Genesis, Message 3: The Experience of Christ as Life Portrayed in Genesis 1

My Great Delight in God's Word

Crystallization-Study of Genesis, Message 3

 The Experience of Christ as Life Portrayed in Genesis 1

The story in Genesis 1, which is about God's creation, has long been debated among both believers and non-believers. It has been used by those who claimed themselves as scientists to attack the creationists, by proposing some unprovable theories against it, including big bang theory and evolution. At the same time, many believers, particularly the so-called Christian apologists, have tried their best to make arguments with the anti-creationists, many of which are quite thought-provoking.
However, I am not trying to make any argument here. I, as a novice biologist, do believe in the inerrancy of the Holy Word, as it clearly is God's revelation. To my knowledge, no any single point in the bible contradicts the proper science. We only need to have correct comprehensive understanding of both the bible and science with an open unbiased heart, which is lacked by most people who have been involved in the arguments.
To spiritually benefit from the study of Genesis 1, we need to know exactly what God intends to teach. It matters very little to us how God created the physical things. The knowledge of this is not quite helpful for our spiritual growth. It may satisfy our intellectual hunger, but not our spiritual hunger. God's intention to reveal Genesis 1 to us is to teach us about the experience of life. It is all about generation and growth of life, not creation of physical things. In the light of this way of interpretation, we will learn a lot about the experience of Christ as life that is beautifully portrayed in Genesis 1.

Three basic instruments for generating life

¹ In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
² The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
³ Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. (Genesis 1:1-3 NKJV)

I used to think that Genesis 1 is all about God's first creation of the heavens, the earth and all things therein. Now I'm convinced by the biblical evidences that it is mainly about God's re-creation.
As we can see that there are 4 negative words in verse 2. The earth was formless, void, dark, and deep. These can never be the characteristics of the things created by our perfect God.

For thus says the LORD, Who created the heavens, Who is God, Who formed the earth and made it, Who has established it, Who did not create it in vain, Who formed it to be inhabited: "I am the LORD, and there is no other." (Isaiah 45:18 NKJV)

Other parts of the bible also suggest that these are the features of God's judgment (Jeremiah 4:23-27; Isaiah 24:1). Therefore there likely is a big gap between verses 1 and 2. There must be something happened between verses 1 and 2. It probably is the divine judgment on the rebellion of Satan, resulting in the destruction of God's original creation. Additionally, the word "hayah," which was translated as "was" (the earth "was" without form) can also be rendered as "became." The perfect creation in verse 1 became a ruin.
Taking all these things into account, the passage from verse 2 onward is obviously about God's second creation of the things on earth. And the highest and most important thing that He created is "life," particularly "human life."
We can see 3 crucial instruments used by God to generate life in Genesis 1:2-3. They consist of the Spirit, the word and the light of God, which represent the reality, the speaking and the shining of God, respectively.
If we link these 3 items to the New Testament, we will see that we can find all the 3 things in Christ. Christ is the life-giving Spirit (1 Corinthians 15:45), the Word (John 1:1), and the light (John 8:12). Christ Himself actually is life (John 11:25). All we need to have life generated in us is Christ. Praise the Lord that we have Him today, thereby being able to experience this wonderful abundant life He has given to us.

Three separations for generating life

Genesis 1 further indicates 3 further separating steps required for life generation, consisting of separation of the light from the darkness, separation of the water above from the water below, and separation of the land from the sea. These separations were accomplished by the light, the word and the Spirit of God, respectively.

1. Separation of light from darkness

4 And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness.
5 God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day. (Genesis 1:4-5 NKJV)

The first step that God works within us to generate life is to separate the light from the darkness. Man has fallen into sin, and has become darkness. Praise the Lord that as soon as we receive Christ as our Saviour, we are turned from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that we may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Christ. (Acts 26:18). Therefore we are no longer living in the darkness, but walking as the children of light.

⁸ For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light
⁹ (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth) (Ephesians 5:8-9 NKJV)

2. Separation of water above from water below

6 Then God said, "Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters."
7 Thus God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so.
8 And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day. (Genesis 1:6-8 NKJV)

Next, He separated the water above and the water below with the firmament. The waters represent the heavenly things and the earthly things, respectively.
The earthly things are not necessarily bad things. But doing good things is not good enough. We need to be assured that the things we do are spiritual things originated from the Holy Spirit in our spirit, not natural or earthly things originated from our soul or self. We need the power of His holy word to discern between the two, as the word of God is the two-edged sword capable of dividing between the spirit and the soul.

