The Creator and the Creation

I made use of Biblical Critical Theory by Christopher Watkin (Zondervan Academic, 2022) for this sermon.

Introduction

I’m beginning today a series of sermons which will be based on the Apostles’ Creed. The Apostles’ Creed is one of the earliest and best known of the Christian creeds. The word ‘creed’, of course, comes from the Latin, ‘credo, which means ‘I believe’. And by means of the creeds, we confess our faith in God: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

In the Apostles’ creed, we begin by confessing our faith in God the Father and his work:

I believe in God the Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth.

And then we confess our faith in God the Son and his work:

I believe in Jesus Christ,
his only-begotten Son, our Lord;
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary;
suffered under Pontius Pilate;
was crucified, dead, and buried;
he descended into hell;
the third day he rose again from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
from there he shall come to judge the living and the dead.

And then we confess our faith in the Holy Spirit and his work:

I believe in the Holy Spirit;
the holy catholic [universal] church;
the communion of saints;
the forgiveness of sins;
the resurrection of the body;
and the life everlasting. Amen.

Creeds are useful for summarising what we believe. I remember speaking to a pastor of an independent church in the Republic who almost boasted that his church has no creeds or confessions. ‘All we have is the Bible’, he said. And, of course, in the Presbyterian Church we also have the Bible; and we believe it is God’s word to us, which we’re to receive, believe and obey because it is God’s word. And we believe the Bible is the supreme standard of the church and our rule for faith and life: for what we’re to believe and for what we’re to do.

However, the Bible is a big book and lots of people who read the Bible interpret it different ways. And that’s why we need creeds or confessions of faith, because they summarise and clarify for us what we believe the Bible teaches. A creed takes what the Bible teaches about God and our salvation and summarises it in only a few lines. A confession of faith does the same thing, but at greater length and in more detail. And a confession of faith not only summarises what we believe the Bible teaches, but it also makes clear how one kind of church differs from another kind of church. And so, if you want to know what all Christians have always believed, you only have to look at the Apostles’ Creed. This is what all Christians have always believed about God. And if you want to know what Presbyterians believe, and what makes us different from Baptists or Methodists, for instance, then there’s the Westminster Confession of Faith which sets out what Presbyterians believe.

But whether it’s a creed or a confession, it summarises what we believe the Bible says and it makes clear what we believe. And the important words are ‘makes clear’. We make clear what we believe by writing it down and publishing it as a creed or confession. Think of the pastor of the church in the Republic again. He said he only has the Bible. Great! But I want to know what do you believe the Bible says about God? And what do you believe the Bible says about our salvation? That’s one of the advantages of a creed or confession: it makes clear what we believe the Bible teaches so there can be no doubt or confusion.

However, this series of sermons is not really a series of sermons on the Apostles’ Creed. All I’m doing is taking the Creed as a kind of outline for what I hope to preach about over the next few weeks. And so, since the Creed begins with the words, ‘I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth’, then what we’re going to be thinking about today is the Creator and his creation.

Genesis 1:1

The reading from Genesis 1 begins with the words, ‘In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.’ The words ‘the heavens and the earth’ refer to everything that is not God. This includes the seen and the unseen: the visible universe around us; and the invisible heavens with their angels. And so, in the beginning God created everything that is not God.

And notice therefore the fundamental distinction that exists: there is God on one side of this distinction; and then, on the other side of this distinction, there is everything that is not God and is created. Theologians call this the creator-creature distinction and it is fundamentally important, because it makes clear to us that there are two levels of being. There is God; and there is the creation. These two levels of being are not the same, because we believe that God is infinite, eternal and unchangeable, whereas the creation is finite, temporal, and changeable. When we say that God is infinite, we mean that there are no limits to his perfection. And he is not restricted in any way. When we say that he is eternal, we mean that he has no beginning or end and his existence cannot be divided up into the past, the present and the future. He does not exist in time, because he made time and he’s exalted above it. And he is unchangeable. It’s not so much that he does not change, but he cannot change. He cannot change, because he cannot cease to be who he eternally is.

