It is God’s desire that we realize and fulfill the vision of His building on this earth. To do this we must see the basic points of God’s building work from the entire Bible. In the beginning of the Scripture we are mainly aware of God’s work of creation. However, all of God’s creation is for His building. It is true that the natural scenery of animals, trees and flowers portrayed in Genesis 1 and 2 is not a picture of building, but of creation. But at the end of Revelation, there is a city, a building. In a garden we are aware of the natural scenery, but in a city we are mainly aware of buildings. At the beginning of the Scripture, the garden is central in the universe; but at the end, the building is the center.
God has only two kinds of work in the entire universe: creation and building. And the creation is for the building. By creation God gained the ground and prepared the materials for the building. When the ground is obtained and the materials are on hand, we naturally expect to see the construction work of the building proceed. God’s creation work is not the end; there is a need for the building.
Before considering Genesis 2, where God reveals the steps He uses to attain His goal, it is imperative to see an important principle regarding how to properly study the Scriptures.
In chapter 22 of Matthew we see how the Lord Jesus rebuked the Sadducees for their unbelief in the resurrection by quoting a short passage from Exodus 3:6. He referred them to the title of God-The God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob-and in this very title He proved that resurrection is implied. If we take this passage just in letter or in a natural way, we can never see resurrection in this title. But Jesus pointed out that since God is the God of the living, then Abraham, Isaac and Jacob must be resurrected. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had died, but God is not the God of the dead; therefore, resurrection is proven to be a fact. This is the divine way to study and understand the Scriptures.
As a lad I was much troubled when I read the first two chapters of Genesis. When I read that God formed man out of the dust, I laughed to myself, thinking, “It is just like a little boy making something out of dirt.” Then I read that He breathed life into man, and I thought, “Isn’t that just like a child at play?” When I read that God put man before a tree called the tree of life, I simply could not understand. I could comprehend an apple tree or peach tree, but what was this tree of life? Genesis 2 goes on to tell of a flowing river which was divided into four branches. Then suddenly gold is mentioned, good gold, and another item, called bdellium, and finally onyx stone. Following this, the Lord brought every living creature before Adam, and Adam named each one. But eventually Adam became disappointed, for of the myriads of living creatures he could find none as a suitable counterpart for himself. Then you remember how God put him to sleep, opened his side, and removed a rib; and from that rib God made a woman in the same form and likeness as Adam. Then when Adam awoke and beheld the woman, he said, “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh.” He said in effect, “This is my counterpart.” And the two became one. When I read this account as a youth I exclaimed, “This is really comical! What does it all mean?”
It is very difficult to understand the record of Genesis 2 unless the Lord opens our eyes and imparts heavenly vision. Only the Lord Jesus, who had such wisdom to see God’s resurrection in the title, “The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,” can impart to us the real meaning of Genesis 2. Praise the Lord, since 1938 this chapter has been continually opened to us. For more than thirty years the Holy Spirit has been bringing us back again and again to this chapter.
Genesis 1 shows us that God’s intention in creation is positively to have a corporate man as His unique expression, and negatively to use this man as His representative to deal with His enemy and subdue this rebellious earth. This means that God desires to fully recover the earth. Many people want to go to heaven, but God desires this earth; man and earth are vital and dear to God. Then Genesis 2, not as a continuation, but as a supplement, reveals to us in detail how God could attain the goal of His intention. Step by step we are shown how God will accomplish His expression and representation in man. There are at least six steps.
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