Salvation History. Chapter 5. The Creation of Earth and Man.

Chapter 5: - THE CREATION OF EARTH AND OF MAN.


THE CREATION OF THE EARTH.

It is not the intention of this chapter to develop a whole teaching of Creation. It is only our purpose to look at those aspects that relate to our main theme – Salvation History. Hence we will not touch on questions such as the relation of science to the Bible.

1. There are Two Creation Theories.

Genesis 1:1,2.
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.”

In the Church there are two ways of understanding this chapter:

1. The Dual creation theory.
Also called the Restitution Theory, or Gap theory.
This interpretation states that:
* Genesis 1:1 was a complete creation of the heavens and the earth, the earth being populated by human-type creatures.
* The earth of this original creation was destroyed by a judgement of God brought about by the rebellion of Lucifer. Genesis 1:2 records this destruction. An alternative translation of v 2 is: "And the earth became chaos..."
* Genesis 1:3ff records the recreation of this earth by God subsequent to that destruction.

It is the opinion of this author that the gap theory is incorrect. The prime reason for rejecting this theory is the statement of:
Genesis 1:31.
"God saw EVERYTHING that he had made, and it was ALL very good".

There seems to me to be no room in this statement for the existence of an evil power, namely Lucifer, in God’s creation at this point in time. The “everything” and the “all” cover not just the earth but also the heavens. There seems to be no room in the "everything" and "all" for anything to be "not good".
This suggests strongly that evil could not have yet entered the universe.
The gap theory is an attempt to provide an explanation for the origin of Satan and demons, but there are other explanations (Traditional to Jewish interpretation) which explain these, and seem to follow scripture more closely. Thus the rebellion of Lucifer and the formation of demons had not yet taken place.

2. The single creation theory.

* Genesis 1:2ff record the creation of the earth for the first time.
* Genesis 1:1 is a summary title, of which Genesis 1:2ff provides the details.
This is a common format of Jewish story writing style in the OT – there is a summary verse that acts as a title, followed by an detailed account of the story. Any good course in OT literature would cover this story writing format.
* The Word "became" is thus translated in its normal sense of "was".
* We can give Genesis 1:31 its full weight – “everything…. was all very good”


2. The Population of Earth before Man.


As we saw with the greater universe, it appears that every star and planet has a spiritual being (angel) assigned to it as a sort of protector. It would appear that earth has a similar structure of spiritual beings that are responsible for the ongoing function of creation. These beings the Bible calls the “Elemental Spirits”, or, “Spirits of the Elements”.

These spirits appear to be intelligent beings, having defined areas of responsibility on the earth for controlling aspects of the natural order.

Colossians 2:8 (RSV).
“See to it that no one makes a prey of you by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ.”

Revelation 7:1.
“After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree.”

These angels are later identified as "the four winds" so the relationship between them and the elements, in this case the winds, is very close.

We know little about these spirits and the scope of their operation, but it would appear that they have control of the natural forces, wind, rain, etc. Thus they were established as “powers” (Ephesians 6:12) and have defined functions and responsibilities ordained by God. These spirits were created by God and are essentially “good”. They operated at this time of history according to God's intention and law after creation and, most of the time, they still do.

As we go through this story of salvation history we shall comment on their state and function at various points along the way.


3. The Administration of Earth Before the Creation of Man.


It will be clear from this title statement that I do not believe in a literal 7 days of creation. There are several reasons for this but it is beyond the scope of this writing to debate the issue. I will proceed on the assumption that the “days” of Genesis 1 were prolonged periods of time, the duration of which we don’t know.

I just want to state here that God’s processes of creation were not instantaneous miraculous events. The use of words in the text such as “formed”, “shaped” suggest God took pleasure in the process of the creation and took time over “getting his hands dirty” with the work of creation. Passages such as Job 38 could imply long periods of time in the creation process.

Suffice to say at this point that I believe God finished the creation of the earth and the animals on it some considerable time (according to earth-time measurement) before he created man. Genesis 2 indicates that there was a considerable gap between the creation of the man and the creation of the woman, during which Adam named all the animals, a task that would have taken several months, if not years. Yet, according to Genesis chapter 1, this would have had to be done in a 12 hour period - if the "days" of Genesis 1 are literal. So i end up thinking that creation took place over a much longer time than just 6 literal days.


Because it was God’s ultimate intention to given rulership of earth to mankind he instituted an “interim government” between when he finished the creation and when he created man. It would appear that the Archangel Lucifer was made responsible for the earth in this time period. One passage of the Bible suggests this to me.

Ezekiel 28:12-15.
"Son of man, take up a lament concerning the king of Tyre and say to him: `This is what the Sovereign LORD says: "`You were the model of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz and emerald, chrysolite, onyx and jasper, sapphire, turquoise and beryl. Your settings and mountings were made of gold; on the day you were created they were prepared. You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you.”

This passage is addressed to the “king of Tyre” but the things said about him clearly do not apply to a human personage. It is generally agreed that this is referring to Lucifer, as the Satanic Prince of Tyre.

The important thing this passage says for our subject is that this “king of Tyre” was “in Eden the garden of God” and he was placed there as a “Guardian cherub”, a function he fulfilled to some degree until rebellion was “found in (him)”.

There is absolutely no reason why this cannot refer to the Garden of Eden we know of in Genesis 2 & 3. Lucifer was placed there as a “guardian cherub” – but this would have been unnecessary if man had been created immediately. The need for a guardian is only established by the fact that the real owner is not present.

We are told that Lucifer was “ordained” to this position and function by God. We need to remember that earth was to be the crowning glory of God’s creation – all the angelic realm knew this was special to God so to be appointed “guardian” of that was a very high honour. How long he functioned in this office until man was created we do not know – but I suspect it was a considerable length of time. To be appointed "guardian" of the earth, God's highest creative act, was in itself a great honour and indicates something of the honour bestowed on Lucifer by God in the heavens.

This has amazing implications, as we shall see later on.


4. The Creation of Man.

In Genesis 1 & 2 there are two accounts of the creation of Man.

