Ex Nihilo and Per Verbum

What have we learned up to this point in our study of a biblical worldview? First of all, we have learned that Jesus was the smartest person who ever lived, that He had a deeply biblical view of life, and that we, as His disciples, should have the same so that we can think and live as He did. Second, we have learned that in order to develop a biblical worldview like our Lord’s, we need to understand the overall story of the Bible through the lenses of creation, fall, and redemption. Third, we have seen how this big picture of the Bible joins the “bits and pieces” of the faith together into a systematic unity, binds the Old and New Testaments into one coherent story, and replaces a dualistic, compartmentalized perspective on life by a vision of biblical wholeness. Fourth, we have examined the story of creation and learned how it answers basic questions about our location, identity, and purpose. Fifth, we have studied the fall of humanity into sin and learned about its devastating consequences.

After today’s lesson, which is the midpoint of our study, we will take an in-depth look at the history of redemption as it is promised in the Old Testament through covenants fulfilled by Jesus Christ in the New Testament. We will conclude this series of lessons by using our worldview framework to develop biblical perspectives on four practical areas: vocational calling, education, the media, and competing worldviews.

Of course, our goal in all of this is to acquire a comprehensive biblical view of life. During the turbulent days of the second World War, Dorothy Sayers bemoaned the fact that “We have rather lost sight of the idea that Christianity is supposed to be an interpretation of the universe.” It is this larger vision of our faith that we are striving to recover. But we have an even more important goal than this. We want a biblical view of life so that we can be about the business of kingdom living here and now.

To assist us in this purpose, we need to nail down our theology of creation and the fall. In this lesson, therefore, we will present some several theological principles that will round out our thinking about these two vital areas.

Our discussions up to this point have contained considerable theological content. But we can still make an advance. Hopefully the following concepts about creation will stimulate our thinking and increase our understanding of this foundational doctrine in Scripture.

CREATION IS OUT OF NOTHING (EX NIHILO) AND BY GOD’S WORD (PER VERBUM)
The historic teaching of the Christian Church is that God the Trinity, by His free, sovereign will and through the command of His omnipotent Word, brought the entire universe into existence out of nothing. Verses six and nine of Psalm 33 affirm this classic point of view: “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made; And by the breath of His mouth all their hosts. ... For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded and it stood fast.”

This doctrine stands in sharp contrast to Plato’s perspective that God created the world out of eternally existing raw materials (ex hulas). It is also quite different from the pantheistic point of view which asserts that God by necessity fashioned the universe out of His own divine being (ex Deo). This teaching, which affirms that God in His goodness is the author of the whole creation, is also distinguished from dualistic conceptions of reality that ascribe the physical universe to an evil deity and the spiritual universe to a good one.

The ex nihilo doctrine also maintains a clear distinction between the infinite Creator and His finite creation. It ascribes contingency (or dependency) to the entire universe. It attributes eternity to God alone. It implies that reality is fundamentally personal in character since it is created and upheld in its entirety by the infinite, personal God.

Though God is separate from His creation and stands above it in His transcendence, at the same time He is intimately involved in the world He has made in His immanence. A distinguishing characteristic of the biblical view of life is that God is a God who comes, a God who visits His people, a God who breaks into history and human lives and performs mighty deeds (see Psalm 150: 2). He is not an absentee Creator who merely “watches us from a distance” as in the deistic worldview. Rather, God is fully engaged with His very good, personal universe that He made out of nothing by His word over which He rules and in which He works. These are the basic tenets of classic Christian theism.

CREATION IS DESIGNED BY GOD’S WISDOM AND GOVERNED BY HIS LAW
God’s concern for His world is not only detected by His direct intervention in it through mighty deeds, but also because He designed it by His wisdom and governs it by His law. Wisdom is personified in Scripture as a “Master Craftsman” or “Artisan” assisting God in fashioning the universe according to a perfect divine plan. As Psalm 104: 24 puts it: “O Lord, how many are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all; the earth is full of Your possessions” (see also Job 28:12-28; Proverbs 3:19; 8:22-31; Jeremiah 10:12). God’s knowledge and skillfulness are on display in everything He has made. As one theologian says, “The whole world is thus the realization of an idea of God; a book containing letters, large and small, from which his wisdom can be known.” God has worked His wisdom into the very constitution of the universe. Therefore, if we want to live wisely ourselves, we must understand how God has made the world and submit to it. We must have knowledge of His blue print for human life and order our way accordingly. Human wisdom, put otherwise, is “ethical conformity to God’s creation.”

