In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness covered the surface of the watery depths, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.
Genesis 1:1-2 (CSB)
The Source Governs the Outcome
A business model is the framework through which value is created, structured, activated and imparted with purpose. It reveals the way a Source operates — how vision is established, how order is formed and how something intended is brought into function then fulfillment. In the Creation narrative, the first expression of God’s ‘business’ model is revealed in creation itself. Beginning in Genesis 1:1-2, God introduces a purposeful, top-down design in which He who resides in heaven governs earth, order emerges as His actions manifests His presence. As a result, the earth was positioned to receive the Creator’s reflection.
The earth and everything in it, the world and its inhabitants, belong to the Lord, for he laid its foundation on the seas and established it on the rivers.
Psalm 24:1-2 (CSB)
The Creator’s Reflection
The scientific principles behind the law of reflection, like those of the law of gravity, are not mentioned explicitly in the creation account but logically inferred. The Creator embedded wisdom that would bear witness in His created world. The simple action of hovering over water, which water itself is formless, would reveal something that is the key motive of the Spirit of God. It was like a stamp or a seal—a theme that would be carried throughout His Word: the Creator’s presence over the waters became an early picture of His reflection, a signature of the One who was bringing order, form, and life out of what was formless.
Go Deeper
The idea of reflection becomes even deeper when we move from what can be seen to what cannot be seen. Creation gives us something visible to observe, but Scripture tells us that God’s wisdom contains things that cannot be discovered by observation alone. Scripture reveals that God also embedded a deeper wisdom within His purposes—a wisdom that existed before creation was fully revealed to mankind. Paul writes, “We speak God’s hidden wisdom in a mystery, a wisdom God predestined before the ages for our glory” (1 Corinthians 2:7).
What was hidden in God was not absent; it was waiting to be revealed. Just as the Spirit of God was present and moving over the waters in Genesis 1:2 before the ordered creation emerged, Paul tells us that the deep things of God are revealed through His Spirit. “For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God” (1 Corinthians 2:10).
This gives the pattern of reflection another dimension. Creation reflects the wisdom of its Creator, while the Spirit reveals the wisdom that cannot be discovered by natural observation alone. What began as a visible signature in creation becomes an inward revelation through the Spirit. The same God who brought order out of what was formless also brings understanding out of what was hidden.
The pattern is consistent: God is the Source, His wisdom is above, His Spirit reveals what is hidden, and His creation becomes a testimony to His design. What was established in the beginning continues to unfold throughout Scripture—not as disconnected ideas, but as reflections of the same divine wisdom.
The heavens declare the glory of God, and the expanse proclaims the work of His hands. Day after day they pour out speech; night after night they communicate knowledge. There is no speech; there are no words; the voice is not heard. Their message has gone out to the whole earth, and their words to the ends of the world.
Psalm 19:1-4 (CSB)
The Pattern of Continuity
Consider the facts about water. This is one way science can deepen our awe of God. The elements that make up water—hydrogen and oxygen—were already in place before the creation narrative unfolded. These two basic elements of life were prepared from the beginning. I believe this provides a compelling parallel—a reflection of something greater. It is remarkable to think that the same water over which the Spirit of God hovered is still present on the earth today. Scientifically, Earth’s water cycle functions as an essentially closed system, continually recycling water through evaporation, condensation, and precipitation. In that sense, the system is complete from beginning to end. Scripture opens with this picture, revealing from the very start something of God’s nature and essence then closes the creation narrative with His statement, “Let us make man in our image according to our likeness…”
We all, with unveiled faces, are looking as in a mirror at the glory of the Lord and are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory; this is from the Lord who is the Spirit.
2 Corinthians 3:18 (CSB)
His Own Image
That very reflection we see climax and manifest on a new surface other than water, revealing deeper layers of understanding and insight into the essence of our existence. This concept, as beautifully reflected in Genesis 1:27, narrates the profound moment when the final act of creation took place: ‘So God created man in His own image; He created him in the image of God; He created them male and female.’ The consistent reminders found in scripture such as Leviticus 11:44 “Be holy, for I am holy.” repeated again in the New Testament, 1 Peter 1:15-16 is a calling for believers to reflect God’s nature, essence and holiness. It’s the way the Source operates: what originates in Him is reflected in what He creates.
For his invisible attributes, that is, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, being understood through what he has made.
Romans 1:20 (CSB)
Perfect Alignment
The principle of reflection reaches its fullest expression in Jesus Christ. When Philip asked Jesus, “Show us the Father,” Jesus answered, “The one who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). Jesus was not merely speaking about representing God or delivering a message from Him; His life revealed the very nature and character of the Father. In Him, the unseen became visible—the Father’s love, mercy, compassion, holiness, healing, and willingness to draw near to humanity were made known through the Son. There was no separation between the heart of the Father and the life of Jesus; they were in perfect alignment of will, purpose, and love. Jesus declared, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30), while Colossians 1:15 describes Him as “the image of the invisible God.” From the waters over which the Spirit hovered, to male and female created in God’s image, to Christ—the perfect image of the Father—the pattern of reflection continues to unfold. What originates above is revealed below, and what is unseen becomes known through what is seen.
So it is written, The first man Adam became a living being; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven.
1 Corinthians 15:45-47 (CSB)
Behold His Glory
Now go to Behind the Word: Image and Reflect