had now fixed a chasm between soiled humanity and perfect deity.  No longer would the relationship between God and man be one of harmony and rest.  God would now stand as judge against sinners.  No longer would God allow man to dwell in paradise.  Indeed, the first of many exiles for the people of God had taken place.

Summary. Romans chapter one tells us that sin is the act of exchanging the glory of God for a lie.  Certainly we see this reality here in Genesis chapter three.  All of creation, even the very imprint of God upon humanity, pointed to the greatness of the glory of God.  But, in a reversal of which had never before been, the greatness of the living God was exchanged for a lie from a serpent thus plunging all of creation into chaos.  The reader is left with many questions.  Is this the ending to the story?  Is there any hope for humanity?  Is there a way back to Eden?  If so how do we find it?

Re-creation

Protoevangelon. We find the answer to these questions hidden in plain sight:

“I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall crush your head, and you shall bruise his heel[27].”  Understanding the enigmatic way that God presents this promise is important, as its details are unfolded throughout the rest of scripture.  However, we must also understand what is clear.  And what is clear is that the Lord is saying He will provide a solution.  He will bring a conqueror who will undo what Satan has devised.  There are two important facts to pick up here.  First, God is the provider.  Man at this point is helpless to do anything about what has happened.  As much as Adam and the woman may have wished they had not eaten the fruit, the fact remains that they did eat it.  Such is the nature of sin.  It is utterly permanent.  No amount of wishing or working could undo what had happened.  Only the creative power of the Word could overcome what had been done in order to bring about a new creation.  This was the first half of the promise: God would provide.  Secondly, God’s provision will come as a conqueror.  God explained what He would provide one who would conquer Satan.  He didn’t simply tell them that He would restore what was lost in some undefined sort of way.  No, on the contrary He told them that He was going to bring one who would crush Satan and the wickedness that came by Satan’s deception.  Here God was already working out a new creation.  He was recreating once again, by the power of His word.  His word was going out, and in power He was making a promise, and this word would powerfully transform Adam into the first of His new creation.    

Regeneration of Adam. The first word that God gave to Adam, “you shall not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,” Adam abandons.  He traded it for the word of Satan – but not so the second word.  Adam hears God curse the serpent/Satan, and he hears God tell the woman that she is going to have offspring that will eventually rise up to conquer Satan.  Instead of disbelieving, he trusts.   John Owen comments in what Adam trusts in:

“As sin entered the world through a woman, so it was through a woman that God’s promised remedy over sin was to come.  But further it was also revealed that in order to become this complete Savior, the promised one must both suffer from and overcome the serpent.  Yes, the biting of His heel by the serpent would indeed be a fatal wound. But it would be one in which the seed of the woman would taste of death on behalf of sinners[28].”

Adam, while not understanding completely, still understood the heart of the promise. Hoping in it, he turns to the woman and in a marvelous statement of his faith in the word of God he name’s her Eve “because she was the mother of all living[29].”  Where Adam was expecting and deserving death he heard and received life, and this time he believed God.

Atonement for sin. How does God respond to Adam’s faith?  He atones for their sin.  “And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them[30].”  God slaughters an animal, (maybe two), and covers the shame of Adam and Eve with the skins from whatever animal He killed to get the skins.  The animals were substitutes for what should have happened to Adam and Eve: salvation came through judgment.  Whereas Adam took two fig leaves and inadequately covered he and Eve’s shame, God does an adequate job covering their shame vicariously, through spilling the blood of the animal.  God tells the Israelites later that “The life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life[31].”  He does this for Adam and Eve because of the faith that they now possess.

Conclusion

God’s word is mighty.  God speaks and the cosmos is brought into existence.  He conquers toho and boho by the might of his word.  He creates paradise, harmony, and dwelling by the might of His word.  Rest is brought because He speaks.  His word upholds all things, so when His word is abandoned the consequences are grave, destruction and tumult reign.  Indeed all creation is under a severe curse because God’s word was abandoned.  But while all is cursed, not all is lost.  For God made a promise, and while Adam didn’t see the promise of God come to full fruition, he did believe in the promise of God and found mercy through atonement.  On the other side of the cross the promise in Genesis 3:15 isn’t nearly as enigmatic as it was to them.  Yet, we find atonement the same way: faith.  Our atonement doesn’t come through the blood of an animal like it did for Adam.  That atonement for us comes through the precious blood of Jesus Christ.   So we arrive back at where we began.  God created the world by the power of his word.  Sin was rebellion against that word and resulted in de-creation.  But God recreates by the power of his word.  We know that Word is Jesus Christ.

