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- Herausgeber: IVP Academic
- Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
- Serie: Essential Studies in Biblical Theology
- Sprache: Englisch
Biblical Foundations Award Finalist What does it mean to be created in God's image? How has the fall affected this image? Who are the people of God? Addressing these core questions about spiritual identity, From Adam and Israel to the Church examines the nature of the people of God from Genesis to Revelation through the lens of being created and formed in God's image. Benjamin Gladd argues that living out God's image means serving as prophets, priests, and kings, and he explains how God's people function in these roles throughout Scripture—from Adam and Eve to the nation of Israel, from Jesus to the church. The consistent call of the people of God is to serve as God's image-bearers in the world. This first volume in Essential Studies in Biblical Theology lays a foundation for subsequent volumes, introducing key biblical-theological themes such as temple, king, priest, prophet, creation, and redemption. About the Series Essential Studies in Biblical Theology (ESBT), edited by Benjamin L. Gladd and L. Michael Morales, explore the central or essential themes of the Bible's grand storyline. Taking cues from Genesis 1–3, authors trace the presence of these themes throughout the entire sweep of redemptive history. Written for students, church leaders, and laypeople, the ESBT offers an accessible yet rich introduction to biblical theology.
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FROM ADAM AND ISRAEL TO THE CHURCH
A Biblical Theology of the People of God
To Nikki, Judah, and Simon
Contents
SERIES PREFACE
THE ESSENTIAL STUDIES IN BIBLICAL THEOLOGY is patterned after the highly esteemed series New Studies in Biblical Theology, edited by D. A. Carson. Like the NSBT, this series is devoted to unpacking the various strands of biblical theology. The field of biblical theology has grown exponentially in recent years, showing no sign of abating. At the heart of biblical theology is the unfolding nature of God’s plan of redemption as set forth in the Bible.
With an influx of so many books on biblical theology, why generate yet another series? A few reasons. The ESBT is dedicated to the fundamental or “essential” broad themes of the grand story line of the Bible. Stated succinctly, the goal of the ESBT is to explore the central biblical-theological themes of the Bible. Several existing series on biblical theology are generally open-ended, whereas the ESBT will be limited to ten or so volumes. By restricting the entire series, the scope of the project is established from the beginning. The ESBT project functions as a whole in that each theme is intentional, and each volume stands not solely on its own merits. The individual volumes interlock with one another and, taken together, form a complete and cohesive unit.
Another unique dimension of the series is a robust emphasis on biblical theology, spanning the entire sweep of the history of redemption. Each volume traces a particular theme throughout the Bible, from Genesis 1–3 to Revelation 21–22, and is organically connected to the person of Christ and to the New Testament church. To avoid a “flat” biblical theology, these projects are mindful of how the New Testament develops their topic in fresh or unexpected ways. For example, the New Testament sheds new light on the nature of “kingdom” and “messiah.” Though these twin themes are rooted and explored in the Old Testament, both flow through the person of Christ in unique ways. Biblical theology should include how Old Testament themes are held in continuity and discontinuity with the New Testament.
The audience of the series includes beginning students of theology, church leaders, and laypeople. The ESBT is intended to be an accessible introduction to core biblical-theological themes of the Bible. This series is not designed to overturn every biblical-theological rock and investigate the finer details of Scripture. Each volume is intentionally brief, serving as a primer of sorts that introduces the reader to a particular theme. These works also attempt to apply their respective biblical-theological themes to Christian living, ministry, and worldview. Good biblical theology warms the heart and motivates us to grow in our knowledge and adoration of the triune God.
Benjamin L. Gladd
AUTHOR’S PREFACE
THIS PROJECT REPRESENTS my own theological journey. Having grown up in a conservative, dispensationalist home and having graduated from The Master’s College, I was taught that Israel and the church were two different people groups. Two separate entities with two separate destinies. The church was now living in something of an unexpected parenthesis in the broad story line of the Bible. Predictably, I grew to envy the nation of Israel, as I wanted to inherit all of God’s promises and fully participate in his program. I didn’t want to be a second-class citizen in the people of God.