(i) Genesis 1:26-31 deals primarily with the sequential place of man in the order of creation. Genesis 1 is about how the world and its inhabitants got here, not with the details of the creation of mankind. This is the focus of Genesis 2 where details can be found.

(ii) Genesis 2:4-9, 21-23 deals with the priority in position of man over creation.

These stories are not contradictory, rather compliment each other in that they are written for different purposes.
Genesis 1 is painting the background scene; Genesis 2 is painting the centre of interest onto the picture, the focal point.

These two stories only become contradictory if one insists on a literal interpretation of "days" in Chapter 1. If we do this then several statements of Chapter 2 become very difficult to explain and end up contradicting statements of Genesis 1. Bu this is beyond the scope of this series. I just point it out so you can think about it. This does not suggest Genesis 1 is not "true" but it does say that sheer literalism may not be the "true" way to understand it.

(1) Genesis 1:26-31.
“Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground." Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground- everything that has the breath of life in it- I give every green plant for food." And it was so.
God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning- the sixth day.”


(a) "Let us..."

Here we see man's creation as a result of the interaction of the Trinity discussing the issue. Man's creation was preceded by a solemn Divine council.

(b) "make man..."

Man was a distinct creation apart from the animals. However his creation on the sixth day also shows his kinship with the animals. The passage is saying, “Man is like the animals, but is different from them.”

"Man" – Hebrew ‘adam. Here is a singular noun which is collective like the words “cattle”, “sheep”. As it is a collective noun it is never used in the plural. It includes man and woman.

It becomes a proper name later in the story.

The Root is uncertain - possibly:
- 'adamah = ground, or,
- 'dam = blood, or,
- 'dm = red - a reference to the red colour of the ground in the Middle East.

Man is, by his name and by his constitution, related to the earth. He is earthly, created, dependent on God.

(c) "In our image, after our likeness"

“likeness” – refers to God’s inner nature as an intelligent, moral, emotional and spiritual being.
“image” - refers to the external image. It is the regular OT word for shadow and image, as in an idol, statue.

Derek Prince:
“It is still the modern Hebrew word for “photo”. For over 3500 years it has retained the meaning of “a representation of the external image.” This means God has a form – he has a face, eyes, ears, a mouth, hands, legs, a body, a front, a back, etc. Man is like God in this. Even the angels do not show forth the (physical) image of God. This sets man apart from all other created beings.”

Some Christians have a problem with the idea of God having a shape. This is because of our tendency to think of the spiritual realm as being ethereal, ghostly, insubstantial, unreal, formless and shapeless. This is not the Bible view of the spiritual realm. Rather, as we have already seen, the spiritual realm is “more real” than our physical realm, more substantial. Our realm is only the copy, or “shadow” of the spiritual realm – the word “shadow” suggests that, compared with the spiritual realm, it is our realm that lacks substance. For this reason Christ had a (physical) resurrection body. It could be felt, handled, by the disciples. It was not “ghostly”.

(I put “physical” in brackets in the last two paragraphs because “physical” in the sense we understand it may not be what we are trying to say about the substantialness of the spiritual realm, but it is the only word I have to try to convey the meaning. Language fails me here.)

The fact that Christ, who is God, now has a (physical) body and is in heaven is enough to show that God (the Trinity) has a body.

It is all a bit of a mystery but we don't have to be put off by the idea of God having a body. We are not descending into anthropomorphism by saying so, because anthropomorphism is (by definition) the projection of human attributes on to God. This is not what we are doing here. Rather we are saying that God has attributes and some of these he has also given man. It is, in fact, the reverse procedure.

(d) "male and female"

In some way male and female sum up part of what it means to be the "image of God". In making this pronouncement God speaks of himself as plural, thus the plurality of man and woman together being one somehow expresses the image of God.

However, even in saying this, it is primarily the male rather than the female that God is like.

1 Corinthians 11:7.
“A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man.”


(e) “and let them have dominion…”

Man was made to be God's co-regent on Earth. Man was created to be a King.

Man was given a real rulership over every created being, seen and unseen, living on the earth or within its environs.

The extent of man's rule was to be (1:27):
* As high as the birds can fly - about 5 miles for the eagle.
* As deep as the fish can swim.
* Over all the surface of the land.

Not into outer space, nor under the earth.

2. Genesis 2:4-25.
“ This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created. When the LORD God made the earth and the heavens - and no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth and no plant of the field had yet sprung up, for the LORD God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no man to work the ground, but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground - the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground - trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters.
The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. (The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there.) The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush. The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Asshur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.
The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.
And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."
The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him." Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper was found. So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. The man said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called `woman,' for she was taken out of man."
For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.
The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.”


(a) "The Lord God".

Note the use of the covenant name "Lord" to indicate a special relationship between man and God. Man is created into a covenant relationship with God. This is not true of the animals.

(b) "Formed"

The word is used of a potter forming clay. It stresses man is created, he is made. But the man is not just brought into being by God speaking, as is the rest of creation. Here there is a very intimate picture. God gets his hands dirty making man.


(c) "of Dust"

Man is not an elevated being he is made out of the same stuff as the earth.

1 Corinthians 15:47.
“The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven.”

2 Corinthians 4:7.
“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all - surpassing power is from God and not from us.”

(d)"breathed into him"

Hebrew: “a short sharp breath, a puff.”
As with mouth to mouth resuscitation. Man had a unique origin, a face to face confrontation with God. This was a “kiss of life”. This establishes the nature of man’s life and being, he is intended to be face to face with God. The "Kiss of life" speaks of the intimacy of relationship God wants us to have with him. We only kiss on the mouth those who we love in a special way.


(e)"the breath of lives"

"Breath" Hebrew: ruach - breath, spirit, wind. The Hebrew word sounds as if it would continue, i.e. the Holy Spirit gives without taking. Spirit life is eternal and creative; it comes into being out of its own creative power. Spirit is the continuous outpouring of the Eternal God.

It is not used of the animals, implying a specialness about man; animals have a different kind of breath.

"Lives” Hebrew: chaiyim - is plural, life in all its forms. However it is clear from later in the story that this did not include Eternal life, which was only available from the Tree of Life (Genesis 3:22). While man was in the Garden he could eat of the Tree of Life and experience eternal life, but outside of the Garden this was not available.

