Genesis 1:1-25
This passage says much about God and his relationship to humans. Genesis stresses that the created world is a gift in which human beings have particular responsibilities indicated by being made in the image of God to exercise dominion. The latter is to help elements of creation live together in the mutuality and solidarity of Genesis 1. We are to do in our little spheres of influence what God does in the cosmic sphere
There are two life forces or agencies of creation
- The Spirit of God moving over the face of the water. The Hebrew word ruah is also translated ‘breath’.
- the Word of God. “God said ‘Let there be light’”; and the pattern continues: “God said…and it was so”. Like the Spirit the Word is also a recurring theme in Scripture, leading to in the Word made flesh in Jesus Christ.
God here exercises divine power through peaceful means. God creates by the word.
In chapter 1, God accomplishes all his work by speaking. “God said…” and everything happened. This lets us know that God’s power is more than sufficient to create and maintain the creation
To be sure, this text emphasizes God’s singular power, even omnipotence in creation. Yet the means is peaceful compared with many people in antiquity who believed the world came into existence through violent combat among the gods. The latter meant that violence was built into the order of creation. Creation by the word suggests that the means of bringing something into existence should be consistent with the end. According to Genesis, violence is not inherent in creation but results from the misuse of creation.
The first three of God’s creative acts separate the formless chaos into realms of heavens (or sky), water, and land. On day one, God creates light and separates it from darkness, forming day and night (Gen. 1:3-5) On day two, he separates the waters and creates the sky (Gen.1:6-8) On the first part of day three, he separates dry land from the sea (Gen. 1:9-10) All are essential to the survival of what follows. Next, God begins filling the realms he has created. On the remainder of day three, he creates plant life (Gen 1:11-13) On day four he creates the sun, moon, and stars Gen 1:14-19) in the sky. The terms “greater light” and “lesser light” are used rather than the names “sun” and “moon,” thus discouraging the worship of these created objects and reminding us that we are still in danger of worshiping the creation instead of the Creator. The lights are beautiful in themselves and also essential for plant life, with its need for sunshine, nighttime, and seasons. On day five, God fills the water and sky with fish and birds that could not have survived without the plant life created earlier (Gen. 1:20-23) Finally, on day six, he creates the animals (Gen. 1:24-25) and—the apex of creation—humanity to populate the land (Gen. 1:26-31)
The central character in the Genesis 1 story is Earth and Sky Earth is an unformed mass, waiting deep in primal waters, with the spirit hovering above! Earth has not yet assumed its final shape and has not yet been filled with life Later in verse 9 it is clear that Earth emerges from beneath these waters. The character called Earth is waiting below, a character yet to be developed by God. God speaks to these waters and summons them to separate. The image of Earth emerging from the waters recalls a birth.
More significant, perhaps, is the word ‘appear’. It is a remarkable that this expression should be used here. The Hebrew term employed is normally used of God’s appearing, what we call a theophany! So the birth of Earth is a revelation, like the appearance of God. Earth is indeed something special, a valued part of the cosmos.
After Earth appears, God calls on Earth to be a co-creator. He summons Earth to bring forth vegetation. God does not say, ‘Let there be plants and trees and flowers’. God works with Earth as a mediator from whom all plant life appears. Earth is the physical source of life.
Psalm 84
This psalm praises God as the longed-for goal of the pilgrim. The “dwelling” of God is the Temple (and perhaps also the land of Israel). To live in the Temple is greatly to be desired: those who live there have security and happiness, even the birds (v. 3) who nest in the Temple area. Making a pilgrimage to the Temple offers these hopes. When the pilgrims pass through the arid “valley of Baca” (v. 6) en route to the Temple, it becomes fertile. They become more and more godly (“strength to strength”, v. 7) as they travel, increasing in their knowledge of God. V. 9 is a prayer for the king. (The word translated “anointed” is messiah; later it was taken as referring to the ideal future king who would restore the nation.) Perhaps v. 10 contrasts the fate of the godly and the wicked. God is both “sun and shield” (v. 11): he illuminates and protects, and bestows of blessings.
Revelation 22:1-5
Having seen the holy city, John is now shown the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city (vv. 1-2).
The vision plays on two biblical themes, “the tree of life” in the Garden of Eden (Gen 2:9), to which Adam and Eve were denied access after the Fall (Gen 3:24), and Ezekiel’s vision of water flowing down from the restored temple in Jerusalem all the way to the Dead Sea (Ezek 47:1-12).
John’s Tree of Life is a garden Instead of “all kinds” of fruit trees, he is shown one kind of tree, the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, presumably for the city’s inhabitants
As in Ezekiel, the leaves are for healing, but in John’s vision specifically for the healing of the nations (v. 2). The tree of life is the reason why the bruised and battered Gentile nations will walk in the light of the holy city, “and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it” (21:24). Whether or not they “eat from the tree of life” (2:7), they clearly have some kind of a share in its benefits (see 22:14, 19). In their own way they too are redeemed.
The remainder of John’s interpretation (vv. 3-5) mainly reinforces what was said earlier. No longer will there be any curse in the city, and no more night
God and the Lamb are the city’s “temple,” or “sanctuary” and now the temple is understood as a throne in the new Jerusalem, just as it was in heaven
His mention of the throne-as-temple affords John the opportunity to reflect briefly on the relationship between God and the people of God: and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads (vv. 3-4; compare 7:15
This is new.. For the first time in the entire book, John holds out the possibility of seeing the face of God. Strictly speaking, this was contrary to Jewish belief. It reflected living in God’s prsence
John 1:1-5.
John’s creation story from the beginning of the Gospel is called the prologue. John’s prologue speaks the eternal truths of Jesus. The first chapter of John’s Gospel connects Christ with creation in a most spectacular way.
In the beginning was the Word or Christ, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. The Word was always with God even before creation began. Jesus is eternal and uncreated, existing before the world began All of creation, including planet Earth, is the result of the impulse of the Word from God
Jesus is the source of truth and understanding of God’s will. All of creation, including planet Earth, is the result of the impulse of the Word from God. The Word is the supreme creative force through Whom all things were made. Jesus is the source of life by which men have a relationship with God and hope of eternal life. The Word is also divine wisdom, the principle of reason that gives order to the universe
In verse 4 John introduces two main themes: life and light. Darkness cannot overpower or extinguish the light of Jesus. We are called to be children of light. Jesus came to give light – spiritual illumination and vitality – to every person in the world.