I went on to study Bible and theology in graduate school, where I learned about “biblical theology” and how the two Testaments properly relate to one another. Israel and the church were not separate but were unified in the person of Christ. Jesus of Nazareth is the true Israel of God, who reconstituted the people of God in himself. So, the church, composed of believing Jews and Gentiles, is the restored people of God, true Israel, because of their identification with him.
A tectonic shift had taken place in how I read the Bible, and one of the things that shaped my understanding was examining the use of the Old Testament in the New. The apostles quote the Old Testament approximately three hundred times and allude to the Old Testament well over a thousand times. So, when the apostles instruct their congregations, do they plead with them to read the Old Testament as observers or as participants? I believe it’s the latter.
This project is, therefore, the fruit of my personal struggle with Israel and the church. Moreover, I’ve written this book for my students and friends who also are coming to grips with their own identity in Christ. The more I read the New Testament, the more I realize how fundamental this principle was for the early church. The apostles never grew tired of reminding their congregations of working out their identity as the restored people of God and the true Israel.
I’m thankful for my wife, Nikki, and my kids, Judah and Simon, who encourage me beyond measure. My understanding of identity has been sharpened through them. I’m also thankful for my church, Highlands Presbyterian, in Madison, Mississippi, which has given me ample opportunities to teach on this subject. Our friends there warm our hearts toward Christ. I’m thankful for InterVarsity Press for accepting this project. Dan Reid, though now retired, was incredibly encouraging in the initial stages of this project and the ESBT series as a whole. I’m also grateful for Anna Gissing at InterVarsity and her invaluable input. Finally, I’m indebted to Michael Morales and Guy Waters for reading portions of this manuscript and giving me helpful feedback.
Above all, I’m thankful to God, who gave me the desire to pen this project and the energy to complete it. May all glory and honor be his.
To keep the project accessible, my default translation and chapter outlines rely on the New International Version (2011). I often italicize words or phrases within the English translation to demonstrate emphasis or mark parallel wording with the Old Testament. Most of the time these parallels indicate that a New Testament passage is alluding to or quoting the Old Testament.
Benjamin L. Gladd
ABBREVIATIONS
AOAT
Alter Orient und Altes Testament
AUSS
Andrews University Seminary Studies
BDAG
Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. Frederick W. Danker, Walter Bauer, William F. Arndt, and F. Wilbur Gingrich. 3rd ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000 (Bauer-Danker-Arndt-Gingrich)
BECNT
Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament
BZNW
Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft
CBQ
Catholic Biblical Quarterly
COS
The Context of Scripture. Edited by William W. Hallo. 3 vols. Leiden: Brill, 1997–2002
IBC
Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching
JETS
Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
JSOTSup
Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplement Series
JTISup
Journal for Theological Interpretation, Supplements
NICNT
New International Commentary on the New Testament
NICOT
New International Commentary on the Old Testament
NovTSup
Supplements to Novum Testamentum
NSBT
New Studies in Biblical Theology
PNTC
Pillar New Testament Commentary
TJ
Trinity Journal
VTSup
Supplements to Vetus Testamentum
WBC
Word Biblical Commentary
WCF
Westminster Confession of Faith
WUNT
Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament
ZAW
Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft
ZECNT
Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament
INTRODUCTION
SEVERAL YEARS AGO, I was teaching the Old Testament in a weekly Bible study to a group of college students. A handful of these students were dispensational; that is, they viewed Israel and the church as two separate people groups. At the end of the Bible study, a student came up to me and posed a perceptive question: “If the church and Israel are distinct, then how do I read the Old Testament?” I still remember my answer: “As an observer,” I said. But is this how we should read the Old Testament? Is this how Jesus and the apostles read the Scriptures of Israel? As observers? I don’t think so. The apostles passionately argued that the church stands in continuity with the people of God in the Old Testament—from Adam to Israel. As such, the church is called to rule over the created order, mediate God’s glory to the nations, and embody God’s law in every aspect of life.
This volume operates within what theologians call covenant theology. That is, the broad framework of the Bible is organized in accordance with various covenants—the covenant of redemption, covenant of works, and covenant of grace. One cardinal aspect of covenant theology is that the one people of God spans the history of redemption. From Genesis 1–2 to Revelation 21–22, there remains one covenant community. Covenant theology is distinct from dispensational theology. Dispensationalism, a somewhat modern framework, argues that the Bible is organized by distinct dispensations, or strict epochs. At the heart of dispensationalism is the separation between the church and ethnic Israel, that these are distinct people groups and that each functions within its own dispensation.
