Dancing in the Kingdom- Table of Contents
Dancing In the Kingdom – Part 3 – Dancing in the Kingdom– Chapter 19 –The Story of the Kingdom Revisited
Infinite God
[Bible references: Genesis 1:1-2; Isaiah 43:7]
With His image-bearing creatures in mind, God created an entire physical universe in which he could display His glory. This well-planned universe would consist of matter and energy which would have just the right properties, natural laws, to support and sustain His image-bearing creatures[1]. It would be an extravagant universe befitting a prodigal God[2] with overwhelming details that range from vast expanses of space with galaxies of stars and planets, down to quantum particles from which the raw elements that the universe is made of. And all this was created to support physical life forms in which the complexity and intricacy of each cell within each of those life forms is greater than any object yet made by human hands.
The intricacy and complexity of the universe is the work of a God whose very nature is complex and intricate. The first hint we see of this is given in the very first verses, “In the beginning, God created …” (Hebrew: Bereshit bara Elohim …). Elohim is a plural word that could be translated as gods, but the verb, bara, is singular. In the second verse we read about the Spirit of God. Later on, in various locations, scripture reveals on the one hand that “The LORD our God, the LORD is one” but on the other hand we see God revealed as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Somehow, there is one God, but there are there persons. The shorthand way we refer to this complexity is the Trinity, a combination of the prefix Tri (for three) and the root word unity[3].
Temple Dedication
[Bible references: Genesis 1]
In Genesis 1, the phrases, “And God said, “Let there be … and there was … And there was evening and there was morning …” appears six times for each of the first six days. There has much to do in recent years about how long each day was: six 24-hour days, six ages or other options. However, because we tend to think of creation in physical terms, when we look at this passage, we should try to look at it as the people would have understood it around at the time it was given. This would give us a much different understanding. In the ancient near-east cultures of 3500 years ago, creating something meant not to physically create something but rather to assign a purpose to it. Therefore, in the eyes of ancient near east cultures Genesis 1 would appear to look like the dedication of a temple[4] in which God’s joyful, celebrating, worshiping community of image-bearers would dwell.
With that understanding, we now see in Genesis 1:1-2 that the universe had been physically created but it was formless and void because it had not yet been dedicated to its purpose. Then in the rest of Genesis 1, we see God dedicating the earth, which would become his temple; the place where He would dwell with His image-bearing creatures.
The image-bearers
[Bible references: Genesis 1:26-28, 31; Psalm 19:1-4]
This was only intended to be the beginning. God had created living creatures that were intended to thrive and multiply to the point of filling the earth. Moreover, God’s image-bearing creatures were also, as God’s vice-regents, to fill and take care of the earth. Although God has some characteristics that are unique to Himself, the character of these image-bearing creatures is rooted in the very character of God: creative, intelligent, aesthetic, moral, relational, spiritual[5], able to transcend their circumstances, able to love, and the list goes on.
At the end of six days, the dedication was complete: the sun, the moon, the stars; the sky, the sea, the land; the first of the plants and animals in the sea, the sky and land; and the first of his image-bearing creatures; all of these were now dedicated to the purpose for which God had intended them to be. All the details of this universe were designed to reflect the character of the God who created each thing so that His image-bearing creatures would recognize His imprint everywhere they looked, reflecting the glory of the Creator God. Every image-bearer could look around and see this magnificent temple dedicated to the glory of God.
Seventh Day
[Bible references: Genesis 2:1-3, 15; Deuteronomy 12:10; Matthew 11:28]
After those six days, the seventh day is given without a specified and there was evening and there was morning. After those six days, the dedication of God’s temple was complete, and the seventh day would be that never-ending time when God and his image-bearers would now occupy the temple he had made. The creating, the ordering, the dedication was complete. There was a sense in which the house had become a home and was now ready to live in[6]. When the Bible talks about God resting, surely God did not get tired nor need to relax, rather God was now ready to use this space for the purposes he had intended from the beginning. This view is reflected later in Deuteronomy where we see that to rest from creating, or from enemies, or from labor is not to cease work, but to enter the work intended from the beginning. But what is that work intended to be?
