What is the purpose of Genesis 1?
Some say it is to teach a 6000 year old earth and is a literal account of the creation.
Others say it is a precise commentary on 13.4 billion years and tracks the development of the Earth based on oxygen levels in the atmosphere.
One view is that Genesis 1 and beyond is not to be taken literally but is simply a poem or a story about the origins of the universe.
And, of course, some view Genesis 1 from the covenant creation perspective.
I’m not here to talk about one view of creation or another. To be honest, I’m not settled on one view or the other and don’t have any reason to be at this stage in my life. As a minister in a small congregation, other topics are more pressing. Still, I find myself drifting towards these topics on occasion.
The purpose of Genesis 1 is to say that God created the world, but, more specifically that God ordered the world. Notice the pattern:
Day 1: God creates light. Day 4: God creates the sun, moon, and stars.
Day 2: God creates the sea and the air. Day 5: God creates the fish and birds to inhabit that space.
Day 3: God creates the land and trees. Day 6: God creates animals and man.
The first three days are complimented by the last three days. Everything has its proper place and proper order.
The point is that the world is not random but everything and everyone has their place.
This is an excellent way to talk about the New Creation. The New Creation isn’t about a literal New Heavens and New Earth, but it is a radical new way to reorder the world.
The New Creation is a world in which race, economic status, and gender have no bearing on your relationship with Christ.
The New Creation is a world in which we are to not just love our neighbor (the “us”) but we are to love our enemies (the “them”).
The New Creation is a world in which debates about the location and form of worship go away because we are the temple of God and we constantly bow down before Him and pray without ceasing through our actions.
Hope this helps you in some way. What are other ways that God reorders the world in the New Creation?
It always bothered me, when i was young, reading Gen 1; 14- 17-18 it was to divide, separate the light and darkness ,”I see that all through tohra” dividing, calling out, starting with one man dividing calling out. then from another dividing, seperating, to one intended point! Meshia! The stars and moon In Gen. where for feast days. Later the stars sun moon are clearly Jacobs descendants
, I don’t see that in the translation im reading now, ! -Genesis is a covenant creation, where reality of the physical and the spiritual end or begin, my jury is still out, on this matter, driving me nuts!