[2] Ibid

[3] Herman Bavnik, Sin and Salvation in Christ vol 2 of Reformed Dogmatics, ed. John Bolt, Translated by John Vriend.  (Grand Rapids: Baker Academics), 2007. 430

[4] Genesis 2:1-2

[5] Genesis 1:28

[6] Genesis 3:17

[7] Bavnik, Sin and Salvation in Christ vol 2, 527

[8] Genesis 1:27

[9] Bruce Ware Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: Relationships, Roles, and Relevance (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books, 2005), 132

[10] Ware, Father, 133.

[11] Ibid, 135 -136

[12] Genesis 2:25

[13] See verses Genesis 2:22 and 3:8

[14] Genesis 2:8

[15] Genesis 2:18

[16] Genesis 3:1

[17] Genesis 3:1

[18] Genesis 3:4

[19] Herman Bavnik, Sin and Salvation in Christ vol 3 of Reformed Dogmatics, ed. John Bolt, Translated by John Vriend.  (Grand Rapids: Baker Academics), 2007. 30

[20] Genesis 1:28

[21] Genesis 3:12-13

[22] Genesis 3:8

[23] Genesis 3:15

[24] Genesis 3:17-19

[25] Genesis 3:14 -15

[26] Genesis 3:23

[27] Genesis 3:15

[28] John Owen Biblical Theology: The History of Theology from Adam to Christ, trans. by Stephen P. Westcott (Morgan, PA: Soli Deo Gloria Publications, 2002), 172.

[29] Genesis 3:20

[30] Genesis 3:21

[31] Leviticus 17:11

Re-creation

Protoevangelon. We find the answer to these questions hidden in plain sight:

“I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall crush your head, and you shall bruise his heel[1].”  Understanding the enigmatic way that God presents this promise is important, as its details are unfolded throughout the rest of scripture.  However, we must also understand what is clear.  And what is clear is that the Lord is saying He will provide a solution.  He will bring a conqueror who will undo what Satan has devised.  There are two important facts to pick up here.  First, God is the provider.  Man at this point is helpless to do anything about what has happened.  As much as Adam and the woman may have wished they had not eaten the fruit, the fact remains that they did eat it.  Such is the nature of sin.  It is utterly permanent.  No amount of wishing or working could undo what had happened.  Only the creative power of the Word could overcome what had been done in order to bring about a new creation.  This was the first half of the promise: God would provide.  Secondly, God’s provision will come as a conqueror.  God explained what He would provide one who would conquer Satan.  He didn’t simply tell them that He would restore what was lost in some undefined sort of way.  No, on the contrary He told them that He was going to bring one who would crush Satan and the wickedness that came by Satan’s deception.  Here God was already working out a new creation.  He was recreating once again, by the power of His word.  His word was going out, and in power He was making a promise, and this word would powerfully transform Adam into the first of His new creation.    

Regeneration of Adam. The first word that God gave to Adam, “you shall not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,” Adam abandons.  He traded it for the word of Satan – but not so the second word.  Adam hears God curse the serpent/Satan, and he hears God tell the woman that she is going to have offspring that will eventually rise up to conquer Satan.  Instead of disbelieving, he trusts.   John Owen comments in what Adam trusts in:

“As sin entered the world through a woman, so it was through a woman that God’s promised remedy over sin was to come.  But further it was also revealed that in order to become this complete Savior, the promised one must both suffer from and overcome the serpent.  Yes, the biting of His heel by the serpent would indeed be a fatal wound. But it would be one in which the seed of the woman would taste of death on behalf of sinners[2].”

Adam, while not understanding completely, still understood the heart of the promise. Hoping in it, he turns to the woman and in a marvelous statement of his faith in the word of God he name’s her Eve “because she was the mother of all living[3].”  Where Adam was expecting and deserving death he heard and received life, and this time he believed God.

Atonement for sin. How does God respond to Adam’s faith?  He atones for their sin.  “And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them[4].”  God slaughters an animal, (maybe two), and covers the shame of Adam and Eve with the skins from whatever animal He killed to get the skins.  The animals were substitutes for what should have happened to Adam and Eve: salvation came through judgment.  Whereas Adam took two fig leaves and inadequately covered he and Eve’s shame, God does an adequate job covering their shame vicariously, through spilling the blood of the animal.  God tells the Israelites later that “The life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life[5].”  He does this for Adam and Eve because of the faith that they now possess.

