The Beginning is important. Foundations are crucial for homes, businesses, athletics, academia, and relationships. Anything that holds importance, finds its significance in the beginning. The same is true for Christianity. In the beginning, God created.

Nowadays, when people talk about the beginning of Genesis, they seem to have a sole purpose in proving their scientific thoughts on the beginning of the world. But is that the thrust of meaning the Bible picks up from Genesis 1-3, or do biblical authors focus their attention on different themes? Let’s attempt to listen to what the Bible focuses on from Genesis 1-3 as important, and we may realize it isn’t an edited timeline.

1. God is Creator. The first chapter of Genesis is solely dedicated to the creation of the world out of nothing by God. Many interpret the first chapter differently like whether it is literal or poetic literature or a mixture of both. Thus, many solid Christians who love God differ in opinion on some details, but they all build upon the fact that God is creator. The fact is undeniable in biblical opinion. Everything exists because God created.

2. Man in God’s Image. The end of the first and all the second chapter picks up the focus and crown of God’s creation centering on man. It narrows the creation story of the first chapter from the general creation of all things to the specific creation of those whom it is said God made in His Image, men and women. What is the Image of God? The image of God is much more than a physical idea because our physical bodies do not look like God. The idea of image has to do with representation. We see this idea picked up and focused upon later in Genesis with the idea of sonship. A son represents his father like one made in another’s image is to represent them. Being made in the Image of God gives us a unique relationship with the Creator different than all others.

3. God’s Mission. We see being made in God’s image meant man and woman were given a mission. They were given responsibility. In 1:28 God charges us to be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. God tells Adam and Eve that the entire world is to be inhabited like the Garden of Eden with Godly communities and people everywhere. Adam and Eve had a Great Commission, too, but there mission was to raise Godly offspring to fill the world. They were to also show dominion and right rule over all other parts of creation like the ground and animals. God made the world to fill the world with His glory and Image, and he gave the responsibility to humanity to carry out the mission

4. Sin. Also, in the beginning, everything created was perfect. We see the ground and animals operating in perfect harmony (1:29-30). We see perfect relationships between humans (2:25). Finally, and most importantly, we see humans living in righteousness with God. Adam and Eve enjoyed the ability to communicate with God and the ability to fulfill God’s mission. They were in right relationship with Him.

Adam and Eve’s righteous relationship with God lasted until the day they sinned and sin entered the world. In chapter three, we see Adam and Eve being tempted to put themselves before God. All throughout creation, God had provided for Adam and Eve’s every need in goodness. However, when the serpent questioned God’s goodness, they turned to trust themselves and their knowledge above God’s.

5. Curse. Suddenly, due to Adam and Eve’s sin, their righteous relationship was thrown out the window. When God came looking for them, Adam and Eve first response was to hide and not face God instead of running to submit, communicate, and love Him. Not only did they lose the ability to know God, but sin and trusting themselves came with a curse. From now on, work would be tough and frustrating. Instead of joyously bearing godly children, women would painfully bear sinful offspring. They were kicked out of communion with God as they were sent packing out of Eden. And, worst of all, there was no hope as the end of this world now spirals toward death as God pronounces, “For you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

6. Promise and Hope. The curse of sin brings pain. But, God did not abandon his people and his creation. Rather, God gave a promise and grace that absolutely consumes the rest of Genesis and in fact the rest of the Bible. First, God doesn’t leave Adam and Eve in their shame, but he kills an animal to provide clothes for them in order to cover their shame. Here, we see grace at work because God acts on our behalf. Even more though, in Genesis 3:15, God gives us a promise that a seed will come that will destroy the serpent and the curse. The promise is vague but it is there. Even in the midst of the curse, God gives hope.

Later on throughout Genesis we see the gospel hope in the seed and offspring coming from Adam and Eve to reverse the curse. We see the godly line of Seth, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as they navigate through their lives and God comes down to make a people for himself out of orphans. Throughout Genesis, we see that God’s promise for the offspring has survived by God’s grace.