Man's life comes from the breath of God, man is not only made in God's image, but lives by God's life, his life is, as it were, a fragment of the Divine life.
Included in this is spiritual life, physical life and soulish life. This means man had a unique capacity for fellowship with God.

(f)"a living soul"

Hebrew: nephesh. Refers here to the totality of his being, or “soul life”. Soul life is dependent, it receives before it gives forth, it breathes in before it can breathe out. Every baby has to have someone who makes it live.


SOME IMPLICATIONS.


1. The Priority of Man in Creation.

In Genesis 1 we read God finished his creation of all of the animals before he began on the creation of man. In Hebrew understanding we see here the implication that man is the crown, the goal, of creation. Everything else is to be seen simply as preparation for the great event. Man is the great event. Whatever other life forms exist in the universe they are not to be seen as equal to man in status or purpose. We are the most important beings in God’s creation. To say otherwise is unbelief, not humility. This priority is also seen in the fact that man is given the task of naming the animals, thus implying authority over them.


2. Man was created for Fellowship with God.

This is implied by the face to face confrontation in the act of creation. No other being had such a meeting with God that was integral to their very existence. It is also implied by the idea of being made in God’s image and likeness. Man, in a unique way, has the capacity to correspond to God and thus to relate to God in every way – spiritual, emotional, intellectual and physical.

3. Man is related to the Animals but is different from them.

The relationship of man to the animals is suggested by the fact that both are created of dust and that both are created on the sixth day.

The differences between man and the animal kingdom are many.

(i) The animals were CALLED into being by God's word, as in the pattern of Genesis 1. Man, however, was formed BY GOD'S HANDS, and life was breathed into him by the mouth of God.

(ii) Man was created, not to be another animal, but to RULE OVER THE ANIMALS - implied by 1:26, and the process of naming in Ch 2.

(iii) There was something unique in the nature of man that set him apart from the other animals, this is identified here as "the Image of God". The element of the "soul" also is not true of animals. They have no self-consciousness as man does. Animals have body and no spirit, and hence no soul in the Christian understanding of soul, which is a unity of spirit and body.

Hence man is not just an advanced animal, but has a higher dignity and calling in God's plan.


(4) Man is Different from the Angels.

Angels are made pure spirit, with no physical body. They may have some form of body (1 Corinthians 15 may suggest this), but if so we do not know what it is. Angels apparently can, at times, take on a physical body, but this is only in the fulfillment of some Divine task, they cannot remain so embodied.
The difference between men and angels is not in the area of free will, as is often taught. If angels had no free will how could Lucifer and his followers have rebelled? No the real difference between men and angels is twofold:
* Man has a physical body, angels do not.
* Men and angels have been given different places and functions in God's economy.

Thus in this creative act we see man as a totally unique creation:
The only conclusion we can come to from this is that man is unique in his nature. The existence of "soul" being in man unique in all of the universe, so far as we know.


(5) In man the Spiritual and Material are perfectly united.


There was complete harmony between the physical and spiritual realms in the nature of man, and the total man was called by God, "Good" (Genesis 1:31).

There is no hint in the Bible of the common view, held by most religions, that the physical side is essentially evil and thus only the spiritual is valuable. God's eternal plan was to make a being that was both physical and spiritual, in perfect unity, the end product being "Good".


THE NATURE OF MAN WHEN CREATED.


(1) Man is Spirit, Soul and Body.

Without any of these three elements he would not be man. Because of the essential unity of these three in man we see in the final restoration of all things that resurrected man has a body, the exact nature of which we are not sure.

1 Corinthians 15:44.
“it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.”

This description of man in three distinct but unified parts is called the TRIPARTITE NATURE OF MAN, and is a belief arrived at only by reason of the Biblical revelation - it can be arrived at no other way.

Modern Psychiatry and Psychology, in their study of man have only arrived at one or other of two views:
(i) Dualism: the belief in a bipartite nature of man (i.e. two parts). This admits only two parts called body and soul, and the spiritual nature of man is denied.
(ii) Monism: Man is only one thing – physical chemicals. This is the view of Behaviourism.

The Bible, however, clearly distinguishes between soul and spirit, both in function and in their essence:

1 Thessalonians 5:22,23.
“May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

God wants to sanctify us in all three parts.

Hebrews 4:12.
“For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

The function of the Word of God is to divide between spirit and soul. This could only be done if they were, in fact, essentially different things.


2. The Functions of Each Part.

(a) Body - gives us world-consciousness. It is different for every man. Through it we are aware of the world around us through the five senses - hearing, taste, touch, sight and smell, and through it we communicate with the world.

(b) Spirit - gives us God consciousness. It is a life principle from God and is, in essence, the same for every man. Through this we can have relationship with the spiritual realm. It has three main functions of conscience, intuition and communion (i.e. God-consciousness). It also has five spiritual senses that correspond to the physical senses, and here also is the ability to speak in tongues (1 Corinthians 14:14).
Because man has spirit he is creative in his essential being. It is in the very nature of man to want to create. It is a characteristic of evil that it seeks to destroy. A false religion, or cult, can easily be identified by whether or not it allows freethinking, creativity in its members, or whether conformity is the greatest requirement.

(c) Soul - gives us self-consciousness. It is the result of the fusion of body and spirit; hence it is different for every man. It is our personality. It has three main functions - mind (intellect), will (volition) and emotions (feelings).

The soul, then, stands in between the two basic elements of body and spirit and shares them. Hence it can choose between them - between the physical and the spiritual. This function of choice is the key function of the soul, and of the whole man, hence we are called "living souls". The Bible calls us this to emphasis the function of the will.

3. How we were meant to Operate.

As we can see from the above, the two issues of the soul are:

(i) Where do we get our light (i.e. knowledge) from and,

(ii) What do we do with it, i.e. what are our will decisions?

Man was designed by God to work in a particular order. The following diagram illustrates how God intended man to function, and it is how we should operate as Christians. As you can see we are meant to rely on the revelation of God for ALL knowledge, and not on what we can find out through our physical senses.

