Systematic Theology – Creation and Providence

Creation as Revelation

Professor: Dr. R.J. Rushdoony

Subject: Systematic Theology

Genre: Speech

Lesson: 6 of 17

Track: #6

Year:

Dictation Name: 6 Creation as Revelation

[Rushdoony] Our subject now is creation as revelation. Saint Paul in Romans 1:20 declares of God: “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead.” Thus the whole of creation, including man, is revelation of God. As David says, “The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament sheweth His handiwork” Psalm 19:1. The question then of course is “does man have ears to hear and eyes to see? Here is this revelation, man is surrounded by it, he is a part of it, the revelation is in every atom of his being. But nothing can be seen or heard by a man who shuts his eyes and stops his ears. In other words God’s revelation of Himself in creation, as in scripture, is not a problem of knowledge but a moral problem. Man does not choose to know, he holds, or better as Paul puts it, holds down the truth, suppresses it in unrighteousness. Consequently he does not know because he refuses to know. The knowledge of God however is revealed in all of creation; it is revealed in the mind, light, and body of man. It is inescapable knowledge.

Man reacts to this knowledge which wells up in all his being, by trying to cap it, to suppress it, or to hold it down as Paul tells us in Romans 1:18. But that inescapable knowledge of God thunders out in all creation, but man busies himself with himself and his work, his talk and noise, and he makes himself deaf trying vainly to drown out that revelation which echoes in all his being.

Now the thing we must be careful of is that our own theologies do not join the anvil course that seeks to suppress God’s revelation. We dare not allow our interpretation of scripture to become an impediment to the word of God. An American theologian, writing in 1829, Marcus Smith in An Epitome of Systematic Theology spoke of the revelation of God’s goodness in creation, and I quote: “But, lest my candor should be called in question, I must notice some objections to the goodness of God. The two cases which require the most particular notice are the venomous and voracious animals. These properties in animals must be referred to design These properties in animals, must be referred to design, because their animal structure, their instinct, and adaptation, are such as prove, that they were intended for poisonous, and voracious animals. Why the fangs of vipers? The stings of wasps and scorpion? And why the talons and beaks of birds of prey? Why the structure of the sharks mouth, the spiders web? And the numerous weapons of offense belonging to different tribes of animal insects?”

Well it can, with justice and truth, that the world as we see it and know it is not the world God created in Genesis one and two, it is a fallen world, and every aspect of it, even though it clearly manifests God’s purpose, goodness, holiness, and order, also manifests the fall. The future of this world, Isaiah 65:17-25 tells us, is to be redeemed. It will be a new creation; the beginning of that new creation was the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. But the larger question still remains, why was it so ordained that we have the kind of world we do? We can agree that within the total framework of creation all things have their place and function, although we may be ignorant of much about each fact or thing.

For example, I do not like rattlesnakes, nor gophers, nor squirrels. All of which and much more, including deer and coyote’s and other large animals are very commonplace around our home. Each has its permanent or temporary place in God’s economy of creation. But to say so still evades the basic question, because the ecological answer is still humanistic in a sense. We must be God centered. Moreover the purpose of creation cannot be comprehended in terms of an inner balance, the balance of nature; however real such a thing may be. The world around us, the whole of creation, is not a self-created nor a self contained entity, it is God’s creation, it serves God’s purpose. The meaning of creation thus is beyond creation, it transcends this world. Neither man nor the rest of creation can be understood in terms of itself. The only yardstick by which man and creation can be measured and judged is not man nor creation, but the Lord.

I have no more right, therefore, to pass judgment on the meaning of creation, whether it be the rattle snake or the gopher, than on the fact of God’s sovereign election or predestination. Romans 9:17-224 makes clear that the clay cannot challenge the Potter’s right or power to shape it to His own desires and purposes. What we need to recognize therefore is that creation is God-ruled, it is God-centered; theocratic and theocentric. For man to expect the rattlesnake to move or exist in terms of man’s purpose is as insane as for man to believe that he is a god, and himself the determiner of what constitutes good and evil. But this is exactly what original sin means, we make ourselves the center, our selves the God. Mans function is not to judge himself, or anything in this world, by his own standards but, as Paul says in I Corinthians 11:31, only by the Lord’s. Paul denied the validity of man’s judgment and he adds “Yeah I judge not mine own self.” The word of God is the yardstick; man’s calling is to exercise dominion.

