How and Why Did God Create Us?

New City Catechism Q4: “God created us male and female in his own image to know him, love him, live with him, and glorify him. And it is right that we who were created by God should live to his glory.”

God Created Us

God doesn’t act without purpose.

 

We are created beings. Nothing originated from man. Wisdom, intellect, consciousness, and humanity are all ideas from God. And this is a rarely disputed fact. That God created us is not a belief that is unique to Christianity. In fact, almost all people from all times and in all places assume our creation.

 

Why do people all throughout history believe that we are created? Romans 1 gives us the answer, “[God’s] invisible attributes, that is, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, being understood through what he has made.”

 

God has partially revealed himself through creation. The skies, animals, humans, and everything else all point to an intelligent, creator God.

 

And we all know that God doesn’t act without purpose. Unlike us, he is not capricious. God created us with a reason, and his intentions will surely be met.

Male and Female

The first thing mentioned by the answer from the catechism is that we were created male and female. This may seem obvious to some, but there is actually deeper truth to be found here that can impact the way that we live our lives.

 

The first person created was a man name Adam. It wasn’t long after Adam’s creation that God saw that it was not good for him to be alone.So, he created a helpmate for him: a woman named Eve.

 

We were created male and female because we are meant to complement each other. Man and woman are meant for each other, and are better together. This is God’s good creative order.

In His Image

The doctrine of the Imago Dei is mentioned next. “Imago Dei” is a Latin phrase used throughout church history in reference to the Bible’s teaching on humankind being made in the image of God.

 

Though the fall has affected us and our nature totally, we maintain that we are still made in the image of God. Being made in the image of God doesn’t refer to any one specific characteristic that we have. Rather, it points to that God has made us with similarities to himself, though not exactly like himself.

 

Scripture continues to reveal what this means throughout the rest of its pages, and it may not be wise to try to give an exhaustive list of everything that this may mean.

 

What we do know is that there are many particular ways that God has made us like himself, and we are his representatives toward the rest of creation.

For Relationship with Him

Humans were not made to live life in isolation. In fact, it is very unhealthy for us to be without community with God and with others. From the first page of scripture, we see that God himself is relational: “Let us make man in our image.”

 

Very soon we also see that “It is not good for man to be alone.” We were created as relational creatures. And our chief relational need is for community with God.

 

This is a distinction that we have from the rest of creation. Notice how God doesn’t interact with the rest of creation the way he interacts with man in the accounts of creation. God creates and moves on from his creation of water, the skies, and everything else. Except humanity. He then begins talking to us and interacting with us.

 

Paul Tripp writes, “God knew that even though Adam and Eve were perfect people living in perfect relationship with him, they could not figure out life on their own. They were created to be dependent people.”

For His Glory

We were created to glorify God. There is no being in all of creation that compares to the creator. His love defines love. His wisdom defines wisdom. His perfection defines perfection.

 

In truth, only God is worthy to be glorified. So, we want to cry out with the Psalmist, “Not to us, Lord, not to us, but to your name be the glory.”

 

We are meant to glorify God in our entire existence. By our breath, our belief, our obedience, our love, and everything else we have and do.
Another Latin phrase we should all be familiar with is “Soli Deo Gloria.” This phrase has been important in recent church history, and it means “Glory to God Alone.”

How You Should See Yourself

The answer to this question should not just affect the way you see God, it should also affect the way you see yourself. You are not an accident in God’s creation. You were created with purpose, and you bear the image of God.

 

Everyone, bearing the image of God, has inherent dignity and no live is without value. And this includes you.

 

But we also see from the answer to this question that we desperately need God. We were created for relationship with him. Trying to live your life apart from God is the epitome of foolishness.

How You Should See Others

Every single person alive is a person who is created by God in the image of God. They have a purpose. And nobody should ever be treated as insignificant, unimportant, or lesser than ourselves.

