Genesis 1-11 in the New Testament

2023-11-07

Genesis 1-11 is under attack because it establishes God as both creator and righteous judge. However, how did Jesus and the writers of the New Testament view these chapters? They quoted and referenced these events on numerous occasions.

Creation

God is the creator: “For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be.” (Mark 13:19). Nature came from God and was not from eternity past.

“But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female” (Mark 10:6). God is not only creator, but He created humankind at the beginning of time, not millions of years after. He also created two genders.

“For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:20). The creation reflects attributes of its Creator. He is the righteous judge, and He cared for His creation. Read more here.

God created everything out of nothing. “...God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were” (Romans 4:17).

God created everything good. “For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving” (1 Timothy 4:4).

Light created in darkness. “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” (2 Corinthians 4:6).

Adam became a living soul. “And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit” (1 Corinthians 15:45). He was created from the earth. “The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven” (1 Corinthians 15:47).

God rested on the seventh day of creation. “For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works” (Hebrews 4:4).

The tree of life is restored in Revelation 2:7; 22:14.

See also Mark 13:19; Acts 14:15; 17:24; Ephesians 3:9; Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 1:10.

Marriage and Gender

“But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh” (Mark 10:6-8). When Jesus was asked about divorce, He quoted Genesis to establish the foundation for both gender and marriage. See also Matthew 19:4-6; 1 Corinthians 6:16; Ephesians 5:30-31.

Woman was created from man. “For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man” (1 Corinthians 11:8).

Eve was a help for Adam. “But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God” (1 Corinthians 11:3). See also 1 Corinthians 11:9.

Adam was created in the image of God. “Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God” (James 3:9).

The Fall

“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” (Romans 5:12). By Adam, the whole world was affected by sin. See also Romans 5:14-19.

Death came from Adam. “For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:21-22).

“For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now” (Romans 8:22). The entire creation of God has suffered because of sin.

The Flood

“For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Matthew 24:38-39). Jesus acknowledged Noah was a historical person and spoke of the Flood as an example of the coming judgment.

“By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water” (1 Peter 3:19-20). With a possible reference to the “sons of God” in Noah’s day, the apostle Peter mentions the flood and the building of the ark as historical events.

“Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished” (2 Peter 3:3-6). Before the coming judgment, people were scoffers, choosing to be ignorant of the judgment of the Flood.

Babel

“And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation” (Acts 17:26). All people coming from a single man, God divided them into nations and created their boundaries. Discussion on Babel here.

Historical Figures

Adam as the first man: “And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit” (1 Corinthians 15:45). See also Luke 3:38; Romans 5:14; 1 Corinthians 15:22; 1 Timothy 2:13, 14; Jude 1:14.

Eve deceived by the serpent: “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:3). See also 1 Timothy 2:13, 14.

Abel’s sacrifice: “By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh” (Hebrews 11:4). See also Matthew 23:35; Luke 11:51; Hebrews 12:24.

Cain’s murder of his brother: “Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous” (1 John 3:12). See also Jude 1:11.

Enoch and his translation to heaven: “By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God” (Hebrews 11:5). See also Jude 1:14.

Noah and the flood are mentioned by Jesus, as quoted above. He is also in the genealogy of Christ, as is his son Shem, and his entire line back to Adam. See Luke 3:34-38. See also Hebrews 11:7.

Satan as the serpent was the first liar according to John 8:44; 1 John 3:8. He is the serpent in Genesis 3 according to Revelation 12:9; 20:2.

Can anyone think that Genesis 1-11 is still an allegory? They would be at odds with the apostles and the Lord Himself.

Here, you can see that if you dismiss Genesis 1-11 as myth, you undermine the words of our Lord Jesus Christ and His apostles and the whole of the New Testament. The Bible is a unit; if you reject the foundation, you will end up rejecting the entire thing.