The Kingdom of God: Creation

The Kingdom of God is what I believe to be the major unifying theme of Scripture (with covenant theology as the structural backbone). Ultimately any discussion on the Kingdom of God leads us to Christ who is the central figure in the Bible. Because of the second petition of the Lord’s Prayer, I’ve been thinking a lot about the Kingdom of God lately. As always, a good place to start is at the beginning, which brings us to Genesis 1-2 and the Kingdom of God.

If you take a close look at Genesis 1, one of the central points of the passage is the sovereign reign of God. Genesis 1:1 begins with God’s absolute ruling power. God creates the heavens and the earth (or the invisible and the visible respectfully) by the word of His power. As He creates, God utilizes the fiat-fulfillment pattern. God says, “Let it be…” and so it becomes, just as a king of an ancient civilization made a command and it came to pass exactly as he had said. Genesis 1 is saturated with royal language of a Creator King; God says it and it happens.

The structure of Genesis 1 also speaks to the Kingdom of God. These are the first three days of creation:

• Day 1: Light is created.
• Day 2: Sky and water are created
• Day 3: Land and vegetation are created

Days 1-3 are all types of varying realms (or kingdoms).

These are the next three days of creation:

• Day 4: The luminaries are created
• Day 5: The sea creatures and winged-creatures are created
• Day 6: Animals and humans are created

Notice, in days 4-6 you have creatures related to the realms described in days 1-3. It becomes clearer if you take the two triads of days 1-3 and 4-6 and pair them up like this:

• Day 1: Light is created. (Realm)
  Day 4: The luminaries are created (Creature king)
  The luminaries rule the light.

• Day 2: Sky and water are created (Realm)
  Day 5: The sea creatures and winged-creatures are created (Creature king)
  The sea creatures rule the water and the winged-creatures rule the sky.

• Day 3: Land and vegetation are created (Realm)
  Day 6: Animals and humans are created (Creature king)
  Humans and animals rule the land and vegetation.

Adam, the first man, is created to rule over the land. Adam is special, in that, he was created in the Image of God. He was created as a reflection of who God is and what He does. Adam was to rule because God rules His good creation perfectly. God is a king, so Adam too is a king. Adam’s kingship stems from God’s rule.

The best way to describe Days 1-6 is to use the word “creation”. Creation is the totality of the visible and invisible realms spoken into existence. Again, who is creation’s king? Genesis 1-2 proclaims it to be none other than God the Creator. Day 7 is the key.

• Days 1-6: Creation (Realm)
  Day 7: Holy rest (Creator king)
  God rules His very own creation.

On Day 7 God enters into His eternal rest (not because He is tired from the work of creation) but because He will rule creation with goodness from His everlasting throne. Day 7 is unending because there is no morning and evening. The theological purpose of Genesis 1-2 is to present God as the King ruling over His Kingdom of Creation. But what makes Day 7 so special is that it begs something future, something better. Creation was good, even very good, but it wasn’t complete. God’s heavenly, eternal rest is the same rest that is promised to Adam. Adam too is to enter into this same sabbath rest. This sets us up for the next post.

But a final question must be quickly asked: So where is Christ in creation? Paul is clear in Colossians 1:15-17:

15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Christ is the Creator King. The Scriptures begin with the Kingdom of God and this theme that Christ is King will run throughout the remainder of the Bible. I hope to show you that.

For a future post:

When you look closer at Genesis 2, the first major section of redemptive history (creation) is further described: the theocratic Kingdom of God in the Garden of Eden. With every theocratic kingdom, you have at least three things by way of definition (king, people, and land). In the parentheses are those characteristics true of the Garden of Eden:

1. A holy king (God the Creator)
2. A holy people (Adam the Vassal King)
3. A holy land (The Garden of Eden)

To be continued: Adam’s task in the Garden and the promise of eternal rest set before him.