This fall, I began working on a Master of Arts in Theological Studies at Westminster Theological Seminary. My first class is Bible Survey, and one of the main assignments was to write a 7-8 page paper tracing a theme found in the first three books of Genesis throughout Scripture. I was geeking out over all the possibilities of themes to study, but settled on the theme of fullness in God’s presence. (à la Psalm 72:18, “In your presence there is fullness of joy.”)
Studying for and writing this paper was an academic project. But more than that, it was a worshipful and soul-enriching experience.
I know reading an academic paper isn’t everyone’s idea of a good time, and I’m certainly not presenting my paper as an authority on God’s presence. (I am the student in this scenario, after all.)
But I thought you might find your faith stirred and your heart warmed by these truths, as I did, so I wanted to share them with you. Because it’s so long, I’ve created a free PDF download rather than copying the entire text below. You can access it here.
Here’s a snippet of my paper’s beginning:
Every person has a problem. Despite our best intentions to live lives full of meaning and purpose, we rarely attain that goal. Even Christians can go through the motions of life, resulting in an empty existence, rather than living with joyful, courageous intentionality for the glory of their Maker. In the Garden of Eden, God gave the blueprint for a purpose-filled life, one lived in God’s presence and according to his way. This paper traces the theme of fullness in God’s presence, beginning at its conception in Creation, reaching its peak in the finished work of Christ, and looking ahead to the final day when all earth and heaven are full of the glory and knowledge of God.
As the psalmist says, “In your presence is fullness of joy” (Ps 16:11), so at the beginning of Creation, God gave the first humans, Adam and Eve, access to full joy not only by creating, blessing, providing for, and instructing them, but most importantly, by allowing them to experience his presence (Gen 1:27-30).
Tragically, the story doesn’t stop there. Though Adam and Eve had fullness of joy in God’s presence, they felt like they were missing something. Unlike the Psalmist’s declaration that he had nothing good besides God (Ps 16:2), Adam and Eve began to wonder if God was withholding something good from them. Little did they know that their search for goodness outside of the presence of their Creator would result in the entire race of humanity falling under the curse of sin. Instead of receiving joy from God’s presence, Adam and Eve’s sin caused them to hide from God (Gen 3:8), the only source of goodness. “In Adam’s fall, we sinned all,” and now we need someone who can bring us back to reunification with the God of the universe. How can sinful humanity ever hope to know the fullness of joy that comes from God’s presence?
And for anyone who reads the paper and feels like some texts are missing, you are correct. Here are my professor’s comments:
Solid work. A couple of additional texts that are very important for this theme: John 2:19–21 (Jesus is the true temple); Eph 2:19–22 (church as temple); Rev 21:9–27 (whole of creation has become the temple). You mention the last one briefly at the end, but this is a really important aspect of your them, so it could definitely be expanded with profit.
Overall, my main takeaway from this paper is that God is merciful and so very kind to pursue his fallen creatures. We cannot experience peace and joy in his presence apart from the work of the Triune God. But because of the Father’s plan, the Son’s sacrifice, and the Spirit’s regeneration, every believer can echo the Psalmist, “God, in your presence—and in your presence alone—is absolute fullness of joy!”