This week’s “Wednesday Word” is a summary of Dr. Wellum’s fourth session in his series, The Bible’s Big Picture, given on Sunday, October 4, 2009.
This week we began to investigate some ‘big picture’ points beginning with creation. In future weeks we will look at more ‘big picture’ points in regard to the fall, redemption, and new creation. As noted in previous weeks, in biblical thought ‘creation’ sets the standard for all that comes later in Scripture and the storyline of the Bible cannot be understood correctly apart from getting ‘creation’ patterns and structures right. Specifically, we looked at seven ‘big picture’ points from creation.
Creation identifies who the God of the Bible is as the eternal, sovereign, and Triune personal God. In truth, everything we say as Christians is grounded in the Bible’s total presentation of God beginning in the opening verses of Genesis. At the heart of the biblical presentation of God is the one who is a se, i.e., the one who has life from himself in regard to his existence (he is self-sufficient and self-existent); authority (he is the source and standard of knowledge and truth); and morality (he is the source and standard of goodness, justice, and righteousness). Because of who God is, he is worthy of all of our worship, obedience, devotion, and service.
Creation identifies who human beings are as created in the image of God. In a world which has no basis to view human beings as significant and valuable, the Bible presents us as image-bearers of incredible dignity and value. Our role in creation is to be God’s little kings and queens as we bring all under subjection to the glory of God.
Creation establishes the importance of Adam as not only the first man but the head of the entire human race. As we move across the storyline of Scripture, Adam’s role defines who we are and it is set over against the last Adam, our Lord Jesus Christ, who comes as the head of the new creation. In many ways, our entire Bible is structured by our relationship to one of these two heads: either Adam or Christ. This typological pattern of Adam begins in creation.
Creation establishes the importance of God’s rest on the seven day. As we move across Scripture this rest theme is disturbed in the fall, restored somewhat in the OT in terms of salvation tied to the land of Israel and the Sabbath, and ultimately fulfilled in Christ and his salvation work. What we see on the 7th day is a pattern which points forward, in light of the fall, to the full restoration of salvation in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Creation establishes a linear view of history and the eschatological focus of the Bible. As Francis Schaeffer used to say: what is so wonderful about the Bible is that it begins at the beginning and it goes to the end. This is precisely what we discover in the opening verses of Genesis. The eternal God creates space-time history and in light of creation we now see the unfolding of God’s plan, step-by-step, as history unfolds revealing what God has planned from eternity past.
Creation establishes the goodness of creation and thus sets us up for what happens in the fall and what occurs in our salvation in Christ, namely, the restoration of goodness
Creation not only establishes the importance of marriage (Gen 2), but as we read Scripture we discover that that marriage relationship pictures the greater reality of God’s relationship to us, his people.
Here are seven important patterns that are established at creation and in subsequent weeks, we will discover how these themes are worked out in God’s plan, eventually culminating in the coming of our Lord Jesus.