Articles
The Gospel In... Creation
How could Jesus (and the Gospel) be found in Genesis if He’s not even named until Matthew 1? While we may not see Him on earth until we get to the New Testament that does not at all mean that He was not present since the beginning. In fact, His involvement has been critical since the very beginning!
Jesus the Word — Genesis chapter 1 starts with God, the Creator, bringing everything into being with NOTHING BUT His Word — a powerful fact that John begins His gospel account with. “In the beginning was the Word, and the word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God” (Jn. 1:1-2). Later, in verse 14, John reveals who that “Word” was — Jesus the Christ who manifested Himself in flesh to walk among His creation and save it through His fleshly death and resurrection.
It is Jesus in whom all of creation came into being (Jn. 1:3; Heb. 1:2). Without Him nothing would be (Col. 1:16-17). If He stops, everything stops!
Jesus The Light — It is from this “Word” that light comes from on the first day (Gen. 1:3). And what does John call Jesus (the “Word”) but the “Light of men” (Jn. 1:4-9).
A common objection skeptics make about the creation account is that light starts before the sun comes into existence, “So how do you square that circle?” How could we ever answer such a pressing philosophical quandary? Could it be as simple as John put it? That God is the very source of light literally — both materially (Gen. 1:3; 1 Tim. 6:16; ) and in application (2 Cor. 4:4-6; 1 Jn. 1:5-7)?
Jesus The Husband — On the sixth day of creation God made man in His image (Gen. 1:27-31). As God intended, Adam realizes that he had no helper suitable for him as the animals did. So from his rib God fashions a woman, Eve, to be his beloved mate (Gen. 2:18-22). So in the beginning God instituted marriage.
Even in this institution, even at the beginning of all creation, God was foreshadowing Christ. How?
“For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.” (Genesis 2:24)
God teaches us about the covenant, priority, allegiance, and love the marriage relationship holds here. The Holy Spirit would reveal more about this through Paul as he quotes this verse only to say, “This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church” (Eph. 5:32).
What is the Church but the bride of Christ (Eph. 5:25-27; Rev. 19:7-9; 21:9)! That means Christ is the “head”/husband (cf. Eph. 5; Col. 1:18). And everything that we understand about the marriage relationship is supposed to be applied to Christ and our involvement in His Church.
What’s The Point?
Just in the first two chapters of Genesis -from the very first verse!- Christ saturates the content. How beautiful a message! How amazing that even from Genesis 1:1 we can preach “Christ and Him crucified” in a most natural and accurate way (cf. 1 Cor. 2:2).
How much more could be said through the rest of Genesis; the One to crush the serpent’s head (3:15), the One to fulfill Abraham’s covenant promises (Gen. 12:1-3), the promised Son (Gen. 15:4; cf. Gal. 3-4), the sacrifice of the only begotten Son (Gen. 22; John 3:16), Jacob’s ladder (Gen. 28:10-17; cf. Jn. 1:51), and so much more!