GOD

Reveals to

MAN'S SPIRIT (i.e. intuition)

Which illuminates the

SOUL (i.e. the mind)

Which by the will directs the

BODY (i.e. actions).


(4) The Latent Power of the Soul.

When God created man he created him with tremendous abilities and capacities in the area of his soul. One of the results of the fall has been the loss, to some degree, of this ability.

Certain examples are given in the early part of Genesis, which show this tremendous ability.

(a) Genesis 1:27,28. Given the Task to Subdue the Earth.

God would not have given him a task he was not capable of. This is a commission to manage the earth, atmosphere and seas, and all that inhabits them. To rule is not to sit by and watch, it is to manage and work it. This implies tremendous power and strength.

(b) Genesis 2:19-20. Man names the animals.

In Hebrew thought the name is a sort of description of someone's character, or nature. To name the animals, therefore, shows that man had:

(i) An intuitive scientific knowledge as he was able, by looking at an animal, to sum it up and give it a name to suit.
Naming is a creative act, it expresses a nature. This implies:
* That Adam was given the task of finishing the creation God had begun. Not only did Adam have to extend the garden to cover the whole earth; he also had the ability to define the personalities of the animals he ruled.
* That Adam understood the relationships between the animals, their kinds, orders, species, etc. He knew this by intuition not by research. Man is still trying to classify nature, but is doing it the hard way. Plato, who worked out the laws of classification, argued that you cannot classify from below, as science attempts to do today. Rather you must classify from above, i.e. from the genus, and then you define the species. To know the genus, Plato said, the definition must come from intuition, not by observation. Science attempts to do it by observation. Adam had this intuitive ability perfectly.
(ii) A powerful intellect - he was able to invent new words and give them meaning.
(iii) An incredible memory, so as not to use the same name twice.

(c) His managerial power.

Adam was given a garden; the dimensions of it are amazing in size. In this garden he was to dress and keep it. To "keep" includes the idea of defending it from enemies.

Watchman Nee in his book, “The Latent Power of the Soul”, and George Otis, in his book, "The Twilight Labyrinth” both have interesting discussions on the nature of man before the fall. Both books are well worth reading on this point.

(5) Man Created Perfect, but Incomplete.

God created Adam perfect, but deep inside Adam was unfulfilled. In the surrounding world of nature he could see that every creature had a partner corresponding to itself. He was alone.

Man alone was the only being to be created without an immediate mate. God wanted fellowship with Adam and he made Adam aware of this by allowing him to need it too.

Genesis 2:20-24. “A helper to stand in front of him”.

I.e. a person he could share it all with and relate to on the same level.
Adam had no one to share it with, so his joy was incomplete.

I believe the task of naming the animals, which Adam undertook before Eve was created, took him some extended period of time. I believe he saw the animals mating, offspring being born, animals dying. And he saw, at an animal level, the companionship of having a mate.
I believe what went on in Adam was something like this:
He realised that he had the equipment for mating (sexual organs), but he did not have a mate. He must have realised that it was God’s intention to giver him a mate at some point. I believe he got lonely. So lonely that one day when he was walking with God in the evening he cried out in tears of loneliness to God for a mate. And God said, “Now you understand how I feel about you and my desire for fellowship with you. Now you are ready to have a mate.”

Loneliness is not a sin, nor is it the result of sin. It is the natural response of a being, created for fellowship, when that fellowship is denied. Adam was lonely – even thought he had this incredible relationship with God. God did not fill the void of needed human relationship with himself – because it was not his intention to do so. Nor is it his desire to do so for most of us. His view of things is that, “It is not good for man to be alone.” Nor woman, for that matter.

Ministries which say to you, "Let God fulfill your needs (for sexual fulfillment and opposite sex companionship)" are simply wrong. God does not fulfill those needs unless he calls someone to celibacy. In the creative plan of God he made us with human needs for companionship and physical sexual fulfillment, and he has no intention of himself being the fulfillment of them. He intends for us to have a human "other half".


(6) Man Created Perfect, but Immature.

Part of God’s purpose in creating man was so he could have a creature who would relate to him in a loving relationship. Love, by its very nature, has to be a free gift from one person to another. This implies man had to have a will that was free to choose to love – or not to, should he so choose.

Man was created with a will, i.e. the ability to choose between options, or courses of action. This is implied in:

Genesis 2:16,17.
“And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."

A command can only mean that the being given the command has a real ability to obey it or disobey it, i.e. free will.

Man was created immature - to become mature he needs to learn to make personal moral decisions. Hence God gave this situation of choice.

Free will means that man has the capacity to make real choices that will affect his destiny. But for free will to be a reality there had to be a real choice that he could choose.

If free will is to have any meaning then God must have, in some way, limited his own power and presence so that outcomes became dependent on man's choices. This is part of the whole overall picture we see of God and his relationship to creation: God, who is omnipresent, has deliberately chosen to withdraw himself in such a way that the creation could have a real, independent existence apart from God. In this way the creation is not God. This is not Pantheism.

God left Adam and Eve alone for long periods of time – he seemed to only visit them in the evenings. He left only one representative of himself behind when he was gone – his word. God reveals himself through his word. The place his word has in our lives is the place he has in our lives. The test of Adam’s relationship with God was his relationship with God's word.

The nature of free will, if it is to be real, means that the one with free will must be able to make decisions that are wrong and those decisions have real outflows and consequences. If, for example, God had made a universe in which every time Adam made a wrong decision then God would override it, then free will would be a mockery. For free will to be real Adam and Eve had to be given, by God, the power to make choices that were wrong, and then have to live with the consequences. Natural law, and spiritual law, had to be able to operate.

For example, the law, “You reap what you sow”. This is foundational to the whole created world we live in. Different forms of this law are found in various areas of science, e.g.:
Physics: For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
Chemistry: Every equation must balance.
Botany: Every animal produces according to its kind.

Adam and Eve, as physical beings in a physical world, were bound by this law, just as we are. Thus the following scenarios are possible:

(i) Imagine Adam (before the Fall), one day, went for a walk up the nearest mountain and while standing on a cliff edge saw an eagle leap off and soar into flight. Adam is so impressed with this that he thinks, “I’d like to try that.” So he leaps off the cliff waving his arms.

