Lesson 7: God – His Creation
Introduction
Greetings, and welcome back to An Introduction To The Christian Faith. We have come now to lesson 7 and here we will be considering Baptist Catechism questions 12 & 13. Both of these questions are about God’s work of creation. Question 12 is a general question about creation. It asks, What is the work of creation? Question 13 is more focused. It asks, How did God create man?
Before getting into the details of these questions and answers, we should remember where we have been and where we are going. In this section of our catechism, we are considering God and what we should believe concerning him (see Baptist Catechism 6). In question 7 we asked, what is God? There we considered God’s nature. In question 8 we confessed that there is only one living and true God. And in question 9 we learned that within the one true God, there are three persons or subsistences – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. These three questions and answers have helped us to think and speak about what and who God is.
With the help of Baptist Catechism 10, we have begun to think about God’s works. When we talk about God’s works we are not asking what or who God is, but what has God done and what is he doing. Of course, these questions are all interrelated, for God will always act according to what and who he is. Question 10 was about God’s decree. Among other things, we learned that God’s decree is his eternal purpose, or we might say, plan. Question 11 asks, How doth God execute His decrees? Answer: God executeth His decrees in the works of creation and providence.
In this lesson, we will consider God’s work of creation. In the next lesson, we will consider God’s works of providence.
Question 12: What is the work of creation?
Answer: The work of creation is God’s making all things of nothing, by the Word of His power, in the space of six days, and all very good.
Let us go now to question 12. It asks, What is the work of creation? Answer: The work of creation is God’s making all things of nothing, by the Word of His power, in the space of six days, and all very good.
There are several important observations to make about this question and answer.
Firstly, notice that the first thing we must say about the works of God is that God created. God issued his decree in eternity and the first thing that he did (as it pertains to his relationship to us) was to create all things seen and unseen.
Secondly, notice that the word “work” is singular. When we come to talk about providence, we will talk about God’s “works” in the plural. But creation is said to be God’s work (singular). Why? Because this is a work that God has finished – it is not ongoing. You might be thinking, well what about all of the creatures that are brought into existence in time – men and women, animals, trees and plants, etc. Well, though God is indeed their source too, they are brought into existence through ordinary and natural means. When we speak of God’s work of creation we are to think of that original and supernatural act of creation that God worked in the beginning.
Thirdly, our catechism says, “The work of creation is God’s making all things…” So, all that exists must be placed into two broad categories. There is the one and only living and true God, and there is his creation. Stated in another way, there is the Creator and there are his creatures. This might seem obvious to you, but many have erred by blurring or disregarding this distinction. Idolatry, for example, is a failure to maintain the Creator/creature distinction. There is God and there is God’s creation. God alone is God. And everything else that exists is God’s creation. We must know this to be true in the mind and we must live according to this truth from the heart. God alone is to be honored as God, and the created things are to be honored, used, and enjoyed appropriately, as created things.
That God created all things is clearly taught in the Scriptures. Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). Here in Genesis 1:1 the word “heavens” refers to the invisible, spiritual realm that God created in the beginning. Though God is not confined to heaven (he is infinite and omnipresent, remember) God is enthroned there. He shows forth his glory there. The elect angels dwell there, behold his glory, and worship him day and night continuously. Now that Christ has risen and ascended, the souls of those who have died with faith in Christ also dwell there. They await the great resurrection on the last day and the new heavens and earth. Genesis 1 will go on to tell us about the creation of the earthly heavens – the heavens where the birds fly and also the heavens where the stars reside – but in Genesis 1:1, heavens refers to that invisible, spiritual realm that God made in the beginning.
Please allow me to present you with three reasons why I take “heavens” in Genesis 1:1 to refer, not to the heavens where the birds fly nor to the heavens where the planets and stars reside (though they are also called by that name in Genesis 1:8 and 14).
Firstly, notice the shift of focus in Genesis 1:2. Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. And then Genesis 1:2 says, “The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters”, etc. What follows is a description of God’s forming and fashioning of the earth into a place suitable for human existence, and this includes the heavens where the birds fly (Genesis 1:8 and 21) and the heavens where the stars reside (Genesis 1:14). So, it seems that the word “earth” in Genesis 1:1 refers, not only to this planet but to God’s visible or physical creation – the universe – whereas “heavens” in Genesis 1:1 refers to the invisible part of God’s creation. And by invisible I do not mean microscopic. No, I mean spiritual.
