In the beginning I was the Word, and I as Word was the Beginning. By me all things were created, both in the heavens and in the earth, visible and invisible. All things have been created by me and for me (Colossians 1:16). Therefore, already in the opening word of the Hebrew Bible, Bereshith, I am.
Me: When you walked with those two disciples on the road to Emmaus, you began with Moses, and proceeded through all the prophets, to explain to them the things concerning yourself in all the Scriptures (Luke 24:27). But where are you in the opening chapter of Moses? Where are you in the story of creation?
Jesus: I am not only before the beginning, in the beginning, and after the beginning; I am the Beginning. The Father appointed me, Wisdom, as the Beginning of His way (Proverbs 8:22). I am the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the Beginning of the creation of God (Revelation 3:14). I am the head of the body, the church; and I am the Beginning, as well as the Firstborn from the dead, so that I myself might come to have first place in everything (Colossians 1:18). In the beginning I was the Word, and I as Word was the Beginning. By me all things were created, both in the heavens and in the earth, visible and invisible. All things have been created by me and for me (Colossians 1:16). Therefore, already in the opening word of the Hebrew Bible, Bereshith, I am.
Me: What about the rest of the chapter? Does the remainder of the creation account speak of you?
Jesus: All things came into being by me, and apart from me nothing came into being that has come into being (John 1:3). The heavens testify of me, for by me the Father made light. I am light of light, very God of very God, begotten not made. My life is the light of men, the light that shines in the darkness. By me the Father made the sun, for I am the sun of righteousness, who arises with healing in my wings (Malachi 4:2). The animals testify of me, for I am the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). I am the Lion of the tribe of Judah, who overcomes so as to open the scroll and its seven seals (Revelation 5:5). The trees testify of me, for I am the Tree of Life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding fruit every month, and my leaves are for the healing of the nations (Revelation 22:2). Even the smallest animals testify of me, for I am a worm and not a man, a reproach of men, and despised by the people (Psalm 22:6). And man testifies of me, he who was created in the image and likeness of God, for I am the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation (Colossians 1:15), the radiance of the Father’s glory and the exact representation of His nature (Hebrews 1:3).
Me: So shall I read Genesis 1 as the story of your work of creation or recreation?
Jesus: The story of creation is the story of recreation, and the story of recreation is the story of creation. These are not two stories but one. Behold, I make all things, and I make all things new. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end (Revelation 22:13). If any man is in me, he is a new creation; the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come (2 Corinthians 5:17). I am the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world on the altar of the cross, but I am also the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8). Therefore, in Genesis 1, read of me and my work, for in creation is told the story of redemption, and in the story of redemption is told the story of creation.