Conclusion

God’s word is mighty.  God speaks and the cosmos is brought into existence.  He conquers toho and boho by the might of his word.  He creates paradise, harmony, and dwelling by the might of His word.  Rest is brought because He speaks.  His word upholds all things, so when His word is abandoned the consequences are grave, destruction and tumult reign.  Indeed all creation is under a severe curse because God’s word was abandoned.  But while all is cursed, not all is lost.  For God made a promise, and while Adam didn’t see the promise of God come to full fruition, he did believe in the promise of God and found mercy through atonement.  On the other side of the cross the promise in Genesis 3:15 isn’t nearly as enigmatic as it was to them.  Yet, we find atonement the same way: faith.  Our atonement doesn’t come through the blood of an animal like it did for Adam.  That atonement for us comes through the precious blood of Jesus Christ.   So we arrive back at where we began.  God created the world by the power of his word.  Sin was rebellion against that word and resulted in de-creation.  But God recreates by the power of his word.  We know that Word is Jesus Christ.  Who’s word are you putting your faith in?

[2] John Owen Biblical Theology: The History of Theology from Adam to Christ, trans. by Stephen P. Westcott (Morgan, PA: Soli Deo Gloria Publications, 2002), 172.

[3] Genesis 3:20

[4] Genesis 3:21

[5] Leviticus 17:11

Decreation

If creation was accomplished by God’s word, de-creation happens because of rebellion against God’s created word.  God’s word creates, while sin destroys.  Put this way, sin must be seen as a refusal to submit to the authority of God’s life giving, creative word.  This is exactly what we see in chapter three of Genesis.  We see sin as an act of exchanging God’s word for Satan’s word.  We see the consequences of sin in the reversal of created order and an expulsion from the rest.

The Act of Sin

Satan begins his attack on God and humanity through a great reversal.  God created humanity as head of the animals, Adam as the head of women, and Himself as the head of Adam.  Satan attacks all three levels of order.  First, He attacks the authority of humanity over the animals by becoming/entering an animal and giving the woman a directive.  Nowhere in the created order do we see animals having the right to instruct humanity.  The snake was attempting to rule the woman, and through her, the man.  Second, Satan attacks the order of headship by not approaching Adam, but instead, the woman.  He does not begin his dialogue with man but the text says that in his craftiness “he said to the woman[1]….”  Thirdly, he attacks the authority of God.  First, by feigning indignation at God’s supposed command, which he misrepresents:  “Did God actually tell you that you cannot eat from any tree in the garden[2].”   Then, by directly contradicting His creative word:  “But the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die[3].’”   So Satan reverses the lines of authority that the Lord had established.  (Clearly we can see that the term ‘original sin’ is unhelpful to describe humanity’s fall since here we have Satan sinning before Adam ever did.)  Adam at this point was charged to keep the garden.  Instead of following Satan’s reordering (or de-ordering) of creation, he should have killed the snake right there reestablishing the original order that God had told him to maintain.  But, sadly he doesn’t.  Instead he and the woman abandon the creative, order-bringing, life-giving word of God and exchange it for the destructive word that Satan gave – effectively accepting Satan’s re-ordering (or de-ordering) of creation.  The consequences are devastating.

Consequences of Sin

The reversal of created order. Before God ever pronounces judgment on his creatures for their sin, its consequences are already being felt.  The sexual intimacy and connection that man shared with the woman is now lost as they both felt shame from their nakedness.  The narrative is mute on why nakedness is the point of shame for humanity.  Various scholars speculate that it is because of sexual awakening[4], but this seems to ignore the reality that man and women were already sexually awake[5].  Additionally, the harmony that existed between man and women and between humanity and God was shattered – once again before the curse.  Evidence of these broken relationships is the blame that man and women place on each other and God[6].  Even more, man and women fear God and hide from Him[7].  This demonstrates the catastrophic loss of harmony between creator and creature.

If the act of sin itself results in tumult, judgment is even greater tumult put in place by God.  God effectively hands humans over to the de-creation they already wrought by their own sin.  He does this first by further disrupting the relationship between man and women.  He tells the woman that her desire will be for Adam’s rule, but instead of her gaining that position, the opposite will happen.  Man will inflict his position of authority over her in brutal and wicked ways[8].  Second, he tells Adam that the ground will be of disorder.  It will no longer accept his headship, indeed the ground now will rule over him[9].  Lastly their dominion over animals will be difficult and chaotic.  To the serpent he curses him to crawl on his belly but then explains that there will be enmity between humanity and the animal kingdom[10].  There is more in this statement to the snake of course than simply animal kingdom tumult, but we cannot miss the reality that God is cursing more than Satan here.  He curses the relationship between humans and animals.