I intentionally refrain from mapping out all the various strands and permutations of the biblical covenants and how they relate to God and his people within current debates of systematic theology. Contemporary covenant theologians debate the nuances of how the covenants relate to one another in the larger program of the Bible, and there is no need to review such well-trodden ground. What follows, then, is a biblical theology of God’s people from the ground up, not top down.
Much of my understanding of the people of God as possessing the divine image stems from G. K. Beale’s book The Temple and the Church’s Mission.1 Many years ago, that book was seminal to my understanding of the nature of the divine image. So I’m indebted to that volume on a conceptual level. One of Beale’s key points is that images are tethered to God’s glory in the temple and the larger program of the Bible. In what follows, I will endeavor to sharpen some of these rich insights. Scholars have already written mountain of books on the divine image, and this project makes little attempt to interact with all the literature.
The Bible is filled with wonderful material concerning the divine image and the people of God, but I’ve restricted my interaction to some of the more prominent passages. In keeping with the goal of the ESBT series, I’ve skimmed the redemptive-historical cream off the top. I’m only presenting a few of the highlights, so I’ve tried to resist becoming ensnared in fine exegetical details and engaging scholars at every step. What follows is my attempt to produce an accessible, biblical theology on the people of God and the divine image.
THE NEED FOR THIS STUDY
We all struggle mightily with our identity. Regardless of our age, we long to be part of a group. We want the rights and privileges of a few. We want significance and acceptance. Yet we also want individuality. We want to be treasured for who we are. These age-old pursuits transcend time and culture. These needs are endemic to who we are as humans. The Bible has an incredibly high view of the person, perhaps higher than most Christians realize. In recent years, a movement has been afoot to recognize our dignity and worth. This is especially true in light of the Harvey Weinstein scandal that has swept through Hollywood and taken other industries by storm. Our culture longs to be valued.
The Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, teaches us that humanity is imbued with astonishing qualities. Humanity is the crown of creation. Since we are made in the divine image, we have incredible significance and meaning. The fall certainly perverted how we think and act, but it did not lessen our worth. My prayer is that this project would remind us of our value, who we are in Christ, and what the new creation holds in store for us.
Another reason why I wrote this brief project is to give God’s people confidence that they are part of the restored people of God—true Israel. This may seem like only an academic inquiry, but such is not the case.
In 2 Corinthians 6:16-18, for example, the apostle Paul has in mind a number of prominent Old Testament passages as he warns the Gentile Christians:
What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols?
For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said:
“I will live with them
and walk among them,
and I will be their God,
and they will be my people.”
Therefore,
“Come out from them
and be separate, says the Lord.
Touch no unclean thing,
and I will receive you.”
And,
“I will be a Father to you,
and you will be my sons and daughters,
says the Lord Almighty.”
Paul audaciously quotes and alludes to a host of Old Testament texts here—Leviticus 26, Ezekiel 37, Isaiah 52, Ezekiel 20, and 2 Samuel 7, to name a few. What’s remarkable is that many of these Old Testament texts refer to Israel. Indeed, the passage from 2 Samuel 7 is a reference to King David! Why would Paul cite texts that appear to be confined to Israel (and David) and apply them to a group of Gentiles at Corinth? His words in the next verse (2 Corinthians 7:1) are even more pointed when he claims that “we have these promises.” The Corinthian congregation, a church filled primarily with Gentile Christians, is aligned with Israel, so much so that Paul includes the Corinthians in the lineage of Israel when he tells them the first generation of Israelites are “our ancestors” (1 Corinthians 10:1). Though the Corinthians are not ethnically part of Israel, they enjoy complete identification with Israel through their position in Christ, the embodiment of true Israel. The Corinthians must embrace their identity as true Israel and the true temple of God by not morally compromising. Christian living flows naturally from our identification as Israel.
THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY
The purpose of this book is not to engage with or critique dispensationalism at every turn. Plenty of books do just that. My project is not polemical. My main concern in this project is to examine the nature of the people of God from Genesis to Revelation through the lens of being in God’s “image.” I will attempt to walk us through the Bible’s teaching on what it means to be part of God’s family. Typically, projects that study the people of God throughout the Bible do so in light of the biblical covenants, whereas my goal here is to sketch the nature of the covenant community in possessing the divine image. God uses the covenants in preserving and restoring his image in humanity.
A secondary purpose in writing this project is to lay the foundation for several of the volumes in the Essential Studies in Biblical Theology (ESBT). This series, as described in the series preface, outlines the major themes of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. My project will explore issues that are taken up and developed in several of the individual ESBT volumes, such as temple, king, priest, prophet, creation, and redemption. I will endeavor to show how these salient themes are organically related to one another.
Chapter One
THE CREATION OF ADAM
IT WAS WEDNESDAY, December 2, 2009, and I was teaching Greek 101 to a group of undergrad students at Wheaton College. My phone rang. While I typically do not keep my phone on while I teach, this time was different. My wife was nine months pregnant with our first, and she was ready to pop. “I think it’s happening!” she exclaimed. I darted off, picked her up, and drove to the hospital in record time. Fast-forward twelve hours, and it was game time. My wife and I had taken a Lamaze class together and had heard countless stories from our friends, but nothing prepared us for the real thing. It was three in the morning, and I was about to meet Judah Benjamin for the first time.
His hair was dark brown, and his baby skin was tan. He had his mother’s dark brown eyes, but there was no doubt about it—he was my son. Growing up, we look up to our parents to determine our resemblances. But when we have children, we look down. For the first time in my life, someone was in my “image” and “likeness” at some level.
For us to understand what it means to be part of the people of God, we must begin with the creation of Adam and Eve in the divine image. This project begins with the creation of the cosmos and humanity’s role within it. The task before us in this chapter is straightforward: sketch the nature of Adam and Eve’s being created in the divine image and how the first couple relates to God and the world around them. What does it mean that Adam and Eve are in God’s likeness, and what are his expectations for them? As we will discover below, humanity is fashioned to dwell in God’s presence and tasked with the responsibility to bring his glory to the ends of the earth.
THE COSMOS AS GOD’S TEMPLE
A careful reading of Genesis 1–2 reveals God creating a vast cosmic temple, wherein he dwells and sovereignly rules. Parallels between the creation account in Genesis 1–2 and the construction of the tabernacle in the book of Exodus are many, and several scholars argue that God is indeed fashioning a cosmic temple in Genesis 1–2.1 Elsewhere in the Old Testament, the cosmos is compared to Israel’s temple:
He built his sanctuary like the heights,
like the earth that he established forever. (Psalm 78:69;
cf. 1 Chronicles 28:2; Isaiah 66:1-2)
Moshe Weinfeld, for example, astutely juxtaposes God creating the cosmos and Moses establishing the tabernacle, as shown in table 1.1.2
The parallels between these two accounts are difficult to ignore, especially when we consider them in light of the Pentateuch’s unity. Exodus is meant to be read in light of Genesis 1–3.
Even the layout of Israel’s temple symbolically depicts the order of the cosmos. The outer courtyard of the temple contained the washbasin and the altar, symbolizing the sea and the land (1 Kings 7:23-25; Ezekiel 43:14-16). Moving a step closer to God’s presence, the second section of the temple, or the holy place, symbolized the visible heavens and was lined with gold, containing the altar of incense (1 Kings 6:20), the bread of the Presence resting on a table (1 Kings 7:48), and ten lampstands fashioned out of gold (1 Kings 7:49). The final and most sacred section of the temple was the holy of holies, which symbolized the invisible heavens, where God dwells. This partition, separated by an embroidered curtain, was also lined with gold and housed the ark of the covenant. Above the ark, two cherubim faced one another, symbolizing the throne of God in heaven, which is also surrounded by cherubim (Psalm 80:1; 99:1; cf. Isaiah 6). In summary, the connections between the cosmos and Israel’s temple are overwhelming. Michael Morales rightly concludes, “The cosmos was understood as a large temple and the temple as a small cosmos.”3
GENESIS 1–2
EXODUS 39–40
“God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.” (Genesis 1:31)
“Moses inspected the work and saw that they had done it just as the LORD had commanded.” (Exodus 39:43)
“Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.” (Genesis 2:1)
“So all the work on the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, was completed.” (Exodus 39:32)
“By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing.” (Genesis 2:2)
“And so Moses finished the work.” (Exodus 40:33)
“Then God blessed the seventh day.” (Genesis 2:3)
“So Moses blessed them.” (Exodus 39:43)
“Then God . . . made it holy.” (Genesis 2:3)
“Anoint the tabernacle and everything in it; consecrate it and all its furnishings.” (Exodus 40:9)
Table 1.1
Israel’s tabernacle and temple are just models of something greater—the entire cosmos. The earthly temple corresponds to something greater—the cosmic temple over which God rules. As an illustration, my kids and I enjoy playing with Legos, and one of our favorite sets is the Millennium Falcon. This thousand-piece set includes all sorts of details that are found in the Star Wars films, even a detailed hyperdrive system! Not for a second, though, do my kids and I believe that the Lego set is the real Millennium Falcon. It’s just a model.
