Oneness and the Creation, Part One

As oneness is in the nature of the Creator oneness should also be evident in the Creation. The harmony of ecosystems and all created things is well established. Our focus however is the oneness of the crown jewel of God’s creation, mankind.

Genesis 2:6-7 shows the creation of man as a caring, personal act where ‘God breathed into man the breath of life and man became a living soul.’ God is no creation machine; his hands lovingly form and shape the man…His breath brings him to life. It is intimate, face to face, hands on. Literally God’s oneness with man gives him life.

And as Adam comes to life he becomes one with God. All his needs are personally met by God. (Gen. 2:8-14) Adam and God have a mutual work project in maintaining the Garden of Eden. (Gen. 2:15) And then God gave man boundaries with which to frame his life by forbidding him to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

But in spite of all that—God is his friend, his needs are met, a beautiful place to live, meaningful work, and, loving boundaries—God said something was not good (and that was after two chapters of, “It is good,”.

“It is not good for man to be alone.” –God, in Genesis 2:18

The very first negative statement uttered in the history of the world was about mankind’s need of oneness. And God is so concerned about it he takes the initiative to provide Adam with a “suitable” helper. By the way, suitable would seem to mean one with whom Adam can enjoy oneness; oneness is the measuring stick.

Now notice an amazing passage in Genesis 2:18-20:

“So God formed from the dirt of the ground all the animals of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the Man to see what he would name them. Whatever the Man called each living creature, that was its name. The Man named the cattle, named the birds of the air, named the wild animals; but he didn’t find a suitable companion.”

Did you ever see that because I didn’t until recently? Because of man’s aloneness God made the animals. All the animal kingdom exists today because God wanted man to have a companion! I find that to be an astonishing truth. We have dogs and cats (and every other animal) because God wanted Adam to have oneness with someone other than him. And because God is passionate for oneness and no companion could be found among the animal kingdom, God makes Eve. We will talk about her next time.