Another way of saying this is that God’s laws govern everything. All realms of reality—physical, moral, spiritual, cultural—have a certain divinely ordained structure to them. In some cases, especially in nature, these laws function automatically. The work of gravity, the orbits of planets, and the metamorphosis of a butterfly are good examples. In other cases, especially in moral, spiritual, or cultural affairs, people must discover these laws and obey them. This is certainly true in marriage and family life. The proper operation of a church, or a business enterprise, or a school also depends upon discovering and obeying the laws that govern them. All of these (and other) domains are principled and unique. They have particular purposes and must not be confused. There are right and wrong ways of functioning in each of them.

One of my favorite examples is in the area of farming. God’s laws even govern agriculture. According to Isaiah 28: 23-29, how to plow is not something the farmer decides on his own. Rather “his God instructs him and teaches him properly” (v.26). When it comes to harvesting the crops, again, the farmer does not determine the process. Instead this matter “also comes from the Lord of hosts, who has made His counsel wonderful and His wisdom great” (v.29). So it is with every sphere of life. God’s wisdom penetrates them all. His laws preside over everything. Perhaps this is why David prays in Psalm 119: 34, “Give me understanding that I may observe Thy law.” May be it is also the reason why Solomon exhorts in Proverbs 2:2, “Make your ear attentive to wisdom, incline your heart to understanding.”

CREATION AS REVELATION AND SACRAMENTAL
God the Trinity is the Creator of the universe and His laws and wisdom oversee it all. We are not surprised, then, if the whole creation—every creature in it, and every particle of it—declare God’s glory and make Him known. God has revealed Himself in the person of His son Jesus Christ—His living, incarnate revelation. He has revealed Himself in Scripture—His special, written revelation. He also discloses Himself through creation—His general, natural revelation. Indeed, through faith in Jesus Christ as He is revealed to us in Scripture, we come to understand who God is, and that the world as His creation, speaks of Him everywhere.

Psalm 19:1 says, “The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.” Romans 1:20 states, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.” Isaiah 6:3 literally reads, “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of Hosts, the fullness of the earth is His glory.”

Creation is one colossal doxology. We see the presence and love of God in the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat! God reveals Himself through creation as the place where we work and play, live and love. The whole cosmos has a sacramental character. It is drenched with sacred significance. Life is shot through with God’s presence. It is charged with God’s grandeur. This holy vision of reality ought to enable us to see Him in everything and prompt us to a life of joy and gratitude.

CREATION HAS A THEOLOGICAL AND SPIRITUAL PURPOSE
Creation is the first doctrine taught in Scripture. It is foundational to a biblical view of life. We would be mistaken, however, if we thought that it was primarily a philosophic or scientific concept. To be sure it does tell us why something is here rather than nothing at all. It has implications for the creation and evolution debate. Yet its true significance is deeply spiritual. We can see this in at least four ways.

First, it teaches us who God is. It exalts Him as the sovereign, omnipotent, wise, good, and loving Creator (Job 37-38; Psalm 19: 1-6; Isaiah 40). Second, it teaches us who we are. We learn that the Lord Himself is God; He made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture (Psalm 100: 3). The doctrine of creation puts our lives in a proper perspective before God and humbles us. Third, it strengthens faith. If God can create the world, He can certainly redeem it. If God is the Maker of heaven and earth, He can surely minister to me at my time of need. Creation guarantees new creation both individually and cosmically (Psalm 33: 6-12; 65: 6-7; 89: 5-12; 121:1-2; 134: 3; Isaiah 40:28-31; 42: 5-9; 2 Corinthians 5: 17; Revelation 21-22). Finally, the doctrine of creation simply prompts us to worship. So with John we say: “Worthy art Thou, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for Thou didst create all things, and because of Thy will they existed, and were created” (Revelation 4:11).

Next time we will review the theology of the fall.

David Naugle is professor of Philosophy at Dallas  Baptist University where he has served for 14 years. In addition to teaching and working with students, he maintains an active schedule of writing and speaking.