In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. But the earth became waste and emptiness, and darkness was on the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was brooding upon the surface of the waters. And God said, Let there be light; and there was light. (Genesis 1:1-3)
Many Christians consider the record in Genesis 1 and 2 to be merely a story of creation. However, a careful reading of these chapters show that God’s purpose is revealed in this record. Genesis 1 and 2 should impress us with life—the plant life, the animal life, and the human life (1:11-12; 19-24; 26-27)—indicating that God’s intention in creation was centered on life. In fact, God’s work was to set the stage for life to be produced.
John 10:10 says, “I have come that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.” The Lord Jesus’ words here indicate that God’s work for the generation of life takes place not only in the Old Testament for the old creation but also in the New Testament for the new creation. Moreover, the apostle Paul’s speaking in 2 Corinthians 4:6, which says, “The God who said, Out of darkness light shall shine, is the One who shined in our hearts to illuminate the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ,” indicates that our Christian experience of salvation mirrors the process of creation in Genesis for the generation of life. Therefore, we may consider the record of Genesis 1 and 2 in light of the New Testament experience of God’s work to bring forth life.
Genesis 1 and 2 reveal three principal requirements for the producing of life—the Spirit, the word, and light. First, the Spirit came. Genesis 1:2 says that the earth became waste and emptiness, with darkness on the surface of the deep. However, in the midst of this situation of death and darkness, the Spirit of God came to brood upon the surface of the waters (v. 2). The Hebrew word rendered brood in Genesis 1:2 is the same as the word translated hover in Deuteronomy 32:11, which likens God to an eagle hovering over his young for the purpose of producing life. Before we became Christians, we were in a situation of death and darkness; but, at some point in time, the Spirit of God came to brood over us so that that we would receive the Lord as our life.
The second requirement for the producing of life is the word of God. Genesis 1:3 begins with the words, “And God said,” indicating that God spoke. God’s speaking, His word, produces life. The Lord Jesus said in John 6:63 that His words are spirit and life. Hence, when we hear and receive the Lord’s words, we are inwardly filled with spirit and life, and we are strengthened to progress in the Christian life. Today, our enjoyment of and growth in the divine life depend on our prayerfully receiving God’s speaking to us through His Word, the Bible.
The third requirement for the producing of life is the light. God’s Word, the Bible, and light are closely related (Psalms 119:105, 130). God’s Word, taken in the proper way, always brings us into light. Then, when we see our true condition in the light, we are able to confess our sins and shortcomings to the Lord. As a result, we are brought back into the fellowship of life with the Lord, which causes the divine life to increase in us (1 John 1:7, 9).
Hallelujah for the Spirit’s brooding! Hallelujah for the Word! Hallelujah for the light! As these three requirements of life are fulfilled, life is produced in us, and we can progress in our Christian life.
Further Reading:
Witness Lee, The Central Thought of God, Chapter 1 (Print).
Witness Lee, Life-Study of Genesis, Message 3 (Nook, Kindle, iBooks, Print).
Holy Bible Recovery Version, all verses mentioned in this post and their corresponding footnotes (Nook, Kindle, iBooks, Print).
(Most references in the Further Reading can also be viewed on www.ministrybooks.org.)
God’s central thought is to have Christ as His expression through the church. It really would produce a great benefit to understand the entire Bible with this view. From Genesis to Revelation, God’s central thought is made known in each chapter. While the Lord was walking on the road to Emmaus, “beginning from Moses and from all the prophets, He explained to them clearly in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself” (Luke 24:27). Christ can be seen beginning from Moses and throughout all the prophets. This includes the book of Genesis.
In the record of Genesis, Christ can be seen in the account of the restoration and further creation. Life was produced by the Spirit’s brooding, the Word spoken by God, and the light. This corresponds to all that Christ is to us for the producing of life. After He passed through the process of death and resurrection, He became the life giving Spirit. Not only does he give us life once for all but He came to give life abundantly. Christ is also the Word of God as the definition, explanation, and expression of God (Jn. 1:4, 14). In Revelation, His name is the Word of God (Rev. 19:13). Furthermore, Christ is the light. He testified to the Pharisees in chapter eight saying, “I am the Light of the world…” (John 8:12). Thus, the Spirit, the Word, and light refer us to Christ!
As a side note, the church as an organic entity expresses the all-inclusive Christ. God’s central thought includes the church as the Body of Christ, the universal Vine, the Spirit’s child, the lampstand, and ultimately the New Jerusalem. Praise the Lord for the Spirit, the Word, and light, producing life for His corporate expression.
“Hallelujah for the Spirit’s brooding! Hallelujah for the Word! Hallelujah for the light! As these three requirements of life are fulfilled, life is produced in us, and we can progress in our Christian life.”
Oh Lord cause us to be under your Spirits brooding always, Oh Lord bring us into your word daily , Oh Lord shine on us in your word always. work more of your self into our being grant us to grow in your divine Life more and more each day Lord.amen. Lord Jesus Christ we need you oh Lord.amen.
Genesis 1 and 2 should impress us with life. This impression should not only be the lives around us but even more the life of Christ within us. All the outward lives in Genesis 1 are pictures of us. We are plants on God’s farm (1 Cor 3:6-9). We are fish, because the disciples became fishers of men (Matt 4:19). We are birds, likened to eagles (Isa 40:31). We are sheep (John 10). Most of all we are containers for the tree of life.