Verse four is important to understanding what is going on in
Genesis 2. If we miss that verse we come
to a false conclusion, that for some reason God is giving us a second account
of creation that differs from and is more detailed than Genesis 1. Verse four tells us that the story that
follows is the story of what happened to creation. The formula, “These are the generations of…”
occurs several times in Genesis after we are told about whatever comes after
that phrase. In order to tell that story
requires additional detail be given. We
need to know here for example that we are not created ex nihilo, out of
nothing, God took some of the stuff that He had already created and made us
but, we alone of all creation received from Him the breath of life. We also need to know about the two trees in
the center of the garden, the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of
good and evil. We were created to work
and keep God’s garden, we always were to be productive. We were given limitations on what we could do
and what we could eat. There was only
one prohibition, eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. We are told why womankind was created, it was
not good for man to be alone. Adam had
to agree with God on that important point so the animals were brought before
him and then he saw the situation. He
knew good by experience and saw his own situation as “not good.” Good then was
restored in the creation of the woman and Adam rejoiced, the first
worship. They were naked and unashamed,
innocent.
John finds an extraordinary concept to explain Jesus’
pre-existence, the Word. The Word of God
is truly inseparable from God Himself, and the Word is powerful in that it was
through speech, the Word spoken, that all things came into being. Jesus is the creative force in the universe
proceeding from God the Father and bringing first light to the world. In Jesus, John says, the true light came into
the world and yet we, those who are created in the image of God, did not
recognize Him, did not receive Him, and did not either want or appreciate the
light because we preferred darkness, the original state of the world before
light overcame it. We preferred to
continue hiding from God in the mistaken belief that this was possible. Darkness, however, has never overcome the
light and He bids us come to His light in order that we might become more than
creatures, to become children of God by believing in Jesus. We can return to the original state of
innocence in the midst of a fallen world.
We may have been created in God’s image but only of Jesus
can it be said, “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint
of his nature.” The exact imprint of His
nature means that whatever God is, Jesus is, without fault. Recall that when Moses met with God in the
tent of meeting he would emerge with a “shining face” and that he would put a
veil over his face that the people not see that this glory, the reflection of
God, was fading as he spent time apart from God. Jesus had perfect and constant communion with
God the Father and the radiance wasn’t a reflection of God’s glory, it came
from within Him, He shared in that glory, think of the Transfiguration for
instance when it was fully revealed. He
bids us come that we might be restored to the glory He intended for mankind,
that we might be truly human as He intended us to be. We receive more than the breath of life, we
receive the Spirit of the One who is life, He is the true tree of life and we
are invited to partake of that tree, the prohibition has been rescinded.
Rise up, O men of God!
The kingdom tarries long.
Bring in the day of brotherhood
And end the night of wrong.
The kingdom tarries long.
Bring in the day of brotherhood
And end the night of wrong.
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