For the Manifestation of His Glory
Chapter 4: Of Creation
1. It pleased God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, for the manifestation of the glory of his eternal power, wisdom, and goodness, in the beginning, to create, or make of nothing, the world, and all things therein whether visible or invisible, in the space of six days; and all very good
2. After God had made all other creatures, he created man, male and female, with reasonable and immortal souls, endued with knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness, after his own image; having the law of God written in their hearts, and power to fulfill it: and yet under a possibility of transgressing, being left to the liberty of their own will, which was subject unto change. Beside this law written in their hearts, they received a command, not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; which while they kept, they were happy in their communion with God, and had dominion over the creatures.
2. After God had made all other creatures, he created man, male and female, with reasonable and immortal souls, endued with knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness, after his own image; having the law of God written in their hearts, and power to fulfill it: and yet under a possibility of transgressing, being left to the liberty of their own will, which was subject unto change. Beside this law written in their hearts, they received a command, not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; which while they kept, they were happy in their communion with God, and had dominion over the creatures.
The Children's Catechism asks the question "Why did God make you and all things?" For the Christian, the answer is easy, because God gives it to us: "For His own glory" (see Isaiah 43:7). God didn’t make creation to take care of some need He had (for example, “God was lonely” or “He wanted someone to love”). No, God created all thing according to display the heights and depths and scope of who He is: His power, His majesty, His Holiness--all of creation and history will manifest the glory of the Lord.
First, God displays His power in the initial work of creation: “In the Beginning, God created the heavens and the earth,” (Genesis 1:1) which is to say, all things. This stands against the claims of many beliefs that the Universe has always existed, or that it just exploded into existence at one point, or even the view that God is the universe. Instead, God tells us in His word that He alone is eternal, and that all which now exists came into being by His will and Word (Hebrews 11:3).
The Bible also tells us that God created all things in the span of six days. Why did He create this way? Was it necessary? Or did God choose this method in order to give us a theology lesson? In creating the earth and all that is in it in 6 days, God seems to be doing a few things: First, He displays His wisdom and goodness in how He first created the earth, then ordered and furnished the earth, so that He could fill it with life, declaring all that He had made good. Also, in the seven day pattern of creation (six days of work leading to a day of rest), God sets down a pattern for all of creation, history and our lives: a long period of work, followed by a holy day of rest. We live our lives by this weekly pattern. We work for six days, looking towards the day of rest which we set aside for God. Our lives are to be focused on and revolve around our worship and enjoyment of Him.
This weekly pattern is meant to point us to the ultimate focus and flow of all created things, and indeed all of history. The author of Hebrews exhorts the Christian to strive towards the true Sabbath rest of God, saying that the people of Israel did not enter that rest when they crossed the border into the promised land, which means that there is a rest yet to come. This rest yet to come is what the promised land foreshadows: the new heavens and the new earth which will happen when Christ’s return. After this there will be no more sin, no more sorrow, no more trials or difficulties, because Jesus has fully satisfied God’s law, doing what Adam should have done in the garden in the very beginning. Talk about rest!
Now lets go back to the declaration that all which has been created has been made “very good.” Why is this important important enough that the Confession points us to this detail? In declaring all things good, we should ask the question "where did all of the “not good” things come from?" The sickness, sorrow, and death that we now experience weren’t part of God’s original creation. As we read in the book of James: “Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” (James 1:16,17). Even the first man and women were made unmarred by sin, equipped for their role as God’s image bearers on earth.
The second paragraph in this chapter focuses specifically on the creation of man, not meaning just the male gender, but mankind--both male and female. And it is here in these opening chapters in Genesis that we get the answer to the questions "Who am I?" or "Why am I here?" Specifically Genesis tells us that mankind was made "after His own image." First of all, the scriptures teach that God made male and female. It is not man alone who was made in the image of God, nor woman alone, but God made them after His own image male and female (Gen. 1:27).
