Summary Overview of Genesis 1:1–2:3

THE FIRST CHAPTER of the Bible, Genesis 1, opens doors to many questions that fill us with curiosity and inevitably lead to controversy. The large number of these questions and issues makes the task of the commentator formidable. So many items demand attention that dealing with them in the detail they deserve can result in the big picture being lost in the flood of details. In the treatment of Genesis 1 that follows, the text has been divided into admittedly fragmented segments (1:1–5; 1:6–13; 1:14–31; 2:1–3) so that some continuity could be maintained from Original Meaning comments through Bridging Contexts to Contemporary Significance. Before we embark on that fragmented path of discovery, it is important briefly to look at the whole of Genesis 1 and get the big picture conveyed by the entire literary unit at all three levels.

Original Meaning

GENESIS 1 IS a simple but majestic account of God’s bringing order to the cosmos. The literary balance between days 1–3 and days 4–6 results in highlighting day 7 as the climactic moment, when God takes up his residence and history begins under his exclusive sovereignty. Disdaining the myth-laden concepts of the ancient world and disregarding any attempt at scientific sophistication either ancient or modern, the text charts a course of theological affirmation that results in a picture of an ordered, purposeful cosmos with God at the helm, masterfully guiding its course. The cosmos functions just as it was designed to function—it was good. People are portrayed as the pinnacle of creation, endowed with dignity as those made in the image of the Creator. They are made in order to serve God, not as slaves but as partners, whom he delegates to do his work in the world. They enjoy his favor (blessing), and he provides what they need (food).

Bridging Contexts

IN THE CONTEXT of Genesis, chapter 1 is intended to show that the world was not always as it is now. The chaos of sin and the struggle to survive were not part of the original picture. God’s initial work dispelled the chaos and brought everything into perfect order and equilibrium. It is important to understand that hope for the future does not depend on the attempt to achieve something that has never been but to restore what has been lost. God’s intent was not to be distant or inaccessible. The corruption of the cosmos that plagues humanity does not testify to his inability to harness chaos or to any inadequacy in his person or power. God demonstrates his grace that instead of resolving the chaos of sin through judgment and destruction, he chose a path of reconciliation and restoration—but that already moves beyond Genesis 1.

Contemporary Significance

FALLEN HUMAN NATURE inevitably adopts a diluted, diminished, and in other ways corrupted concept of deity. Just as the Israelites had difficulty rising above the common view in their world that portrayed gods with needs and whims, so it is also difficult for us to rise above the common views of our world. Our world does not reduce God by distributing his power to other deities. Rather, we reduce God by making him a figurehead. We too often portray him as standing back from a world that runs on its own. We banish him to the hidden corners of our lives while we amble through life, pursuing our own ambitious goals driven by narcissism, hedonism, and materialism and refusing to allow God to bridle our self-sufficiency. We need a revitalized concept of who God is, and Genesis 1 is the appropriate starting place.