Exile from rest. Perhaps the most crushing act of judgment that was pronounced on humanity was exile from rest:  “Therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life[11].”  No longer would God dwell with man.  Man’s sin had now fixed a chasm between soiled humanity and perfect deity.  No longer would the relationship between God and man be one of harmony and rest.  God would now stand as judge against sinners.  No longer would God allow man to dwell in paradise.  Indeed, the first of many exiles for the people of God had taken place.

Summary. Romans chapter one tells us that sin is the act of exchanging the glory of God for a lie.  Certainly we see this reality here in Genesis chapter three.  All of creation, even the very imprint of God upon humanity, pointed to the greatness of the glory of God.  But, in a reversal of which had never before been, the greatness of the living God was exchanged for a lie from a serpent thus plunging all of creation into chaos.  The reader is left with many questions.  Is this the ending to the story?  Is there any hope for humanity?  Is there a way back to Eden?  If so how do we find it?  Come back tomorrow for the answer.

[2] Genesis 3:1

[3] Genesis 3:4

[4] Herman Bavnik, Sin and Salvation in Christ vol 3 of Reformed Dogmatics, ed. John Bolt, Translated by John Vriend.  (Grand Rapids: Baker Academics), 2007. 30

[5] Genesis 1:28

[6] Genesis 3:12-13

[7] Genesis 3:8

[8] Genesis 3:15

[9] Genesis 3:17-19

[10] Genesis 3:14 -15

[11] Genesis 3:23

Objects of Creation: Humanity

So God’s word was the cause of creation, rest was the goal of creation.  Now we turn to the objects of God’s creation.  God created human beings as the pinnacle of the creation.  He crowned him with glory and bestowed upon him His very own image:  “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them[1].”  What is instructive in this text is that man images forth God as male and female.  It is in relationship that human’s image forth the glory of God.  Dr. Bruce Ware in his book on the Trinity argues, “God intends that his very nature – yes his triune and eternal nature – be expressed in our human relationships (emphasis mine).[2]”  He continues to argue that the eternality of the triune relationship in the Godhead “calls for and calls forth a created community of persons[3].”   In the garden this is precisely what we see.  We see a community of persons in Adam and the woman imaging forth God’s divine relational nature.  Ware calls this the “unity and harmony[4]” that exists in the trinity of God.  We can see in Genesis two the reality of this unity and harmony as man and women image forth God.  Genesis 2:24 is a display of the unity and bliss man and woman shared:  ”And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed[5].”  Man and women were co-existing in a state of relational perfection where sin was not a hindrance to their bond, sexually, spiritually, or emotionally.  This is demonstrated by the fact that holy God was able to walk among them and commune with them[6].

As argued earlier, creation at its most fundamental level was an act of bringing order.  Arguably, the greatest demonstration of this order is the creation of men and women in relationship with each other.  More clearly put, we see order in the positional nature of the created genders as well as the tasks assigned to each gender.

First, headship is demonstrated in the actual progression of creation.  In Genesis 2:7 God makes man.  He forms him and breathes into him the breath of life.  God proceeds to give Adam rule over the garden and calls him to the program of ruling and subduing the rest of the earth[7].   In 2:15 the author expands on the duty.  Adam was to start this program in the Garden of Eden.  He was to keep it and tend it, while being careful not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.  The Lord then brings to him all the animals to name.  By doing this he shows him that none of the animals would make a suitable helper for this task of ruling and subduing.

