[14] Lucas: An Evangelical History Review, no. 8, Jan-Feb 1990.

CHRISTIAN HISTORY COLLOQUIUM: POSITION PAPER 1

Creation and History

by Dr Helen R Woolcock

Change, rooted in time, creates continuity. This process defines history. Time -and history - began when God, by his expressed command, made the heavens and earth and everything in them. This statement is basic to Christian belief and derives from the varied, but congruent, Biblical accounts of and references to the creative activity of God, the Author of all things. Creation must stand as the foundational concept in a Judeo-Christian model of history and, as such, must inform historical analysis.

1 Creation Principles.

The Creation:

In the beginning God, the holy, all-powerful, self-existent and eternal One, brought all things - visible and invisible, animate and inanimate - into being. Nothing material existed before He created the universe (Heb. 11: 3); it is not eternal, but coexists with time. Each of God's creative acts was deliberately, freely and sovereignly executed in perfect knowledge and wisdom. Although distinct from his works, God cannot be separated from them and is everywhere present (Jer. 23:24).

'As Primary Cause and Preserver, He is actively engaged in every part of His creation'.¹

God reveals himself through his handiwork, but supremely through his Word, Jesus Christ his Son, whose purposes are stamped into the structure and function of all things (Jn. 1: 1-3). At the Father's decree and through the power of the Holy Spirit, everything - including thrones, powers, rulers and authorities - was created by and for the Son, and is sustained by him (Col. 1: 15-17). He is pre-existent and pre-eminent, and has absolute authority over all he has made. Jesus Christ is the Lord of creation.

As the climax to his creative acts God 'fashioned man, crowning glory of his plan',² He made this planet for humans to inhabit (Is. 45: 18), and assigned to them stewardship over it. Mankind was formed from the dust of the ground, yet was created in God's image. Therefore, since men and women bear the divine imprint, they are creative beings, capable of free, rational, purposeful and good actions. The first man, Adam - an historical person - became the father of 'every nation of men’; the human race is one. It also has an entity distinct from other creatures and, like them, depends on the Creator for continued existence (Acts 17: 26,28).

When creation was complete, God rested and surveyed his work and saw that 'it was very good’ (Gen. 1: 31). The Giver and Sustainer of like is pure goodness, the Source of perfection and harmony.

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Creation Corrupted:

Humans are a distinct created order, but they interact with other creatures, including a prior order of heavenly beings - archangels, seraphim, cherubim and angels. Although the Bible gives no account of their origins, it records that one of them, Satan, a magnificent creature who is symbolised as the King of Tyre (see Ezek. 28: 11-19), became filled with pride (self deceit), set himself up against God, and led a third of the angels in revolt They were cast from heaven to earth and have infiltrated evil wherever and in whomever they exist (see, for example, Is. 14:12, Jude 6, Rev. 12: 4,9).

Satan entered Paradise and deceived the first human parents so that they too rebelled against God. Their disobedience - accepting the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil - allowed evil into a perfect and good world. Evil was not created. There is only one Creator, and he is altogether holy; but 'in assigning the gift of free will God suffered both men and angels to stand or fall at their own uncontrolled choice'.³ Because of his sin man knew good by means of evil. Such knowledge impaired his decision-making and thus his creative capacity, since actions motivated only by goodness are essentially free and productive of good. Sin has distorted his God-likeness and fractured man's relationship with his Maker.

Moreover, all creation - both humanity and nature - was permanently flawed and came under God's curse. The process of decay, which is death, replaced immortality, and man returned to the dust from which he was created. So God banished Adam and Eve from Paradise. Had they eaten the tree of life and lived forever, the corrupting taint of evil - deceit, discord and destruction - would not only have been perpetuated, but the Creator's good purpose for all things would have been eternally disrupted.