 

We should also recognize that every single person we will talk to today is in need of a relationship with the eternal God. The good news is that there is a way to have a sure, steadfast eternal relationship with him. This is why we must plead with people to be reconciled to God! They need to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is our only hope of reconciliation.

 

We should treat others kindly, respectfully, and with love. And this love should drive us to deep, genuine care for their souls.

 

By Brooks Szewczyk

Pastoral Intern

The New City Catechism Question 3

Question: How Many Persons Are There in God?

Answer: There are three persons in the one true and living God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They are the same in substance, equal in power and glory.

 

Importance of The Doctrines of the Trinity

The doctrine of the Trinity has been one of the most foundational, essential beliefs of the Christian church throughout our history. This doctrine was taught by the apostles and by God himself through his word. And specific beliefs regarding the Trinity were clarified by councils and creeds of the early church.

 

Nature, Persons, Substance, and Essence

One necessary distinction that is made is that between persons and being. God is three persons: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. But, he is one being, meaning that he has one nature, substance, and essence.

 

We do not have three individual gods; Christianity is a monotheistic religion. As stated by the Shema from Deuteronomy 6, “The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” Nevertheless, our unified God exists in three distinct persons.

 

Following is an explanation of the divinity of each of the three persons of the Trinity.

 

The Father as God

The first person of the Trinity is the Father. 1 Corinthians 8:6 says that “for us, there is one God, the Father. All things are from him, and we exist for him.”

 

Not as much of a defense needs to be made for the deity of the Father. This is clear throughout all of scripture and is not disputed by any who claim to be Christians.

 

The Son as God

In John 8, a group of Jews was challenging Jesus’ authority and teaching. They asked Jesus “You aren’t fifty years old yet, and you’ve seen Abraham?” Abraham had died over 2,000 years before Jesus was born, yet Jesus talked as if they knew each other. To their questions Jesus responded, “Truly I tell you, before Abraham was, I am.”

 

Jesus response was an echo of what God said to Moses when asked what his name is: I AM who I AM.” Jesus was claiming to be the God of Abraham, the God who spoke to Moses, and the God who existed before any of creation. He is claiming to be God.

 

Moreover, Paul teaches Christ’s divinity in Colossians when he says “The entire fullness of God’s nature dwells bodily in Christ.”

 

Not only in these passages, but also in many other passages and in many other ways does the Bible teach the divinity of Jesus.

 

The Spirit as God

The Bible also identifies the Holy Spirit as God in many passages. One of the clearest is when the apostle Peter rebukes Ananias saying “Why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit… You have not lied to people but to God.”

 

This passage shows the belief of the early church that the Holy Spirit was God. This is further confirmed in other passages throughout the Bible so that there is no doubt regarding the divinity of the Holy Spirit.

 

Historical Confessions

Many confessions and creeds have been written by the church from its beginnings to modernity that affirm and clarify the orthodox Christian beliefs on the doctrine of the Trinity. Some of the more well-known include the Apostle’s Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed.

 

The Athanasian Creed states that “We worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity; neither confounding the Persons: nor dividing the Substance. For there is one Persons of the Father: another of the Son: and another of the Holy Spirit. But the Godhead… is all one: the Glory equal, the Majesty coeternal.”

 

Not Neglecting Worship

Our Triune God created us to worship and glorify him. When we neglect any person of the Trinity, we cease to worship God rightly, and we are not accomplishing our true calling.

 

The scriptures have laid out for us what we must believe about God. Therefore, deviating from the doctrine of the Trinity leaves us as idolaters and not true worshippers of God.

 

Our job is not to understand the complexities of God, nor is it to be able to fully explain what is meant to be a mystery to us. We cannot understand everything about God, and some things are left unexplained because God intends it that way.

 

Our job is to be faithful in holding steadfast to the things that God has revealed in his Word. This means being faithful to the worshipping our one God who exists eternally in three distinct persons. All of whom deserve our reverence and worship.

