This week’s episode of Mere Fidelity, at Matt’s suggestion, is a Bible study of Genesis 1. Matt, Derek, and I explore the way creation is framed within Scripture.
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Alastair's Adversaria 
Apologies in advance for the poor organisation and writing in this.
I’m writing this while listening so some of the points I’m making are being referred to as I listen further :
1 Where did Barth get that idea (the Spirit) from and where did it take him with the rest of his theology, from Genesis to Revelation?
2 Borrowing from Richard B Hays, how does “Reading *the Bible) Backwards” affect the understanding of Genesis? And how is it about Jesus. Surely it has to be read through the lens of Jesus and the New Testament.?
3 Thank you, Alistair, for seeking always to ground this in the Triune God through breadcrum thread tracing in whole bible. .
4 “The waters”. At the end, there is no sea in the new heaven and earth. Your linking this with the abyss, explains it’s absence. Thank you. It would be good for you to develop this further through scripture, judgement from above through the flood, Jonah, Jesus control over the sea.
The podcast has ended. Here are some further thoughts.
5 Mike Reeves links “first fruits” with Christ and Christianity (as Christ, raised on the third day) would be the first fruits on the third day. ” “Raised from death to new life, he is the firstborn , the firstfruit, the head of a new creation. His resurrection has started an irreversible tide,” “the firstborn from the dead, the firstfruits of a royal harvest of life.” Reeves, “Our Life in Christ”
On 1 Cor 15, Reeves again on firstfruits: ” verse 4 Christ was raised onthe third day according to the scriptures” Which scriptures was he thinking of? Before anything else, almost certainly Genesis 1 and the third day of creation. There we read and repetition drives home the point: “Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed- bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit and seed within it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. The land produced vegetation:plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds” ( verses 11-12). There on the Third day of Genesis 1 we see the first fruit of the new creation, (as Christ, raised would be the first fruit of the new creation, of the resurrection from the dead)
These first fruits each produce “according to their kinds” because they have seed – the next generation within them. Thus what happens to the fruit happens to the seed. So it is, says Paul, with Adam and Christ. They are the firstfruits of two very different crops: one of death, the other of life, All others are but seeds of one of those fruits,” And Jesus is the promised seed. The seed motive continues through Revelation.
6 Further, compare and contrast the first and last man to “Rule over the earth an subdue it.” Jesus is better than Adam, born of the Spirit, full alive in the Spirit, raised through the Spirit.” “He is the fruitful tree of life fed by streams of living water.(Psalm 1)” – Mike Reeves again.
7 GK Beale sees Gen 1 s the beginning of a temple motive that runs through to Revelation.
8 Gen 1 Ends with day six as the day of man. In Campbell “The Mystery Explained” the book of Revelation links 666 (“for it it the number of a man” Rev 13 :18) with the sixth day. David H Campbell who was part of shortening GK Beale’s tome on Revelation) says that this is best translated for this is the number of “humanity.“
My comment – So the number 6 repeated three times represents the completeness, fullness of man without God, man’s complete rebellion (seen as it were, a conflation or condensing of the sovereignty of man into a number– my observation.) This is in contrast to the completion of God represented by the the seventh day and the number 7.
Any thoughts?
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Really insightful discussion. Thanks a lot to all involved, including the prior prep. James.