Creation and Redemption in Genesis and Colossians
The biblical narratives of creation and redemption are deeply interconnected, with the New Testament often drawing upon Genesis to articulate the scope and nature of Christ's redemptive work. Genesis opens with the declaration, "In the beginning God created the heauen and the earth" [8]. This act of creation is attributed to the Godhead, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit [6, 9]. God's creative power is emphasized through His spoken word, bringing the world into existence and ordering chaos into a habitable world [10]. Humanity is created in God's image, a concept central to understanding both creation and redemption [5, 12]. God declared His creation "very good" after the creation of human beings [11].
The Apostle Paul, particularly in his letter to the Colossians, presents Jesus Christ as both the supreme creator and redeemer [13]. Colossians 1:15-17 describes Christ's preeminence in creation, stating that "all things have been created through Him and for Him" [13]. This echoes the Genesis account of creation, where God is the sole origin of all things [3, 6]. The concept of humanity being made in God's image (Genesis 1:26-27) is linked to Christ, who is described as the "visible image" of God [5, 13].
Redemption, in this context, is presented as a re-creation or renewal of humanity in the image of its Creator. Colossians 3:10 speaks of the "new man" who "is being renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him" [1, 14]. This renewal signifies a progressive development towards a perfectly renewed nature, leading to a perfect knowledge of God [14]. The forgiveness of sins, a core aspect of redemption, is found "in whom we have redemption" [7].
The promise made to Abraham in Genesis 12:3, that "in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed," is understood in the New Testament as pointing to Christ and the redemption offered through Him [2, 4]. Paul explicitly connects this promise to the gospel in Galatians 3:8, indicating that the blessing extends to all nations through faith [2, 4]. Thus, the redemptive work of Christ is not merely a repair of a fallen creation but a fulfillment of God's original creative intent, restoring humanity to its intended image and purpose [1, 14].
Sources
- Treasury of Scripture Knowledge “Colossians 3:10 cross-references: Genesis 1:26, Job 29:14, Psalms 51:10, Isaiah 52:1, Isaiah 59:17, Ezekiel 11:19, Ezekiel 18:31, Ezekiel 36:26, John 17:3, Romans 8:29, Romans 12:2, Romans 13:12, Romans 13:14, 1 Corinthians 15:53, 2 Corinthians 3:18, 2 Corinthians 4:6, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Galatians 3:27, Galatians 6:15, Ephesians 2:10, Ephesians 2:15, Ephesians 4:23, Colossians 3:12, Colossians 3:14, Hebrews 6:6, 1 Peter 1:14, 1 John 2:3, 1 John 2:5, Revelation 21:5”
- Treasury of Scripture Knowledge “Galatians 3:16 cross-references: Genesis 12:3, Genesis 12:7, Genesis 13:15, Genesis 15:5, Genesis 17:7, Genesis 21:12, Genesis 22:17, Genesis 26:3, Genesis 28:13, Genesis 49:10, Luke 1:55, Acts 3:25, Romans 4:13, Romans 4:16, Romans 12:5, 1 Corinthians 12:12, 1 Corinthians 12:27, Galatians 3:8, Galatians 3:27, Ephesians 4:15, Ephesians 5:29, Ephesians 5:32, Colossians 2:19, Colossians 3:11”
- Smith's Bible Dictionary “Smith's Bible Dictionary: Creation — (The creation of all things is ascribed in the Bible to God, and is the only reasonable account of the origin of the world. The method of creation is not stated in Genesis, and as far as the account there is concerned, each part of it may be, after the first acts of creation, by evolution, or by direct act of God's will. The word create (bara) is used but three times in the first chapter of Genesis-- (1) as to the origin of matter; (2) as to the origin of life; (3) as to the origin of man's soul; and science has always failed to do any of these acts thus as”