Now scripture makes it very clear that God delights in his animal creation, as Job chapter 38-41 makes very clear. It is equally clear that God’s purpose includes the limitation, sometimes the elimination, of wild animals as mans dominion is extended. This is clear in Deuteronomy 7:22. Now as we saw in a previous evening God delights in His creation, not only of Behemoth but also of everything else, of the dinosaur. But God’s predestination has led apparently to the elimination of the dinosaur apart from man. In other words, God’s calling for man is not to intellectual abstraction nor to mindless toil, but to dominion, to subdue the earth under God in terms of knowledge, holiness, and righteousness. We cannot divide mans work between intellectualism and mindless labor; it does violence to men and to creation. Biblical law presupposes that God requires man to use the earth, the trees, to do all things in terms of his word and for his purpose.

Biblical law has led many generations of men to govern their actions in terms of God’s requirements. True the humanist are very ready to call attention to mans failures, but they fail to cite the sin which led to the infractions; which is in essence humanism. It is wise for our age to remember that earlier ages showed men at times, Godly men, showing great respect for God’s creation and for the accomplishments of men under God. This was true certainly of Charlemagne and other kings and noblemen who very often regarded the results of man’s labor as things to be respected. It is interesting to note that cities were called gold, actually called gold, because they represented work unto dominion which should not be despised. When Charlemagne besieged Narbonne he saw the beautiful Syrian workmanship of its walls and towers and he then forbad the use of destructive siege engines and took Narbonne the hard way, with scaling ladders. This is a remarkable fact.

We should remember that it is our humanistic age that has destroyed so much of the heritage from the Middle ages. The amount of destruction just since the French Revolution has been enormous. Man must see the earth as the Lord’s, and himself as the steward. As Sylvia Thrupp reminds us in the medieval era, quote: “Wealthy merchants sometimes referred to their fortunes in their wills as ‘the goods that our Lord hath lent us’ and left sums of monies to charities as a matter of course.” She further adds that some rich men felt it to be their duty to visit the sick and those in prison, and to be a councilor to widows and orphans. We do well to remember this because both humanism and Protestantism to often looks only at the evils in the medieval era, and not the good.

Where creation is seen as God’s revelation it is then obviously God’s possession, and it is governed by God’s law. Whenever we deal with what belongs to another we must respect it as we respect that person. The earth is the Lord’s, whatever we do in the earth we deal with the Lord. Most people, (however ungodly) are usually somewhat circumspect and careful when in another man’s house, and when in his presence; especially if he is their superior. Where men recognize creation as God’s possession and his revelation there men use creation in a very different way. They stand always knowingly in God’s presence. Before God’s enacted word, and therefore under God’s orders.

How man deals with himself, (for we are God’s property) and with creation is indicative of how he regards God himself. Life is a grace, we are told, from almighty God, and to be always regarded as such. It is created by the King of kings, and we are responsible to Him. Thus man is in all his being revelatory of God, whether he chooses to be or not. But man has a positive need to reveal God in all his thoughts, ways, and activities, for the health of his being. The Psalmist rightfully says that God is the health of our countenance - Psalm 42:11 and 43:5, and the God of our life - Psalm 42 verse 8. Let us pray.

Our Lord and our God we thank Thee that Thou hast made us, that we are Thy possession, that all creation is Thy possession and property and we are stewards thereof. Give us grace to live, move, and have our being in Thee always in Thy presence; knowing that we have been called to use these things for Thy purpose and glory. Thou hast made us, and we are a revelation of Thy grace and of Thy handiwork. Grant that we be a manifestation also of Thanksgiving, praise, and service. In Jesus name, amen.