In the last series, we looked at God as Father and
Creator. In this series, we are looking
at what
God created, namely, in the words of the Apostles’ Creed, the
heavens and the earth. In the
last post, we looked at the invisible world, the heavens.
In this post we will look at the visible world, the earth.
God created this visible world, just as he did the invisible
one. The creation of the visible world is outlined
in the story of the six days of creation as found in Genesis. God creates in order from day one to day
six: light, the sky, water, land, the sun, the stars, sea creatures, air
creatures, land creatures, and finally, man. Then God rests on the seventh day, and blesses
it.
This story points to several important truths about this
world that God has created.
1)
Nothing
exists that does not owe its existence to God the Creator (#338). God created out of nothing, so
nothing would exist without God. This
includes everything that is, was, and will ever be.
2) Each creature possesses its own particular
goodness and perfection (#339). Everything
that God created was “good”, as we read in Genesis. Each creature reflects in its own way a ray
of God’s wisdom and goodness. We have to
treat each other with that truth in mind.
3)
God wills the interdependence of creatures (#340). Creatures only exist in relation to
each other. We are dependent on each
other, we complete each other, and we are called to serve each other. There is solidarity among all creatures (#344).
4) There
is beauty of the universe
(#341). The relationships among creatures point to a unity and harmony in the
world, in the midst of all the diversity.
It reflects the beauty of the Creator.
5)
While
all creatures are good, there is a nonetheless a hierarchy of creatures (#342). God loves all his creatures, but some reflect
his perfection more than others. The six
days of creation reflect an order from less to more perfect creations. Man is the summit of the Creator's work
(#343). Our Lord says, “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is
forgotten in God’s sight. But even the hairs of your head are all
counted. Do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows." (Luke
12:6-7)
6)
There is something special about the sabbath - the end of the work of the
six days (#345). He blessed this day, unique among all
days. On this day, God finished his work
of creation. His special blessing of
this day, which occurs immediately after the initial creation of the world is
completed, points to a few realities: that creation is good, that God’s laws of creation are good and trustworthy,
that all creation is oriented towards the Sabbath, to the worship of God, and
that keeping his commandments is to correspond to the laws of creation. Respect for laws inscribed in creation and
the relations which derive from the nature of things is a principle of wisdom
and a foundation for morality (#354).
7)
For Christians, however, there is a
greater work than even creation, and that is redemption. When we are re-created in Christ, we enter
the “eighth”
day (#349). (For more on the
Sabbath, and the 8th day, read my post:
As we stated in the last series, God created the world to
show his glory. Both the visible and
invisible worlds radiate the beauty, truth, love, and power of God. The fact that he freely chose to create both
a visible and an invisible world shows that there is something noble in both;
things that can be seen, like animals and nature, and things that cannot be
seen, like intellectual thought and sensual feeling. All things point toward God and when used rightly
in accordance with his laws, lead us to Him, who is our end and destiny. We must treat both the spiritual and the natural worlds with the
respect each deserve.
But nothing in creation radiates the glory of God as much as
man, and as such, the topic of man deserves its own post, and that will be
next as we conclude this short series on God’s great creation.
Joseph most obedient, pray for us.
(The attached painting is Jan Brueghel's the Garden of Eden.)
(The attached painting is Jan Brueghel's the Garden of Eden.)
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