- Treasury of Scripture Knowledge “Genesis 12:3 cross-references: Genesis 18:18, Genesis 22:18, Genesis 26:4, Genesis 26:29, Genesis 27:29, Genesis 28:14, Genesis 30:27, Genesis 30:30, Genesis 39:5, Exodus 23:22, Numbers 24:9, Psalms 72:17, Matthew 25:40, Matthew 25:45, Acts 3:25, Romans 4:11, 1 Corinthians 1:30, Galatians 3:8, Galatians 3:16, Galatians 3:28, Ephesians 1:3, Colossians 3:11, Revelation 7:9”
- Treasury of Scripture Knowledge “Genesis 1:27 cross-references: Genesis 2:7, Genesis 2:18, Genesis 2:21, Genesis 5:1, Genesis 5:2, Genesis 9:6, Judges 21:22, Psalms 139:14, Isaiah 43:7, Jeremiah 29:6, Malachi 2:15, Matthew 19:4, Mark 10:6, 1 Corinthians 11:7, Ephesians 2:10, Ephesians 4:24, Colossians 1:15, Colossians 1:26”
- Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Creation — "In the beginning" God created, i.e., called into being, all things out of nothing. This creative act on the part of God was absolutely free, and for infinitely wise reasons. The cause of all things exists only in the will of God. The work of creation is attributed (1) to the Godhead (Gen. 1:1, 26); (2) to the Father (1 Cor. 8:6); (3) to the Son (John 1:3; Col. 1:16, 17); (4) to the Holy Spirit (Gen. 1:2; Job 26:13; Ps. 104:30). The fact that he is the Creator distinguishes Jehovah as the true God (Isa. 37:16; 40:12, 13; 54:5; Ps. 96:5; Jer. 10:11, 12). Th”
- Colossians “Colossians 1:14 (NASB) — in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
- Genesis “Genesis 1:1 (Geneva1599) — In the beginning God created the heauen and the earth.”
- Genesis (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Genesis 1 (introduction): Genesis 1:1 THE CREATION OF HEAVEN AND EARTH. (Gen 1:1-2) In the beginning--a period of remote and unknown antiquity, hid in the depths of eternal ages; and so the phrase is used in Pro 8:22-23. God--the name of the Supreme Being, signifying in Hebrew, "Strong," "Mighty." It is expressive of omnipotent power; and by its use here in the plural form, is obscurely taught at the opening of the Bible, a doctrine clearly revealed in other parts of it, namely, that though God is one, there is a plurality of persons in the Godhead--Father, So”
- Genesis (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Genesis 1:3: 1:3-13 In the first three days, God formed the chaos into a habitable world. 1:3 Then God said: Nothing in ch 1 is created apart from God’s powerful word (cp. Ps 33:6, 9). • “Let there be . . .” and there was: God’s command enacted his will to create the world. God is not a part of creation or limited by it; he is the supreme ruler over everything (cp. Neh 9:6).”
- Genesis (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Genesis 1:31: 1:31 The Creator declares his work good seven times in ch 1; following the creation of human beings, God declares it all very good.”
- 1 Corinthians (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on 1 Corinthians 11:7: 11:7 man is made in God’s image: See Gen 1:26-27.”
- Colossians (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Colossians 1:15: 1:15-20 Paul presents Jesus as the supreme creator (1:15-17) and redeemer (1:18-20). The series of short statements, the exalted conceptions of Christ, and the parallelism in language and thought strongly suggest that these verses quote an early Christian hymn about Jesus that Paul applied to the situation of the Colossian Christians. 1:15 visible image: In the Greek translation of the Old Testament, eikōn (“image, representation”) is used to refer to human beings having been made in the image of God (Gen 1:26-27) and also to the wisdom figure in Jewish writin”
- Colossians (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Colossians 3:10: the new man--(See on Eph 4:23). Here (neon) the Greek, means "the recently-put-on nature"; that lately received at regeneration (see on Eph 4:23-24). which is renewed--Greek, "which is being renewed" (anakainottmenou); namely, its development into a perfectly renewed nature is continually progressing to completion. in knowledge--rather as the Greek, "unto perfect knowledge" (see on Col 1:6; Col 1:9-10). Perfect knowledge of God excludes all sin (Joh 17:3). after the image of him that created him--namely, of God that created the new man (Eph 2”