Doctrine of Creation

It is exactly 9 o'clock, and so I might as well just start, because I like to start on a round number, so if it's not 9, it'll be 9.05, and then that just takes too long.

So, why don't we start with prayer, and then we can jump right in.

Father God, creator of heaven and earth, we ask that you would bless this time that we have together, that you would be revealed more fully through our time,

and that through this discussion and through this time of learning, we can learn to glorify you more and see you everywhere.

In Jesus' name, amen.

Amen.

All right. So, good morning, everyone. I'm Luke Batty. I'm a professional scientist, although that really won't come in very much today.

So, just think of me as another layperson.

And we're starting today a new class series on the doctrine of creation, and oftentimes the doctrine of creation can kind of feel like a battleground, you know.

Where we're always talking about different views on the age of the earth, the matter of days, evolution.

And in this class, we are going to cover some of these things, for sure, but I think our goal here is to look at the doctrine of creation with a view to how we can more fully receive the foundational teaching as creation is a gift of God.

Creation is a gift from God.

Creation is a gift from God, and how we can then take creation as a gift and return to God as our creator by glorifying him.

So, today, we're basically, over the next seven weeks or so, we're going to take Genesis 1.

Chapter 1 is sort of our guide as we move slowly through it, and we pick up different elements of the narrative and what we can learn from it.

And so, today, I'll be starting at the very, very beginning.

The very beginning, you know.

So, before I jump in, though, why don't we...

I love... I don't know about you guys, but I love mythology.

Does anybody else here love mythology of different cultures, etc.?

Yeah, I'm crazy about it.

I grew up with... my parents had the doulairs.

I don't even know if I'm pronouncing that right.

Doulairs, like book of Greek myths and Norse myths and all that stuff.

So, I grew up with that stuff.

It's my bread and butter.

So, I love hearing different cultures' creation myths.

So, I thought I'd give you a few samplings, and then we can use that as a starting point for differentiating the biblical worldview.

So, let's start with Greek myth.

This is coming from Hesiods.

Cosmogeny, if... or Cosmogony.

I actually, honestly, don't know Greek.

So, it could be pronounced either way.

Cosmogeny sounds more interesting to me, though.

So, it starts this way.

First, there was chaos.

Then broad-chested Gaia, the steadfast seed of all immortals who live upon the snowy peaks of Olympus.

Then murky Tartarus in the depths of the white earth.

And Eros, most beautiful of the immortal gods, who weakens the limbs and overwhelms the minds and wise counsel in the breast of all gods and humans.

Chaos gave birth to Erebus and black Nyx.

And from Nyx came Aether and Hermera, conceived after Nyx joined in love with Erebus.

First, Gaia bore story Uranus, her equal, to envelop her on all sides so she would be the ever-secure home for the blessed gods.

Then she bore Tal-Uria, pleasant refuge of the goddess Nymphs on the mountain forests, and the sterile swelling seas of Pontus.

All of these she bore alone.

Then she bedded Uranus and bore deep whirling Oceanus,

Coeus, Creus, Hyperion, Iapetus, Thea, Rhea, Themis, Nimesanine, and it goes on,

golden-crowned Phoebe, and fair Tethys.

Then Wily Kronos was born, her youngest and most dreadful child, who hated his fearsome father.

And so for those of you who are familiar with Greek myth, we all know about Kronos, right?

Kronos was the big bad guy.

He was like, I want to be top dog.

And so he started eating his children, because there was some sort of prophecy, I think,

that one of his children would supplant him.

So he's like, I'll solve that problem just by eating my kids.

Which, right?

Why wouldn't you?

But then, as we know, Zeus was hidden away, right?

And then he comes back and beats up his dad, and then all of his siblings get vomited out.

It's a very fun, interesting story.

But that's how Greek mythology starts.

That's the creation myth of Greek mythology, or at least one of them.

Here's another one I think really is interesting.

This is Norse mythology.

This one starts,

Before there was soil or sky or any green thing, there was only the gaping abyss of Gnungagap.

This chaos of perfect silence and darkness lay between the homeland of elemental fire, Muspelheim,

and the homeland of elemental ice, Niflheim.

Frost from Niflheim and billowing frames of Muspelheim crept towards each other until they met in Gnungagap.

Amid the hissing and sputtering, the fire melted the ice, and the drops formed themselves into Ymir,

the first of the godlike but destructive giants.

When he slept, more giants leapt forth from his legs and from the sweat of his armpits.

I'm sure we were all familiar with that.

As the frost continued to melt, a cow, Adumia, emerged from it.

She nourished Ymir with her milk, and she in turn was nourished by salt licks in the ice.