In the newly ordered creation, the new center of activity is the garden where God would dwell with his image-bearers. The Garden was designed to provide food, not for God who did not need it, but for his image-bearers. It would be in the place that God would have his image-bearers act as farmer-priests, serving God by taking care of the garden[7].
Although we now have the sense that the entire universe could be considered sacred space, a place where God could dwell, God seems to have created a center for the sacred space, the Garden of Eden. The garden contained food for the image-bearers to eat and was the place where God would meet with them. The garden was also the place where there were two unique trees: The Tree of Life and The Tree of Knowledge.
The Mandate
[Bible references: Genesis 2:15; Revelations 22:5; 1 Corinthians 6:3]
From Genesis 1, we see that God’s image-bearers were to fill the earth and rule it. In Genesis 2, we see that they were also called to act as farmer-priests in maintaining the earth. So, after reproducing and filling the garden, what next? Where is this project heading? What will be the developing role of God’s image-bearer co-regents and priests? How will the glory of God be manifested as these creatures who bear the very imprint of God fill the earth? How will this community of people reflect the very image of the community contained in God – the God of great creativity and power?
Genesis 2 begins with “these are the generations (Hebrew: toledot) of the heavens and the earth when they were created”[8]. We will see that pattern repeated nine more times in Genesis as the image-bearers procreate, creating new generations, and begin to spread across the earth. God’s history is now made manifest in human history. As the generations grow, culture and society develop as communities develop across the world, just as through the natural laws, God is constantly creating new living plants and animals. For “resting” in this home does not mean a cessation of activity but living in this home, using the home what it was designed for. So just as the Creator God continues creating, his co-creating image-bearers continue their creating as well[9].
But what will this future look like? The Bible reveals only a few details. It speaks of heaven and earth, not just heaven and the Garden of Eden being joined together[10]. There will be a city as well as a garden[11]. The image-bearers will be reigning and judging the angels. The worship and glorification of God will be more than just being with Him and singing His praises for He has created us for so much more as we will discuss in “The City and the Garden”.
[1] Ananasthwamy, Anil. “Is the Earth Fine-Tuned for Life?” March 7, 2012 www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/is-the-universe-fine-tuned-for-life/ accessed 2/16/2019
[2] Keller, Timothy. The Prodigal God: Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith Riverhead Books 2008, www.timothykeller.com/books/the-prodigal-god
[3] Perman, Matt. “What Is the Doctrine of the Trinity?”
[4] Walton, John H. The Lost World of Adam and Eve, Proposition 3, Genesis 1 is an Account of Functional Origins, Not Material Origins, InterVarsity Press. 2015 Kindle Edition p. 5
[5] May, Peter. “What is the Image of God?” www.bethinking.org/human-life/what-is-the-image-of-god accessed 2/16/2019
[6] Walton, John H. The Lost World of Adam and Eve, Proposition 4, In Genesis 1, God Orders the Cosmos as Sacred Space InterVarsity Press. 2015 Kindle Edition
[7] Walton, John H. The Lost World of Adam and Eve, Proposition 12, Adam is Assigned as Priest in Sacred Space, with Eve to Help InterVarsity Press. 2015 Kindle Edition
[8] Wolters, Albert M. Creation Regained: Biblical Basics for a Reformational Worldview William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Second Edition 2005
[9] Walton, John H. The Lost World of Adam and Eve. Proposition 7, The Second Creation Account (Gen 2:2-24) Can be Viewed as a Sequel Rather Than as a Recapitulation of Day Six in the First Account (Gen 1:1-2:3) InterVarsity Press. 2015 Kindle Edition
[10] Wright, Nicolas Thomas. Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection and the Mission of the Church. p.110 ePub edition 2008
[11] Honse, Justin. “Pondering Scripture, Eden and the New Jerusalem” June 14 2009 ponderingscripture.wordpress.com/2009/06/14/eden-and-the-new-jerusalem/ accessed 2/16/2019
Dancing In The Kingdom 