On the other hand, the created universe is finite, because everything is limited. The length of my life is limited; my strength is limited; my intelligence if limited; my knowledge is limited; and I can’t be in two places at once, but am limited to being in one place at a time.

And the created universe is temporal. We believe that God created the world out of nothing. It’s not as if there was some pre-existing, eternal matter, which God took used as an ingredient with which to make the universe. We believe instead that God started with nothing, because there was nothing else apart from God. So, before God created the heavens and the earth, there was nothing. And therefore the created universe is not eternal like God, but temporal.

And the created universe is changeable, because nothing stays the same. From the moment we’re conceived in our mother’s womb, we change, because we develop from an unborn baby to a newborn baby to a toddler to a child to a teenager to a young adult and on and on, growing taller and stronger and faster, and hopefully wiser. We grow in our knowledge and we develop new interests and we learn new skills. And the circumstances of our life change. And then, of course, at a certain point in our lives, we start to decline. We become weaker, not stronger. Our ability to see and hear diminishes. Our health declines. We slow down. We grow old. And eventually we die. And even after we die, our bodies continue to change. And so, we change throughout our life. We are always in a state of becoming, because we are never finished, but are always becoming something else. And what is true for us, is true for the rest of creation, because everything changes.

So, God is infinite, eternal and unchangeable; and the creation is finite, temporal and changeable. Furthermore, God is independent. He does not rely on anyone or anything outside himself for anything. No one created God and no one sustains him. However, the creation depends on God for its existence. He created the universe and he sustains the universe. He is independent, whereas the created universe is dependent on God, because it could not exist and it could not continue to exist apart from God.

Genesis 1:1 brings the creator-creature distinction to our attention: there’s God; and there’s the creation. There are these two levels of being; and the two levels of being are very different.

Believing this sets us apart from what many people believe about the universe. For many people, there is only one level of being. All there is is the physical universe around us. And everything that exists exists in the same kind of way. Everything is finite and temporal and changeable and there is nothing else. And since there is nothing else, then everything comes from the same kind of thing. In the ancient world, the philosophers said everything came from water or fire or from the air. In the modern world, people say everything comes from matter or energy. And if people who think this way believe in gods, then they regard those gods as being like us. So, the Greek gods were not very different from human beings, because they were finite and temporal and changeable like us. But the God of the Bible is not just a bigger version of us or a stronger version of us or a wiser version of us. He’s not the same as us, but only better. He is altogether different from us, because he alone is God. There is none like him.

This brings me to my next point. By saying God is altogether different from us, we’re saying that God is transcendent. He transcends the universe by being above and beyond it. He is separated from everything else, because he alone is God and everything else is not God. He alone is the Creator and everything else is the creation. He is set apart from the universe.

However, that doesn’t mean he is unknowable. Lots of people think that if there’s a god and he’s transcendent, then he is unknowable. So, we might know the things around us, but how can we possibly know a being who is above and beyond the universe? How can we know a being who is above and beyond space and time? It’s impossible. At least, that’s what many people believe.

Of course, the Bible is clear that we cannot know God fully or comprehensively. After all, he says himself that his thoughts are not our thoughts and our ways are not his ways. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so his ways are higher than our ways and his thoughts are higher than our thoughts. And since that’s the case, then we cannot know him fully.

However, the God of the Bible is knowable. He’s knowable because he made himself known. He has made himself known by the things he has done and by the things he has said. The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. And since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities — his eternal power and divine nature — have been clearly seen, being understood from what he has made. And in the days of Moses he revealed himself to be the Saviour of his people when he rescued the Israelites from Egypt. And he has revealed his will through his prophets. And he has revealed himself mostly clearly in the person of his Son who came to earth as one of us and who is God in the flesh. And he has given us the Bible, which is his word to us. God is transcendent, but he is not unknowable, because he has made himself known to us.