Her licks slowly uncovered Buri, the first of the Aesir tribe of gods.

Buri had a son named Bor, who married Besla, the daughter of the giant bolt-thorn.

The half-god, half-giant children of Bor and Besla were Odin,

who became the chief of the Aesir gods, and his two brothers, Vili and Vey.

Odin and his brothers slew Ymir and set about constructing the world from his corpse.

They fashioned the oceans from his blood, the soil from his skin and muscles,

vegetation from his hair, clouds from his brain, and the sky from his skull,

where four dwarves, corresponding to the four cardinal points,

held Ymir's skull aloft above the earth.

And then, after that, we get into all the fun of the adventures of Odin

and the other Aesir gods and the Veynir gods,

if you're familiar with Norse mythology.

Lots of fun, weird stuff.

That's the Norse creation myth.

Here, let's bring it a little closer to the context of the writing of Genesis.

We have here the Babylonian Enuma Elish.

This starts,

When the heavens above did not exist, and earth beneath had not come into being,

there was Apsu, which is fresh water, the first in order, their begetter,

and Demi urged Tiamat, that's salt water, who gave birth to them all.

They had mingled their waters together before meadowland had coalesced and reedbed was to be found.

When not one of the gods had been formed or had come into being,

when no destinies had been decreed, the gods were created within them.

Lamu and Lahamu were formed and came into being.

While they grew and increased in stature, Ansar and Kisar, who excelled them, were created.

And then on and on and on.

More gods, more interesting stuff happens.

Creation of humans.

That's like, we'll bring, I'll mention that later in a little bit.

So these are different, this is just sort of a survey of different ways

that creation has been understood in different cultures, in different times.

In ancient times, in Babylon, in Norse mythology, in Greek mythology.

Let's compare and contrast these creation stories with the beginning we have in Genesis.

This starts, Genesis 1.

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep,

and the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

And then it continues on for the days, which we will continue to talk about later.

Does anybody see, what are some of the differences you guys see in this account here

versus the other accounts we read earlier?

Anything jump out at you?

Yes?

God exists before, not for a picture.

Yeah, yeah, it seems like God is there at the beginning, right?

And then there's nothing else, right?

What else?

Anybody see anything else?

In the other myths, there's a lot of action, a lot of interaction.

Whereas, from what you read from Genesis, there's a pregnant presence.

Yeah.

Yeah, sort of like there's more characters going on.

There's more conflict, maybe, we could say.

Whereas in this account, there is no conflict.

There's just the Word of God.

So I think, yeah, Matt?

In all of them, I think there was some idea of chaos or the abyss or something like that near the beginning.

Yeah, the watery chaos or the giant, you know, maelstrom of Gnungagap,

which is just a fun word to say.

I'm not even sure I'm saying it right, but it's fun the way I'm saying it.

Yeah, I think these are all correct things to see in this difference.

For one, I think the lack of conflict.

There's no other element.

There's no other being that is vying with God for control,

vying for God with God for creation, for supremacy.

It's God.

In the beginning, God.

We also get monotheism, right?

That's one of the ones that kind of jumps out.

I mean, all the other ones, there's multiple gods going on.

You know, there's the earth god and the sky god,

or there's the giant god, I guess.

And then you have, you know, different water gods,

whether that be salt water or fresh water and their progeny.

There's a lot of, like, birthing going on, right?

No, in this account, we don't have any of those.

We have one god.

And I think the most important difference is the first difference that was brought up,

which is God was there before anything else.

God was there before anything else, and he created everything out of nothing.

This is the doctrine we call creation ex nihilo,

and that's what we're going to be talking about today.

This is one of the great doctrines of the church.

But before we get into that,

and this is a doctrine that all Christians agree on,

but I think it's important, since we're using Genesis as our roadmap,

to pause here and talk about a controversy that has to do with these first verses of Genesis.

And that controversy is over whether Genesis 1-1 is actually describing creation ex nihilo.

So there's multiple views out there.

The reason there is this controversy is that, grammatically,

we can take the beginning verses of Genesis in a few different ways.

One of the ways that used to be brought out earlier in time,

maybe I think more commonly in the 19th century,

was the idea that you read it when God created the heavens and the earth,

and you started that way.

But most biblical scholars don't take that reading anymore.

They don't think that's, for reasons I don't understand,

because I don't speak Hebrew,

that's not really much of a viable option.

But there's still two other options that we can use to take Genesis 1.

So the first one is, surprise,

the first one is the way that we have it in the ESV.

We just read it in the beginning,

God created the heavens and the earth,

the earth was out, form and void,

and the narrative continues from there.

Another way of taking the beginning verses

is to see the first verse as sort of a title,

sort of a summary of all that's about to come next.

