The Genesis 1 creation account is remarkably God-centered. God is the consistent subject of sentence after sentence: “and God said,” “and God saw,” “and God called.”
All of creation is a revelation of God; it is given so that we might know Him. Creation shows us who God is, what He is like, how He acts, and what is important to Him. Psalm 19:1–2 stresses that God is the great subject of creation: “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge.”
Similarly, re-creation, sometimes called new creation, is also God-centered. We are re-created, not just to be born again, but to know God. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:6, “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”
God is the great subject of creation, as He is of the whole Bible. That means that He alone is the Author of the creation process as Father (Gen. 1:1), as Son (John 1:1–4), and as Spirit (Gen. 1:2). He speaks and the earth, the heavens, and all that is in them, including man, come into being. That is also true in re-creation, is it not? God raises dead sinners to life. We are saved by His sovereign, initiating grace.
God is also the great object of creation. Everything that God does—both in Genesis 1 and throughout Scripture—is for His glory. That is true from eternity past to eternity future. God determined to create all things for His own glory in eternity past, and He is the object of glory in eternity future. In Revelation 4:11, the elders in heaven testify to this: “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.”
Likewise, you and I cannot truly live until God becomes the supreme subject and object of our lives. Do you meditate upon Him as the supreme subject? Do you think, speak, and act for His glory so that He may be the supreme object of your faith? “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31).