Questions: What would be the result of his actions? Would he fly? Would he fall? What would happen to him when he hit the bottom? Could he break some bones? I suspect he would.

(ii) Imagine Adam and Eve are playing tag in the garden of Eden. Adam, running at great speed, puts his foot into a rabbit hole and twists his foot.

Questions: Could he sprain his ankle? Could he break his ankle? Or was Adam so “superhuman, semi divine, that the normal consequences of an accident didn’t apply? Or would God somehow prevent him from putting his foot in the hole when it was aimed right at it?

I think not. I’m pretty sure he would do himself damage.

(And I’m pretty sure Adam and Eve played tag in the garden of Eden. He would have chased her all over the place!)

So free will, to be real, has to result in consequences that are also real, or it is not free will at all.


THE PURPOSES OF MAN IN CREATION.


(1) To Have Fellowship with God.

This is implied strongly in what we have already looked at. Man was created by a divine "kiss of life". This implication is that God desired close relationship with man.


(2) To show forth the Nature of God.

Genesis 1: 26,27 "in God's image".

"Image" Heb = idol. Man was to be the "idol" of God to the lower creation, to portray God to the lower creation, i.e. be God's representative, i.e. be a priest. By looking at Man the lower creation was to see something of what God was like.
From this we can conclude that Adam had the power to become like God in a very real sense. This was God's intention for Adam; hence the temptation of Satan (“you shall be as God”) was so tremendously powerful.


(3) To Experience Fullness of Life.

"lives" (plural) = life in all its fullness, physical, soulish and spiritual. There was even the promise and provision of eternal life (Genesis 3:22). Adam was not told that he could not eat of the fruit of THAT tree, but the story clearly indicates that man was not created eternal, it was a gift available to him should he care to receive it.


(4) Kingship: co-rulership with God as his suzerains.

Genesis 1:26,27 "give him dominion..."


(5) A territorial possession, an inheritance, something man could own, the earth itself.

This territory began in Eden; the Garden God planted himself and gave to man. Eden means "pleasurable land, loveliness". It was a picture of what God wanted man to bring into being throughout the whole earth.


(6) To Fill the Earth.

Genesis 1:28 "Be fruitful and multiply..."

It was the plan of God that Mankind fill the earth with their seed, by this method they would bring the whole earth under their rulership.

To enable this to happen God created a dual sexuality in Mankind. Man, in the image of God, is male and female. In some way the image of God is summed up in this sexual duality. From this we learn that no single person can fully express God, God is male and female. The lie of Humanism is to suggest that one man (Antichrist) can be God.

Hence fellowship on the Human level is one of God's blessings and one of his purposes for mankind.

Sex comes before the Fall; it is part of God's plan, it is "very good". God desired that mankind showed the image of God in a creative way, by creating new life.

In many Ancient Cultures the "gods" were seen to be sexual beings. Here in Genesis sex is removed from being a direct part of God's image to being a special blessing on man attached to the "image of God". The purpose is to remove "sexuality" from God but to still portray it as the highest blessing God gave man. In reproduction mankind is most fully "the image of God", because only in that is Man creating new life.


(7) To Subdue the Earth.

Genesis 1:28 "and subdue it".

This is not to be taken to mean, as some interpret it, that the natural world was in rebellion against God at this point in time. There is no proof for this assertion. Rather the world is to be seen as operating under IMMEDIATE Divine Rule. This was only to be an interim measure until men "filled" the earth and took over from God that Rulership in each locality. Lucifer and the Elemental Spirits were ruling the earth for man directly under God. This situation would continue until men took over the rule in each locality.
The "subduing" therefore does not imply hostility, rather suggests the taking of control and bringing under personal control to rule as man sees fit.
The natural forces of the world are controlled by intelligent forces (like angels) called the "spirits of the elements" (Colossians 1:8 Revelation 7:1). These operate according to God's intention and law, but the control of them was given to man so that, as he filled the earth and took rulership over it, he could use the natural forces to aid him. It is these forces which needed "subduing" in that they needed to be given instruction by God's appointed ruler as to what they should do to help him. Until they received such instruction they were simply marking time.

Man continues to strive after control of the weather because something deep in his spirit tells him this is what he is meant to be doing.


(8) To Work.

Genesis 2:15,16,17. " to till it and keep it"

Work is part of God's plan for man. It is not a result of the curse. Sin only changed the NATURE of work; not its NECESSITY. Man was not made to sit in idleness in a sheltered garden, nor will we sit in idleness in heaven. Authority implies responsibility. Man was given authority over the earth; hence he now had responsibility to look after it.

Genesis 2:8.
"a garden" – Greek: Paradise - a park. Originally meant a nobleman's park (a Persian word).

"Eden" - Hebrew root same as "delightful, pleasurable".

Eden is not meant to be located. Rather it is a description of Man in Creation as he is meant to be. Eden represents the world, or rather that part of the world which Adam had the capacity to, and had learnt to, "subdue". It was "Eden" because Adam had it under his rulership. The plan of God was for Adam, through his children, to extend the borders of Eden until it covered the whole earth.

Through work man was to extend the garden of God, Eden, to cover the whole earth. Until that time it was to continue under the control of the forces of nature who were man's servants.

(9) To be a Priest, a Mediator.

This is implied by:

(a) The idea of man being made in God’s image. Man thus represents God. When the rest of creation looks at man they see God, man thus stands between creation and God. Man is thus the priest of creation. When creation wanted to communicate with God it was to be through man, God’s appointed representative.
(b) The fact that man has two essential parts to his nature – spirit and body. Spirit is the life of God; body identifies man with creation.

It is important that we understand, at this point, the concept of priesthood in the Bible. A priest is primarily a mediator – a go-between. He acts as an intermediary between God and man. This idea of mediation is central to the idea of priesthood.

In Biblical thought a mediator is not a third party that acts in between two other parties, rather the Biblical idea of Mediation is that the Mediator is only qualified to the task if he embodies in himself both parties.