What does it mean to be made after God's own image? It is not referring to the likeness of appearance, but the sharing of certain attributes. The Confession explains this quite nicely with the participle phrase that follows: "having the law of God written in their hearts, and power to fulfill it..." The image of God in man is the ability to act in a way that mirrors God's character. Adam was to care for the creation as God's representative on earth, and Eve was to be his helper--his support--and in so doing, both would together mirror God's quality, though they could only do so to a finite degree.
Here is a good point to pause and consider something. Note that God intentionally makes man by himself first, and then declares this not complete; it was not good. And then he shows Adam, the first man, that no other living thing was fit to be a suitable helper to him. He then proceeds to make Eve in a unique way, and the woman is the first solution to the first not good thing. Why did He do this? Why not just make Adam and Eve together in the beginning? Again we see God acting in such a way so as to instruct His people: there is no replacement of the complementary relationship between man and woman which God sets in place in creation, so that rather than being a "social construct" the marriage between one man and one woman, along with the family unity, are relationships which God has woven into the created order from the very beginning.
We also see here a mention of free will! However, it is important to note that the Assembly is speaking of Adam and Eve in their pre-fall state: they were made to obey God, but also had the possibility of transgression, being subject to “the liberty of their own will.” So does this mean that all mankind is under the liberty of their own will? No, Adam was put in a unique state at the beginning where he would be given the choice: listen and submit to your Creator who has given you all things on earth, or stray away from that to in an attempt to put yourself in the place of God? God indeed gave Adam and Eve everything they could want on earth, and more, but with one exception: God alone is the highest authority of the universe, and Adam was to listen to Him, rather than seeking to be an authority in and of himself (represented by the tree of the knowledge of good and evil). Adam, as we know, chose to seek to be his own god, and the human race was handed over to death and decay—not just physical death, but the death of his soul. His heart, and his will which were no longer inclined towards God. Instead, the hearts of mankind were from the point of the fall onward wholly inclined towards evil continually (Gen. 6:5). This separation from God is the source of the things that are not good in this world: the sickness, sorrow, pain and death. These are expressions of what it means to reject God, who is Himself the font of all life and goodness. It is like wandering away from a spring of water into a vast desert.
So mankind lost His ability to fellowship with God, to love and serve Him, and ultimately to be in His presence. Jesus teaches us that unless our wills are renewed (“unless one is born again...”), we cannot even choose to believe (“...they cannot see the kingdom of God (John 3:3)). Yet though Adam brought sin into the world and therefore earned for himself and for all humanity the curse and punishment that comes with guilt, God still made a promise that one day the Offspring of the woman would undo what Adam had done; God would restore His image in humanity, restore His creation, and that is the work which Jesus has done on the cross. When a person is born again, this is the beginning of a new creation, showing us that all of creation, as well as re-creation is wholly and entirely a work of God, from beginning to end.
First, God displays His power in the initial work of creation: “In the Beginning, God created the heavens and the earth,” (Genesis 1:1) which is to say, all things. This stands against the claims of many beliefs that the Universe has always existed, or that it just exploded into existence at one point, or even the view that God is the universe. Instead, God tells us in His word that He alone is eternal, and that all which now exists came into being by His will and Word (Hebrews 11:3).
The Bible also tells us that God created all things in the span of six days. Why did He create this way? Was it necessary? Or did God choose this method in order to give us a theology lesson? In creating the earth and all that is in it in 6 days, God seems to be doing a few things: First, He displays His wisdom and goodness in how He first created the earth, then ordered and furnished the earth, so that He could fill it with life, declaring all that He had made good. Also, in the seven day pattern of creation (six days of work leading to a day of rest), God sets down a pattern for all of creation, history and our lives: a long period of work, followed by a holy day of rest. We live our lives by this weekly pattern. We work for six days, looking towards the day of rest which we set aside for God. Our lives are to be focused on and revolve around our worship and enjoyment of Him.