So we can think of that, reading it would be like,

Genesis 1,

in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Pause.

The earth was without form and void.

You see how the narrative can start here?

The earth was without form and void,

and darkness was over the face of the deep.

So, these are two different ways we can take

the beginning verses of Genesis.

So how do we,

how do we,

what are some reasons for taking the first

or the second way of reading it?

Well, for the second reading,

I think one of the reasons,

outside of any of the grammatical reasons,

is that there's an,

if we start here,

with the earth being without form and void,

and darkness was over the face of the deep,

we start to see a greater,

a stronger similarity

between this narrative and other narratives

like the Enuma Elish that we started with.

Right?

The starting in a place of disorder,

starting with chaos,

starting with this watery nothingness,

sort of.

You guys see that?

How this,

now if we start here,

we can start to see a closer similarity

to these other creation myths.

And I could have given you other ancient Near Eastern creation myths

from ancient Egypt,

for instance,

or ancient Assyria,

I think.

Yeah.

We,

there's,

there's a few different ones

and they all start sort of,

just kind of like Greek myth and Norse myth

in a place of chaos and disorder.

And the creation myth is about bringing in order.

Right?

And that order is usually brought about by fighting,

fighting or birthing or marrying

or something like that.

Right?

As we,

as we read.

And so if we take this second understanding

of,

of the,

the first verses of Genesis,

then we can,

you see,

we can conceive of this beginning creation account

as sort of a direct frontal attack

on these other creation myths.

Right?

And what will come out of the,

what will come out of understanding

the creation account

in comparison to these other myths

is those things that we talked about.

The fact that there was this lack of conflict in Genesis.

In comparison to these other groups.

That there's an elevation of human dignity.

So for instance,

in the Aniwa Elish,

I didn't go into it because it's very long.

But when it eventually gets to the creation of humans,

humans are like,

they're,

they're like the,

the thing that was created to get the gods out of doing some work.

Basically.

So the gods were,

you know,

they're on the earth,

they're tilling the soil,

they're making food,

and they're like,

oh man,

this is a ton of work.

I thought I was a god.

Why am I doing this work?

Basically.

And then human beings are created like,

hey,

we can make these things,

they can do the work for us,

and then they offer us the food,

and everything's great.

And then they're like,

hey,

great idea,

let's do that.

And then boom.

That's the creation of human beings.

That's what being,

a human being means

in the Babylonian context.

You are born into a life of work and service.

For what end?

Just to get the gods out of some work.

And ultimately,

actually,

humans end up becoming way too loud and annoying.

And then that's why they're flooded.

Because it's really,

they're like,

seriously,

the gods are trying to sleep.

And they're like,

I can't sleep with all this noise down there.

They're just making so many humans,

it's to get rid of all of them,

you know.

So,

obviously,

if we take this second version,

version of the Genesis,

all those,

those differences come to the fore.

Human dignity is so different

in the,

in the Genesis account

than we get in other,

these other accounts.

And we can continue on

in differences,

like the expression is God

as harmonious ruler,

sole ruler over the earth,

over creation.

So that's,

I think,

some of the,

the benefits of that.

And despite,

I think,

a lot of the strength

of these considerations,

I actually believe that

the,

the understanding that we get

in the ESV

and other translations

is probably closer

to the truth.

And that,

indeed,

the implications

from the beginning,

the first chapters of Genesis

are way more radical

and way more different

than the surrounding cultures.

verses.

So some of the reasons

that we can,

we have for taking this,

this first view here

is that in the Hebrew,

actually,

verse two starts with an and.

And so if you imagine

the narrative starting

and the earth was out,

form and void,

it kind of sounds like,

oh,

what?

I thought,

you know,

it's kind of like starting,

boom,

in the middle of the action

and there seems to be

a callback to earlier action.

So that actually gives us

a little more confidence

that this,

in the beginning,

God created the heavens

and the earth

is the first act

in the narrative.

And then the verse two

is actually a continuance

of the narrative.

Now, you know,

I'm not a Hebrew scholar

and so there's very good arguments

both ways on the grammar.

So I don't claim

to be an authority there,

but that seems pretty,

pretty persuasive to me.

And more,

and then secondly,

I think more interestingly

or more decisively

is this view that

if this is a title

of what is about

to follow,

it is kind of strange

that the first verse

starts with the earth

already there.

Right?

So in the beginning,

God created the heavens

and the earth

is what we're about

to experience,

what we're about to see

and it starts with

the earth is already there.

It's kind of like,

oh, well,

what is the earth

if it hasn't been created yet?

Right?

What is the earth?