Thus Christ could be Mediator between God and sinful man because, through Mary, he took on the likeness of sinful flesh (Romans 8:3), yet he was himself God. Thus he could provide mediation. It is the argument of the NT, particularly the book of Hebrews, that the OT priesthood was inadequate to the task because they, as fallen men already, did not embody the life of God, thus could not mediate it.

It is in this sense that Adam is the Priest of creation. He could be Priest of creation to God because, in himself, he embodied God and creation. He embodied God through the breath of God given to him, and he embodied nature by being material. In the Biblical pattern of mediation he thus was a true priest.

Salvation History. Chapter 3. God and Creation.

Chapter 3. God And Creation.
___________________________________________________________

THE ORIGINAL CREATION.

Genesis 1:1.
"In the beginning God created the Heavens and the earth."

Hebrew: "bereshith bara elohim...." i.e. "In the beginning created God..."

This is a Theological Statement.

The Bible is not a history or scientific book so is not interested in the HOW, or in the actual events as we are. Rather the interest is in the WHY, the theological meaning behind the events. We can determine that the Bible is essentially historically and scientifically accurate, but that is a by-product of the fact that it is TRUTH. The real importance to us is to find out the meaning behind the facts.

(1) "in the beginning"

(i) Hebrew = "bereshith".
This is a very strong word. It does not just mean any old beginning, but is the root beginning. It can carry the sense of "initially, firstly". Before this event there was no time, as we know it. Because this refers to the “absolute beginning” of this creation then to ask the question, “What was before this?” is a meaningless question. There was no “before this”, only God. To ask, "Where did God come from?" is nonsense, because, by definition, God is the self existent one who has always existed, and also because there is no "before God" for him to have come from. God simply "is".

(ii) It does not necessarily imply that God created time at the same time as he created the universe, but this is probably so. Rather it refers to the beginning of this creation, not to the beginning of time as such. We assume that time and matter belong together, but this need not be so.

(iii) We are not to consider eternity to be timeless. Whatever sort of duration, or time- keeping, God has must be of some totally different order to what we know of. There is, however, in eternity some form of reckoning of duration with events that are "before" and "after" others. This is clear to us because:
* There was a "time" in eternity when God existed before creation.
* The Cross is an event in eternity.
* There will be a time in eternity when the saints will dwell with God which they do not now.

Thus the idea of a sequence of events, which is fundamental to the understanding of time, is true also of the realm God lives in. Thus his realm is not “timeless”, or “an ever present now” in the Greek philosophical sense. What sort of "time" God exists in we do not know, but it is not "absolutely timeless” as it has sequence: before and after.

An Analogy: When we look at measurement we see there are two-dimensional and three-dimensional shapes. 3D shapes are the result of adding depth. This could be an analogy in the comparison of time and eternity. Our time has only "length and breadth", i.e. before and after. Eternity has another dimension that we cannot comprehend corresponding to "depth". This "depth" enables God to relate to all points of time at once.

A second Analogy: Think of a movie producer (in the old days before electronic editing) editing film. In the analogy God is the movie producer, the film, a sequence of events over time, represents our time. The film has a form of real time but it is far less in meaning than the time the producer experiences in his life. The producer can “see” the whole sequence of events in the film from beginning to end as it is stretched out before him – just as God can see all the events of time in one glance. But just as the producer dwells outside of the time of the film, so too God dwells outside our time. But just as the producer can by editing alter the sequence of events in “movie-time”, so too can God alter events in our time.

(iv) The concept of eternity as “timelessness” is not Biblical; rather it comes from Greek philosophy. The Bible word translated “eternity” is literally “ages”, and is used to refer to the ages of time and the ages of eternity, thus suggesting they are of the same sort of “stuff”.

(v) The contrast between time and eternity in the Bible is not the same as the Greek idea of “time verses a coexistent eternity”, but rather is a contrast between “past ages, the present age and the age to come”. God lived in Eternity before creation but these were “ages past”. The Future Eternity is the “age to come”.


(2) "Created".

Hebrew = bara.

(i) Used over 50 times in scripture, but only ever of something that only God could do. The root idea is to fashion, or cut, by shaping. It does not in itself imply the creation of something out of nothing, but always has an element of the addition of a new unique element that only God could provide.

(ii) Bara is used three times in the story in Genesis 1, to do with original matter, animals (life) and man (personality). It indicates the creation of something totally new and distinct.

(iii) The idea of creation implies that God created matter out of nothing.

This is called in theology, "Creatio ex nihilo", or "creation out of nothing".

Hebrews 11:3.
“By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.”

Romans 4:17.
“As it is written: "I have made you a father of many nations." He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed- the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were.”


The idea that God created "out of nothing" is arrived at by logical deduction. If there had been something before creation, then time also would have existed and thus this would not have been the beginning, or alternatively we would have to conclude that matter was eternal, i.e. it is divine and deserves to be worshipped. The whole point of this story, however, is to get us away from worshipping matter, animals, and man. Matter is not eternal, it is not God, but is dependent on him for its existence.


(3) "God".

Hebrew = Elohim.

In Hebrew it is important to note grammatical changes as they reveal hidden truth. Here there are three words we need to note:

"God" - is plural, "Elohim", "im" corresponding to our "s".
"Created" - is singular.
"Heavens" - is plural.

The implication here is staggering: A Plural God singularly created.

(i) The existence of God is not proved, it is simply assumed.

(ii) Here we see the first hints of the Trinity. God is One, but there is a plurality in him. The importance of this fact becomes obvious later on. However we see here the reality that God never was, and is not, a lonely God. Personality needs other personalities to react against. Personality cannot exist alone.

(iii) How the Trinity works together:
* God, the Father, is the source of all ideas. He plans them all.
* Jesus is the Word of God. Ideas have to be made into words to be powerful, when God speaks Jesus is active.

John 1:1-3.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.”

Hebrews 1:1-2.
“In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.”

* The Holy Spirit is the Executor of the Word of God, bringing it to pass.

Genesis 1:1-3.
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.”

"Hovered" or "Brooded" = waiting at readiness to jump into action at the Divine Word.

Hence one member of the Godhead cannot work without the other, and what one achieves they all do together.


(4) "God created the heavens and the earth".

Implies that God is different from the things he created.