 

Unity Throughout History

We should also seek to be unified with all of those in the church for the last 2,000 years. This is why adherence to orthodoxy is so vital to us. This is why studying and memorizing confessions, creeds, and catechisms are crucial to us. These documents, these doctrines are the chain links that connect us with those have gone before us and those who will follow us as God continues to build his church on earth.

 

By Brooks Szewczyk

Pastoral Intern

The New City Catechism Question 2

Question: What is God?

 

Answer: God is the creator and sustainer of everyone and everything. He is eternal, infinite, and unchangeable in his power and perfection, goodness and glory, wisdom, justice, and truth. Nothing happens except through him and by his will.

 

When it comes to the question What is God a foundational question is being asked. It may sound odd to ask the question what about a being, but it’s an important question. The question of who is a question about being and person, but when we ask what is God the aim is to define God. This is important because the question of who is God cannot be answered until we know what is God, just as we cannot identify who is a human until we know what is human.

 

So then, to answer this question, there are a few significant points that we need to consider. To define what is God we need to look at some of the attributes that characterize God. First and foremost, God is the creator of everyone and everything. He made everything that is in existence. From the birds in the sky, fish in the sea, and the creature that walks on land. God created the Earth. God made the sun and the stars. The creation account is found in Genesis 1. Genesis does not stand alone in this profession of God being the creator, but all throughout the Old and New Testament speaks to this truth (cf. Nehemiah 9:6; Isaiah 66:2, Colossians 1:16-17). Knowing that God is the creator is an important truth. If God is the creator of all things, then it must be that He is uncreated. He is not the product of another being that is larger than himself. If this were the case, then God would not be worthy of our worship and adoration. Because God created everyone and everything, and God is uncreated, then it stands to reason that God is also eternal. God has no beginning, nor no end. He has existed, and He will always exist. He is completely independent and relies on nothing for his own existence. If God’s existence was contingent on something or someone else, there is, once again, something or someone else deserving of our worship. As the Psalmist rightly states in Psalm 90:2, “Before the mountains were brought forth,  or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.”

 

Here are several additional defining attributes of God. He is omniscient. For instance, 1 John 3:20 states that God “knows everything.” God is also all-powerful, or omnipresent. Psalm 115:3 shows us that God can do, in fact, does, whatever He pleases. God is omnipresent. Psalm 139: 7-10 tells us that wherever the Psalmist chooses to go and hide, God will be there. Thus He is infinitely everywhere all the time. A god who lacks any of these attributes is not worthy of our worship.

 

Last, it is necessary to talk about God’s unchangeable nature. God does not change like us (Malachi 3:6). This is a beautiful truth. A fickle God could love us one moment than smite the next like many of the other gods of false religions. Instead, we know that God is good (Psalm 136:1). God is wise (Romans 11:33). God is just (Romans 3:25-26). God is true (John 3:33). God is love (1 John 4:8). And God is holy (Isaiah 6:3). While this is not an exhaustive list of God’s nature, we can be sure that these attributes of God will always be true. God will never change nor be evil. Nor will He be unjust, a liar, a fool, or wicked. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

 

And why is it important to know the attributes of God? Why is it necessary to know, “What is God?” As alluded to before, it is essential to understand the characteristics of God so that we can answer, Who is God? We can know the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are God. But the what provides the definition for the who.

 

Along with this, our worship should be affected by meditating on what is God. When we think on all that God is, it should drive us to our knees in adoration, awe, and wonder. Look to the stars in the dead of a clear night. Look at the moon. Soak in their splendor, brightness, beauty and know that it is God who made them. This is a type of worship that can be practiced minute by minute by what we see. And it doesn’t end here. Meditate, daily, on God’s infinitude, his eternal being, his nature. Remind yourself of his glory and greatness, and each day worship our magnificent God.

 

By Logan Kane

Pastoral Resident