It is after Adam has established his authority over all the beasts of the earth through naming them that God creates women, brings her to him, and establishes a complimentary relationship of headship and submission by allowing Adam to name her as he did the animals.  Only this time he is naming not an animal but his suitable helper.  Clearly, this does not show that all facets of the relationship between Adam and the woman were the same as Adam and the animals.  However, the function of headship and rule is similar – though these will manifest themselves differently in marriage.  Secondly, we see order in the diverse roles that man and women are assigned.  The woman was identified as a helper[8] ruling and subduing the earth by being oriented towards the man, while the man was to rule and subdue by being oriented towards the creation (something he had already begun through the naming of the animals).  By maintaining their respective roles, both would accomplish the chief goal of spreading the glory of God over all the earth.  So we have order established by God’s word: man as head, women as helper.  All of this is accomplished by God’s word.  (I realize that this is a controversial assertion in todays feminist leaning society.  Someday I will write a blog explaining how this does not have anything to do with worth or quality of either the female or male gender.  However this blog is not about that.  My goal here is to simply put forth the message of Genesis 1-3.  However, to give you a brief help, we can see that God Himself reflects the idea of headship and submission in the relationship that Jesus shares with the Son, in other words when men and women yield to their roles in a non-abusive way they are like God.”

Summary of Creation

God’s word is powerful.  Through His word chaos was overcome and order was implemented.  Through his word rest was established in the land of paradise where God dwelt with mankind in harmonious relationship.  Through His word God created man and women in a type of relationship that imaged forth His own triune glory.  In the beginning everything was wonderful.  But it was too good to last.  Check back tomorrow to see what I mean.

[2] Bruce Ware Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: Relationships, Roles, and Relevance (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books, 2005), 132

[3] Ware, Father, 133.

[4] Ibid, 135 -136

[5] Genesis 2:25

[6] See verses Genesis 2:22 and 3:8

[7] Genesis 2:8

[8] Genesis 2:18

Fundamentally, Genesis chapters one through three follow a pattern of creation, decreation, and re-creation.  In chapter one we see God overcoming chaos and creating the cosmos by the power of his word.  This first chapter culminates with a divine imperative calling humanity to pursue the same program of bringing order to the whole earth.  Humanity is specially equipped for the task as God’s image bearers.  Implicit in the charge to rule and subdue is that mankind must employ God’s image in such a way that His image/glory accomplishes their task.   Chapter two presents rest as the ultimate goal of God’s creative word.  The author displays this rest both in the paradise called Eden and in the harmonious relationships that Adam and the woman share with each other and with God as he dwells with them in the garden.  Chapter three presents sin as an act of decreation resulting in more decreation.  Mankind, instead of pursuing the program of ruling and subduing the earth by the glory and image of God, now will be ruled by the earth.  However, chapter three also shows us that God recreates by the power of His word.  He promises that He will regain the rest that sin lost, and He will do it through humanity.  This time, Adam believes God’s word and salvation is born in him.  In short, the thesis of this blog series is, God created the world by the power of his word, rebellion against that word (sin) was an act of, and resulted in, decreation, but God recreates by the power of his word.

Creation

Original creation finds its definition in the bringing about of order from either chaos or nothing.  When we look at the cosmos and see order we are beholding the handiwork of God wrought by the power of His word.  Order exists in the celestial bodies, in the atomic structure, in the physiology of animals and humans all because of the mighty word.  But the order God created, originally, went far beyond the physical world.  Originally, God’s word also ordered a rest to which we have been trying to return since being vanquished from it.  Originally, God’s word brought forth a humanity that was marked with His very own image.  It is to this subject of creation – the bringing of order – to which we now turn.

Cause of Creation: God’s word

Genesis opens with a display of raw sovereign power.  There was no cosmic battle, no mustering of strength, and no question as to whether or not God’s purposes would stand.  There was only a word.  God willed to create, and His will was accomplished through the might of His word.  With abject authority His word went out and completed His purpose.  Mathew Henry describes earth as the “immense mass of matter out of which all bodies, even the firmament and visible heavens themselves, were afterwards produced by the power of the Eternal Word[1].”   What did God’s word actually do though?  Was anything overcome?  Henry argues that chaos was overcome.  He notes that the author employs the terms “‘Toho’ and ‘Bohu,’ confusion and emptiness…. It was shapeless, it was useless, it was without inhabitants, without ornaments, the shadow or rough draught of things to come and not the image of things…. There was nothing to be seen but confusion and emptiness[2].”  If we accept Henry’s notion of the state of matter after it was created but before it was formed, we are led to understand that integral to the creative process is a bringing of order. The creative process is a development from chaos and confusion to arrangements, categories, and types of things.  These arrangements, categories, and types can now be clearly seen by the human mind, as science testifies.  But there was once a time when science would have been impossible, a time when chaos ruled.  But the Word overcame the chaos.