The New Creation

Ever since the 'Fall' God has been working to renew his creation and remake man in his image. The most powerful demonstration of this was his coming to earth as a human creature. Jesus Christ, the perfect Man, defeated death and broke the power of evil, thus making it possible for men and women to be recreated. Each 'made new’ person knows a restored relationship with God, has a renewed creative capacity, will receive an incorruptible body and, at the end of time, will inherit and inhabit an entirely new creation. With the consummation of world history this present order will burn up and be replaced by a new heavens and a new earth, 'the home of righteousness', where the Lordship of Christ will be fully established (2 Pet 3: 7-13; Eph. 1:10).

II. THE PURPOSE OF CREATION

For God's glory and pleasure:

God chose to reveal himself through his handiwork and, above all, through Christ who, as the Creator of all things, is 'worthy to receive glory and honour and

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power (Rev. 4:11). The entire creation exists for his glory, and he takes pleasure in the praises of all his creatures. Wisdom shared with God in the creative process, 'rejoicing in his whole world and delighting in mankind’ (Prov. 8:22-31). The angels 'shouted for joy’ at the creation of the earth (Job 38:4-7) and sang God's praises at Christ's birth. Anything marred by evil, cannot praise him. When humans worship and serve 'things', whether of His or their own making, they usurp his glory and grieve God. There is, however, great rejoicing in heaven over everyone who becomes a 'new creature'. The new creation will bring eternal glory and delight to the Creator - and to those who share it with him (Is. 65:17-19).

For man's enjoyment and glory:

Man was created 'to know God and enjoy him forever' (Westminster Confession). It is God's will that humans live in unbroken communion with him and enjoy all he has made. This is total satisfaction.

Living in harmony with nature and our fellow creatures flows from thanksgiving to the Creator and accepting responsibility for what he made. This involves a prudent use of the environment and a sharing with and caring for others, the base line for human relationships - the reason why God created man, male and female. But living with and caring for a corrupt creation can only be accomplished through the Creator's sustaining and renewing energy. He established social order by setting the times and places for nations, and he ordained that, just as he had done, humans should enjoy leisure after periods of activity. God wanted individuals and nations to live balanced, happy lives: 'There is a time for everything' (Eccles. 3:1-8).

The 'made new' person enjoys all these benefits as he actively cooperates with God's plan, shares Christ's glory and experiences the absolute goodness of a holy Creator. This is pure enjoyment: 'heaven'. The destiny of the human race was intended to be 'heaven on earth' (Eccles. 3:11) but, for the duration of time, creation's purposes have been disrupted.

III. Creation: an Historical Concept:

The Cosmic Struggle:

When evil ruined all God's handiwork, he put into action a grand plan to remake his creation. Satan and his demon hordes have resisted this plan and used their power, 'divine power corrupted',⁴ for their own ends - the destruction of all that is good and the establishment of their rule over a spoiled creation. Human affairs reflect not only the results of evil, but also the cosmic struggle between Satanic and heavenly forces.

The essence of evil is destruction, a negative creativity which results in sin, defiance of God, and death, the consequence of being cut off from the Creator. This is vividly described in Paradise Lost:

[17] Lucas: An Evangelical History Review, no. 8, Jan-Feb 1990.

'... Death thou hast seen
In his first shape on man; but many shapes
Of death, and many are the ways that lead
To his grim Cave, all dismal...
By Fire, Flood, Famine, by Intemperance more
In Meats and Drinks, which on Earth shall bring
Diseases dire... a monstrous crew'.⁵

Human life, from the moment of conception, tends towards decay and death; sickness and suffering are the by-products.

By contrast, what is good is life-giving; all God's actions restore, recreate and renew. During his earthly ministry Christ 'went about doing good', and when he sacrificed his life so that the human race could have eternal life, this seemed the ultimate destructive act Yet it was turned to good; the Son of God dealt with sin, defeated death and overcame Satan. The resurrection is evidence of God's creative power and the triumph of the divine plan. But until this is fulfilled at the end of time, the cosmic battle continues.