And if you continue on

and when he starts

talking about the heavens,

before the heavens

are actually fully formed,

they're called the heavens.

And so in one sense,

as we continue on

in the narrative,

narratively,

the earth and the heavens

already exist,

at least in the language

of the passage.

And so that,

again,

I think is other reasons

to take this first view.

Now,

I think another reason

we should consider

the first view

is it seems to be

the way that

the earliest people of God

understood this passage.

As we call back

to Genesis 1,

there seems to be

this insistence

of there being

nothing besides God

in the act of creation.

So if we look at,

for instance,

Isaiah 45, 18,

For thus says the Lord,

who created the heavens,

He is God,

who formed the earth

and made it.

He established it.

He did not create it empty.

He formed it to be inhabited.

I am the Lord

and there is no other.

Right?

So I think if we sit

and we marinate

on that kind of verse,

it does seem to give us

the feeling

that there is nothing else

other than God

when He creates

and He creates

everything as is.

Right?

Another obvious example

in the New Testament

is John 1, 1.

Right?

In the beginning

was the Word

and the Word was with God

and the Word was God.

He was in the beginning

with God.

All things were made

through Him

and without Him

was not anything made

that was made.

Now that is obviously

very clear.

And so,

even those Christians,

believers who take

this second view

would say,

obviously creation

ex nihilo

is the truth

that we affirm

in Scripture.

But I think

if we think about

John 1, 1

as a callback,

as a reference

to Genesis 1,

then that makes it

not only

an expression

of new doctrine

but also

an interpretation

of what it is

Genesis 1

was saying

in the first place.

So whether you're

convinced by

either of those arguments

about creation

ex nihilo

as I,

you know,

whether you think

Genesis 1

is talking about

creation ex nihilo

as I take it

or not,

we can all agree

that actually

this is the teaching

of God's people,

that the doctrine

of creation ex nihilo

is one of the

distinguishing differences

between Christianity

and these other

religious systems,

other ways of thinking

about the world.

So how is that?

What does creation

ex nihilo

do for us?

What are we

to learn from it?

Well, for one,

we should remember

that heaven and earth

is a merism,

meaning it's a phrase

that's supposed

to encompass everything.

So when we say

in the beginning

God created

the heavens

and the earth,

we shouldn't think

of this as

specifically

God created

the sky

and God created

the planet earth.

Heaven and earth

just means

everything, right?

It's like saying

the whole kitten caboodle

or the whole enchilada,

right?

We're not talking

about enchiladas here.

We're talking

about everything, right?

So this is the same

kind of figure of speech.

Heaven and earth,

everything.

So when we confess

that God created

all things from nothing,

everything, everything,

this is actually

a confession of truth

both about God

and about creation.

So how is this?

So let's park here

for what does this

tell us about God?

Well, if everything

that is made,

that is,

if everything that is

was made by God,

then that reveals

that God is the only

independent one.

The only being

without beginning.

You guys see that?

This concept of deity

is radically different

from the other ones

we heard about earlier.

Zeus, Odin, Apsu.

They may be called almighty.

They may be called ultimate.

But they actually just exist

as one part of a larger whole.

They are part of the

eternal cosmos of chaos

or maybe a whirling maelstrom

depending on what flavor

you prefer.

They're just one part

of this larger whole, right?

They don't ground

these realities.

They kind of exert

a power over them

kind of like Superman

on steroids, right?

They can take

this pre-existing material

and they can form it

and they can exert

their will on it

but they don't make it.

They don't ground it.

It doesn't exist

because of them.

How different is this

than the God of the Bible?

When God gives Moses

his personal name,

what does he say?

I am.

Right?

I am.

It gives me chills.

Right?

I am.

I am.

God is not one being

among other beings.

God is being.

God is, is, as Augustine says.

So what is that?

There's not a watery chaos,

an eternal universe.

There's not this unformed

substance alongside him

that he uses.

This is what we learn

when we really stop

and consider the teaching

of creation ex nihilo.

There's only God

and all things

that depend on him

for their existence.

There's basically

only two kinds of things.

God

and creation.

Right?

If you're not God,

you're created.

And that determines

the hierarchy.

Does that make sense?

God is often called

his aseity,

meaning from himself.

This is actually

what Jesus mentions

when he's defending

his unity with the Father

to the Pharisees.

He says,

in John,

I believe,

5,

I didn't write that down,

actually.

John 5,

for as the Father

has life in himself,

so he has granted

the Son also

to have life

in himself.

God isn't given life.

God doesn't depend

on anything.

God has life

in himself.

Right?

You can see immediately

the radical departure

that is from these other gods.

Aseity is one of those

incommunicable attributes,

we say.

Those aspects of God's essence

that are unique to him.

