Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary

God’s Goodness Revealed in Creation

Joshua Lamb

412: Theology Proper

November 28, 2016

Introduction

There is a great and continual debate in the human heart over the goodness of God. Many say in their hearts or even with their mouths that “God is not good”. Is this true? Many who are Christians would say that God is good, and yet find it hard to square this truth with the many harsh realities of our world. This debate has often centered in the realm of morality – if God is good, then how come there is pain, suffering, and wickedness in the world? Many treatises have been written on this subject with thorough defenses of why God is good and it is wicked man that has introduced sin and wickedness. However, our purposes in this examination will be different. We will look at how the goodness of God is revealed in creation. It is here that we are spectators to the miraculous origins of the universe. In seeing God’s intention and design, we are led to understand that a good creation is evidence of the goodness of God. We will look at the creation of the cosmos, the creation of man, and the relationship to redemption. We will then close with answering objections and discussing our necessary response to God’s goodness.

God’s Intention

God’s goodness is displayed in creation via two main facets: the grand creation of the cosmos, and the intimate creation of man as the pinnacle of all that God made. We are not the first to discover this, as Gregory of Nyssa praised God for His creation of nature and man¹. In these two areas, we see both the transcendence and immanence of God shining forth brilliantly. In considering these we must look to God’s written Word as the source of our information about His creation. In the words of John Frame, “God’s revelation is both our ultimate criterion of truth and our sole source of knowledge about God’s goodness”². In reading this revelation, we invariably come away with the knowledge that the creation account is written with an ultimate purpose in mind. The telos is that creation serves an ultimate end in God’s plan – this universe was created not as an end in itself. Theologian Douglas Kelly acknowledges this when he states, “The fact of creation is not to be interpreted apart from the purposes of creation. These purposes come to light in the concept of covenant”³. So as we begin our search into the goodness of God revealed in creation, we must have the idea of God’s covenant as an underlying theme to guide us. God’s creation is good, partly because God’s intention for creation is good⁴. This is why the concept of “goodness” in Genesis has the meaning of being “fit for a desired purpose”⁵.

Creation of the cosmos

We read in Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created” and it is telling that the first sentence of the Bible gives us the first action of God. God was not frozen in time prior to this creation, yet it is still the first thing the Bible tells us. There is something unique that is about to happen in God’s design. On this grand stage we see that the living God creates living beings. Genesis 1 records that God begins with separating light from darkness, water and sky, and earth from sea. He establishes the conditions for the life that he will create. He then fills each of these planes with heavenly bodies, aquatic creatures, and land animals respectively. Then on the seventh day, God establishes the Sabbath rest.

Creation of physical elements on earth, sea, heavenly bodies

As we see God creating life in Genesis, our first impression as a reader is that God is the Creator⁶. He is the source and origin of all life. In fact, there is no room in the narrative for any other actors or prime movers. He alone is the Maker of heaven and earth. God repeatedly affirms after every creation action that “it was good” (Genesis 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31). Clearly what is meant here is that everything is made fit for the purposes of God for creation. The description of creation is pulling us closer and closer to the realization that creation is good because God the Creator is good. He did not make a lava planet where life died and where creatures were tormented day after day, but rather a peaceful cosmos with abundant life. As we examine this creation from different angles, we cannot help but exclaim that God is good! Indeed, Arthur Pink notes that God’s goodness means everything that emanates from Him is also good⁷. God is good in two ways: He is good in His nature, and He is beneficent towards His creation. In this way, the creation is a spilling over of the inherent character of God. His fingerprints are on everything that He touches⁸. There are several angles from which this is visible:

1. The variety of creation – we are told that creation takes place on the three realms of heavens, sea, and land. On each of these planes there is also a variety within them. There is not one type of bird or one type of fish, but rather an abundant variety⁹. In fact, this has continued today so that there are innumerable varieties and cross-breeds of all forms of life, so much so that man has not even categorized all of it thousands of years into the life of creation!

2. The majesty of creation – Creation is not dull or flat, but rather is full of deep valleys, vast oceans, and towering mountains. There are uncountable stars which extend lightyears into the distance, though God knows them all by name. Surely Spurgeons was right to exclaim that “an undevout astronomer is mad”¹⁰. There are creatures, such as Leviathan that are stronger than even man. There is not one defect in the whole of creation¹¹. In all this, God reveals Himself as the strong provider of all life.

3. The sustainment of creation – The word of God that creates all things is also responsible for sustaining all things (Heb 1:3). He put in place invisible natural laws, such as gravity, which keeps life firmly in the realms they were established. God establishes an order in His creation where there is rain and wind. There is abundant growth so that there is food for every living thing. We learn in the prophets that God provides seed to the sower and bread to the eater. In this way, there is a sort of ongoing drama of creation. God decisively finished His work, but He is also involved in sustaining it and upholding it. The sun rises and sets each day. The wheat grows and is turned to bread. The goodness of God is clearly revealed in the ongoing processes of the world.