To us this may seem obvious, but to the ancient world and, in fact, to much of the world today, nature and creation are worshipped as God. God so transcends the created order that we should not identify him with any part of it and so worship the creation. To do so is to worship that which is not God, hence fall into idolatry.

However the things he created have a real reality. They are not mirages or illusions. The creation exists through him and is dependent on him but is not Him. It is different from God in degree and essence. However on the other hand God is active in creation and the stamp of his nature is on it.


THE RELATION OF GOD AND CREATION.

We need to remind ourselves that the Christian doctrine was worked out against the background of already existing ideas. It would be helpful at this point to have some understanding of the main views. Other views are simply variations on these themes.

1. Monism: "There is only one thing".

I.e. not a myriad of things, therefore the "many things" we see are like dimples on an orange, but at the root there is one thing, the essence. The "essence" is real; the “dimples” are only “accidents” and have no reality.

Essentially all of the Eastern religions are Monistic, though some also have a dualism grafted onto them.

Three primary varieties of Monism:
1. Monism Proper.
A philosophy is called Monism if the “one thing” is not thought of as being divine.
In most of these schemes the “one thing” is impersonal, not personal; not "God" as we understand the word.

2. Modern “scientific” Materialism.
This is a form of monism, as it claims that this physical universe is all there is, thus the “one thing” is matter. This is the secular version of Monism. "Reality", or "truth" is that which can be reduced to physics and maths.

Things that cannot be reduced to physics and maths are “not real” by definition, and hence "not true". As God cannot be reduced to physics and maths he is deemed to be “not real”, "not true". Thus there is, by definition, no God.

"Truth" is "scientific truth" - all else is just a matter of opinion and could be right or wrong, but never "true" in an absolute sense. However these other things may be "true for you", or "true for me" - even if what is true for you is completely contradictory to what is true for me. In other words the only truth - "absolute" truth - is scientific truth. Everything else is just a matter of personal opinion and can thus never be "right/true" or "wrong/false".

It seems to me that to build one's whole life understanding on scientific "truth" as the only "absolute" is pretty risky stuff. Scientific theories change abruptly with more knowledge and so what was once "absolutely true" is suddenly "absolutely false" or at best "relatively true".
To build one's life on such "truth" takes as much "faith" - if not more - than a Christian has to have to believe in God. In other words, in this world of scientific materialism, scientific "truth" is "faith". And the scientist has no greater claim to "absolute truth" than the theologian - both are, after all, building their world view on faith.

Modern "scientific monism" reduces life to "nothing but" chemical, physical and electrical equations. And if anything can't be reduced to that it is determined as being "meaningless".

And if we, as human beings, are nothing but a more complex set of equations, then human life is of no more value than any other chemical equation. So it is allowable to get rid of hose equations you find "inconvenient" to your lifestyle - things like an unwanted pregnancy or an old person with dementia or someone who is mentally ill or who, for some reason, does not fit in with the prevailing view of what is "right" in society.
And if we are only complex chemical equations then it must be OK to do (chemical) experiments on such unwanted people.

It's really hard, under this philosophy of life and truth, to find ground to criticise Nazi Germany or Communist Russia for the things that we call "atrocities". If the premises are correct then the Nazis and Communists were right in their actions.

I suspect most people feel that life is more than that - but this is the point of "scientific monism" - such feelings are not truth - though they may be true for you. But because feelings, beliefs and opinions can't be reduced to a scientific equation they are not real, not true.

3. Pantheism:
Monism is known as Pantheism if the “one thing” is thought of as being "God". This is the religious version of monism. “Pantheism” means “all is God”.
In this idea, the world (creation) is seen as an emanation of the divine being. God and the world are essentially one. The world is the manifestation of God and we can know God through it.

Two logical consequences result:
(i) Creation is not the result of a free choice of God but is part of his essential nature. Creation is necessary. It has to be as it is because that is how it is. Creation is God. You are God. I am God. The mosquito is God. Dog poo is God.
(ii) Creation has no free choice, no free will. Everything that we are and do is "necessary" controlled by the "one thing, the essence". Everything is thus determined by fate. If I go driving and speed at 200km/hour ending up dead wrapped around a tree then this is necessary. I had no choice in whether I speed or not.
Question: Is this really how life is?

Fundamentally Monism says the only the essence is real, everything else is an illusion. Thus the world as we experience it is unreal, an illusion (hence Eastern philosophy never developed science as we know it). But it does not seem that way to us. It seems to have reality. Monism does not tally with our experience.

The idea of monism (in whatever form it appears) when reduced to the personal level always ends up with the view that people are “accidents”. People are under the control of whatever forces make up the “substance”. Thus:
* Scientific materialism ends up in Behaviourism in which people are said to be “nothing but random chemical and electrical impulses and free will is a myth.”
* Pantheism ends up with controlling forces of Fate – we must all do the will of the God who is the essence” and free will is a myth.
The net result is that there is no such thing as personality, or free will, as far as man is concerned. This leads to the logical conclusion that human life has no value above that of an insect. The fruit of this value system is played out daily in the slums of the Third world, in the gulags of Russia, in the gas ovens of the Nazi killing machine, and in abortion.

In this, monism does not correspond to life as we experience it. In our experience we seem to make choices that have real outcomes and change things for the better or for worse. Thus at a philosophical level monism fails to carry weight – it just doesn’t work in real life.

2. Dualism: the other end of the scale.

"Reality consists of two eternal fundamental principles: Light / Darkness or Good/ Bad."

Usually these are identified in this way:
* Spirit or intelligence/ mind is “good”.
* Matter is evil.

Thus there are two eternal things: spirit and matter, and these are, by definition, opposed to each other. One is “good”, the other is “evil”.

Where Dualism admits to the idea of “God”, He is usually identified with “spirit”. God is thus "good".
Dualism posits an eternal existence of matter in the universe and this is essentially evil. This “evil matter” is not inert, however, but actively works evil, so it is given intelligence, i.e. it is also a "god".

Thus there are two eternal principles, or "gods":
* One is evil, identified with matter, and is primarily destructive and "death".
* The other is the Creative force, the "logos", the idea or form, and is, by definition, "good". This is "spirit" and so "spiritual", by definition, is good.