And the God who transcends the universe, and is above and beyond it, and distinct from it, is also very near. He is, as the theologians say, immanent. He is intimately involved in the universe, because he sustains it and he controls all of his creatures and all of their actions. He rules over the world and cares for it. And so, he knows the number of hairs on our head and he’s familiar with all our ways. And he feeds the birds and cares for the lilies of the field.

People who are known as pantheists believe that the universe is identical to God and that God is wholly immanent in the universe. The universe is a kind of manifestation of God. It emanates from him. On the other hand, people who are known as deists believe that God is wholly other and transcendent; and he’s not involved in the world at all.

But we are not pantheists, because we believe in a God who is different from the universe, because he’s above and beyond it. And we are not deists, because we believe that the God who is above and beyond the universe cares for it intimately.

And there’s one last point to make before we move on to consider verses 2 to 30 of Genesis 1. And it’s this: God did not have to create the universe. When we read in Genesis 1:1 that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, we need to understand that he was not obligated to make us. He was not compelled to make us. He was not forced to make us. He chose to make us. We know that because right at the end of Bible, in Revelation 5, we hear the angels in heaven say: ‘You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power, because you created all things and by your will they were created and have their being.’ Whatever exists was created by God’s will. He chose to create the universe. We are here because he willed it.

And that means we are not necessary. God did not need us. It’s not as if he was lonely or bored and needed to make us so that he would have company or something to do. And he does not need us to serve him, because there’s nothing he needs that we can give to him, whereas he gives us everything we need. So, God does not need us. Our existence is unnecessary. And that means our existence is a gift. If I give you something freely which you did not earn, then it’s a gift from me to you. And God has given the universe its existence and he’s given us our life. He gives it to us as a gift and we should receive it from him with thanksgiving.

And so, our existence is a mark of God’s kindness to us; and he continues to show us kindness by providing us with what we need. When people don’t believe in God, the giver of life, then they view life as a struggle to get what we need and want. And relationships are reduced to tit-for-tat: this is what I’ll give you, if you give that to me; this is what I’ll do for you, if you do that for me. But when we realise that our life is a gift from God, who continues to bestow his good gifts upon us freely, then we will begin to model him and give generously to others without expecting anything in return. And we’ll show kindness to the poor and the weak who are unable to repay us, because we have freely received from God.

Genesis 1:2–30

But let’s move on to verses 2 to 30 where we read that the earth was dark and formless and empty when God created it. In other words, there was nothing there. It was dark and shapeless and empty. But then God took that dark world and he created light. And then God took that formless world and he began to form it by dividing the day from the night; and the sky above and the earth below; and the sea and the dry land. And then God took that empty world and began to fill it with plants and birds and fish and animals and humans.

And as you read through the things which God made, you’ll see how the text refers to various kinds of plants in verse 11; and to every living and moving thing in the water and to every winged bird in the sky in verse 21; and to all the creatures that move along the ground in verse 25. God made every kind of plant and every kind of fish and every kind of bird and every kind of animal. Whereas many modern architects and builders fill our towns and cities with houses which all look the same and they impose a uniformity on us, God created a world with a wonderful variety of living things. There’s a wonderful richness and variety in the world around us which comes from God. We’re not stuck with a uniform world where everything is the same. There are differences everywhere. Each one of us is different and God has given us different abilities and gifts and interests. One of the things that makes overseas holidays interesting is seeing how things are different in other countries. The houses are different. The roads are different. The food is different. The people are different. God could have created a plain and boring world, but instead he created a world with variety.

And yet, despite our differences, we’re united in that we all come from God. He made us all and he made us distinct and different. And so we can talk about there being a unity in diversity. Though God created a world with variety, we are united because we all come from him.

And this unity in diversity in some ways reflects the God who made us, because he is both one and many: he is one God, but he’s also three persons. Being three persons means there is diversity in God. But the three persons are also united, because all three possess the same divine essence. And the universe reflects this because the universe is filled with this amazing variety, but still, we’re all united because we all come from God.