Secondly, I think it is interesting to note how the Apostle Paul speaks of God’s work of creation in Colossians 1:16. His main point is to say that God created through the Word (and we will come to this in a moment), but pay careful attention to the way he speaks. “For by him [the Word, or the Son] all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him” (Colossians 1:16). The thing that I wish to draw your attention to here is that Paul uses the words “visible and invisible” to explain what is meant by “heaven and earth.”
Thirdly, I take “heavens and earth” in Genesis 1:1 to mean invisible and visible, or spiritual and physical, because the rest of the Bible makes mention of these two realms – the heavenly spiritual realm, and the earthly physical realm – and of their relationship to each other. I cannot walk you through every instance or tease out all of the implications in our time together, but I can make a few observations. One, notice that an intruder comes down and makes his way into the garden to tempt Adam and Eve. That story is told in Genesis 3. This intruder appeared as a serpent. As the story of Scripture unfolds, we learn that this was Lucifer, or Satan, a fallen angel, a spiritual being from the heavenly realm. Two, do not forget that after Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God came down from heaven to accomplish our redemption, he ascended to heaven and opened up the way for his people to enter heaven with him. Three, compare the first two chapters of the Bible with the last two chapters of the Bible. When you do, you will see that a story emerges. In brief, the story is this. Heaven and earth were divided in the beginning. Heaven (or we might say glory) was offered to Adam in the covenant that God made with him. But he fell short of the glory of God when he sinned (Romans 3:23), being tempted by the serpent through his wife, Eve. At this point in the narrative, the big question is, is there any hope for man? Will a way into heaven be opened up? And the answer is, yes. The way into heaven (or we might say, glory) would be opened up by Jesus the Messiah, the eternal Son of God incarnate. The Son came down from heaven to lift his people up to heaven (see John 3:13-15). In other words, the Son became incarnate to bring many sons to glory (see Hebrews 2:10). The last two chapters in the Book of Revelation provide us with a picture of what will happen in the end when Christ returns to judge and to make all things new – heaven and earth will become one. God’s glory, which is shown forth in a special way in heaven now, will fill all the earth.
We could spend a very long time talking about this ever-present theme of heaven and earth in the Scriptures. Surely, it will come up again later in this study. I have presented these things to you now in brief so that you might have these ideas in your mind as we move forward. Genesis 1:1 is incredibly important. Truly, it sets the stage for the story of the Bible that follows. “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). Our catechism is right to say, that “the work of creation is God’s making all things…”, that is to say, all things “in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible…” (Colossians 1:16).
The fourth observation to make about Baptist Catechism 12 is that it says, God made all things of nothing. This is a very important doctrine. You and I can create things, but we cannot create something out of nothing. Only God can.
Genesis 1:1 describes creation out of nothing. “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1), that is to say, the earthly, physical realm and the heavenly, spiritual realm. Hebrews 11:3 is very clear. It says, “By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible” (Hebrews 11:3).
Perhaps you are thinking, but didn’t God create some things by forming and fashioning them out of preexisting material? Most famously, we are told that God made the first man from the dust of the earth and the first woman from the man’s side. But that does not contradict the doctrine of creation out of nothing. In the beginning, there was nothing (except the Triune God) and then there was something? What made the difference? God made the difference through his work of creation.
Fifthly, our catechism describes how God created. He did so “by the Word of His power.” This is what Genesis 1 teaches throughout. There is a phrase that appears again and again in this chapter: “And God said…” Genesis 1:3: “And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.” Genesis 1:6: “And God said, ‘Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters’.” Genesis 1:9: “And God said, ‘Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.’ And it was so.” And on and on we go. Our catechism is correct, “The work of creation is God’s making all things of nothing, by the Word of His power…”
This is a very important observation. It should help to see that creation was the work of the Triune God. As we move on in the Scriptures from our consideration of Genesis 1, things that are hinted at there become more clear. When all is considered, we must confess that it was the Triune God – the one living and true God who eternally subsists in three persons, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – who created the heavens and earth. The Father created through the Son and by the Spirit.
You can see this in Genesis 1. Firstly, you can see it in the phrase, “and God said…” God the Father created through God the Son or Word. Secondly, you can see this in verse 2 where it is said, “And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters” (Genesis 1:2). So, in Genesis 1 we can see the Father, Word, and Holy Spirit. And do not forget the plural pronouns of Genesis 1:26. When it came time for God to create man he said. “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness” (Genesis 1:26). This, I do believe, is an early indication that there is plurality in the one and only living and true God.