This work of creation reveals the goodness of the entire Triune God. We read in John 1:1-3 that Christ Himself is the author of creation as the Word. The Spirit also was hovering over the waters and active in creation. It was also the plan of the Father to create. If the entire Triune God was not involved, there would be no creation as we know it. If it were not for the Spirit, there would be no sustaining presence of God, if not for Christ, there would be no story of redemption, and of not for the Father there would be no decision to create¹².

The Gift of Creation

Through all this we see that God gave creation as a gift. All life owes its very existence to God who made it. It was not necessary for God to make the cosmos, it was God’s free sharing of the life and love that God has within Himself¹³. Stories like the Enuma Elish paint the creation as being a collateral accident of feuds between the gods, but in Genesis we learn that is was the purposeful design and gift of a good God¹⁴.

Creation of man

The crowning part of God’s creation is introduced as Adam. We see a shift in Genesis from the large-scale creation from speaking alone, to the intimate forming of man from the dust of the earth. God gives to man something which the rest of creation could only dare to hope for – the very breath of God breathed into him. Man becomes a being unlike any other creature, as he is created in the imago dei (image of God)(Genesis 1:26-27). We see the goodness of God in that man is gifted with this image¹⁵. There is no better thing that could be bestowed than to be patterned in even a small way after the perfect Creator of all life. It is like the copy which is made of a precious jewel. William Ames considers the three things required for an image: the first is a likeness to the original, the second is an imitation, and the third is a similarity in either its specific nature or in its highest perfection¹⁶. Man fulfills all these requirements because he is created with similarities in composition (knowledge, righteousness, holiness), in order to imitate God’s ruling and keeping of creation, and likeness to the specific nature of God in his abilities to speak and reason. Although man will never be “deified” to participate in the godhead, he was still made to be a copy after what God Himself is. This is an astonishing gift, especially considering man could never earn this favor from God, and no service could merit it. It is a pure gift from the source of all good¹⁷. Man was created in a state of blamelessness, and shared friendship with God¹⁸. Thus, man’s original state was not one of discord or disunity with his Creator, which is opposite to the fallen nature we have today.

Knowledge, righteousness, holiness

It is often said that man is created in the image of God after His own knowledge, righteousness and holiness. Man was created with the capacity to know and to act upon that knowledge. All creatures have instinct, but man alone operates in the realm of reason. He has the capacity to make analytical decisions, to forecast and plan for future events, and to imagine. The beasts simply do not have this ability at all. Although the fool certainly expresses a lack of it as well!

Man also was created in righteousness. He was created with a conscience, and the ability to make moral judgments. There is an inbuilt sense of right and wrong (Romans 1). We can see that as this is patterned after God, it was mankind’s role to rule over creation and to be God’s agents in creation. We were made to participate in the creation by reigning over the other creatures. This is the “creation mandate” of Genesis 1:28.

Lastly, man was created in holiness. He was set apart as distinct over all the other creatures in a unique and special relationship with God. Although not equals, man was created to enjoy this blessed communion. This was a gracious gift of God, that He walked with Adam in the cool of the day. Altogether these attributes of man are patterned after God Himself and His goodness is displayed in patterning man after His own nature.

Man’s physiology

The very physiology of man also tells of the goodness of God. Within man is the capacity to enjoy all the bountiful provisions of God on the planet. The tastebuds on his tongue allow for the pleasurable experience of tasting various flavors and textures that are found in the variety of foods that God also provides to man¹⁹. So along with the provision itself, God also gives the pleasure to enjoy it.

Man’s strength, stamina, and intellect enable him to do with all his might whatever his hand finds to do. The power of men allow them to craft machines and the composition of women allow them to birth and feed children. God has endowed mankind with all the gifts an abilities necessary to do His will, and there is also a variety shown in the capacities of individual men and women. So there extends from the general abilities of all to the unique abilities of each one, which again points to the particular grace of God towards each of His creatures. He is meticulous in the distribution of these gifts.

Man’s communion with God

All of man’s abilities reach their crescendo in the ability to commune with God. Because men have the pattern and physiology that we have discussed, they have the ability to know God in a deep and intimate way. Although man is finite and God is infinite, God is good in enabling man to commune with Him. The distortion of the Fall did not prevent those that God would regenerate from having a renewed relationship with Him. In fact, this communion was the purpose of man’s creation to begin with. It is purely God’s goodness that gives us the capacity to know Him. If He was not good, man would have no ability to know Him²⁰.

