The Book of Genesis

Genesis 1

Proposition 1: In creation, God activated a plan (Genesis 1:1).

Interestingly, the word רֵאשִׁית (Heb. rē’šîṯ) from which we get the word beginning has a unique meaning. The term emphatically demonstrates the beginning of an event or activity, not simply the beginning of time. It is as if the Bible is saying, “In the commencement of the thing God was doing, He created the heaven and the earth.”

The Bible student is now intrigued to determine just what is the event coming into creation at the beginning of the biblical narrative.

Ephesians 3:1-12 is the clearest expression of what God had in mind when He created heaven and earth. For a total understanding of the passage, one must read from Ephesians 2:1-3:20. The plan, as it is now revealed, was primarily one thing—Jesus Christ. The plan was to bring Jesus, the Messiah to earth. Yet, one must ask, why should He be brought to earth. The answer is the revealing of the second important point—so Jews and Gentiles can exist as one—making one universal family of God for His glory and the declaration of His wisdom to the unseen world through the community of Christ.

Now, one may say at this point, there are no distinctions between Jew and Gentile. Yet, I would say there is very much a distinction, though not by such titles or names. In principle, the difference between Jew and Gentile exists, because at this point, the people of God are not universal, but rather ethnic or familial. Here, we must recognize, a Jew is simply one who descends from Judah, and one who descends from Judah is expected to be he who follows the teachings of Abraham, the friend of the one true God, Yahweh. Likewise, a Gentile is one who is of another ethic group or family who is not allied or affiliated with Israel’s God, thereby creating a natural separation.

Creation was designed with such separation and distinctions. However, this was not to be the case forever. We have more proof of this in Romans 16:25-27, 1 Corinthians 2:1-9, Ephesians 1:3-14, Colossians 1:14-27, Colossians 2:2-3. The plan of God was His Son, Jesus Christ. John 1:1-18 tells the story of Jesus’s coming very plainly and how intentional His coming was.

Practical applications:

1. I am not an accident.

2. God was thinking of me before anything was created.

3. If my life is not actively engaged in the purpose and plan of God for my life, it is a life wasted.

Proposition 2: The distinction of mankind from all other created things comes from God’s image and likeness (Genesis 1:26).

In creation, mankind is the εἰκών who’s made in the ὁμοίωσις of God. That is, man is the portrait of God in creation, who is made in the resemblance of God. This very important reality separates man from all other living things.

Proposition 3: The role of mankind in the earth is that of a steward not a king (Genesis 1:28-31).

In both the Hebrew and Greek, the dominion and rule of mankind is described as that of a steward and not a king.

The term dominion here is κατακυριεύω, not to be confused with βασιλεία. The root of κατακυριεύω is κυριος, which means lord. In other words, God never told humans to build a kingdom. He told us to build dominion. Meaning, build your mastery and your management of a thing. It means to take charge because of your possession and ownership, and impose your authority. God gave mankind the animals and creation, but it was not to serve as a realm where we’d impose our will. We know this, because Genesis 1:1 shows us God has a will and a plan called the beginning.

ἄρχω means to govern, as one who has a special status. The separation of mankind and all other existing things is the special status they have to rule.

There is a Hebrew term כבשׁ (Heb. kbš) is subdue or make subservient, subordinate, or dependent. According to Yuval Noah Harari in his book Sapiens, mankind was, for most of their existence, the subordinate creatures in creations—prey to other creatures.

Consequently, the earth was given to mankind as that which was to be possessed and benefited from. The earth, therefore, is not a means to live in luxury. Rather, earth is a place to be used for the purpose of fulfilling God’s purpose and in the process enjoying the effort of making earth good.

Consequently, man’s duty should be understood as a steward or priest. The Greek word for “fill” or replenish (KJV) is πληρόω, which simply means to fill with the same qualities and powers. That is, God is saying whatever human is, the earth should be filled with everything humanity was created in. Yet, the Hebrew word מלא (Heb. ml’) means to consecrate or ordain a priest. It is the word used for those who are to devoted or set to carry out a particular task. It is also the same word that is used to define the woman who carries out the full term of carrying a child. All of these different ways in which this term is used in Hebrew describes the very nature of mankind’s duty on earth. Man is simply to carry out the appointed task as one who is a priest or ordained figure in the earth. It is also used to describe what God does when He fills the tabernacle with His glory.

Proposition 4: The earth was meant to be useful not utopias.

The term good is καλός. It means to be in in accordance at a high level w. the purpose of someth. or someone, good, useful.

Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., Bauer, W., & Gingrich, F. W. (2000). In A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament and other early Christian literature (3rd ed., p. 504). University of Chicago Press.