Goal of Creation: Rest

Of course, the goal of all that God does is ultimately and supremely His own glory[3].  In a day where this theological jewel is lost on many, this cannot go without being said.  However, for the remainder of this treatment this reality will be assumed allowing us to turn to a goal subservient to that greater one: rest.  The author writes in Genesis 2:1-3: “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.  And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done[4].”  Essential in understanding the goal of creation is understanding what God did after creation: he rested.  When a carpenter finishes a project, in order to understand the purpose of what the carpenter built you must see what he does with it.  He will live in a house.  He will store things in a cupboard.  He will sit on a bench, and so on.  Its function serves to reveal the builder’s intent.  In the same way, we observe the goal of God’s creation in the function that it served for God: rest.

Now it is important to note that when many of us think of rest our ideas are vastly different than God’s.  When we think of rest we think of a Sunday afternoon nap or a Saturday morning cup of coffee while reading the paper.  Additionally, we tend to equate the rest of Genesis 2:1-3 with a particular day of the week.  But what is original rest?  What is biblical rest?  Conspicuously absent in the seventh day narrative is any mention of morning and evening.  Many scholars view this omission as an indication that the seventh day rest was not limited to a twenty-four hour period.  Rather, this rest was ongoing and realized in three ways: God dwelling in His creation, harmony in relationship between God and man, and the paradise called Eden.

Rest as God’s dwelling. First we see God dwelling in His creation.   The language used in 2:19 seems to indicate that the Lord was physically with Adam in the garden bringing the animals to Him.  If the Lord existed as some ethereal spirit in an unknown dimension it seems the author would say something like, “the Lord caused the animals to go to Adam,” or “the Lord sent the animals to Adam,” but that’s not what he says.  Rather, it says the Lord brought the animals to Adam.  So it seems that we have good reason to believe that the physical presence of God was dwelling in the garden with Adam in some way.  We also see a more direct indication of God’s dwelling with man in 3:8 when “they heard the sound of God walking in the garden in the cool of the day.”  Clearly, this is the physical presence of God since His walking creates a noise that both Adam and the woman hear.  We must be careful not to go beyond what the Bible teaches here.  There is great mystery entwined throughout the narrative.  We aren’t told exactly what this means, only that God existed in some way inside His created order.

Rest as harmony between God and man. The second component of rest was harmony in the relationship between God and man.  Not only did God abide in some way in His rest, but He also communed harmoniously with mankind in His rest.  They lived in harmony. Their relationship was full and complete.  There was no conflict.  So harmonious was the relationship between God and man that the Bible notes the blessing that God gave to mankind[5].  We see later in Scripture that God’s blessing is the result of keeping the covenant (God’s people living in God’s place, under his rule) with God.  In other words God achieved with Adam what He attempted to achieve with Noah, Israel, David, now what He has achieved with us through Christ, and what He will achieve more fully when Christ returns.

Rest as a land of paradise. The third part of rest depicted in original creation is the land of paradise called Eden.  The land of Eden will turn out to be an integral part of every covenant that God makes from Eden onward.  The most essential thing about this paradise is already noted above – effectively, that God dwelt there in harmony with mankind.  Though it is also instructive that, not only was God in harmony with mankind, Eden/creation was also in harmony with mankind.  Man was lord of Eden.  We arrive at this conclusion if we allow the curse on the ground[6] to mean the ground was, at one point, obedient to man’s will and only became contrary to man after sin.  Originally, it did what man wanted it to do.  Additionally, we must understand that the term Eden is simply the transliteration of the Hebrew word meaning delight or paradise. Helpful on this topic is Bavnik who says, “This Eden (delight, land of delight) is not identical with paradise but a region in which the garden was planted.  [Once planted] this paradise is then called ‘the garden of Eden.[7]’”  So, according to Bavnik, Eden was a region which, when part of it was planted by God, became paradise for God and man to dwell.  So a synthesis of what we understand is that Eden is the paradise where God dwelt in harmony with man.

To recapitulate, the cause of creation is God’s magnificently powerful word.  The goal of creation was rest.  Rest can be summed up through God dwelling in His paradise with humanity.  Check tomorrow for more on Genesis 1-3.

[2] Ibid

[3] Herman Bavnik, Sin and Salvation in Christ vol 2 of Reformed Dogmatics, ed. John Bolt, Translated by John Vriend.  (Grand Rapids: Baker Academics), 2007. 430

[4] Genesis 2:1-2

[5] Genesis 1:28

[6] Genesis 3:17

[7] Bavnik, Sin and Salvation in Christ vol 2, 527