What is hinted at in Genesis 1 is explicitly taught elsewhere in the Scriptures. John 1 mirrors Genesis 1. Listen to verses 1-3 of John 1. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:1–3). Here is the Apostle John’s account of the creation. He gives special attention to the Word. Here it again: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:1–3). In verse 14 of John 1 we read, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14, ESV). John’s point is that Jesus Christ is the person of the eternal Word or Son of God – the second person of the triune God – incarnate. Stated differently, the person of the man, Jesus Christ, is the person of the eternal Son of God through whom the Father created the heavens and earth out of nothing in the beginning.
Let me remind you of something I said just a moment ago. Everything that exists must be placed into one of two categories. There is the Creator of all things seen and unseen, and there is the creation. What should we do with Jesus Christ? Which category should we place him in? The answer is, both. Who is Jesus? He is the person of the eternal Son of God, the second person of the Triune God, the one who was with God in the beginning, and is God, the one through whom the heavens and earth were created. When we consider the person of Jesus Christ, we must confess that he is God the Creator. He is infinite, eternal, and unchangeable. He is without beginning or end. But if we consider Jesus Christ from the vantage point of the human nature that he assumed, we must say that he is a creature. Jesus Christ was miraculously conceived in the womb of the Virgin Mary and born of her. He was and is a true man. He has a human body and a human soul, just like ours. He suffered, bled, and died. On the third day he rose again. He has gone where Adam failed to go. He ascended to glory. This he did for us and for our salvation.
We will return to the doctrine of Jesus Christ later in our study. I mention him now as we speak about God’s work of creation because, in the beginning, God made all things of nothing, by the Word of His power. Creation was the work of the Triune God, Father, Word, and Holy Spirit.
There is a point of application to be made here, and I will make it very quickly. The same God who, in the beginning, brought light out of the darkness by his Word and Spirit, is able now to bring light where there is only darkness, and life where there is only death, in order to bring us to faith and to salvation in Jesus Christ. As it was with the original creation, so it is with the new creation. Our new life in the new heavens and earth is brought into existence by the Father, through the Word (or Son), and by the Spirit. This is the connection that the Apostle Paul was making when he wrote, “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6).
The sixth thing to notice about Baptist Catechism 12 is that it says this work of creation was accomplished “in the space of six days…” This is a very important doctrine, one that is filled with meaning.
How long did God take to create the heavens and the earth? Genesis 1 plainly states that God took six days to finish his work of creation. Notice another phrase that repeats in Genesis 1. It appears at the end of each of the days of creation. Genesis 1:5: “And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.” Genesis 1:8: “And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.” Genesis 1:13: “And there was evening and there was morning, the third day”, etc.
Some have observed that the first three days of creation were unusual days given that the sun, moon, and stars, by which you and I mark the passing of time, were not created until the fourth day. Yes, we can admit that there were some unusual things going on during the days of creation – some supernatural things (as if that were not already obvious!) But if I were to ask you, Christian, how long did God take to create and to finish his work of creation, you should say what the Bible says – six days. There were six evenings and mornings. And there is no legitimate reason to think that they were anything other than six, 24-hour days.
Here is the question I think we should be asking. Why did God take six days to create? Did he not have the power to create it all instantaneously? Did he lack the wisdom? Did he grow tired or run out of time? Well, do not forget what we have said about God in Baptist Catechism 7. The answer to these questions must be, no. You and I are limited in power and wisdom . You and I grow tired and run out of time. It is not so with God. Notice, I did not ask, why did it take God six days to create, but rather why did God take six days to create? It should be clear to all that God finished his work of creation like this for a reason. What is the reason? In brief, we must see that God took six days to create to set an example for man to imitate and to communicate something about his purpose for man, made in his image.
This becomes very clear when we read Genesis 2:1-3. After the six days of creation are reported in Genesis 1, Genesis 2:1-3 says, “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation” (Genesis 2:1–3).
Notice a few things about this passage.
Firstly, the God who is infinite in power (Genesis 18:14; Jeremiah 32:27), who needs no rest (Isaiah 40:28), who neither sleeps nor slumbers (Psalm 121:4), is said to have rested on the seventh day. Why would he do this except to set an example, to establish a pattern, and to send a message to man, made in his image?
Secondly, the text says that God rested “from all his work that he had done in creation”. It does not say that God took a nap or ceased from all activity. No, once God finished his work of creation he rested from that work to take up another, namely the enjoyment of his creation and his providential work of upholding and governing the world he made.