If you have one of these attributes,

you are God,

by definition.

Right?

If you're from yourself,

you are God.

Right?

And a lot of us

like to think

we're self-made.

We're not self-made like this.

Right?

I think there's kind of

a funny story, right?

I think it's a joke,

actually,

but it's a story

about a scientist,

this very brash

and confident scientist.

He says,

God,

I can create

everything that you created

out of this mud right here.

And God says,

okay, go ahead.

Do it.

And so the scientist says,

okay.

He starts working with the mud

and God says,

oh,

well,

make your own mud.

Right?

There's all this stuff

that we just take for granted

as just existing

that we think,

oh, yeah,

the laws of physics.

Right?

A lot of times

you'll hear of people

talking about,

well,

if we have a quantum vacuum

and we have quantum fluctuations,

then something actually

can come out of nothing.

Right?

But this just misses the point.

This is sort of obtuse

because there isn't nothing.

There are quantum laws.

Right?

You see that?

There are laws of physics

that are operative.

So those things

need to be explained.

It's not about

the existence

of material things as such.

It's the existence

of anything.

It's existence.

Period.

Full stop.

That we're trying to explain here.

Right?

Another thing

that we get from Ex nihilo,

another of his

incommunicable attributes,

is God's immutability.

God's not growing.

Being born from the salt

like the Aesir.

I love that view.

And that's one of the reasons

I shared it.

I love the view

of a cosmic cow

licking the ice

and a guy just coming out of it.

In the Duler Book of Myths,

there's actually

a really great picture

where the cow

is like licking

and it's like

you can start

seeing the hair

coming from the thing

like a cow lick

in your hair, right?

But God's not growing.

God's not developing.

He's not reaching

or striving.

God is perfect.

And therefore,

there's no need

for God to change.

Like his aseity,

God's immutability

is revealed

in his being

the only one

to not have a beginning.

So let's look at

Psalm 92.

where it says,

Before the mountains

were brought forth,

or ever you had formed

the earth

and the world

from everlasting

to everlasting,

you are God.

When we apply this

to the aspect of time,

God's immutability,

we arrive at God's

eternity.

He's the only beginning

that was always.

Right?

Revelations 1.8

I am the Alpha

and the Omega,

says the Lord God,

who is

and who was

and who is

to come,

the Almighty.

There wasn't a time

where God was not.

There wasn't a time

when God needed

to change

or to grow.

He didn't need

to take on humanity

to learn

what it was really like.

Does it make sense?

Sometimes we talk

like this.

Like God needed something.

Like he needs us.

Does God need us?

I hope not.

Because I'm not

going to be any help.

And we could go on.

There's so many things

we can draw

about God

from creation

ex nihilo.

His unity,

God's infinity,

his simplicity.

All of these attributes

are attempts

to articulate

this radical transcendence

that we have

in the Creator.

He's beyond all things

for he made all things

and there's no one

like him.

That's, I think,

the title,

should be the title

of what we learn

from creation

ex nihilo

is that there is

no one like him.

So,

that's God.

We're finished with God.

You know?

No, we're not.

So,

but what do we learn

about God?

What do we learn

about creation

from the doctrine

of creation

ex nihilo?

Well,

if God,

if discussing

God's transcendence

is leaving you

feeling cold,

making you think

if God's so distinct

from his creation,

if he's so different,

if he's so beyond,

if he doesn't need,

how can we say that

he's with us?

Right?

On the contrary,

this view makes God

closer

than you can even imagine.

If all things

depend on God

for their existence,

then that means

that we have

derivative existence.

Right?

If God is being,

that anything

that exists

is sort of

relying on God's being

to exist.

Are we getting that?

So,

this is all to say

we don't exist

autonomously.

I heard a

great analogy

where it's like,

you know,

before we're born,

we rely on this

umbilical cord

to exist.

Right?

We as human beings

we're kind of

attached to our mothers

where we receive

this existence.

We receive

our nourishment.

And sort of like

invisible umbilical cords.

We all walk around.

Everything walks around

connected to God,

relying on God

for its existence.

Right?

So,

we don't exist

autonomously.

we actually must

participate in

God's being

to be.

And so,

it's incorrect

to think of our

existence as the

result of blind

forces like

electromagnetism

or the weak

nuclear force

or gravity.

You know?

This is like,

these are the things

that we usually

think about when we

think about

like the bare

bones of existence

like these

laws,

these things

controlling how

atoms relate to

each other

or how atoms

are formed.

And surely,

these forces

have their place

in explaining

a host of

different phenomena

that we observe.

But no,

ultimately,

it is the personal

triune God

of Scripture

who is love,

who is also

the ground

and sustainer

of our very being.

