What the Genesis Creation Account Can Teach Us About Our Identity

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”

So many people today struggle to find or create their own identity. The very first verse in the Bible tells us why we already have an identity and why we don’t need to struggle to create one for ourselves. Not only does Genesis 1:1 explains why we all already have an identity, it also explains why our lives have significance, meaning, purpose.

Let’s take a close look at Genesis 1:1 to see why it is the answer to significance, purpose, meaning, and identity. We need a little background first. The verb used in Genesis 1:1, translated as create, means “to bring into existence something entirely new that has never existed before” and the phrase “heavens and the earth” means the entirety of everything, not just the earth and heaven. The Bible begins with this simple, but profound statement of creation ex nihilo – creation out of nothing. Even though Genesis is part of the Hebrew Pentateuch and was written around 1400 years before Christ, Christianity depends on Genesis 1:1 and the triune God creating the universe out of nothing. So, how does this verse give us an identity? Our intrinsic worth, and our given identity depends on a theistic God creating all matter, time, and energy out of nothing.

The reason why requires us to understand our place in the universe and know who we are: We need to know what the ultimate reality is. If the ultimate reality is a God who created us, who created a place for us to live, and who promises us that we can live with Him forever, then this ultimate reality automatically provides us with meaning, purpose, and value, all of which are bestowed on us from outside ourselves. However, if the ultimate reality is only the material universe (matter and energy) then any meaning and purpose must come us, from within ourselves. If our meaning comes from ourselves, then when we are gone, that meaning will also be gone. Every human created meaning will ultimately be meaningless because eventually all humans will be gone, the universe will end in heat death and nothing we did will ultimately matter. But with God as the ultimate reality, everything we do matters and everything we do matters for eternity.

There are only two kinds of things that can exist: necessary things and contingent things. Necessary things exist on their own with no explanation – they simply must exist. Contingent things, however, depend on something else for their existence. The God of the Bible is a necessary being, while everything else is contingent and therefore dependent on God for existence. This sets the Christian doctrine of creation ex nihilo in complete opposition to any other interpretations of the universe – both modern and ancient. Babylonian, Canaanite, Egyptian, Greek, and Roman polytheism all describe their gods as creating from some already existing matter and even the god themselves being created from some already existing material. These gods didn’t create the universe and are therefore contingent: they were created from the universe. In addition, these ancient creation stories usually describe the gods as subsequently making humanity as their slaves, meaning humans were meant to do all the work to allow the gods to live a life of leisure. 

Interpretations of the universe that don’t include Genesis 1:1 either make the material world into a god or have the god or gods coming from some pre-existing material. These interpretations make matter and energy necessary and essentially make the material world into a god. This is similar to the materialism and naturalism of today, which, if true, means that anything we think is meaningful is, in reality, only temporary and subjective. We strive to make our lives meaningful, but if naturalism is true, if the universe wasn’t created by an eternal entity outside of the universe, then objective eternal meaning is impossible. Every accomplishment, every hope, every dream, everything you have ever done will end up being meaningless. Philosophical naturalism and the view that humanity evolved from preexisting matter without any necessary being behind it all is ultimately without hope. Genesis 1:1 provides the basis for us to know that we all have intrinsic meaning, purpose, and an identity given to us by the creator of the universe. 

The Christian doctrine of creation ex nihilo is in complete opposition to any other interpretations of the universe and tells us that God created because he loves us and wants a relationship with us. The Bible repeatedly makes it clear that God does all the work to make it possible for us to be in relationship with him; our efforts are usually a hinderance to the relationship God wants with us. For example, Adam & Eve sinned when they tried to become mature through their own efforts. The story of the Tower of Babel is another example of humanity trying to get to God through their own efforts. If we are simply the result of natural processes, then all we can do is strive on our own to create meaning and purpose. However, because we are the necessary God’s contingent creation, we have meaning and purpose given to us by the one who made us.

The Genesis creation account is in direct opposition to a materialistic view of life and the universe. The creator of the universe had us in mind ontologically prior to Creation. He then created the universe and the world with us in mind, finishing his creation by making us in his image. Genesis makes it clear that humans are the only creatures made in God’s image and that all humans bear this image. This biblical view of humanity being made in God’s image is the only view that accounts for the intrinsic value of human life because it is given to all humans by the only being who could give it to us: the creator of the universe. Our God-given purpose, meaning, and identity is not dependent on our ability or our achievement. It’s not something that depends on what we do or don’t do. God bestowed His image on all humans, and this provides us with inherent value, purpose, worth, and dignity. Our identity is in God, and this identity comes from outside of us. You don’t have to strive and struggle to create an identity for yourself because we already have one. It comes the creator of the universe, and it can’t be taken away.