DWoG 4 God and Creation

How mysterious and glorious is the One True God! In this session we will look at why God created everything, especially humans.



The first Book of the Bible, Genesis, chapters 1 and 2 starts with: “In the beginning God,…God created…” The Bible states that God is the Creator of everything, even things we cannot perceive. He created the heavens, the earth, the sea, the dry land, animals, birds, fish, insects, trees, plants, flowers, the sun, the moon, the stars, and time itself. God created the space in which all of creation exists. Everything flows from God, the Father Almighty, the Creator.



But the Bible never explains how God began to exist. Why? Because God is the very act of being – He just is. God is unique; He wasn’t created or born – He exists without beginning or end. God also doesn’t need anything to exist. Since God doesn’t need anything, He is totally content and self-sustaining.



So why did God create everything if He doesn’t need it? The first Epistle of John in the Bible gives us a clue. In 1 John 4:8 and 16, it states twice: God is love. To love is to actively will the good of the other. God is a Community of Love, and it is from His love that all creation flows. God created out of love, wanting to share His love and goodness. We can therefore say: God loved everything into being.



In Genesis 1 and 2, after creating the universe and all life, God made humans differently. He made them in His own image and likeness. This means that humans were created to share in God’s love and to freely love God back by their own will. By making humans in His own image, God invited humans into a relationship with Him. Humans were made for union with God but given the freedom to choose this union freely.



An early follower of Jesus Christ, Irenaeus, wrote: “The glory of God is a human being fully alive.” Out of all God’s creatures, God chose humans to share in His love and represent Him within creation. God gave humans dominion over creation, as described in Psalm 8:5-6:



“…You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honour. You have given them dominion over the works of your hands; You have put all things under their feet…”



To share in God’s authority implies that mankind’s position within creation, was royal. However, this royal position came with the responsibility of cultivating the earth. This means that God tasked humans to orient all creation towards God, bringing it into the Life and Love of God. This task was to lead creation into the right worship of God, making mankind’s position not only kingly but also priestly.



All creation was made to reflect God’s glory. Mankind’s task was to build creation up to sustain its reflection of God’s glory. Humans were to practice dominion in honour of God, not selfishly but to focus on God and His glory. In this way, God invited humans to be His co-workers in sharing His love and sustaining the fullness of life. An old Christian hymn captures this beautifully:



“Praise my soul, the King of heaven, to his feet thy tribute bring.”



And:



“Angels, help us (humans) to adore Him; you behold Him face to face; sun and moon, bow down before Him, join the praises of our race: Alleluia! Alleluia! Praise with us the God of grace.”



To love is to will the good of the other. God declared His creation good because it flowed from His love. To will the good of others means to actively work towards their good. For God, a human - fully alive - is actively inspiring others – to love God and His creation, wanting to make the world a better place.



God created humans as male and female, man and woman. The first humans were Adam and Eve. God gave them fullness of life by putting something of Himself within them. After creating Adam from the dust, God blew His Spirit into him, making him alive. God then made a special place for them, the Garden of Eden, where they could live in harmony and full relationship with God. Eden was a place where they could orient creation towards God and act as His kings and priests.



Adam and Eve were initially naked, but it didn’t matter because God and nature sustained them. Their nakedness symbolised purity and their close relationship with God and nature. Their nakedness also symbolised their dependence on God and creation. The harmony between God, humans, and nature depended on continually orienting creation towards God and aligning their free will with God's Will.



God created because He is Love. He created us to share His love and the fullness of life we find only in Him. But love is not selfish. God wants us to share the fullness of life with everything and everyone around us and to freely love Him back. He made us to will the good of others, so that together we may experience the fullness of life within the Community of God – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.