In Wonder

06.30.09

J.A. Matteson

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth…. Genesis 1:1

Genesis frames the discussion for all matters of existence by making a declarative statement that an intelligent Being precedes all things and that all things find their existence and maintenance in Him. There was a time when time was not, for time is a part of the created order. The One who created all things is eternal, having always existed, and will always exist. The eternal God is self-existing, being independent of all things for His existence—He simply is. In eternity past time and space were not while God was and it is impossible for the human mind to understand the state of all things before all things existed.

Hidden in the eternal decrees and will of God it was pleasing to Him to bring into being the heavens and the earth. From eternal nothingness all things find their origin and let it not escape notice that He who created did so ex nihilo; i.e., out of nothing. And it is at this proposition that human reasoning is rendered useless for human understanding breaks down, for out of nothing one would expect nothing, as it is physically impossible to end up with something if you begin with nothing.

This is the big problem for the intellectual atheist and his presupposition with regard to the hypothetical big bang: nothing + something = everything. The finite human brain is incapable of comprehending nothingness as revealed by the Lord in this passage. The poet may think of nothingness and imagine the vast dark distance of intergalactic space, but even this is not nothing in the true sense but something, being composed of “dark matter.” The physicist may attempt to describe the state of being at the point of singularity when theoretically all the matter of the universe existed in an infinitely small point, yet the scientist in his reasoning is presuming upon something infinitely small resulting in something gargantuan and the laws of physics break down when challenged to describe the absolute nothingness revealed by God to Moses. Ultimately intellectual atheism is not rational whereas Judeo/Christian theism is rational and does not violate a single law of logic.

Intellectual atheism denies that which has been placed within the human conscience for, “He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, yet so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end” (Ecc. 3:11). When it comes to believing biblical revelation about creation fallen humanities issue is a moral problem rooted in a volitional choice; it is not that humanity is incapable of knowing the truth, rather fallen man intellectually rejects it, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse” (Rom. 1:18-20).

The placement of eternity within the souls of men is the cause for the dread of death and the immense sorrow that usually accompanies it. Grieving may also include a period of anger when those close to the departed direct irritation and sometimes intense rage at the departed for leaving them. All such human emotions speak to the divine imprint, bearing witness to the Creator who placed eternity in the hearts of men. And fallen man is truly at his sanest during a Christian funeral service when the minister challenges all in attendance to consider the state of their souls before a holy God, impressing upon them the brevity of their earthly existence and the often unexpected arrival of eternity. To this end the prayer of Moses is precious and comforting, “So teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom” (Ps. 90:12). Reflecting upon the opening passage of Genesis the accent of human existence is placed where it belongs: man is finite, God is infinite; man is temporal, God is eternal. In wonder to these things king David expresses the appropriate heart response of worship, “O LORD, what is man, that You take knowledge of him? Or the son of man, that You think of him?” (Ps. 144:3).

In this regard the Apostle underscores the divinity of the creative power of the Lord Jesus Christ, “For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things have been created through Him and for Him” (Col. 1:16)—being forever blessed.

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