Or as Paul quotes

Epimenides in Acts 17,

in Him,

we live and move

and have our being.

Speaking of Jesus

as the logos

of creation

in Colossians 1,

15-17,

Paul says that

He is the image

of the invisible God,

the firstborn

of all creation.

For by Him

all things were created

in heaven and on earth,

visible and invisible,

whether thrones

or dominions

or rulers

or authorities.

All things were created

through Him

and for Him

and He is before

all things

and in Him

all things hold together.

So far from

separating us from God,

the fact that

we are contingent,

that we are dependent

is actually

described in Scripture

God being our source

as our being

in Him.

We are not

separated from God.

We are in God.

Every moment,

second by second,

God sustains us.

We are connected

to Him.

This is one of the reasons

why sin is so heinous.

Right?

So,

if we conceive of sin

as rejection of God,

a turning away from Him,

it's actually

a rejection of life

and being itself.

Now,

this is actually

one of the reasons

philosophically

that we,

that the view

of sin

as privation

emerges in the church.

Right?

Sin is non-being.

Anyways,

we don't need to go

into that.

Unless you really want to.

Because I would love

to talk about that.

But,

yeah.

But more importantly,

actually,

it's so heinous,

sin is so heinous,

because

in rejecting God,

we actually have to

use the gift

of God's

sustaining work

in creation

to reject Him.

we stand

on top of God

on the limb

of God's

sustaining grace

and we start

cutting on the limb

saying,

I don't need you.

I reject you.

So,

this is the,

constitutes the most

severe form

of ingratitude.

As Paul says

in Romans 1,

for the wrath

of God

is revealed

from heaven

against all

ungodliness

and unrighteousness

of men

who by their

unrighteousness

suppress the truth.

For what can be known

about God

is plain to them

because God

has shown it to them.

For His invisible

attributes,

namely,

His eternal power

and divine nature

have been clearly

perceived

ever since the

creation of the world

in the things

that have been made.

So they are

without excuse.

For although

they knew God,

they did not

honor Him

as God

or give thanks to Him.

For they became

futile in their thinking

and their foolish

hearts were darkened.

Claiming to be wise,

they became fools

and exchanged

the glory of the

immortal God

for images

resembling mortal

man and birds

and animals

and creeping things.

You see how

by

sitting

and really

thinking about

what does it mean

for God

to be creator?

For God

to make everything

apart from Himself

and the fact

that we rely on God,

we're sustained

by God.

You can see how

silly

idolatry becomes.

we take

these things

that these other

created things

that we see

and we fashion

them and we

worship them

and how silly

it is when

those very things

rely on God

for their existence.

Right?

So thanks be to God

that He does not

reject us

in turn,

obviously,

but continues

in His mercy

to sustain us.

Right?

Right?

And,

not only that,

He entered

into contingency

by taking on

human nature

and then

even works

with the Holy Spirit

to reunite us

to Himself.

So sin is us

turning away

from God,

rejecting

being,

existence,

life,

goodness,

love,

everything that God is.

If we consider

sin as that thing,

then,

through Jesus

and the Holy Spirit,

we are brought

back to God,

back to being,

back to existence.

I like how

Herman Baving

puts it.

He says,

the doctrine of creation,

affirming the distinction

between the Creator

and His creature,

is the starting point

of true religion.

There is no existence

apart from God

and the Creator

can only be known

truly through revelation.

This creation

is properly said

to be ex nihilo,

out of nothing,

thus preserving

the distinction

in essence

between the

Creator and the world

and the contingency

of the world

and its dependence

on God.

The Son is the Logos

by whom the Father

creates all things.

And so here's

the interesting thing.

The whole world

is a realization

of an idea of God.

The creation proceeds

from the Father

through the Son

and in the Spirit

so that

in the Spirit

and through the Son

it may return

to the Father.

You see that?

Now, this actually

is referencing

that aspect of creation

whereas Jesus

as the Son,

God the Son

is the Logo,

sort of the

creating principle,

right?

The logic,

the thing that forms.

And so,

in some earlier Christians

like Augustine,

we find

he said

he likes to imagine

creation,

which as we all know

in the Trinity

is interpenetrating.

We can't really distinguish

fully all the acts

of God

into,

oh, that was the Father

but not the Son

and the Spirit, right?

We don't want to do that,

right?

But,

Augustine likes to

think of the Trinity's

separate activities

in the act of creation.

I shouldn't say

separate activities.

This is probably

a better word.

But as you can see,

as we talk about God,

our words start to fail,

right?

He likes to say

that God the Father

creates

like bare matter.

And then

God the Son

provides form

to that matter

and it is God the Spirit

that

actually

actuates it,

right?