Thus we, as human beings, are stuck in a struggle between two realities, in the scene of a conflict between good and evil.

In Dualism, evil is thus essential, part of the reality of what is eternal.Because evil is fundamental to existence there can be no hope of overcoming it with good.

Note: The idea of two "Gods" is philosophically untenable, so we need to remember that when a Dualist talks about "God" he is not talking about the Christian idea of an All powerful God. Rather he is talking about the idea of a "divine being", something far less in ability to "God".

Again, like Monism, Dualism does not correspond to reality as we experience it.
* Dualism calls for matter to be always evil, but the world we observe has a beauty in matter that denies the idea that matter is inherently evil.
* Discoveries of scientists have shown that matter is amazingly intricate and beautiful. The mathematics in matter is acknowledged to be incredibly beautiful and logical. In other words “matter” is full of “mind” at the most fundamental levels and this is beautiful, i.e. “good”.
* At a philosophical level Dualism falls down because it requires the positing of two fundamental, infinite, eternal principles: spirit and matter. Both of these have to be intelligent, thus both are Gods. And philosophically this is untenable. Two Gods would mean two infinite beings and this is impossible.
* Fundamentally Dualism says the world is eternal. This is impossible. Whatever our view of the relation of science and the Bible, science agrees with the Bible that the universe is not eternal, it had a beginning in the not too distant past.
* The Assumption: "spirit = good" is not necessarily so. The Bible teaches that there are different "spirits" and some of them are the source of all evil.
* If pressed logically then dualism has to end up at a position where both the "good" and the "evil" eternal principles have to be spiritual and so at root the dualist explanation is self contradictory.

3. Pluralism.

"There are several basic metaphysical principles which in interacting have produced the world."

This gives rise to a multiplicity in nature and allows for real moral struggle.
It is really an extension of Dualism. Because of this it falls down for the same reasons Dualism falls so we wont cover that ground again.

These three views are the basic philosophic positions abroad in the world – and they have always been. As I have noted they are still the current views today, in one form or another. The only alternative to these three views is the Christian view.

4. Classical Christian Theism:

The Christian belief about Creation is that:
(i) God is eternal and always "good".
(ii) God created the universe out of nothing. Matter is thus not eternal. This conforms with scientific fact.
(iii) God, though infinite, has voluntarily limited himself so that creation can have a real, independent existence. This conforms to our experience. In fact God is so removed from creation that we can even deny he is there at all.
(iv) This existence is apart from God himself so that even though the universe is dependent on God for its existence it is not God.
(iv) Thus our existence real and can be examined (scientifically).
(v) This means that the creation can act independently of God. Free will is a reality. Thus the physical realm can be good or bad - depending on whether or not it is operating in the will of God. This conforms to our experience of life.
(vi) The physical creation is thus fundamentally “good” because it is made by God, who is good. But it can be used for evil. I.e. the physical universe is morally neutral.
(vii) Because this physical universe is not "god" it is also not personal. Thus we can examine nature scientifically as an object.

This understanding of creation conforms to what we find in experience. Christianity is the only explanation of ultimate reality that actually conforms to the world as we experience it.

The question of “where does evil come from?” we shall address in a later chapter.


HOW DID GOD CREATE?

In the Genesis story what we see is God creating simply by speaking. He commanded and it was so.

Psalm 33:8,9.
“Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the people of the world revere him.
For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.”

This, however, is not an attempt to tell us the method God used for creation. Rather it is deeper than that. The method he used we are not told. Rather we are introduced to the person of Creation – Christ, the Word of God. Thus the ultimate reality in the universe is not impersonal natural law, but a person, the Word of God.

Colossians 1:15-17.
“He (Christ) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”

Note the statements about Christ:

(1) All things were created "in him".

There is a sense in which they are part of his being. Christ is the total revelation of God yet creation reveals part of God. So somehow the glories of creation and their witness are "in him". But this is not to be understood in a Pantheistic sense, where "creation = God". We confess Creation as being "in Christ" but we acknowledge that we don't really know what that means.

(2) All things were created "through him".

I.e. he is the agency by which they came to being. Through the creative Word God made the universe. He is the mediator of creation.

(3) All things were created "for him".

This was the ultimate purpose God had in creation. He so loved the Son that he made the universe as a sort of "gift" for him. In God's plan the universe is going to glorify the Son.

(4) "He is before all things."

Implies he himself is not created, he is God.

(5) "In him all things hold together"

C/f "in him we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28).

Here is the reason why atoms hold together when they should fly apart.

For us at this point it is sufficient to understand that God created the universe SIMPLY BY SAYING IT WAS SO. It continues to exist because God's word has eternal power and sustains that which it has made.

Hebrews 1:3.
“The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.”


WHY DID GOD CREATE?


(1) The Primary Reason For all God's Created Acts.

Revelation 4:11. "and for your pleasure they are created".

The primary reason for God creating was twofold:

(i) For his pleasure. So he could enjoy the things he had made.

(ii) For his Glory. So he could reveal himself through what he had made. God's glory was already revealed in one way in his presence without creation, but it was not revealed to anyone else. There were aspects of God's glory that could be revealed in other forms of life that he wanted to express. It was simply a matter of him WANTING to express himself in these ways. To do so he had to create the vehicles for it to happen. Hence he created the physical and the spiritual realms.

We must admit that there may be other realms about which we have no understanding. The Bible reveals to us the physical and the spiritual, but in God there could be multitudes of other forms of existence beyond our present knowledge or comprehension, or ability to understand – life forms in different dimensions. At this moment of time there is no need for us to know about them so God has not revealed them to us. The Apostle Paul talks of things God has reserved for us about which we haven't even "asked or thought".

Scientists now are proposing that there may be many dimensions of existence in the universe that we know nothing of.


(2) A Secondary Reason for Creation.

God wanted to share his rulership and the enjoyment of the love the Trinity experienced. For this purpose he wanted to create a being that could share in his Kingdom. This being was man, who was the final act of God's creation. Man will join with God in ruling the whole universe in the ages to come, and this was God's original purpose. In those ages we will discover the vastness of God's creation and will be involved in the rulership of it.