It is this communion with God that is at the heart of His purpose. At the beginning of our discussion we kept in mind that when we think of creation we must also think of covenant. It is the goodness of God that enables this purpose to be fulfilled. It was God’s intention in creation to make mankind in His image so that he may enjoy something of the goodness and joy that the members of the Trinity share with one another²¹.

Sending Christ

In this context, the sending of Christ into the world makes perfect sense. The goodness of God led Him to create a world with creatures made in His image as the centerpiece. Because God does not change His decrees, mankind’s catastrophic fall into sin could only be remedied by God Himself. God’s intention to have communion with man was not torn asunder by sinful circumstances, but rather God triumphed by taking the wrath due to sinners. Christ came into the world so that sinners would be redeemed and brought into this relationship with God. Thus, God’s goodness in creation was followed by His goodness in redemption. The first goodness was exceeded by this second goodness²².

In light of the full revelation of Scripture we now can go back to Genesis with fresh eyes and see that this was the intention of God all along. He desired to create a people for Himself, made in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness. He intended to make them “holy and blameless in His sight”²³. The only way of doing this was to send Christ into the world to redeem sinners. He has preeminence and dominion as the creator and now as the redeemer.

The light of the world is also the light of men (John 1:3-4). His creation of a people for Himself is in many ways like the creation. God speaks, and there is light within the hearts of men and women that God has chosen for Himself²⁴.

Objections

Despite this evidence, there are some who would say that God is not good. They would point to the world around and say that even if things were good in the beginning, it is bad now. There are calamities, wars, diseases, anxieties, sorrows, deaths, and fears. How can the Creator God be good in this midst of this? We will answer two objections:

#1 - Presence of evil

Some say that the existence of evil is a “flaw in creation”. They point to the existence of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil as a mistake in God’s design, because of the sin that occurred beneath its branches. Others may even agree that the original creation was good, but that if God knows the future, he surely should have prevented Adam and Eve from sinning. Would not the creation then have remained good up until the present? In this objection, there is a misunderstanding of the ultimate purposes in God. God’s intention was to send His Son into the world as the head of a people that He would call to Himself. The presence of sin has not dissuaded the purposes of God in the least. From a human perspective, there may be objections, but from God’s perspective His will has been accomplished as He ordained in the beginning. Scripture teaches “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28). There does remains some mystery as to how the presence of sin is good for God’s people. But surely we know that God causes us to triumph over sin and to follow Him – which shows forth His excellence in His creation.

#2 - God’s judgment on sin, sinners

Objectors believe that creation cannot show the goodness of God because of the existence of hell and God’s judgment on sinners. But their conception of goodness is likely skewed. All of God’s attributes should be taken together. God is not a schizophrenic, but rather is one in essence. This means that God’s goodness is also taken with His justice. The existence of hell and punishment is a necessary consequence because God is good and because there are sinful men who are not good.

They would say that God is still not good because if Christ has been sent into the world, then Christ should just have redeemed all men, and then hell would not be necessary. However, it is not the case that because God is good that He must do whatever His creatures want. God’s goodness does not need to be shown alike to all men²⁵. God is good in saving only those He chooses to redeem. He is not obligated to save every person – a fact which should shake unbelieving men and women to the core and cause them to flee to Christ while breath yet remains in them. AW Pink reminds us that God is good and not bad to punish sin, because people have sinned against Him even though He has been gracious towards them²⁶.

Conclusion

In Conclusion, God has shown Himself in the many facets of His creation to be abundantly and overwhelmingly good. The cosmos and man himself testify together that God is benevolent towards His creation. Knowing that this is God’s character and attitude, men must respond in kind towards Him. Man must fear God, and realize that because he has been given much, there is much reverence that he must give to God. He must also live a life of humble obedience. His Maker has been so kind and given Him many things. Surely he should not spurn such great gifts by biting the hand that feeds him in hopeless rebellion. Lastly, man must also praise God. And why would he not desire this? If this goodness was shown to him by a wife or friend, would any man lack the natural desire to extol the excellencies of his benefactor. In the words of Spurgeon “His goodness has followed after us all our days”²⁷. Man should join with the heavens in declaring the glory of God, and the skies in proclaiming His handiwork.

“Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days.”

(Hosea 3:5)

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Ames, William, and John Dykstra Eusden. The marrow of theology. 1st Baker Books ed. Grand Rapids, Mich: Baker Books, 1997.

Brunner, Daniel L., Jennifer L. Butler, and A. J. Swoboda. Introducing Evangelical Ecotheology: foundations in Scripture, theology, history, and praxis. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2014.

Chester, Tim. From creation to new creation: making sense of the whole Bible story. 2nd ed., Rev. Surrey, England: Good Book Co, 2012.

Collins, C. John. Science & faith: friends or foes? Wheaton, Ill: Crossway Books, 2003.

Edwards, Jonathan, and Don Kistler. Our great and glorious God. Morgan, PA: Soli Deo Gloria Publications, 2003.