Another important detail found in Genesis 1 is the creation of lights. On day one, God creates light (Genesis 1:3), whereas on day four God fills the heavens with lights: “And God said, ‘Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night’ ” (Genesis 1:14). The word “lights” here in the creation narrative is noteworthy, as the same term is applied to the lampstand in Israel’s tabernacle: “the lampstand that is for light with its accessories, lamps and oil for the light” (Exodus 35:14; cf. Exodus 39:37; Numbers 4:9). The lampstand in the tabernacle and Israel’s temple illuminated the holy place, symbolizing God’s presence among his people. The lights strewn about the cosmos function as cultic luminaries that burn brightly throughout God’s cosmic temple. In this vein, the seven lights affixed to the lampstand in Israel’s temple probably symbolized the seven lights of the visible sky (sun, moon, and five planets).4 These lights “mark sacred times, and days and years” (Genesis 1:14). Creation follows a fixed calendar that calls to mind God’s purpose in creating all things. That is, the lights set the rhythm of the created order, so that all of creation may be oriented toward God and reminded to worship him.5
When God finished creating the cosmos, he rested from the creative process, but this resting is unlike our modern conception of rest. I often associate resting with watching football with my kids on Sunday afternoons, but resting in the Old Testament is quite different. God resting after six days entails his climactic enthronement as King over the cosmos (Genesis 2:2; cf. 2 Chronicles 6:41; Isaiah 66:1). Perhaps an illustration would help here. One of my favorite hobbies is woodworking on the weekends. I enjoy working with wood—measuring (twice!), cutting, sanding, and finishing. Some time ago, I built a table for our dining room. To use the language of Genesis 1, in six days I created the table, and on the seventh day, I “rested,” when I moved the table inside my house and dined on it. God resting on the Sabbath occurs when he executes his sovereign rule over his creation.
So why did God graciously construct a cosmic temple? Why does the creation of the cosmos parallel the construction of the tabernacle? Simply put, God built a cosmic house to occupy. Much like an individual constructing a large estate on a plot of land, where the owner desires to move in and manage the property, God desires to rule the created order and fill it with his resplendent presence. Quite simply, the universe is designed to house the veritable glory of God.
EDEN AS A TEMPLE
An additional detail we glean from Genesis 1–2 is the depiction of Eden as a sanctuary resting on a mountain. Though God dwells in all his fullness in the invisible heavens, his presence has partially descended in the Garden of Eden. Just as Israel’s temple comprises three tiers, so also does the earth.
Eden is the center of God’s activity on the earth, where God dwells and gives Adam and Eve his law and instructs them how they are to honor him. Much like Sinai, Eden ought to be understood as a mountain that houses God’s glory. Genesis 2:10-14 adds several seemingly odd details about the flow of water: “A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. The name of the first is the Pishon. . . . The name of the second river is the Gihon. . . . The name of the third river is the Tigris. . . . And the fourth river is the Euphrates.”