So the way he imagines it

as we go through Genesis,

we're going to see

in the early chapters

God says

let there be

and that is

thought to be

God the Father

using the word

God the Son

to say let there be

and the Spirit saying

and there was.

Right?

So

it's a beautiful,

beautiful way

of thinking about

our creation.

And so

to finish up,

I was going to go

on this long tangent

about what it means

to glorify God.

I was going to use

a lot of words

and stuff

and then I started

writing it

and then I thought

what am I doing?

I can't write this

better than Scripture.

So

anybody have their

Bible here

wants to read

a significant

portion of Scripture?

Yeah.

Yeah?

Yeah.

Alright,

I got

Isaiah 46

if you do not mind.

Isaiah 46?

Yeah,

and as we read this

I want you guys

to think

about the things

that we've talked about.

God is ultimate.

God is the one God,

the true God.

The insanity

of idolatry

and how God

being the one creator

actually brings us

closer to him.

Allows God

to be the thing

that can save us

and bring us

back to himself.

Sorry,

go ahead.

Isaiah 46,

what?

Just the whole chapter.

Okay.

Okay.

Bel boweth down,

nebo,

stupid,

stupid.

Their idols

were upon the beast

and upon the cattle.

Their carriages

were heavy laden.

They are a burden.

They are a burden

to the weary beast.

They stoke.

They bow down together.

They could not

deliver the burden

but themselves

are gone into captivity.

Hearken unto me,

O house of Jacob

and all the remnant

of the house of Israel

which are born

by me

from the belly

which are carried

from the womb.

And even to your old age

I am key

and even

to whore hairs

will I carry you.

I have made

and I will bear

even I will carry

and will deliver you.

To whom will you liken me

and make me equal?

Compare me

that we may be alike.

They lavish gold

out of the bag

and weigh silver

in the balance

and hire a goldsmith

and he maketh it

a god.

They fall down.

Yea,

they worship.

They bear him up

upon the shoulder.

They carry him

and set him in place

and he standeth.

From his place

he shall not be removed.

Yea,

one shall cry unto him

yet can he not answer

nor save him

out of this trouble.

Remember this

and show yourselves men.

Bring it again to mind

for you transgressors.

Remember the former things

of old

for I am God

and there is none else.

I am God

and there is none

like me.

Declaring the end

from the beginning

and from the ancient times

the things

that are not yet done

saying

my counsel

shall stand

and I will do

all my pleasure.

Calling

a ravenous bird

from the east

the man that

executed my counsel

from a far country.

Yea,

I have spoken it.

I will also bring it to pass.

I have purposed it.

I will also do it.

Hearken unto me

ye stephearted

that are far

from righteousness.

I bring near

my righteousness.

I shall not be

far off

and my salvation

shall not carry.

I will place salvation

in Zion

for Israel.

Glory.

Magnificent.

worth

10,000 of my words.

I love this image

in the beginning.

They are taking Nebo

and they are taking Bel

and they are loading

him onto these donkeys

and the donkeys

are like

under the weight

of them as they go along.

And they can't even

get him all the way there.

They fail

in their attempts

to carry God

on their backs.

Right?

But what does God say?

I have born you

these other people

they are bearing

their gods

I bore you

from the womb.

Even to your old age

I am carrying you.

You guys see that?

See the contrast there

that we get?

And also that God

is not far off.

Right?

There is no one

like God

and that means

God is near.

Not far.

Alright.

Somebody else.

Who wants to read

Psalm 86?

You want to read it?

Go ahead Laura.

Incline your ear

O Lord

and answer me

for I am

poor and needy.

Preserve my life

for I am godly.

Save your servant

and trust in you.

You are my God.

Be gracious to me

O Lord

for to you

do I cry

all the day.

Gladen the soul

of your servant

for to you

O Lord

do I lift up

my soul.

For you

O Lord

are good

and forgiving.

Abounding

and steadfast love

to all who

call upon you.

Give ear

O Lord

to my prayer.

Listen to my plea

for grace.

In the day

of my trouble

I call upon you

and you answer me.

There is none

like you

among the gods

O Lord

nor are there

any works

like yours.

All the nations

you have made

shall come

and worship

before you

O Lord

and shall

glorify your name.

For you are great

and wonderful things.

You alone

are God.

Teach me your way

O Lord

that I may walk

in your truth.

Unite my heart

to fear your name.

I give thanks to you

O Lord

my God

with my whole heart

and I will glorify

your name forever.

For great is your

steadfast love

toward me.

You have delivered

my soul

from the death

of your soul.

O God

insolent men

have risen up

against me.