Frame, John M. A theology of Lordship: a series. Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company, 1987.

Fretheim, Terence E. Creation untamed: the Bible, God, and natural disasters. Theological explorations for the church catholic. Grand Rapids, Mich: Baker Academic, 2010.

Highfield, Ron. The faithful creator: affirming creation and providence in an age of anxiety. Downers Grove, Illinois: IVP Academic, 2015.

Kelly, Douglas F. Systematic theology: grounded in Holy Scripture and understood in the light of the church. Fearn, Ross-shire: Mentor, 2008.

Pink, Arthur Walkington. The attributes of God. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1975.

Spurgeon, C. H. Spurgeon on the attributes of God. MacDill AFB, Fla: Tyndale Bible Society, 19.

Ussher, James, and Michael Nevarr. A body of divinity, or, The sum and substance of Christianreligion: catechistically propounded and explained, by way of question and answer, methodically and familiarly handled, for the use of families. New ed., April 2007. Solid Ground classic reprints. Birmingham, Ala: Solid Ground Christian Books, 2007.

Williams, H. H. Drake. Making sense of the Bible: a study of 10 key themes traced through the Scriptures. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 2006.

Wilson, Jonathan R. God’s Good World: Reclaiming the Doctrine of Creation. First Edition edition. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2013.

¹. . Douglas F. Kelly, *Systematic theology: grounded in Holy ↩

Scripture and understood in the light of the church* (Fearn,
Ross-shire: Mentor, 2008), 2:21.

². . John M. Frame, A theology of Lordship: a series (Phillipsburg, ↩

NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company, 1987), 409.

³. . Kelly, Systematic theology, 1:130. ↩

⁴. . William Ames and John Dykstra Eusden, The marrow of theology, ↩

1st Baker Books ed. (Grand Rapids, Mich: Baker Books, 1997), 104.

⁵. . Terence E. Fretheim, *Creation untamed: the Bible, God, and ↩

natural disasters*, Theological explorations for the church catholic
(Grand Rapids, Mich: Baker Academic, 2010), 13.

⁶. . H. H. Drake Williams, *Making sense of the Bible: a study of 10 ↩

key themes traced through the Scriptures* (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel
Publications, 2006), 13.

⁷. . Arthur Walkington Pink, The attributes of God (Grand Rapids: ↩

Baker Book House, 1975), 57.

⁸. . Daniel L. Brunner, Jennifer L. Butler, and A. J. Swoboda, ↩

*Introducing Evangelical Ecotheology: foundations in Scripture,
theology, history, and praxis* (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker
Academic, 2014), 119.

⁹. . C. John Collins, Science & faith: friends or foes? (Wheaton, ↩

Ill: Crossway Books, 2003), 72.

¹⁰. . C. H. Spurgeon, Spurgeon on the attributes of God (MacDill ↩

AFB, Fla: Tyndale Bible Society, 19), 35.

¹¹. . Tim Chester, *From creation to new creation: making sense of ↩

the whole Bible story*, 2nd ed., rev. (Surrey, England: Good Book
Co, 2012), 20.

¹². . Jonathan R. Wilson, *God’s Good World: Reclaiming the Doctrine ↩

of Creation*, First Edition edition. (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic,
2013), 87–89.

¹³. . Wilson, God’s Good World, 99. ↩

¹⁴. . Wilson, God’s Good World, 167–170. ↩

¹⁵. . Collins, Science & faith, 126. ↩

¹⁶. . Ames and Eusden, The marrow of theology, 105. ↩

¹⁷. . Jonathan Edwards and Don Kistler, Our great and glorious God ↩

(Morgan, PA: Soli Deo Gloria Publications, 2003), 15.

¹⁸. . Frame, A theology of Lordship, 403–404. ↩

¹⁹. . Pink, The attributes of God, 58. ↩

²⁰. . Kelly, Systematic theology, 1:145. ↩

²¹. . Kelly, Systematic theology, 1:176. ↩

²². . Pink, The attributes of God, 59. ↩

²³. . Ron Highfield, *The faithful creator: affirming creation and ↩

providence in an age of anxiety* (Downers Grove, Illinois: IVP
Academic, 2015), 111.

²⁴. . Frame, A theology of Lordship, 296. ↩

²⁵. . James Ussher and Michael Nevarr, *A body of divinity, or, The ↩

sum and substance of Christianreligion: catechistically propounded
and explained, by way of question and answer, methodically and
familiarly handled, for the use of families*, New ed., April 2007.,
Solid Ground classic reprints (Birmingham, Ala: Solid Ground
Christian Books, 2007), 76.

²⁶. . Pink, The attributes of God, 59. ↩

²⁷. . Spurgeon, Spurgeon on the attributes of God, 34. ↩