Creation is one of the ways God has
revealed himself. David wrote about how the glory of God
is reflected in the created order. “The heavens declare the glory of God” (Ps.
19:1-6). The apostle Paul argued that certain attributes of God are made
evident in the creation, namely, his “eternal power and divine nature” (Rom.
1:20).
Creation speaks to the principle of God’s sovereignty over all things. “Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and earth is yours” (1 Chron. 29:10-12). “Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases” (Ps. 115:3).
Creation makes God worthy of worship.
“Come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker”
(Ps. 95:6). “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor
and power; for you created all things, and because of Your will they existed,
and were created” (Rev. 4:11). Creation shows that God, and God alone, is worthy
of our praise, adoration, and thanksgiving. Of course, all this reminds us of
God’s special interest in us as human beings.
Creation shows God’s special relationship
with mankind. This was the culmination of God’s
creative work because mankind was made in God’s own image and likeness (Gen.
1:27-30). The physical universe was made for man’s good and enjoyment. Man’s relationship
with the creation was his dominion over and stewardship of what God had made.
God’s creation is an indication of his desire to be in
fellowship with mankind whom he made in his image. His creation included personal
beings who could know him and respond to him. God’s highest purpose in creation
was to be glorified by beings who could acknowledge God’s glory as manifested
in his works, and who could praise him on account of it. The blessings and beauty
of the things God created were for us to enjoy. But we are to enjoy them
especially as gifts from the God who loves us. More important than enjoying the
gift is enjoying and loving the Giver himself. It’s been said that without the
presence of rational creatures, the world would be like a book with no reader,
a voice with no one to hear, a work of art with no one to appreciate it, or a
beautiful house with no inhabitant. “Every good thing given and every perfect
gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights” (Jas. 1:17).
God’s creation ultimately reminds us of
his new creation in Christ. God is the great giver of life,
light, and love. But his creative power is not seen just in the creation of the
world and of mankind. We see it in his promise of the new creation in Christ. “For
we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works” (Eph. 2:10). “If
anyone in Christ, he is a new creature; the only things passed away; behold, new
things have come” (2 Cor. 5:17).
Dan Petty
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