Creation, pt 3

Here's the third installment of my riveting paper on Creation. It deals with the facts that God spoken creation into being and that he used not pre-existing materials to do so. In other words, there was nothing, God spoke, and then there was something. Here we go:

Such a brief survey of the history of creation theology demonstrates that in the midst of much diversity, God’s people have considered Him Creator since the beginning of history. Yet for post-enlightenment theologians, it is necessary to ask how God created the heavens and the earth. The nonspecific answer given by the prophets was that God’s power, wisdom, and knowledge created heaven and earth. Specifically, though, God spoke creation into being. Psalm 33 states, “By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, And by the breath of His mouth all their host,” and, “For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.” Much later, the author of Hebrews wrote, “By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.” Only in comparison with the pagan creation accounts of violence and rampant sexuality does the orderly, intentional, and personal act of speaking creation into being becomes so spectacular. The act of creation is not accidental or chaotic. Instead, it is the artistic work of a personal God who did nothing more than express his will, and it came into being.

If God spoke creation into being, one implication is that he required no preexisting substance. Those who hold that God created out of nothing, or ex nihilo, point to a number of relevant scriptures. Isaiah 48:12-13 links the idea of God’s eternal nature to his act of creation, saying, “"Listen to Me, O Jacob, even Israel whom I called; I am He, I am the first, I am also the last. Surely My hand founded the earth, And My right hand spread out the heavens; When I call to them, they stand together.” Assumed is the idea that since God existed before all, the heavens and earth are the result of his work. Another important passage is Romans 4:17, where Paul describes that act of creation as God calling into being things that did not exist. God is not a builder using premade materials, nor is he a potter who simply shapes the clay into the form he desires. Rather, the Lord created ex nihilo. A final relevant passage is Hebrews 11:3, quoted above, where the author describes God creating visible things from invisible ones. Grudem argues that the author, whether Jew or Gentile, would not likely have believed that God made use of matter that was invisible. Instead, Hebrews 11:3 expresses the concept of creation ex nihilo.

In spite of these passages, the truth is that the practical nature of the Bible, especially the Old Testament, does not lend itself to develop a substantive theology of creation ex nihilo. Consequently, the early church father Origen gave merit to the doctrine of pre-existent matter. Some Christians might be tempted to believe that this issue is irrelevant and unworthy of clarification on this matter. However, Grudem argues that if God used preexisting matter in creation, “we would have to say that some matter has always existed and that it is eternal like God. This idea would challenge God’s independence, his sovereignty, and the fact that worship is due to him alone; if matter existed apart from God, then what inherent right would God have to rule over it and use it for his glory.” Thus, the process by which God created does matter.

Well, that's it for today. The next entry will be a relatively short one where I address Christ's role in Creation from a Biblical standpoint, namely by examining the relationship between Christ Jesus and the personification of wisdom in Proverbs 8. Don't let the anticipation keep you up at night.

-Matt