Jesus in Genesis
April 30, 2021
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth…. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. -Genesis 1:1, 3
We cannot say too much about Jesus, and we will never in this life be able to grasp Him in all of His wonder and in all of His glory. But let’s consider Him now in a new light.
Think back, back as far as our imaginations will take us, to the very beginning of creation, and Jesus is there. Jesus didn’t just show up on the planet as a baby in Bethlehem. He who was never created, did the creating.
… All things were created through Him and for Him. -Colossians 1:16
Jesus, who calmed the stormy sea, created those depths and everything in it. It just follows that nature recognized and obeyed His voice.
Jesus, gazing up at the carpet of stars over the Galilean countryside, remembered when He formed those planets and assigned them their place in the galaxy. Maybe He even named them.
And not only did Jesus create all things, but they were created for Him and He sustains it all. His creative power reaches from the micro molecules to the universe expanse; He holds it all together. The universe would be empty without Him. His breath fills our lungs.
Who do you think Adam and Eve fellowshipped with in the Garden of Eden? It was Jesus—pre-incarnate is the word—describing Jesus before Bethlehem. Jesus, the fullness of the Godhead in a body (Colossians 2:9), stepped into His creation.
Take a closer look at the first time we meet “the image of the invisible God.” It’s here. Jesus, walking in the Garden of Eden in the cool of the day, came “looking” for Adam and Eve after they sinned, seeking those who had been lost.
Luke 19:10 tells us that Jesus Himself said His purpose was to “seek and to save that which was lost.” God’s plan for creation had not been upended by Satan’s strategy or by mankind’s sinful choice. Jesus had already planned to redeem this moment and the spiral of sin that followed from then to now.
How? Jesus, Creator and Sustainer of the universe, is also the Lamb of God, slain before the foundation of the world, to redeem the people He created and loves. This is the way He planned it to be even before “in the beginning.”
Go Deeper
Today, make an effort to appreciate the miracle of creation around you. Take a walk or admire a flower or a tree or the sunrise or night sky. Thank Jesus for His handiwork and give Him glory for His creation. Fill your mind with the loveliness of Christ and you will begin to see his reflection in all that is worthy of praise (Philippians 4:8).