Finding the right starting point

Before creation, before sin, before rulership, there was Fatherhood. God’s eternal purpose flows not from a problem to be fixed or a kingdom to be managed, but from His heart as a Father, longing for sons and daughters.

Where does the story of humanity really begin? The way we answer that question shapes everything we believe about God, about ourselves, and about history.

Many people start in Genesis 3—with man’s Fall. The world becomes a story about sin and salvation, about brokenness and repair. Redemption is central, but man remains the focus. Our faith risks shrinking into nothing more than a “rescue mission.”

Others take a step back and begin in Genesis 1:28—“Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it.” Here, human history is framed as a story of rulership and dominion. The Kingdom becomes the main theme, but again, man sits at the center as God’s appointed ruler.

Still others choose the very first verse: “In the beginning God created …” (Genesis 1:1). Now the focus shifts from man to God. We see His sovereignty, His wisdom, His design. But even here we are left with a question: Why did God create? What was His heart behind it?

Paul’s radical starting point

The Apostle Paul shows us something deeper. He doesn’t begin with man’s Fall, man’s rulership, or even God’s creative acts. He begins before creation itself—before time, before the foundation of the world. And there he finds the ultimate starting point: God as Father.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself …” — Ephesians 1:3–5

Notice the emphasis: before creation, before sin, before rulership, there was Fatherhood. God’s eternal purpose flows not from a problem to be fixed or a kingdom to be managed, but from His heart as a Father, longing for sons and daughters.

Why This Changes Everything

• When we begin with the Fall, the gospel becomes a story of repair.

• When we begin with dominion, the gospel becomes a story of power.

• When we begin with creation, the gospel becomes a story of design.

• But when we begin with the Father, the gospel becomes a story of love.

  
  

This perspective changes how we see:

• Redemption – not as God scrambling to fix a disaster, but as the Father bringing His children back home.

• The Kingdom – not as man’s rule for its own sake, but as the Father’s household filling the earth.

• The Cross – not as a tragic necessity, but as the supreme revelation of the Father’s self-giving love.

Coming home to the Father

Jesus didn’t just come to deal with sin. He came to reveal the Father (John 14:9). The Spirit doesn’t just empower us for service—He cries out “Abba, Father!” within us (Romans 8:15). And the ultimate goal of history isn’t merely a restored creation, but a family where God will dwell with His people forever (Revelation 21:3).

The true starting point of our story isn’t Genesis 3 or even Genesis 1. It’s the eternal Father, whose love existed before the world began. Everything else—creation, kingdom, redemption—flows out of that.

So perhaps the most important question we can ask ourselves isn’t: What should I do for God? or even What is God’s plan for the world?

The deeper question is: Do I know the Father’s heart?

Because when we start there, everything else finally makes sense.