Living in the South, we deal with severe storms and heavy rains on a regular basis. Without fail, water pools at the bottom of my front yard, and I suddenly find myself owning waterfront property! Water only flows in a downward direction. So one aspect of these seemingly incidental details about flowing water in Genesis 2:10-14 is that Eden is situated on a mountain. Mountains in the Old Testament and the ancient world are often associated with the presence of a deity (e.g., Isaiah 2:2; 65:9; Micah 4:1-4).
In Genesis 3:8, the bit about God’s “walking” in the garden is akin to God’s walking in Israel’s midst in Leviticus 26:12, a clear reference to the tabernacle (cf. Deuteronomy 23:14). The prophet Ezekiel even calls Eden “the garden of God . . . the holy mount of God” (Ezekiel 28:13-14). Two trees stand in the middle of the garden—the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:9). Partaking of the tree of life appears to have sustained Adam and Eve’s existence. Meanwhile, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil may have been the place of judgment where Adam and Eve were to act on behalf of God and judge all unclean things, casting them out of the garden.6
The point is clear enough. Adam and Eve enjoyed God’s presence in Eden. The closer the couple remained toward the center of the created order, the nearer they were to God and his life-giving presence. God’s glory is at the center of the created order. His glory sustains and nourishes all living things. This insight about Eden being the holy of holies on the earth demonstrates two important points: God ultimately wants to dwell with the created order in all his fullness, and Adam and Eve will play a critical role in accomplishing that goal.
THE CREATION OF THE DIVINE IMAGE
After God creates his cosmic temple, he begins to enter into it, rule over it, and dwell with humanity. On day six, at the pinnacle of creation, he creates Adam and Eve to rule on his behalf. God’s full presence remains in the invisible heaven, yet his partial presence comes down to Eden to dwell with Adam and Eve. This is similar to God’s fully dwelling in heaven yet residing in the holy of holies of the temple.
When God creates Adam and Eve in his image, they are to become his official representatives on earth. According to Genesis 1:26, God intends to create humanity in his image “so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” One verse later, God fulfills his intention, and humanity is created in God’s own image (Genesis 1:27).
Extensive research in the last several decades on ancient creation accounts and a continued interest in ancient Near Eastern archaeology have sharpened our understanding of “image” here in Genesis. It was common in the ancient Near East for a deity to be functionally represented by an idol or an image. For example, one Egyptian text reads,
Well tended is mankind—god’s cattle,
He made sky and earth for their sake,
He subdued the water monster,
He made breath for their noses to live.
They are his images, who came from his body,
He shines in the sky for their sake;
He made for them plants and cattle,
Fowl and fish to feed them.7
The combination of “mankind,” “sky and earth,” “images,” “plants and cattle,” and “fowl and fish” resonates with Genesis 1:26-27. Another text explicitly connects “image” with ruling:
Hear what I did, exceeding the ancestors,
I the King, image of god,
Living likeness of Atum!
Who left the womb marked as ruler,
Feared by those greater than he!
His father knew, his mother perceived:
He would be ruler from the egg,
The good god, beloved of gods,
The Son of Re, who acts with his arms,
Piye beloved-of-Amun.8
This passage is an introduction to the Nubian king’s conquests in the Upper and Lower portions of Egypt. The entire proclamation, inscribed on a stela, is a testimony to the king’s conquests in the land. Like the previous passage, this one also uses similar language to Genesis 1:26-27. Here kingship is linked to “image,” “likeness,” and “son.” These two passages are just a sample of a plethora of ancient texts that resonate with the creation account in Genesis 1–2.
The creation of Adam and Eve in Genesis 1 is the climax of the created order. God waits to create the first couple until day six. In the first three days, God creates realms (Genesis 1:3-13), and then he fills up each realm in days four to six with his creatures (Genesis 1:14-31). Each realm is governed by a particular ruler. The heavens (day one) are governed by lights (day four); the waters above and below (day two) are governed by sea creatures and birds (day five); the land (day three) is governed by animals (day six). Remarkably, when God creates Adam and Eve, they are designed to “rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground” (Genesis 1:28). Humanity is therefore created to rule over the rulers of two of the three realms.
Just as God rules over the entire cosmos, so humanity, created in the image of God, was to rule over the earth and its inhabitants. Ruling over the earth is not intended for a few, but for an entire community. All of humanity is to rule.9Fundamentally, being created in God’s image means that Adam and Eve represent him on the earth in all their thoughts and actions. It is the divine imprint of God in humanity that reflects his divine attributes and functions in the threefold office of king, priest, and prophet.