A band of

ruthless men

seeks my life

and they do not

set you

before them.

But you

O Lord

are a God

merciful

and gracious

slow to anger

and abounding

in steadfast love

and faithfulness.

Turn to me

and be gracious

to me.

Give your strength

to your servant

and save the son

of your maidservant.

Show me a sign

of your favor

that those who hate me

may see

and be put to shame

because you

Lord

have helped me

and comfort me.

Beautiful.

Beautiful.

Right?

We're needy.

We call on God.

We need God.

And because God

there are

because there's no one

like God

that exists

God is uniquely

placed

to answer

our

requests.

Right?

Even to need God

you've got to

presuppose a God.

Exactly.

Right.

It's beautiful.

So,

you know what?

I'm impressed

about this psalm

and really

a number of others

too.

So,

in this psalm

he makes sure

that his hearers

or readers

know

how tough

the situation

he is

is.

And yet,

unlike me,

he does

in his misery

raise his eyes

above his misery

and see

the greatness

and the

sovereignty

of God

the

power

of God

to deal

with

his situation.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Right?

Only

the creator God

only the God

who actually

is power

and being

and love

can actually

help us

in our time

of need.

Right?

And beyond that

not just God's

power but we

can trust God.

Right?

This is the

triune God

of scripture.

Right?

Our redeemer

our friend.

You know?

Talk about friends

in high places,

right?

All right.

Let me finish

with what I think

is really

the exclamation

point.

It's a little

long but I

think it's

just so worth

reading.

This is Isaiah

40.

He says,

comfort,

comfort,

comfort my people

says your God.

Speak tenderly

to Jerusalem

and cry to her

that her warfare

is ended,

that her iniquity

is pardoned,

that she is received

from the Lord's hand

double for all her sins.

A voice cries,

in the wilderness

prepare the way

of the Lord.

Make straight in the desert

a highway for our God.

Every valley

shall be lifted up

and every mountain

and hill

be made low.

The uneven ground

shall become level

and the rough places

a plain.

And the glory of the Lord

shall be revealed

and all flesh

shall see it together

for the mouth

of the Lord

is spoken.

A voice says,

cry,

and I say,

what shall I cry?

All flesh is grass

and all its beauty

is like the flower

of the field.

The grass withers,

the flower fades

when the breath

of the Lord

blows on it.

Surely the people

are grass.

The grass withers,

the flower fades,

but the word of our God

will stand forever.

Go on up

to a high mountain,

O Zion,

herald of good news.

Lift up your voice

with strength,

O Jerusalem,

herald of good news.

Lift it up,

fear not.

Say to the cities

of Judah,

behold your God.

Behold the Lord

comes with might

and His arm

rules for Him.

Behold His reward

is with Him

and His recompense

before Him.

He will tend

His flock

like a shepherd.

He will gather

the lambs

in His arms.

He will carry

them in His bosom

and gently lead

those that are

with young.

Who has measured

the waters

in the hollow

of His hand

and marked off

the heavens

with a span,

enclosed the dust

of the earth

in a measure

and weighed

the mountains

in scales

and the hills

in a balance?

Who has measured

the Spirit

of the Lord

or what man

shows Him

His counsel?

Whom did He

consult

and whom

made Him

understand?

Who taught Him

the path of justice

and taught Him

knowledge and showed Him

the way of understanding?

Behold,

the nations are like

a drop from a bucket

and are accounted

as the dust

on the scales.

Behold,

He takes up

the coastlands

like fine dust.

Lebanon

would not suffice

for fuel,

nor is its beast

enough for a burnt offering.

All the nations

are as nothing

before Him.

They are counted

by Him

as less than nothing

in emptiness.

To whom then

will you liken God?

Or what likeness

can pair with Him?

An idol.

A craftsman casts it

and a goldsmith

overlays it with gold

and casts for it

silver chains.

He who is too

impoverished for an offering

chooses wood

that will not rot.

He seeks out

a skillful craftsman

to set up an idol

that will not move.

Do you not know?

Do you not hear?

Has it not been told

you from the beginning?

Have you not understood

from the foundations

of the earth?

It is He

who sits above

the circle of the earth

and its inhabitants

are like grasshoppers,

who stretches out

the heavens

like a curtain

and spreads them

like a tent

to dwell in,

who brings princes

to nothing

and makes the rulers

of the earth

as emptiness.

Scarcely are they

planted,

scarcely sown,

scarcely has their stem

taken root in the earth

when He blows on them

and they wither

and the tempest

carries them off

like stubble.

To whom then

will you compare me

that I should be

like Him,

says the Holy One.

Lift up your eyes

on I and see

who created these.

He who brings out

their host by number

calling them all by name