Divine intervention:

If history is a result of the disruption of God's creative intentions, it is also a record of divine intervention - in, through and on behalf of his creation - to accomplish his purposes.

One of the earliest recorded events is the flood. The Creator, grieved by the wickedness on earth, determined to wipe out humanity; he let rain fall uncontrollably, and the sea crossed its boundaries. However, the prime example of his activity in national affairs is the story of the Jewish race, God's people, chosen to reveal him and his redemptive plan for the world. Through them he demonstrates that a nation or society which ‘fears the Lord' knows security, cohesion and satisfying productivity, but that social disruption goes hand in hand with injustice and corruption. By allowing wars, epidemics, famine and natural upheavals, God 'laughs at... rebukes and terrifies' those nations that 'rage... against the Lord and his Anointed One’ (Ps. 2).

The Creator intended that angels be his 'ministering spirits' (Heb.l:14), but Satan and his followers abdicated this function and, instead of working for the welfare of man, determined to destroy him. An upright man like Job presented an ideal test case for the devil's defiance of the Almighty. God's response to Satan's activity and Job's sufferings reveals an incomparable, infinite Creator who sets boundaries for all he has made (the limits of the finite), and who permits even destructive acts to proclaim his essential goodness and greatness.

Evidence of the devil's activity is seen in every disabling event. On the one hand, God allows these as a rebuke so that men and women will acknowledge him as Lord of all and come to 'know’ him. But if they 'harden their hearts' by continued abuse

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of their free will he lets their corrupt nature run its course (Rom-1: 18-25). On the other hand he gives relief from suffering and turmoil, and ‘brings the oppressor to an end’. (Is. 14: 3-7) Healing for the sick, expulsion of evil spirits, protection from an earthquake, provision of food, bringing the dead to life, and even reversing the earth on its axis are all examples of divine intervention at a personal level. Indeed, for those who love and obey him, God works all things for their good, including apparent disaster. (Rom. 8:28)

He also works through human creativity, whether it is motivated by good or evil. Those ‘made new' use their God-given abilities to fulfil man's destiny; they seek to understand and live in harmony with nature and their fellow humans, rather than exploit them. They are found at the frontiers of science probing the mysteries of creation, and at the frontiers of society acting with genuine righteousness, compassion and justice. The growth of hospitals action on behalf of the poor and oppressed, and missionary outreach bear testimony to their efforts. Christ declared that his followers would do greater things than he did (Jn 14:12).

All God’s actions, in nature and history, point to his 'grand design' to redeem and renew his creation. In all things he is the Primary Cause, whether he limits or permits, uses direct intervention or works through men and women. History, from any perspective, can neither be understood nor interpreted without an appreciation of the Creator’s perfect plan and its detailed outworking. For human history is, essentially, a succession of free, deliberate acts which are divinely used to fulfil creation's purposes. Each act produces change, but the Author of change is Himself unchangeable. Herein lies continuity. The Creator is the Lord of history.

The fundamental and formative concepts in a Judeo-Christian model of history must be the creation of all things, originally perfect but ruined by evil, and an absolutely good Creator who sustains what He has made, declares himself through his handiwork and his Word, and who, through time, intervenes in human lives and affairs to fulfil his promise of a new creation.

Notes:

l. T.C. Hammond, In Understanding Be Men, Sydney: Inter-Varsity Press, 1958

2. John Milton, Australian Church Hymnal, No 23

3. The works of John Milton,  New York: Columbia University Press, 1931 l942. Vol. xiv, p. 81.

4. John White, The Shattered Mirror. Reflections on Being Human. London: Inter-Varsity Press, 1987, p.48.

5. John Milton, Paradise Lost, ed. by by M.Y. Hughes, London: The Odyssey Press, 1962, Book xi, ll. 465-495.

© Southern Cross College and the Evangelical History Association, 2004.