In this introductory chapter, with the help of the Lord’s grace, I wish to point out a wonderful picture that is in the entire Scriptures. To do this, we will consider all the Scriptures from the very beginning to the very end. This picture, which has been drawn by God Himself in His Word, reveals to us what is in His mind and what He is seeking. It is our aim in this message to see this picture. In order to see this picture, we must pay attention to the principles, that is, the main items in this picture. We must see the principles in this clear picture if we are to be able to understand what is in the Lord’s mind and what He is seeking.
First, we must realize that the Bible, from the beginning to the end, is the complete revelation of God. God is wise, and in order to show us the picture, He in His wisdom gave us such a revelation. In the Bible we have the start, the continuation, and the completion of this revelation.
At the very beginning of this revelation in Genesis 2, there is a picture. When I was young, I wondered about the second chapter of Genesis for two reasons. First, it seemed that Genesis 1 contains a full record of the creation and recovery of the earth, from the first day to the seventh. I asked myself why, after this account, there was yet another record of creation. I could not understand this. Some said that Genesis 2 is simply a more detailed account of man’s creation. Although this is true, we now know that the second chapter of Genesis is something much more than mere details. The second reason I wondered about Genesis 2 was that I thought that all of God’s work was important and economical. Yet to me, this chapter did not seem very important. I was unable to understand this chapter. Eventually, the vision of the picture in Genesis 2 became clear and complete to me.
This picture is very simple. If we can see the seven major figures that are contained within this picture, it will become clear and complete to us. The first figure in this picture is a man whom God made of clay—an earthen man (v. 7). The second figure is a tree that has a wonderful name—the tree of life (v. 9). There is then the tree of knowledge (v. 9), a figure which we will not count among the seven figures and which we will not consider until the end of the message. The third figure is a flowing river (v. 10). From that river three items come forth: gold, bdellium, and onyx stone (vv. 11-12). These three precious and costly items are the fourth, fifth, and sixth figures respectively. The seventh and final figure in this picture is a woman. This woman, a bride, came into being to be married to the man and to become one flesh with him (vv. 21-24). I would ask you to remember these seven figures: the man of clay, the tree of life, the river of water, gold, bdellium, onyx stone, and the bride.
We must see the picture that the Bible shows us with these figures. God created the earth as the center of the universe. On this earth God created a man of clay. After creating him, God put this man into the garden of Eden, most likely in front of the tree of life. This garden in which man stood was the center of the universe. Before him was the tree of life and the river of living water flowing near the tree. Out of that flow came forth pure gold, bdellium, and onyx stone. Finally, there was the bride who came into being to be married to the man.
Certainly, all the figures presented in this chapter must possess some figurative meaning. As figures, they must signify something. In order to understand these figures and the meaning of the picture in which they appear, we have to study the remainder of the Holy Scriptures. All the books of the Old Testament and the New Testament reveal the correct meaning of each of these figures, item by item.
The first figure is a man of clay. According to the Scriptures, the man of clay is a vessel to God. The earthen man is an earthen vessel, as indicated in 2 Corinthians 4:7: “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellency of the power may be of God and not out of us.” Romans 9:21 tells us that every chosen person is an earthen vessel for God—a “vessel unto honor.” A vessel is simply an object into which we can put something. For example, cups and bottles are both vessels. Since we are earthen vessels to God, we are meant to contain something. What are we to contain? We will return to answer this question later.
The next figure we find is the tree of life. The tree of life is a symbol of our Lord Jesus Christ. Christ is the tree of life. John 1:4 says, “In Him was life.” Life is in Christ, and Christ is the source of life. Hence, He is the tree of life. The tree of life signifies Christ as life to us (10:10b; 14:6a).
The Lord Jesus tells us in John 7:38-39 that if any man believes into Christ, out of his innermost being will flow rivers of living water. This living water will spring up within us and will flow out of us. In light of these verses, we can see clearly that the flowing river in Genesis 2 is a figure of Christ as the life-giving Spirit gushing up within us as a fountain and flowing out of us as a stream (John 4:14b).