Thirdly, that this resting on the seventh day was not for God but for man is made clear by these words: “So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.” By resting on the seventh day God marked it off as a day for rest. The seventh day, from the creation of the world to the resurrection of Christ, was a day for rest. It was especially blessed by the Lord. It was set apart as holy, or special and for religious purposes. For whom was this day blessed? For whom was it made holy? Answer: it was blessed and made holy for the man and woman made in God’s image and for all their descendants.
We will eventually consider the fourth of the Ten Commandments in this study. The fourth commandment is, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8). Baptist Catechism questions 62-67 will help us to understand what this commandment is, what it requires, and what it forbids. In brief, we will learn that when God took six days to create and rested on the seventh, he established a pattern for man to follow. From Adam’s day to the resurrection of Christ from the dead, the Sabbath day, or rest day (Sabbath means rest), was the seventh day. From the resurrection of Christ until his second coming, the Sabbath day is the first day of the week, the day we call Sunday. This day is called the Lord’s Day in Revelation 1:10. Theologians have called it the Christian Sabbath to distinguish it from the Old Sabbath. According to Colossians 2:16, Christians are no longer obligated to observe the old, seventh-day Sabbath along with all of the festivals, new moons, and Sabbaths that were attached to it under the Old Covenant law of Moses. Those things – the seventh-day Sabbath and the festival days of the Old Mosaic Covenant – have been fulfilled in Christ and have passed away. But this practice of Sabbath-keeping does remain for the people of God today (see Hebrews 4:9). Sunday is the Lord’s Day. It is the Sabbath day under the New Covenant, which is the Covenant of Grace.
There is a lot of confusion about the Sabbath amongst Christians today. Three big questions often arise: Is there still a Sabbath day to honor and keep holy under the New Covenant now that Christ has come? If so, which day is it? And if it is not the seventh day (Saturday) why would the day have changed? The answers to these questions are all rooted in God’s work of creation as described in Genesis 1:1-2:3, and that is why we are considering these things now.
Is there still a Sabbath day to honor and keep holy under the New Covenant now that the Christ has come? Yes. Hebrews 4:9 says so. John’s reference to Sunday as Lord’s Day also demands that we see it as a day set apart as distinct from the others (The Lord’s Day is called by that name because it was the day on which Christ rose from the dead). And we know from the New Testament and the early church fathers that the practice of the early church was to assemble for worship, weekly, on Sunday. But as I have said, this ongoing religious practice of honoring one day out of every seven as holy to the Lord is rooted in the creation account of Genesis 1:1-2:3. This pattern of six and one, six and one, six and one, is baked into the created order. Notice, the Sabbath was not first given to the Hebrews in the days of Moses. If it were, we could conclude that it was unique to them under the Old Covenant order. No. Like the institution of marriage, the pattern of six days of work followed by one day of rest was instituted at creation. It was given to Adam and Eve and all of their descendants, therefore. It is for humanity.
Which day is the Sabbath Day? I have already said, that from Adam to the resurrection of Christ it was the seventh day. From the resurrection of Christ to the end of the world, it is the first day.
But why the change? Friends, there is a really good reason for the change and it has everything to do with Christ, the new creation, and the New Covenant.
The seventh-day Sabbath commemorated the original creation. That is what Exodus 20:11 says. After the fourth commandment – the command to keep the Sabbath holy – is stated, we read, “For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy” (Exodus 20:11). But the first day Sabbath commemorates the new creation that Jesus Christ has begun. By his life, death, and resurrection he has secured the new heavens and earth. Paul the Apostle calls Christians a new creation in 2 Corinthians 5:17 and Galatians 6:15. The Sabbath day has changed because a new creation has been earned and ushered in by Christ. It came into being when Christ rose from the dead. And this he did on the first day of the week. The Christian Sabbath is the Lord’s Day. When we assemble on the Lord’s Day, we do not only remember the original creation – the one that was ruined by Adam’s sin – but the beginning of the new creation that has been secured by Jesus Christ the righteous one. Paul refers to him as the second Adam (see 1 Corinthians 15:47) because he is the beginning of a new humanity and a new creation.
The change in the Sabbath day also has to do with the covenants that God has made with man. We will learn more about this in a future lesson. I’ll keep my remarks brief. A covenant was made between God and Adam in the garden. It was a covenant of works. Covenants of works function like this. Rewards are earned by obedience. Works bring rewards. Life was offered to Adam upon condition of perfect and perpetual obedience. Or we could say, that rest was offered to Adam – eternal rest in glory. The seventh-day Sabbath was a picture of this arrangement. Work would lead to rest. Work on days 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, would give way to rest. The seventh-day Sabbath perfectly matched the arrangement made with Adam in the garden in the Covenant of Works.
