In The Things That Are Made

by J.D. Terrell | Category: The Eternal God Revealed | Jan 1994

"Bless the LORD, 0 my soul. 0 LORD my God, Thou art very great" (Ps.

104:1).

The opening chapter of J.I. Packer's invaluable work, "Knowing God", contains a quotation from a sermon preached in London in 1855. Part of the quotation is as follows, "The highest science, the loftiest speculation, the mightiest philosophy, which can ever engage the attention of a child of God, is the name, the nature, the person, the work, the doings, and the existence of the great God whom he calls his Father". The preacher was Charles Spurgeon, aged 20 years! Having grasped such wisdom about the Being of God, there is little wonder that greatness lay ahead for Spurgeon as a preacher and man of God.

In this initial article of the series, The Eternal God Revealed, we shall deal, with some fundamental issues concerning this God who has revealed Himself, seeking evidence principally from God's creative works, about His BEING; His NATURE; and His PROVIDENCE.

God's Being:

"In the beginning God ... " So opens the written record of the divine self-revelation. For self-revelation it must be in the very nature of the God presented by Holy Scripture; everything we learn about Him makes plain that none but Himself could instruct us concerning His Being. This truth will be amply demonstrated when we consider the nature of God and His unique attributes. But the very matter of creation, whose story opens with the majestic words quoted above, itself establishes the universal supremacy of the Creator. Any attempt to prove the existence of the God of the Bible is futile to men and women with minds darkened by sin. It is unnecessary for those enlightened by the Spirit of God, and united by saving faith to the Son. To the believer the words of Romans 1:20 stand monumental in their self-evidence, "For the invisible things of Him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made, even His everlasting power and divinity". And of the Son we read, "who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in Him were all things created, in the heavens and upon the earth, things visible and things invisible" (Col. 1:15,16). The magnificent spectacle of the created universe displays a galaxy, literally and figuratively, of "the things that are made".

The same Spirit-enlightened writer who gave us the creation account in Genesis, declared in tones of authority to God's chosen people, "Hear, 0

Israel: the LORD, our God, is one LORD" (Deut. 6:4); while through one of the greatest prophets it was announced, "I am the LORD, and there is none else; beside Me there is no God" ('s. 45:5). The term monotheism is sometimes used to distinguish the conviction concerning one, personal, Creator God, from the variety of errors about Him which has blighted human history; errors such as deism, which admits a powerful deity, but an impersonal one, unconcerned for his creation; or polytheism, claiming many gods to account for the variety of natural phenomena; or pantheism, in which everything is God, a mere impersonal force in the universe. The latter two have been adopted into many systems of error by which the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving (2 Cor. 4:4). Such fallacies permeate all eastern religions, and have been embraced by latter day heresies including the New Age movement.

In majestic contrast stands the biblical revelation of the Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. An exposition of the truth of the Trinity cannot be attempted here. It will emerge repeatedly from a variety of scriptural perspectives in the course of this series of articles. But it figures first of all in the account of creation. In Genesis 1:1-3 it is Elohim (a plural Name) who created by the agency of His Word (John 1:14), and by the Spirit of God who "moved upon the face of the waters". Psalm 33:6 reflects the same truth in inspired Poetry, "By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth"; sufficient in very brief outlines about the Being of God.

God's Nature:

Someone has 'written of the "full orbed greatness of God". The attributes of God, which illumine His Being and teach us about His nature, describe His essential characteristics. The Holy Spirit gave to Paul, when writing to the Philippians, the word "form" (Gk. morphe), meaning true nature or essence. This properly describes God, the Son, from all eternity, "being in the form of God" (Phil. 2:6); and a consideration of the attributes of Deity expands our understanding of the nature of God.