And God, when he made the world, made it beautiful and functional. The world is functional and it works, because one season follow another and the sun rises and sets each day and the rain falls and the sun shines and crops grow. The world works. But it’s also beautiful. On the other hand, we struggle to make things which are both functional and beautiful. We often make something practical which is ugly or we make things which are beautiful but impractical. But the world the Lord made is both at the same time.

And the world is also orderly. So, everything was made according to its kind. An apple tree will not produce pears; and a pear tree will not produce apples. Apple trees produce apples; and pear trees produce pears. There’s an endless variety and it’s beautiful, but it’s also filled with order. And because it’s filled with order, we know that things tomorrow will be similar to today. We won’t wake up and find that everything has changed in the night, because there’s order and stability in the world. And the scientist in her laboratory relies on this orderliness, because she needs to be able to repeat her experiments. And the businessman in his office relies on this orderliness because he needs to know that two plus two will still equal four tomorrow as it does today.

And so, God took the dark, formless and empty world and he replaced the darkness with light; and he shaped the world; and he filled it. And he made it diverse and yet there’s a unity to it, because it all came from him. And he made it functional and beautiful and orderly.

Genesis 1:31

And according to verse 31, God declared the world he made to be good. Even very good.

Everything which comes from God is good, because God is good. He’s incapable of making anything bad or evil. And the world he created is good. And that remains the case, even though the world as we know it has been spoiled because of Adam’s fall in the beginning when sin and death came into the world. But even though the world has been spoiled, it is still God’s good world. As Paul wrote to Timothy: ‘For everything God created is good’.

Now, there has always been an inclination among people to regard the physical world as evil. In the past, people known as Gnostics regarded the human spirit as good, but it was imprisoned inside our physical body which is evil. And they longed for the time when their spirit would leave the body and be free. And it’s still the case that many people believe it does them spiritual good to give up chocolate during Lent. But Christians believe that what God created is good.

And sin is not something which God has created. Sin is not a thing, but a defect. It’s a defect in something which God created good. It’s an absence of the good. Just as blindness is the absence of sight, so sin is the absence of goodness (Bavinck). Or just as darkness is the absence of light, so evil is the absence of goodness. And so, I might take something good, which God has created, and use it for an evil purpose. And I myself act wickedly whenever I fail to do the good which God created me to do. And so, the world is still good, because God made it; but its goodness has been weakened or spoiled by sin. And therefore the world and all that it contains needs to be renewed by God.

And the good news of the gospel is that God is already renewing his people inwardly by his Spirit. And one day he will renew the heavens and earth when his Son comes again.

However, since everything created by God is good, then it is a good thing for us to explore what God has made in order to uncover the breadth and the depth and the height of the riches of God’s created universe. And our young people should feel no hesitation in throwing themselves into their studies and they can rejoice in all that God has made for us to discover and to enjoy.

Genesis 2:2

And the final thing to say is to draw your attention briefly to verse 2 of chapter 2 which tells us that God rested from all his work. He did not rest because he was tired, but to make clear that the end of creation is eternal rest in the presence of God.

This, in fact, is what the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden signified. If Adam had remained obedient to God, then he and we would have received the right to eat from that tree and enter God’s eternal rest. But Adam forfeited that right for himself and for us when he disobeyed God and ate the forbidden fruit. And so, instead of entering God’s eternal rest, we all perish.

However, God so loved the world, that he gave his Only Begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world to obey God on our behalf and to pay for our sins by his death on the cross. And through faith in him, we receive forgiveness for all that we have done wrong; and God accepts us as if we have done everything right for the sake of Christ. And he promises to give us everlasting life in the new creation to come, where we will enjoy that eternal rest which Adam forfeited, but which Christ has won for us.

And so, we look forward to the time when Christ will come again. When he comes again, he will not make a new world, but he will make this world new. And we will live with God forever in his eternal rest. And in the meantime, while we wait for that, he gives us his Spirit to renew us inwardly in God’s likeness so that we will resist sin and do what is good and pleasing in God’s sight.