And I want you to notice that this pattern remained after Adam’s fall into sin. The fact that the practice of seventh-day Sabbath keeping remained after Adam’s fall into sin, and that it was picked up and amplified in the Old Covenant made with Israel in the days of Moses, communicated two things:
One, it functioned as a perpetual reminder that Adam failed to enter into the rest that God had offered to him in the Covenant of Works. Every time the seventh-day Sabbath was observed it was a reminder of Adam’s failure and the fact that no human being had succeeded in entering into the eternal rest that was offered to Adam based on their works or obedience.
Two, the fact that the practice of seventh-day Sabbath keeping remained after Adam’s fall into sin also delivered a message of hope. It suggested that a way would be provided to enter into eternal rest. It suggested that someday, someone would succeed where Adam failed. Some man would work – they would perfectly and perpetually obey God’s law and keep the terms of the covenant that God made with them – and thus enter into rest.
What I am trying to get you to see is that Jesus the Messiah is the one who did this. He is the offspring of Eve who has crushed the head of Satan, the serpent (see Genesis 3:15). He is the son born from Abraham who has blessed the nations (see Genesis 12:1-3). He has secured, not a small sliver of land in Palestine, but a new creation (see Galatians 6:15), a new heavens and earth (see Revelation 21-22). Jesus Christ worked – he obeyed God’s law perfectly and perpetually – he suffered in the place of God’s elect to fulfill the terms of the Covenant of Redemption (see John 17) – and having finished his work on the cross – he was buried and then raised. Afterward, he ascended to heaven where he sat down at the Father’s right hand. Christ has entered into the state of glory. He has entered into rest.
Why has the day changed? It has changed because the work of our redemption is finished. Jesus Christ, the second and greater Adam, has entered into rest having finished his work. And why does the practice of Sabbath-keeping remain for the people of God today? Because we have not yet entered into the fullness of the rest that Christ has earned. Though we rest in Christ now, we long for heaven. More than this, we long for the new heavens and earth – the new creation. Read Hebrews 4 some time. I think you will be able to see that this is what the Bible teaches.
The pattern of six days of work and one day of rest remains, but things have advanced now that the Messiah has finished the work of our redemption. Instead of resting and worshiping on the seventh day, we rest and worship on the first day. And the first day Sabbath fits with the Covenant of Grace that we are now living under. Must Christians living under the Covenant of Grace work? Stated differently, are Christians obligated to obey God’s law? Yes. Jesus himself said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15). But the pattern is different because the terms of the covenant we are living under are different. Under a covenant of works, work will lead to rest. In other words, rest must be earned through obedience. But under the Covenant of Grace, rest is freely given. Those saved by the grace of God alone through faith in Christ alone, do then obey the Lord because they love him and out of a sense of gratitude for all that he has done for them. “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). We do good works not to be forgiven and accepted by God, but because we have been forgiven and accepted by him. Our rest in Christ does give way to obedience and good works. The first-day Sabbath fits the Covenant of Grace.
I know that is a lot to digest. If this is too much for you to take in at this time, that’s fine. You have heard it. I trust that it will stick with you and click someday. The main thing I want you to know is that it is really important for us to believe what the Bible teaches about creation. “The work of creation is God’s making all things of nothing, by the Word of His power, in the space of six days…” This isn’t meaningless Bible trivia. No. God finishing his work of creation in six days and then resting on the seventh was filled with meaning and significance.
The last thing we must say about creation is that when God finished his work, it was “all very good.” Here is another repeated refrain found in Genesis 1: “And God saw that it was good” (see Genesis 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, & 25). After the account of God’s creation of man we read, “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day” (Genesis 1:31). The creation that came from God’s hand was good, good, very good. The was no defect. There was no corruption. There was no sin.
Question 13: How did God create man?
Answer: God created man male and female, after His own image, in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, with dominion over the creatures.
Let us now briefly consider Baptist Catechism 13. The question is, How did God create man? Answer: God created man male and female, after His own image, in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, with dominion over the creatures.
