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The typological connections between Christ and Adam have been well-observed and well-documented. Between G.K. Beale, Meredith Kline, N.T. Wright, and John Walton, the depths of the vast network of Jesus' faithful Adamic administration have been plumbed. However, there appears to be one area in which Christ's eschatological work seems not to be given the theological attention it deserves: Christ's specific work of solving the problem of tohu wabohu.

Tohu and wabohu are two Hebrew words that mean “formless" and “empty/void." They appear in Genesis 1:1-2, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep." In the following creation narrative, YHWH will begin to form and fill his creation. On creation days 1-3, God forms the spaces (1—light/darkness, 2—sky/water, 3—land/vegetation). On days 4-6, God fills the spaces with inhabitants (4—sun/moon/stars, 5—birds/fish, 6—animals/humans). In doing so, God brings order out of chaos and prepares the world to reflect his glory.

However, on day 6, God does something different: he delegates the completion of filling to Adam. In Genesis 1:27-28 we read, "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.'" Adam and Eve were, in part, tasked with filling what is still wabohu—empty. Adam, as God's vice-regent, was to extend God's order by filling the world with image-bearers who would reflect God's glory. However, Adam failed—sin entered, bringing disorder (tohu wabohu) back into creation through death and corruption. Redemptive history would see Adam-like figures arising and trying to restore the pre-fall cosmic order—but never ultimately succeeding. Until, that is, the Last Adam arrives (1 Corinthians 15:45).

Just as Adam was to fill the earth with physical offspring, Jesus fills the new creation with spiritual offspring—His redeemed people. In John 14:1-2 Jesus tells his disciples, "Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?" As Jesus prepares to face the cross and restore the cosmos from chaos, he echoes God's forming of the original creation. Jesus, as the divine Son, is shaping the "new heavens and new earth" where His people will dwell.

After the resurrection, Jesus speaks to his disciples again, giving them a new mandate, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations" (Matthew 28:19). This mandate not only sees God's glory extended throughout the fallen, physical realm but has eternal, spiritual implications. All disciples of Jesus will fill the heavenly place Jesus has prepared for them. The command for disciple-making is both a present and an eschatological fulfillment of the Adamic mandate to fill the earth.

At the end of history, Revelation 21:1-3 shows the completed work—New Jerusalem descends, and God's dwelling is with man: "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God." Jesus, the Last Adam, has not only formed the eternal kingdom but has also filled it with His people.

Adam's charge was to bring continued glory to God's formed world by filling it with image-bearers, but he failed. Jesus, the Last Adam, does not just fulfill the mandate perfectly, but he does something greater in redeeming fallen creation by:

  1. Preparing the eternal dwelling (forming the space).
  2. Filling it with His redeemed people (spiritual multiplication).

Thus, Christ completes Adam's mission more significantly and eternally by bringing ultimate order out of tohu wabohu—a kingdom that will never be empty or formless again. However, Christ is not merely finishing Adam's work but is achieving something radically greater—reconciling sinners to God through His atoning sacrifice and sovereign grace.

Application of Christ's Work of Tohu Wabohu

The fact that Jesus completes the tohu wabohu (formless and void) pattern of Genesis has profound implications for the Christian life. If Jesus is the Last Adam who forms and fills the new creation, believers are called to participate in that work. Here is how this truth impacts Christian life and mission:

1. A New Creation Identity: From Chaos to Order

Before salvation, our lives mirror the tohu wabohu—formless, void, and filled with sin and disorder. However, "if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation" (2 Cor. 5:17). Jesus does for us personally what God did in Genesis—He forms a new identity in us and fills us with His Spirit. This means: 

- We are no longer spiritually dead but filled with the life-giving presence of God. 

- Our lives are being reordered according to Christ's image (Rom. 8:29). 

Implication: The Christian life is about allowing Christ to shape and fill us daily, submitting to His transformative work.

2. Participation in the Great Commission: Filling the New Creation

Just as Adam's calling was to "be fruitful and multiply," and Jesus commissioned His disciples to "make disciples of all nations" (Matt. 28:19), Christians are now part of this filling process. 

- Evangelism: Sharing the gospel brings people from spiritual tohu wabohu (chaos) into God's kingdom and cosmic order.

- Discipleship: Helping others grow in faith is part of God's filling work. 

- Church Planting & Missions: Expanding God's kingdom mirrors Adam's original call to extend Eden. 

Implication: Every believer is involved in God's mission—whether locally or globally—by bringing people into His new creation.

3. Hope in Christ's Ultimate Completion

Jesus is preparing a place (John 14:2) and filling it with His people. This gives us hope in suffering because we know the story ends with a fully formed and filled creation in the New Heavens and New Earth (Rev. 21:1-3), and the promise: "Behold, I am making all things new" (Rev. 21:5). Thus,

- We endure hardship knowing chaos will not last. 

- We labor for the kingdom, knowing our work contributes to eternal restoration. 

Implication: Christians live confidently, knowing God's ultimate goal is not destruction but renewal.

4. Holiness: Being a Dwelling Place of God

Since Jesus is forming and filling His people, we must live in a way that reflects His new creation work. Paul says," Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?" (1 Cor. 3:16). As such:

- The Spirit fills us just as God filled creation with life. 

- We must not return to tohu wabohu by living in sin (Eph. 5:18). 

- Our bodies, actions, and thoughts should reflect Christ's order and holiness. 

Implication: Christians are called to live as Spirit-filled temples, reflecting God's order in their daily lives. 

Final Thought: Living as Builders in God's New World 

Since Jesus is both forming and filling the new creation, we are co-workers with Him (1 Cor. 3:9). This means: 

- Every act of faithfulness—parenting, teaching, serving, working—participates in Christ's filling work. 

- Our labor is not in vain because it contributes to God's eternal purposes (1 Cor. 15:58). 

Jesus' completion of tohu wabohu is not just theological—it shapes our mission, identity, and hope as Christians. His eschatological work of multiplication and fulfillment of the full Adamic mandate should encourage the Christian and motivate the individual Christian's role in the Great Commission—may we help fill the new heavens and new earth!