You asked

how does the new testament echo or reframe this idea of a chaotic state being transformed by divine presence?

Adds the setting and its conversation across both testaments.

Genesis 1:1-3

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was waste and void; and darkness was on the surface of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.”

This passage opens the first book of the Bible, Genesis. It is part of the creation account, describing the state of the world before God's active work of ordering and filling it, establishing the foundational relationship between God and creation.

How might embracing creative potential, even within chaotic or formless situations, open possibilities for light and order in your life today?

Then — the setting

This text, likely composed and compiled over centuries before reaching its final form around the 6th-5th centuries BCE, addresses an ancient Israelite audience. It was written in a context where various creation myths existed, often depicting chaotic battles between deities to establish order. Genesis, in contrast, presents a singular, all-powerful God who speaks order into existence from a state of 'waste and void' (Hebrew: *tohu wabohu*), emphasizing divine sovereignty and effortless creation, rather than conflict.

Across the Testaments

The Old Testament, particularly in Genesis, establishes God as the sovereign creator who brings order, light, and life out of formless chaos, notably through his Spirit and Word. The New Testament profoundly echoes and reframes this. Jesus, as the Word (John 1:1-5), is presented not only as the agent through whom all things were created but also as one who exercises divine power over the chaotic forces of nature, such as calming storms (Mark 4:35-41), and over spiritual chaos, casting out demons and bringing healing. Paul further connects the creation narrative with spiritual transformation, stating that 'God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ' (2 Corinthians 4:6). This reframes the initial cosmic act of creation as an ongoing spiritual act within individuals, where the divine presence brings order and light to inner chaos.

Keep thinking

Read alongside it

Psalm 104:5-9
Describes God's ordering of the waters, echoing the creation narrative's theme of bringing order to chaos.
John 1:1-5
Connects creation, light, and the divine Word, re-echoing the Genesis themes through the person of Jesus.
2 Corinthians 4:6
References God's command 'Let light shine out of darkness' to describe spiritual illumination in the human heart.

Ask your own follow-up