All endings carry their beginnings inside them, like children bearing their parents' blood. A beginning is not just a start to a story; it's a network of paths that wind together, criss-cross, and loop around one another until they meet the end at the horizon. Stare at a good beginning, and you will see far more than a narrative churning into motion. You will see a world weaving itself into three dimensions. The archetype for this truth is the Bible. And Genesis 1–3 is the beginning of beginnings. Vern Poythress's Making Sense of Creation and Fall shows how rich a beginning it is, introducing themes and images that weave throughout the rest of Scripture. If you want to know just how much is packed tightly into the first three chapters of the Bible, this is your book.

Summary

Part of deepening our understanding of the Bible is tracing its themes. Themes are more than patterns. They are recurring images or concepts that build upon each other, forming strings of connotations, all leading to what we call a consummation, a final and perfect conclusion. Poythress's aim in this book is to draw out those themes in Genesis 1–3.

For example, God's first recorded sentence, "Let there be light" (Gen. 1:3), introduces light as a theme throughout the rest of Scripture. As we read further, we see that God is somehow a light before he even creates the sun, moon, and stars (Gen. 1:14). Later passages in Scripture draw more attention to this: "God is light, and in him is no darkness at all" (1 John 1:5).

The theme of light extends through creation and the fall. Light accompanies the Israelites in the wilderness as a pillar of fire (Exod. 13:21), marking God's presence with them. And God orders the priests to set up seven lamp stands in the tabernacle that are constantly burning (Exod. 25:37; 27:20; Lev. 24:2). This binds light to God's holiness and purity. As another signal of this purity, a core blessing is given to us in Numbers 6, where the priest prays for God's face to "shine" upon the people (Num. 6:24–26). Once again, light is tethered to God's presence.

In the Psalms and Wisdom books, light portrays wisdom, holiness, and divine guidance. "It is you who light my lamp; the LORD my God lightens my darkness" (Ps. 18:28). "With you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light" (Ps. 36:9). "The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day" (Prov. 4:18). Darkness is the land of the lost, and yet there is hope. "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone" (Isa. 9:2).

Christ comes as the shining light, the presence of God in flesh and bone. "In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it" (John 1:4–5). Christ then gives the light of himself to the church by his Spirit. "For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, 'I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth'" (Acts 13:47). At the consummation, the church will have God as its light for eternity: "And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever" (Rev. 22:5).

All this from a single photon radiating from the speech of God in Genesis 1:3. This is just one theme from Genesis 1–3. Poythress traces many of these themes for you in his book.

Why Themes? 

But what is the point of tracing themes? Will that really help you know your Bible better? It will, and here are two reasons why: (1) Tracing themes in Scripture helps you to see that it is one story, not a hodgepodge collection of disparate writings. The themes show us how the books and characters and stories of the Bible come together in a single, harmonious whole. In other words, themes reveal the interconnectivity of Scripture. (2) Every theme provides an entrance point to the biblical story, and we need many entrance points, because every person who needs to hear the gospel is unique. Some may gravitate towards light and its connotations. Others will feel drawn to the theme of multiplying and creating. Still others will want to talk about suffering, hurt, or deception. Every theme is an inroad to the gospel and the person of Christ. The more themes you know about and the more you trace them, the better prepared you will be to talk about the Bible with others. Themes can even help you reach out to strands of common grace in secular culture, which will give you opportunities to defend and commend the faith.

Favorite Quotes

• "God knew the end from the beginning. So from the beginning, he made a world that had things in it that would serve thematically to illustrate his salvation" (6).
• "Even the lilies of the field are full of multidimensional meanings because God has purposes for them" (11).
• "It is important for Christians and non-Christians alike to wake up to the rich meanings of the world. The world contains atoms in motion; it contains a physical dimension. But the world is more than atoms in motion. Light is more than electromagnetic radiation as described by physics. It is also a created display and reflection of God, who is the original light" (12).
• "God's work displays a pattern: the Father plans, the Son accomplishes, and the Holy Spirit applies. Every human being imitates this pattern. Every human being has to plan and to anticipate how best to accomplish plans, both big and small. Every human being has to execute plans in action. Every human being has to try to see the acts that he has planned come to completion, to an intended result, an application in the world" (119).
• "The generation of the Son manifests the creativity of God within God himself as the archetype. This creativity is then expressed at a reflected level when God creates the world. . . . The creation is full of meaning because it is a display of Trinitarian action" (238).
• "God has a plan for all of history. God works out the plan from creation to consummation. God is one God, with a harmonious plan. So in the end, everything at every stage of history is related to everything else" (297).

Should You Read It?

Of course! For the reasons stated above, tracing themes in Scripture is always helpful, and Poythress is a trustworthy guide. I recommend it as a companion to the other excellent titles in this series: Making Sense of the World and Making Sense of Man.

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