{"id":339,"date":"2008-01-30T01:01:30","date_gmt":"2008-01-30T01:01:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/markdroberts\/2008\/01\/lets-start-at-the-beginning.html"},"modified":"2008-01-30T01:01:30","modified_gmt":"2008-01-30T01:01:30","slug":"lets-start-at-the-beginning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2008\/01\/lets-start-at-the-beginning.html","title":{"rendered":"Let\u2019s Start at the Beginning"},"content":{"rendered":"

Part 2 of series: Being the People of God
\n<\/em>Permalink for this post<\/a> \/ Permalink for this series<\/a>
\nFraulein Maria got it right in The Sound of Music<\/em>: “Let’s start at the very beginning; a very good place to start.” This bit of wisdom works, not only for learning how to sing, but also for discovering what it means to be the people of God.
\nAs you might have guessed, the beginning about which I speak is The Beginning<\/em>, you know, of the “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” variety. If we look closely at the God’s creation, especially his creation of human beings, then we’ll head off in the right direction for our search for being the people of God.
\nIn Genesis 1 God creates the heavens and the earth, the waters and the sky, the land and the plants, the birds and the fish, and finally the animals. But then, at the center of his masterpiece, God creates human beings. Here’s how the passage reads in the NRSV:<\/p>\n

Then God said, \u201cLet us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.\u201d\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So God created humankind in his image,
\nin the image of God he created them;
\nmale and female he created them.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

God blessed them, and God said to them, \u201cBe fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.\u201d God said, \u201cSee, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.\u201d And it was so. God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. (Genesis 1:26-31)
\nThe word translated here as humankind<\/em> is adam<\/em> in Hebrew, which means “a human being” or “all humanity taken together.” In more traditional English adam<\/em> is rendered man<\/em> or mankind<\/em>. We know that the text is speaking of human beings as a group, rather than one particular person, because of the plural “let them have dominion” (v. 26) or “in the image of God he created them” (v. 27).
\nSo what do we learn in this passage that is relevant to our quest for the meaning of the people of God? Well, first of all we learn that there is a curiously close relationship between human beings and our Creator, since we were created in God’s image. Without going into detail about what this might mean, suffice to say that we are like God in a unique way in all of creation.
\nSecond, we learn that God made people for a purpose: “to have dominion” over the creation (v. 26; vv 27-30). Verse 28 adds that human beings are to “be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.” So God made people to take care of the earth and its creatures and to make more people so that we might fill the earth. I expect we get a mixed grade in the first subject, caring for the earth and its creatures, but a higher grade in the second, filling the earth with people. According to the latest count<\/a>, there are now 6,647,172,983 people on earth (most of whom are sitting in traffic somewhere right now, I fear.)
\nThird, Genesis 1 shows us that human beings find their completeness, not as isolated individuals, but rather in community with others. God did not create a single individual in his image. Rather, humankind reflects the image of God as male and female. It takes two to tango when it comes to God’s image. Christian theologians have seen a precursor to a Trinitarian understand of God in the story of Genesis. And, though this surely goes beyond the original sense of the narrative, it’s a valid theological reflection. God, who exists in three persons, Father, Son, and Spirit, is reflected in humankind as male and female, as a community, if you will.
\nTo put it differently, the first creation story in Genesis shows that we are not just individuals who happen to get together with other individuals out of convenience. Rather, our very created nature involves being with others. We are created as a people, and in relationship to our being people together we find our individual identities.
\nOf course more could be said about Genesis 1 and the people of God. I expect there have been whole dissertations written on this subject. But, for now, we get some direction in our search for the significance of the people of God.
\nIn my next post I’ll examine the second creation account in Genesis 2.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Part 2 of series: Being the People of God Permalink for this post \/ Permalink for this series Fraulein Maria got it right in The Sound of Music: “Let’s start at the very beginning; a very good place to start.” This bit of wisdom works, not only for learning how to sing, but also for…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":214,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-339","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-being-the-people-of-god"],"yoast_head":"\nLet\u2019s Start at the Beginning - Mark D. 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Roberts","description":"Mark D. Roberts: Thoughtfully Christian Reflections on Jesus, the Church, and the World","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/1ff094a57b7e41f534434b1723df3d73","name":"Mark D. Roberts","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","caption":"Mark D. Roberts"},"description":"The Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a pastor, author, retreat leader, speaker, and blogger. Since October 2007 he has been the Senior Director and Scholar-in-Residence for Laity Lodge, a multifaceted ministry in the Hill Country of Texas. Before coming to Laity Lodge, he was for sixteen years the Senior Pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church in Irvine, California (a city in Orange County about forty miles south of Los Angeles). Before his time at Irvine Pres, Mark served on the staff of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood as Associate Pastor of Education. (Thanks to Janel Pahl for taking the photo to the right.) Mark studied at Harvard University, receiving a B.A. in Philosophy, an M.A. in the Study of Religion, and a Ph.D. in New Testament and Christian Origins. He has taught classes in New Testament for Fuller Theological Seminary and San Francisco Theological Seminary. Mark has written several books, including No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer (WaterBrook, 2005), Dare to Be True (WaterBrook, 2003), Jesus Revealed (WaterBrook, 2002), After \"I Believe\" (Baker, 2002), and Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (Word, 1993). His most recent book is Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (Crossway, 2007). He is currently working on a commentary on Ephesians that will be published by Zondervan in 2014. Mark writes a devotional for The High Calling of Our Daily Work, a website associated with Laity Lodge. His \"Daily Reflections\" can be viewed online or sent as a daily email. If you wish to receive this email, just visit TheHighCalling.org and sign up. Mark serves on the editorial board of Worship Leader magazine, where he publishes articles and reviews, including his regular column \"Lyrical Poetry.\" Additionally, he has published dozens of articles in leading magazines and journals. He often speaks for churches and other Christian groups, and has been interviewed on over seventy-five radio programs nationwide. Mark is married to Linda, who is a Marriage and Family Therapist, a Spiritual Director, and a retreat speaker. They have two children, Nathan and Kara.For Publicity Photos and Bio Statements for Mark, please check here. Mark's Dossier Professional History: Senior Director and Scholar-in Residence, Laity Lodge, October 2007 to present. Senior Pastor Irvine Presbyterian Church, June 1991 to September 2007 Adjunct Assistant Professor Fuller Theological Seminary, 1994 to 2007. Courses: New Testament Theology and Exegesis. Adjunct Instructor San Francisco Theological Seminary, 1995 to 2001. Courses: New Testament Greek and Exegesis Associate Pastor of Education First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, 1987-1991 Teaching Fellow Harvard University, 1980-1983 Education: Ph.D. in the Study of Religion. Harvard University, 1992. Area: New Testament and Christian Origins M.A. in the Study of Religion Harvard University, 1984. A.B. magna cum laude in Philosophy Harvard University, 1979. Phi Beta Kappa; Danforth Fellowship Books: Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Crossway, 2007 No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer. WaterBrook, 2005 Dare to Be True: Living in the Freedom of Complete Honesty. WaterBrook, 2003. Jesus Revealed: Know Him Better to Love Him Better. WaterBrook, 2002. After \"I Believe\": Experiencing Authentic Christian Living. Baker, 2002. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther in the Communicator's Commentary Series. Word, 1993. Contacting Mark: You can reach Mark at: E-mail: mark@markdroberts.com mroberts@laitylodge.org Phone: Laity Lodge: (830) 792-1216 Address: Laity Lodge 719 Earl Garrett Kerrville, TX 78028","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/author\/mroberts"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/339","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/214"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=339"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/339\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=339"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=339"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=339"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}