In our “Faith” studies we’ve been hammering away on the goodness of all the “stuff” of creation.  Christianity is not a gnostic religion.  Are you familiar with gnosticism?

Gnosticism was an early heresy that denied the fundamental goodness of creation.  The gnostics taught that this world was not created by the Supreme Good God, but by an evil, rebellious, “lesser” deity.  And so the world that this “lesser” god made was an evil place… a prison from which we need to be rescued.

For the gnostics, salvation consisted of withdrawing and detaching one’s self from this evil world.  And if you withdraw and detach yourself sufficiently from the “stuff” of this world, then you can achieve a sort of mystical/spiritual union with the Supreme Good God.  And that’s how you achieve salvation.

As I said — heresy.  This teaching declares outright war on everything that the Bible has to say about this life and this world.

Consider what Paul says in 1 Timothy 4.1–5.  He says that it is a departure from the Christian faith (in fact, he says it’s the teaching of deceitful demons!) to withdraw and detach one’s self from a world “that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.”

And then he says this:  (Someone once called it a “manifesto.”) “For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.”

And then in verse 6 Paul tells Timothy that IF he drives this particular point home to the believers whom he serves (as their pastor), THEN he “will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed.”

It’s very plain.  False teachers accuse / malign / incriminate / denounce / blame / besmirch God’s creation (or some parts of God’s creation).  Faithful believers declare the GOODNESS of God’s creation.

In fact, right here we find one of the great reminders of the world of difference between Christianity and every other religion, worldview, opinion, or philosophy that you could line up against it.

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In these “faith” studies, we’re going to continue to develop what Christians believe about creation for a few more weeks (before turning our attention to what we believe about sin).

Have you ever asked the question, “WHY did God create this world?”

Sometimes well–meaning (but poorly taught) Christians say that God created this world because he was lonely and desired the companionship of man. 

Well, a unitarian god might get lonely and find himself in need of fellowship and companionship, but not the God of the Bible!  The God of the Bible exists eternally as three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

And these three persons live in perfect fellowship, perfect community with one another, in need of nothing. 

So… why was something created?

Augustine’s answer to that question was beautifully simple…

If you ask who made the light, Genesis 1 tells you — it was God.

If you ask how he made it, Genesis 1 tells you — he made it through his creative word, by saying, “Let there be light!”

If you ask why he made it, Genesis 1 tells you that as well — because it was GOOD to do so.

There might be other things to say about God’s goals in creation (such as the fact that a community of perfect love naturally desires to serve others with that love), but we have a fully sufficient answer to our question right here.

The cause and reason for creation is so that a Good Product should be created by a Good God!

Everything that God has created is wholly and unambiguously GOOD!  Now, of course, sin has since entered the picture of God’s initial work of creation, and sin has introduced various ways to abuse created realities.  But never forget that the created realities themselves are good!

On seven different occasions in Genesis 1, God pronounces his works of creation to be “good.” And the very last verse climaxes, you may remember, with “And God saw everything he had made, and behold it was very good.”

God takes a very positive view of all that he has made, and we dishonor him if we take a negative view of anything that he has made.  Think through the implications of this.  None of God’s works in creation are morally compromised in and of themselves.

In fact, God takes such a positive view of everything that he’s created that he refused to just scrap it when mankind spoiled it!

Rather, he determined — at the cost of his Son’s life — to make it new and good again!

As someone has said, “God has made no junk, and God doesn’t ‘junk’ what he has made!”

G. K. Chesterton once quipped: “Paradox is truth standing on her head to attract attention.” Consider the many paradoxes bound up in the Christmas story…

“Infinite, and an infant. Eternal, and yet born of a woman. Almighty, and yet hanging on a woman’s breast. Supporting a universe, and yet needing to be carried in a mother’s arms. King of angels, and yet the reputed son of Joseph. Heir of all things, and yet the carpenter’s despised son. Oh, the wonder of Christmas.”

That was Charles Haddon Spurgeon. He describes paradoxes much better than I do.

But actually it really doesn’t require poetic genius or piercing insight to detect the riddles of Christmas. Just consider the story again, taking care not to rush over its magnificent irony. 

Like a star exploding, the glory of God bursts over a group of shepherds as a whole host of angels heralds the good news of the New Born King. But when the shepherds make their way to Bethlehem to see this awe–inspiring thing that has happened, they find that they have to push their way through a crowded stable to catch their first peek of the Fulfillment Of All The Promises Of God.

If the inn was packed by the time Joseph and Mary arrive, we can imagine that the stable was maxed out as well. Think of the stench and the humidity of all the barn animals and all the beasts of burden with out–of–state license plates.

Yes, this is the environment in which the Son of the Most High God makes his appearance. He’s wrapped in cloths and placed in the kind of box from which cows and donkeys eat their dinner.

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The last time we were in our “faith” category, we talked about the Gigantic Joy that God takes in his creation, the work of his hands.  Well, listen, God is not like the selfish kid who doesn’t want to share his toys with others… he graciously invites us to participate with him in this extraordinary joy of his! 

We specifically do so when we develop God’s creation, the work of his hands. 

The Bible teaches us that God works with his creation in two ways.  In other words, there are two ways in which God’s will is done on earth as it is in heaven:

1.  God works with his creation DIRECTLY (with no mediation whatsoever).

2.  God works with his creation INDIRECTLY (by involving human responsibility).

Think of a human king who does some things himself, but he gives orders to his servants for the doing of other things… so it is with God!

God has placed the earth in its orbit… God summons the seasons to come and go at their appointed times… God makes the seeds to grow… God causes the animals of the world to reproduce themselves… these are things that God does directly, without our involvement.

But there are other tasks — tasks that are pointed toward the development of creation — that God has entrusted to his image–bearers.

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As you may have guessed, if you’re following our more recent reflections on “Faith” (which you could catch up on by clicking on the “Faith” link in the “Reflections on…” column at the right — start with “What You Believe” ), we have been working towards a more robust Christian view of the doctrine of creation.

And today we come to a delightful truth to ponder as we seek to understand reality rightly… and that is the Joy of God in creation! 

“May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his works.”
—Psalm 104.31

The Bible teaches us that God take great pleasure and joy in the work of his hands!  Think of the oceans.  Psalm 104.25,26 says this about the ocean:  “Here is the sea, great and wide, which teems with creatures innumerable, living things both small and great.  There go the ships, and Leviathan, which you formed to play in it.”

Leviathan.

This is a Hebrew word which basically means “Great Sea Monster.” Think of whales, the giant squid, crocodiles, etc.

Why did God create these “sea monsters”?

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