To Vernon Gray

Can I say how much I embraced your letter “The Gap is not a theory” It inspired me to see the way the disciples were keen to use the language of the creation story, to express its ultimate fulfilment in the person of Jesus. I believe sincerely that when Jesus took his disciples through the scriptures after his ascension, this was the sort of material he revealed about himself.

'All creation declares the glory of God.' Again and again we read this statement but fail to see its fulfilment in the person of Jesus. I would suggest that indeed the greatest declaration of God's Glory is expressed in and through Jesus, and that the creation story is a shadow or a prophecy concerning him.

“For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.” — Romans 1:20

“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” — Psalm 19

In Romans 1:20 Paul directly tells us to look for the person of Jesus in the creation story. It is Jesus who declares God's Glory because he is God's Glory.

“My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality” (James 2:1). Another possible translation reads, “Jesus Christ, who is the glory.”

If this is true then rather than just demonstrating some abstract philosophical statement that God or a prime mover can be seen in the creation , it really implies that Jesus 'God's Glory' is being revealed through this series of events.

B. B. Warfield, in his book The Lord of Glory, says, that Jesus was the glory of God, the shekinah. According to the Old Testament, the shekinah was the visible manifestation of the invisible God. The shekinah was a radiant cloud or brilliant light within a cloud that signalled the immediate presence of God. For Jesus to be identified with the shekinah was to be equated with the presence of God Himself. In Jesus we see the full manifestation of the majesty of God. R.C. Sproul in his book 'How is Jesus the “Glory of God?”'writes 'That the New Testament writers ascribed glory to Jesus was a clear indication of their confession of His full deity. Glory, in the sense it is used with reference to Jesus, is a divine attribute. It is the glory of God that He refuses to share with any man.

Vernon Gray (26 Apr 2015) ""The gap is not a theory""I think makes a very good case in identifying the numerous statements made by the apostles which link the salvation completed by Jesus with the salvation being revealed at the creation. He writes of the creation story 'All events before this moving of the Spirit of God must belong to another “era” of time which exists before this renewal of the earth in six days' If this is true what we see in Genesis 1 is a recovery story or a revelation story rather than singularly a creation story. Vernon goes onto say 'The Apostle John added much later in I John 2:8, “...because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining.”

This repeated revelation for Christians is telling us that a new dispensation has been inaugurated just like what happened in Genesis.'

The many biblical referenced included by Vernon Gray demonstrate to me a clear desire on the part of Jesus apostles to want to link the creation story events with that of the actions of Jesus. To me the 'true light' of Jesus and his work of salvation was echoed prophetically in the events unfolding in Genesis1 'Let there be light' is now eclipsed by 'the true light that has come into the world. In a very real sense the story of Jesus was told to us in Genesis 1. Vernon states 'We will see as we move along that the movement of the Spirit of God over the chaotic waters in Genesis 1:2 introduces  “A RENEWAL OF THE EARTH.”'

The Holy Spirit that came upon Christ as a dove, as He emerged from the baptismal waters of the Jordan, actually marked a new beginning for the Messiah—the inauguration of His public ministry. Likewise, the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit marks a new beginning for each and every believer in the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

It seems to me that Jesus baptism was foreshadowed by the Genesis statement that in the beginning the spirit of God hovered over the waters. Even to the point that God says in each event he Is pleased at the good he sees. Does this mean that Jesus baptism marks a day in the true or greater creation story surrounding Jesus. Jesus entered into the chaotic waters expressed in Genesis 1:2 at his baptism ?

Maybe I am pressing the comparison between the creation story and Jesus salvation story farther than Vernon intends but it is where the Spirit leads me.

Ozzie (8 Feb 2015) "please share with doves" I posted this letter asking for any brother or sister to consider a feature of the creation story that I was concerned with. This particular feature I described at some length and it was how this 'chaotic water' kept appearing in the history of God's plan for ultimate salvation. After noting how the Hebrew peoples seemed to be in a recurring 'water event' story Abraham, Noah, Moses, Jonah, Joshua, Jesus, etc., I figured it must be important because it kept repeating. The conclusion I came to was that water represented death and dry land equated with life. So, for example when Jesus walked on water he was in fact telling his disciples he would cross over death. The disciples failed to fully grasp its significance and thought Jesus was a 'ghost.'

The question I posed was this. On the third day (Creation story) all the waters were gathered together and then dry land appeared out of the waters. Could this be the resurrection story being foretold. Life emerging from death. And if that were the case later in the week when the waters filled with life could this mark the salvation of all those who would follow the first-born. Then Jesus would tell Peter that those who followed him would become 'fishers of men' equally pulled from the waters of death.

In conclusion I am suggesting that the seven day creation story is the story of God's salvation in Jesus. But it is the story of Moses, crossing the Red Sea, Noah and his salvation in the Ark, Jonah being spat out of the whale onto dry land, Joshua crossing the Jordan into the promised land, Abraham crossing the Euphrates and Jesus walking on the water. Apart from being the story of God's complete plan for salvation and recovery of humanity it is something else too. Oh yes, its the story some believe explains the origins of God's interaction with his creation.

Kind regards,

Ozzie