For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12 NKJV)

3. Separation of land from sea

⁹ Then God said, "Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear"; and it was so.
¹⁰ And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good.
¹¹ Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth"; and it was so.
¹² And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
¹³ So the evening and the morning were the third day. (Genesis 1:9-13 NKJV)

The sea in the bible generally represents death. The new heavens and new earth will have no sea. And here we can see that life started to be generated since the appearance of the dry land.
Interestingly, the dry land appeared on the third day, just as our Lord Jesus resurrected on the third day. This teaches us that our regenerated life results from Christ's resurrection, when He became the life-giving Spirit. Our natural life was crucified with Him on the cross, and on the third day, we also resurrected with Him, having His life as ours. This is the truth that we need to know and reckon in order to live a healthy Christian life.

Appearing of light bearers for generating life

¹⁶ Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also.
¹⁷ God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth,
¹⁸ and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.
¹⁹ So the evening and the morning were the fourth day. (Genesis 1:16-19 NKJV)

Malachi 4:2 says that Christ is the sun of righteousness. He is the source of true light in this world. And the Church, represented by the moon, is to reflect the light in this dark world. The church stands out when the world declines, as we can see today. We are to shine to this world, leading it to the only source of light, our Lord Jesus Christ.
Sadly, the Church in general seems to decline and fails to shine nowadays. In this kind of situation, God needs to use something else to shine His light. Therefore He raises up the shining stars, which represent the overcomers. Would you like God to transform you to be a shining star that brightly shines in this dark age for Him today?

Illustrations of different levels of life

²⁰ Then God said, "Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens."
²¹ So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. (Genesis 1:20-21 NKJV)
Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind"; and it was so. (Genesis 1:24 NKJV)
Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." (Genesis 1:26 NKJV)

God created fish in the seas and birds in the sky on the fifth day, and the living creatures on the earth on the sixth day. He eventually created man, which is the highest created life. Of course, we are not talking about evolution here. So what do these created things teach us about life? 
Among these living things, the fish in the seas seems to be the lowest form of life. But there is some amazing truth about it. It can live in salt water without becoming salty. It can survive because of its special gill that can take in water and eliminate salt. Given that the sea represents this dark dying world, we are to be like the fish. We are to live in this world, without being conformed to this world. We are to survive without becoming dead like the world. This is the life that is generated in us. But this is not enough.
The birds are a higher form of life. It can soar over the seas. Like them, we need to grow in life to the extent that we transcend the world. Not only are we to survive in this world, we have to overcome it. When we face any temptation or trouble, we will gain strength from God and be able to soar above it with absolute victory. Praise the Lord for this higher form of life that demonstrates the higher grown life to us. Yet this is not enough.

But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:31 NKJV)

The beasts and cattle are considered the higher forms of life, because they have more consciousness. They can do something that fish and birds cannot. They are used by man to accomplish some works. For example, the cattle can be used to plough the land, even though it is now not common anymore. As we are more grown in life, we will be more useful to God. We will be equipped and used by Him to carry out His marvelous plan on this earth. But this is still not enough.
He eventually created man. He did not create him in any other animal's kind. He created man in His own kind. He created him in His own image, according to His likeness. And man has something that all other animals do not. Man has God's image and likeness, as well as authority over all the creation. We can express Him and exercise His dominion over His creation to accomplish His economy on earth. We will discuss more about this in the next chapter.

Lord Jesus, thank You very much for your revelation about life in Genesis 1. We are so thankful that in You, we can find everything we need to have life generated in us, as You are the life-giving Spirit, the Word, and the light. May You transform us to be the overcomers who brightly shine in this dark world. By abiding in You, may we grow in life, so that not only will we survive in this dark world without being conformed to it, but we will also soar over all the problems, do the services for You, and express You.

Further reading

• The Holy Word for Morning Revival: Crystallization-Study of Genesis, week 3.

Thirayost Nimmanon (Tony)