Genesis 1: Who is ‘adam and What Do They Rule?
Genesis 1 is the grand story of creation. Whenever I read it, I like to view this beautiful story like a child on a field trip to a planetarium—sitting in a circular room with my head tilted back, waiting in rapt anticipation. The lights dim, and the “sky” changes from a black void to a star-studded panorama. Imagine with me, God at work transforming the dark, shapeless earth into an amazingly–ordered world surrounded by exquisite heavens.
Creation As Related to the Male and Female
What do we learn from the creation stories in the Bible about the nature of male and female? How are they designed by God to relate to one another? Chapters one and two of the book of Genesis describe the creation narrative. They are the best place to begin to gain an understanding of God’s design for male and female relationships. The story of creation is important. That is reflected in the fact that the story is told twice: in Genesis 1 and again in Genesis 2. Each story has a different theological emphasis. In this post, we’ll walk through Genesis 1.
In the Beginning
God made the light and separated it into day and night. He made the land and seas, plants and trees, sun, moon, and stars. Then, he created sea creatures, birds, and land creatures. God made all of creation (Gen 1:3–25).
The Human Called adam.
A repeated phrase in the New Testament is “the last will be first, and the first will be last.” In Genesis 1, the crown of creation is created last. God created ha‘adam, which in Hebrew means “the human” or “humankind.” He created one creature that incorporates both the male and female, and he called them adam. (In this chapter, this Hebrew term is not referring to the capital A for Adam—it is not speaking here of a personal name for a male.)
Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, after our likeness, so they may rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the cattle, and over all the earth.” God created humankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them, male and female he created them (Gen 1:26–27; see also 5:1–2).
God created humankind, male and female, in his “likeness,” in his “image.” Throughout the book of Genesis, both terms “describe human beings who in some way reflect the form and the function of the creator.”[1] God’s creation of humankind, the male and female, reveals a plurality in unity. Unity enjoyed with God, and unity enjoyed within humanity. In theological terms, the male and female are ontologically equal—equality in their very being.
Shared Commissioning
Do you see the beautiful oneness in Genesis 1:26–27? The female and the male each image God, both have a direct relationship with their Creator, an equal status before him, and shared commissioning—commissioning to rule over God’s creation.
Shared Blessing
Finally, God spoke a blessing over the man and woman. He conferred to them the fullness of life. He gave them shared responsibility through two commands: to reproduce and rule (Gen 1:28). His blessing enabled them together to create human life and to rule with dominion as God’s co-regents.
Shared Ruling
A couple of years ago, I heard a Dallas-based megachurch pastor describe in his sermon the shared mandate of the female and male as “Relate and create.” He creatively substituted “create” for “be fruitful and multiply.” His substitution of “relate” for “rule” obscures that God tasks both the male and female with a ruling function. In fact, scripture repeats the ruling mandate twice: in verse 26, “Let us make humankind in our image…so they may rule,” and in verse 28, “God blessed them and said to them… ‘Rule over the fish of the sea…and every creature that moves on the ground.’” The male and female were to multiply, and both were entrusted with the responsibility to manage God’s good creation.
Creation Was Declared “Very Good!”
The psalmist described God’s imputed worth to his creation, “What is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor. You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet” (Ps 8:4–6). At the end of this chapter, we see that God surveyed all he had made and declared, “it was very good!” (Gen 1:31).
In Genesis 1, it is clear that both man and woman, while bearing God’s image, are given dual rulership over creation and instructions to multiply fruitfully. There is not even a hint of a priority of one over the other. This is one of many Bible passages that convey the message that God’s design for humanity originated with a plurality of unity. The first of two creation accounts, this story centers around God’s design for relational oneness with humanity and within the male/female relationship.
[1] The NET Bible, (Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C, 2009), footnote 4, p 5it