Theologians have, over many years, devised various classifications of the attributes of Deity, all in efforts to clarify to our minds a little about the infinite God. Here we employ, briefly, the helpful arrangement adopted by T.C. Hammond in his lucid handbook of Christian doctrine, "In Understanding be Men". First, we have the 'natural" attributes of God His infinity; immutability (changelessness); omnipresence (transcendence and immanence); omniscience (complete knowledge); and omnipotence (all-powerfulness). Not all readers will wish to study in depth these words and their comprehensive significance; nor have we the space here to expand on them at any length. But simply to read them, and their explanatory synonyms, conveys an awe-inspiring sense of the surpassing glory of our God. Nowhere is this more in evidence than in God's creative splendour. We are naturally drawn towards the Poetic and prophetic passages of the Scriptures to find the most expressive language about the powers of the Godhead. Isaiah figures prominently, for example in chapter 42, verse 5:

Thus saith God the LORD, He that created the heavens, and stretched them forth; He that spread abroad the earth and that which cometh out of it; He that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that was therein

and in chapter 44, verse 24:

Thus saith the LORD, thy Redeemer; and He that formed thee from the womb: I am the LORD, that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth; who is with Me?

Such language could be multiplied, e.g. 45:8 and the wide Poetic sweep of 40:12-31; as well as in the book of Job chapters 38 to 41, and such psalms as 8 and 19, which extol the excellent majesty, the omnipotence, the designing wisdom, and the total sovereignty of God in creation.

God is unchangeable, unlimited in, or by, time and space. He is "the King eternal, incorruptible, invisible, the only God" (1 Tim. 1:17). He is the transcendent One, self-existent, apart from His creatures; but He also has immanence, closeness of involvement with all things of His own creation. Paul had both these thoughts in mind as he stood on Mars Hill and confronted the intellectuals of Athens, determined as at Corinth, that "your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God" (1 Cor. 2:5). The Acts 17 account of this encounter touches directly or indirectly on several of the divine attributes mentioned above which together depict the fulness of "the God that made the world, and all things therein, He, being Lord of heaven and earth" (Acts 17:24). He is not served by men's hands; yet He is not far from each one of us. Self-existence, omnipotence, transcendence, immanence, they are all there in their full glory.

Beside, however, the natural attributes of God, are His moral attributes. Involving both, and deploying them all "for us men and for our salvation", is

God's Providence:

Providence essentially means "fore-sight". But as applied to God, the word has an extended meaning, "the fore-sight and benevolent care of God" (Chambers Concise Dictionary). It is here in our reverent review of the Being of God that we feel the warmth of divine grace and love emanating from the theology of our subject. From day one of creation, the caring character of the sovereign Lord is evident, and His moral attributes apparent - His goodness, holiness, righteousness, faithfulness, love and grace. God ever seeks the best for His creation, and His creatures. It was so from the beginning. Even the inanimate creation, e.g. the vegetation of the garden, was provided with the means to "dress it and to keep it" (Gen. 2:15); and the present groaning of the entire creation due to the Fall, awaits deliverance into "the liberty of the glory of the children of God" (Rom. 8:21).

In consideration of the attributes of holiness and righteousness, however, we enter sombre territory indeed. A black shadow steals over the garden, and a Voice is heard in sorrow and foreboding, "Where art thou?" Answer, "I was afraid". And so, in Adam the federal head of the human race, "death passed unto all men", and, "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23; 5:12). It was many years later that the inevitable sentence was recorded in the words, "The soul that sinneth, it shall die" (Ezek. 18:4), but the unchanging character of God must immediately pronounce the sentence in Eden, and the result was the alienation of man from God.

The holiness of the Creator is, however, perfectly in balance with His mercy and grace. Said the Psalmist in Psalm 33:5, "He loveth righteousness and judgement: the earth is full of the lovingkindness of the LORD", and, "Bless the LORD, 0 my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name who redeemeth thy life from destruction" (Ps. 103:1,4). It was God's crowning act of creation when He breathed into man's nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul. So the glorious gospel truths of redemption and reconciliation, bringing new life to dead sinners, are the crown of divine providence. One day the promise of Revelation 21:5 will be fulfilled, "Behold, I make all things new". But today, the glory of the God of grace radiates in the words, "Wherefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature" (2 Cor. 5:17) - a new creation, indeed!

God of providence, Thy care,

Shown by gifts Thy creatures share,

Bids Thy vast creation raise

One harmonious song of praise.

(C.Belton).

So, the eternal God is revealed "in the things that are made", and the splendour of His being and character evoke again the psalmist's inspired exclamation, "Bless the LORD, 0 my soul. 0 LORD my God, Thou art very great" (Ps. 104:1).

J.D. Terrell | Jan 1994
The Eternal God Revealed