This weekly pattern is meant to point us to the ultimate focus and flow of all created things, and indeed all of history. The author of Hebrews exhorts the Christian to strive towards the true Sabbath rest of God, saying that the people of Israel did not enter that rest when they crossed the border into the promised land, which means that there is a rest yet to come. This rest yet to come is what the promised land foreshadows: the new heavens and the new earth which will happen when Christ’s return. After this there will be no more sin, no more sorrow, no more trials or difficulties, because Jesus has fully satisfied God’s law, doing what Adam should have done in the garden in the very beginning. Talk about rest!
Now lets go back to the declaration that all which has been created has been made “very good.” Why is this important important enough that the Confession points us to this detail? In declaring all things good, we should ask the question "where did all of the “not good” things come from?" The sickness, sorrow, and death that we now experience weren’t part of God’s original creation. As we read in the book of James: “Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” (James 1:16,17). Even the first man and women were made unmarred by sin, equipped for their role as God’s image bearers on earth.
The second paragraph in this chapter focuses specifically on the creation of man, not meaning just the male gender, but mankind--both male and female. And it is here in these opening chapters in Genesis that we get the answer to the questions "Who am I?" or "Why am I here?" Specifically Genesis tells us that mankind was made "after His own image." First of all, the scriptures teach that God made male and female. It is not man alone who was made in the image of God, nor woman alone, but God made them after His own image male and female (Gen. 1:27).
What does it mean to be made after God's own image? It is not referring to the likeness of appearance, but the sharing of certain attributes. The Confession explains this quite nicely with the participle phrase that follows: "having the law of God written in their hearts, and power to fulfill it..." The image of God in man is the ability to act in a way that mirrors God's character. Adam was to care for the creation as God's representative on earth, and Eve was to be his helper--his support--and in so doing, both would together mirror God's quality, though they could only do so to a finite degree.
Here is a good point to pause and consider something. Note that God intentionally makes man by himself first, and then declares this not complete; it was not good. And then he shows Adam, the first man, that no other living thing was fit to be a suitable helper to him. He then proceeds to make Eve in a unique way, and the woman is the first solution to the first not good thing. Why did He do this? Why not just make Adam and Eve together in the beginning? Again we see God acting in such a way so as to instruct His people: there is no replacement of the complementary relationship between man and woman which God sets in place in creation, so that rather than being a "social construct" the marriage between one man and one woman, along with the family unity, are relationships which God has woven into the created order from the very beginning.
We also see here a mention of free will! However, it is important to note that the Assembly is speaking of Adam and Eve in their pre-fall state: they were made to obey God, but also had the possibility of transgression, being subject to “the liberty of their own will.” So does this mean that all mankind is under the liberty of their own will? No, Adam was put in a unique state at the beginning where he would be given the choice: listen and submit to your Creator who has given you all things on earth, or stray away from that to in an attempt to put yourself in the place of God? God indeed gave Adam and Eve everything they could want on earth, and more, but with one exception: God alone is the highest authority of the universe, and Adam was to listen to Him, rather than seeking to be an authority in and of himself (represented by the tree of the knowledge of good and evil). Adam, as we know, chose to seek to be his own god, and the human race was handed over to death and decay—not just physical death, but the death of his soul. His heart, and his will which were no longer inclined towards God. Instead, the hearts of mankind were from the point of the fall onward wholly inclined towards evil continually (Gen. 6:5). This separation from God is the source of the things that are not good in this world: the sickness, sorrow, pain and death. These are expressions of what it means to reject God, who is Himself the font of all life and goodness. It is like wandering away from a spring of water into a vast desert.
So mankind lost His ability to fellowship with God, to love and serve Him, and ultimately to be in His presence. Jesus teaches us that unless our wills are renewed (“unless one is born again...”), we cannot even choose to believe (“...they cannot see the kingdom of God (John 3:3)). Yet though Adam brought sin into the world and therefore earned for himself and for all humanity the curse and punishment that comes with guilt, God still made a promise that one day the Offspring of the woman would undo what Adam had done; God would restore His image in humanity, restore His creation, and that is the work which Jesus has done on the cross. When a person is born again, this is the beginning of a new creation, showing us that all of creation, as well as re-creation is wholly and entirely a work of God, from beginning to end.