The first human was imbued with certain qualities that God alone possesses. These qualities are both internal, or ontological, and external, or functional. God possesses certain qualities or attributes that he passes along to Adam—love, peace, justice, ability to rule, and so on. Adam is not God, nor does he perfectly mirror God in every way (Adam was not omnipresent). The line between Creator and creature is quite clear. As God’s image, Adam represents God on earth and is created to remain submissive to and wholly dependent on God.
ADAM AND EVE AS KINGS
Theologians often explain the divine image in three categories: king, priest, and prophet. These three long-held classifications are helpful on many levels, so I will adopt them going forward. The first couple were created as kings, priests, and prophets, and though these offices overlap with one another, each of them possesses distinct traits and goals. The first office that we will explore is the office of kingship. It is perhaps the most dominant office in Genesis 1–2. Adam and Eve were created as vice regents over the created order. Simply stated, vice regents rule on behalf of others; they do not rule independent of the supreme ruler. In Genesis 1–2, Adam and Eve are to remain utterly dependent on God and extend his rule on the earth.
I noted above how imaging God is tethered to ruling on behalf of him over the created realm. Genesis 1:28 explicitly commands Adam and Eve to “subdue” and “rule over” creation. God fashioned them for a specific purpose, and they are required to fulfill it. In Genesis 2:7 Adam receives the “breath of life.” In the first creation account, Adam is created in the image and likeness of God, whereas in the second account Adam receives the “breath of life.” According to the narrative, therefore, receiving the breath of life is perhaps parallel in some way to being created in the image of God; particularly, being created from the “dust” may be likened to kingship.10
Later in Genesis 2, we discover one of Adam’s first accomplishments as king: “Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals” (Genesis 2:19-20). As God sovereignly named the various facets of the cosmos (Genesis 1:5, 8, 10), so too Adam executes his rule by naming the animals. In doing so, the first man is discerning patterns within the created world and assigning function. Adam is beginning to achieve what he was designed to do. So far, so good.
Even King David looks back on Genesis 1–3 and underscores Adam’s position to rule:
When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
human beings that you care for them?
You have made them a little lower than the angels
and crowned them with glory and honor.
You made them rulers over the works of your hands;
you put everything under their feet. (Psalm 8:3-6)
In sum, Adam and Eve were created for the purpose of extending God’s rule over the created order, so that his divine presence would radiate out from them. God rules over the cosmos in the invisible heavens with the angels, and the first couple is charged with appropriating that rule on earth. It may not be far-fetched to suggest that Eden was the “throne room” of Adam and Eve’s kingdom.11
We are now in a position to ask why. Why are Adam and Eve commanded to rule over the earth? Was not the created order deemed “good” (Genesis 1:10, 18, 25)? Reading between the lines a bit, we can see that some aspects of the created order require “subduing” and portions of it remain incomplete. God is not simply being rhetorical or hyperbolic when he commissions Adam and Eve in Genesis 1:28. Recall that the earth, like Israel’s temple, contains three gradations of holiness. Eden is the holy of holies, the garden is the holy place, and the outer world is the outer court. So, perhaps, as there are gradations of holiness, we can surmise that there are gradations of God’s rule extending throughout the earth.
According to Genesis 1:28, Adam and Eve are to establish a community of faithful children who systematically appropriate God’s rule to the farthest corners of the earth. God’s people are to engage every aspect of the created world and bring it into conformity with God’s character and rule. The farthest region, the outer world, could be considered chaotic at some level (though not sinful). Just as God brings order out of chaos in Genesis 1, Adam is responsible for bringing order out of chaos. Any hint of nonconformity must be immediately addressed. As we will see in the following chapter, Adam and Eve, upon encountering the serpent in Eden (the holy of holies!), should have immediately judged it and expelled it from God’s presence. Casting out the serpent is one concrete way in which the first couple was to exercise their office of kingship.