Notice a few things:
Firstly, God created Adam and Eve directly. In Genesis 1:26 we read, “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness… So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:26–27). In Genesis 2 we find another account of God’s work of creation, but from a different vantage point or perspective. The narrative is more up close and personal. In Genesis 2:7 we read, “then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature” (Genesis 2:7). In Genesis 2:8 we read, “And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed” (Genesis 2:8). And in Genesis 2:20 we read, “The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said, ‘This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.’ Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.” (Genesis 2:20–25).
Our catechism is correct to say, “God created man male and female.” So, like with God, within humanity, there is unity and diversity. All who are human are either male or female. These share humanity in common. But they are different as it pertains to sex or gender. Adam was created male. Eve was created female. It was not a choice that they made but a fact of their creation.
Sometimes the Scriptures emphasize the oneness of men and women. Sometimes the Scriptures emphasize their uniqueness. Men and women are different in some important ways, and their differences should be celebrated not demeaned. That women tend to be more sensitive and nurturing is a good thing. That men tend to be physically stronger and less prone to emotional swings is also a good thing. Sin messes all this up, of course. My point is to say that the differences between men and women should be recognized and celebrated. In the Scriptures, we find that men and women are called to play different roles in the home. In brief, husbands are to lovingly lead their wives, and wives are to lovingly submit to their husbands. Please read Ephesians 5:22-33 and 1 Peter 3:1-7 for more on this. And these unique roles in the home are reflected in the church. Men are to hold the offices of Elder and Deacon. Women are not (see 1 Timothy 3:1-13). In no way do these gender roles suggest that women are inferior (see 1 Peter 3:7). They do suggest that God has made us different, and this is a beautiful thing when properly understood and applied.
Secondly, notice that both the man and women are said to have been made in the image of God? We have learned that God is a spirit? So whatever it means for man to be made in the image of God, it does not mean that man looks like God. In fact, the remainder of our catechism helps us to understand what it means for man to be made in the image of God.
Thirdly, man is said to have been made in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness. I think we are to compare this list to the communicable perfections of God listed in Baptist Catechism 7. Remember, “God is a spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth.” Let’s connect a few dots. One, God has perfect wisdom, and he created man with true knowledge. So, God is a rational being, and man is a rational being, made in his image. Two, God is perfectly just, good, and true, and man was created in his image as a righteous being with the capacity and ability to do what is just, good, and true. God is a moral being and man is a moral creature. Three, God is perfectly holy, and man was holy when he was first created by God. God is pure and man was pure as God’s creature.
When we consider that man was made in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness this helps us to see what it means to be made in the image of God. It means we are like God in some ways and that we were created with the ability to know God and to imitate him.
And this brings us to our fourth and final observation. Man was created in God’s image to have dominion over the creatures. This is what Genesis 1:26 reveals. Hear it again, “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth” (Genesis 1:26). So then, the man and woman were created in God’s image so that they would imitate him on earth. God is Lord Most High. And Adam and Eve were to function like lords (under God’s authority) on earth. They were to imitate their Maker. They were to be kind and benevolent rulers. They were to create through the process of procreation. They were to expand the garden and subdue the creatures to expand God’s kingdom on earth.
Do not forget the word kingdom. The Bible is all about God’s kingdom. Adam was supposed to be the king of God’s kingdom – he was supposed to exercise dominion under God’s rule, in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness. As you know, he rebelled. But God has raised up another King – Jesus Christ the Lord – and he has won the victory. He has been given dominion over all things (see Matthew 28:18). He rules and reigns forever in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness. And he has the power to save us and to sanctify us. He restores the image of God in us that was tarnished, tainted, and distorted by sin. He enables us, by his Word and Spirit to know the truth, to do what is right, and be holy before God again. He makes us holy by washing away our sins. And enables us to live holy before God by his sanctifying grace.
The thing that I want you to see is this: Adam and Eve were made in the image of God, but they fell. Human beings are image-bearers still, but the image is fallen, twisted, and tarnished by sin. The reason the eternal Son of God became incarnate was to rescue, redeem, and heal image-bearers. This he has done. Jesus is the second Adam. He is the pure and undefiled image of God. And he is able to save us, restore us, and bring us to God. Our hope is only in him.
Friends, this has been a long lesson. I hope you can see how important Genesis chapters 1 and 2 are. They reveal the truth about God’s work of creation in general and his creation of man in particular.
Question 12: What is the work of creation? Answer: The work of creation is God’s making all things of nothing, by the Word of His power, in the space of six days, and all very good.
Question 13: How did God create man? Answer: God created man male and female, after His own image, in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, with dominion over the creatures.
I think this will have to do for now. Until next time, abide in Christ.