Genesis’ Foundation Fulfilled

So why are these foundations important for the rest of Scripture? Let’s take a look at themes of Genesis 1-3: God as Creator, man in the Image of God, man’s mission, sin, curse, promise and hope. We see that Jesus is the knowledge and answer for all of these themes. Jesus created the world (Colossians 1:15) Jesus is the perfect Image of God (Colossians 1:15) through Jesus, God’s mission for his glory is made known to all men (John 1:14) In Jesus, sin has been paid for on the cross (2 Corinthians 5:21) Jesus has defeated the curse of sin which is death (1 Corinthians 15:56-58) and Jesus is the promise and hope of the offspring and sonship that Genesis longingly expects (Matthew 1:1, Luke 3:38).

Biblical authors use these themes from Genesis 1-3 to reveal to us the Christ, Jesus. That’s why these themes are essential. To be sure, it is a worthy endeavor to study to better understand the historical background and literary style of Genesis 1-3. However, when it comes to unity in the church and evangelism among those who do not believe, let us desire to stick with what the Bible explains in great detail.

Who was the author of the Bible?  To effectively answer this question, one must first look at the area of communication and its principles.  We must ask these questions, “Who is the communicator?  What is the message?  Who is the receiver?”  In defining these three basic dimensions of the law of communication we will define the communicator as the one behind the text, or the author – the one conveying his/her intentions;[1] the communicated message of the communicator is found inside the text, we will call this the meaning of the text as text; and the receiver as the one who is in front of text.  In applying this rule of communication to the Bible, Graeme Goldsworthy says,

“The first question arises as to who the sender or communicator is.  Is it God, whose word we believe the Bible to be?  Or is it a number of different human beings whom we believe actually wrote or compiled the documents as we have them in the Bible?  If we assume, on the basis of the Bible’s own testimony about itself, that God effectively revealed his word to the human authors, we need to clarify what we understand about those involved in this double-authorship, and the relationship between them.”[2]

[...]

For a more in-depth resource for the defense of why a holy, good, sovereign, and just God would reveal himself to rotten sinners like us then check out the blogBook.  Click on the title below to view in .pdf format.

The Bible as the Word of God eBook

The need for special revelation to restore crooked and wretched sinners back into communion with a holy, perfect, and just God is found only in the Bible.  The Bible tells the story of how a holy, perfect, and just God can forgive such sinners and restore this communion back with a holy, perfect, and just God through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  The whole Bible tells the story of Jesus and the unfolding revelation of God and how it finds ultimate climax and fulfillment in the gospel message.

[...]

In making the argument for the role of faith in believing the Bible as God’s Word, it must be seen alongside the work of the Spirit in someone’s life allowing them to believe the truths of the Bible.  In this section, the argumentative form of Christian presuppositionalism will be unpacked in terms that are more theological than philosophical.  As we have already seen our need for special revelation that would reveal to us who God is and what he created us for, why the Bible is necessary to tell us about Jesus and how he gives us a way for salvation, a brief history of the Bible and the double-Authorship it entails, and why internal evidence is most satisfactory, we will now continue to look at the internal evidence of the Bible and at the role of the Spirit alongside of faith in allowing someone not only to believe in the Bible as the Word of God but allowing them to believe in Jesus as the most important matter.

[...]

What is it that convinces us that the Bible is God’s Word?  Is it evidence or is it faith, or maybe a combination of the two?  What are the evidences that say the Bible is in fact the Word of God?  In this section, we will look at a very brief history of Scripture and the question of Double-authorship, the problem with external evidence – why external justification about the Bible being the Word of God is extremely problematic, and at the sufficient argument of internal evidence – how the Bible claims internally that it is the Word of God.

[...]

If God exists, then how does he reveal himself to his creation?  If there is a God who created the cosmos, then what purpose did he create it for?   These are questions that the prudent thinker takes very seriously.  Let’s begin answering these questions by laying down some ground rules.  First of all, the Bible is not necessary for knowing that God exists.  Even without the Bible, people can know that there is a distinction between Creator and creation.  Wayne Grudem says, “People can obtain a knowledge that God exists, and a knowledge of some of his attributes, simply from the observation of themselves and the world around them.[1]  Psalm 19:1 says, “The heavens are telling the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.”[2]  Grudems says further,

“To look at the sky is to see evidence of the infinite power, wisdom, and even beauty of God; it is to observe a majestic witness to the glory of God… Rains and fruitful seasons, food produced from the earth, and gladness in people’s hearts, all bear witness to the fact that their Creator is a God of mercy, of love, and even of joy.  These evidences of God are all around us in creation to be seen by those who are willing to see them.”[3]

[...]