Consider an illustration. I do a fair amount of DIY projects on my house and cars. Whenever something breaks, my first impulse is to look for a YouTube clip on how to fix the issue. A while ago, I installed a sprinkler system in my front yard, which probably was not the best project to undertake in the blazing hot month of July in Mississippi. My grass needed water to survive in the summer, and I grew tired of spending precious time moving the sprinkler around the yard. It took me a week or so, but I eventually got it up and running. In a small, small way, by installing a sprinkler system in my yard, I was like Adam in taking control of my environment. My environment needed attention, and it was my job to take care of it. As Adam and Eve begin to have a family, and animals begin to multiply, the first couple is expected to exercise control of Eden and the surrounding territory.
ADAM AND EVE AS PRIESTS
Adam and Eve are not only created to extend God’s rule, they are also fashioned to mediate God’s presence and to worship and serve before him. As priests, Adam and Eve are to minister in God’s garden sanctuary in Eden and expand God’s glory to the ends of the earth. Recall that Eden is the holy of holies, and the garden is the holy place. In the Old Testament, only priests are able to minister before the Lord, and only the high priest can enter into the holy of holies (Leviticus 16). Adam and Eve serve and worship the Lord on the mountain of Eden and intimately commune with him.
According to Genesis 2:15, God “took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it [ʿbd] and take care of [šmr] it.” As many commentators point out,12 these two verbs, “work” and “watch over,” are found elsewhere in the Old Testament referring to priests ministering in the temple: “They [the Levites] shall guard [šmr] all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, and keep guard [šmr] over the people of Israel as they minister [ʿbd] at the tabernacle” (Numbers 3:8 ESV; cf. Numbers 8:26; 18:7). In Genesis 1, God creates Adam and Eve in his image so that they may rule, subdue, and fill the earth (Genesis 1:28). Here in Genesis 2, we begin to see how the divine commission is worked out in some detail. Genesis 2:15 unpacks the general commission of Genesis 1:28. In a word, Adam will accomplish God’s command to rule and fill the earth (Genesis 1:28), at least in part, by working and watching over the garden (Genesis 2:15).
Priests in the Old Testament have a number of important duties. Critical to their ministry is to take “care of the sanctuary and the altar” (Numbers 18:5). For example, on a daily basis, the priests burned incense (Exodus 30:7-9) and tended the seven lamps on the golden lampstand (Exodus 27:21). Each week the twelve loaves of bread were prepared and placed on a golden table (Leviticus 24:5-9). The priests were even responsible for teaching the Israelites the Torah (Deuteronomy 31:9-13; 33:10) and what was considered clean and unclean. They were also charged with maintaining the purity of the temple and God’s people and were to guard against all uncleanness that threatened to defile the sanctuary. By offering up various sacrifices, the priests purified the sacred space and the Israelites (Leviticus 22; Numbers 28–29). Sin had to be dealt with before the worshiper could enjoy fellowship with the Lord. Like the removal of dirt and grime from a window, one purpose of the temple rituals was to remove sinful contaminants that defiled the worshiper. A holy God can only dwell in a holy temple among a holy people.
God’s holy character is magnificently on display in the layout of Israel’s camp during their wilderness journeys. At the center of the camp is the tabernacle, the place where God dwells. The entire structure, including the courtyard, holy place, and holy of holies is deemed holy. But even within the holy tabernacle, only the back room is considered the most holy. Moving outside the courtyard of the tabernacle, Israel’s camp is considered “clean,” and everything outside the camp is “unclean.” So, there are three levels of gradation: holy, clean, and unclean. Determining what is unclean is tricky when we examine Israel’s purity laws. On one level, uncleanness can refer to immoral activities, such as murder and theft, or to behavior tied to idolatry, such as drinking blood (see Leviticus 17–20). On the other, uncleanness can refer to anything that lacks perfection or is incomplete, such as skin diseases or the loss of bodily fluids (see Leviticus 11–15). In the latter case the moral component isn’t necessarily in view. The point of uncleanness in both scenarios is critical: God accepts only that which is pure, perfect, and ordered. But the issue of holiness is one notch above cleanness. Holiness is married to God’s glory. In a word, “To be clean means to be fit for the Presence of God, while to be holy means that one belongs to God.”13
So, God entrusts the priests with the responsibility to discern between what is holy, clean, and unclean. According to Leviticus 10:10, priests were
