Mar 24
29
Baptist Catechism 11 & 12
Q. 11. How doth God execute His decrees?
A. God executeth His decrees in the works of creation and providence. (Gen. 1:1; Rev. 4:11; Matt. 6:26; Acts 14:17)
Q. 12. What is the work of creation?
A. The work of creation is God’s making all things of nothing, by the Word of His power, in the space of six days, and all very good. (Gen. 1:1; Heb. 11:3; Ex. 20:11; Gen. 1:31)
*****
Introduction
Last Sunday afternoon I told you that we were entering into a section of the catechism that teaches us about the works of God. When we talk about the essence of God, we are talking about what he is. And we have confessed that the Triune God “is a spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth.” That is what God is. Now we are talking about what God has done.
And where did we start when talking about the works of God? We started by talking about God’s decree. A decree is a declaration or an order. God made a decree. When did he decree? In eternity, before the creation of the world. What did he decree? All things that come to pass? Who moved God to decree what he decreed? No one! God decreed according to the counsel of his own will. And what was his aim? The glory of his name.
*****
God Executeth His Decrees In The Works Of Creation And Providence
And now we ask the question, “How doth God execute His decrees?” The word “execute” means to carry out. If I say that a team executed its game plan, you know what I mean. They had a game plan, and they carried it out. They had a plan, and then they accomplished it. So we know that God has decreed, or foreordained, whatsoever comes to pass? And now the question is, how does he carry his decree out? How does he accomplish his plans and purposes? The answer is rather straightforward, but it is very important and foundational to a proper view of the world and God’s relationship to it. Answer: “God executeth His decrees in the works of creation and providence.”God’s decree can be compared to a blueprint. God’s work in creation can be compared to the building of the house. And God’s work in providence can be compared to the maintenance of the home. So the order is this: first, God’s decree. Next, God’s work of creation. And after that, God’s work of providence.
*****
What Is The Work Of Creation?
Question 12 of our catechism asks, What is the work of creation? Answer: “The work of creation is God’s making all things of nothing, by the Word of His power, in the space of six days, and all very good.” This answer is brief, but it says what needs to be said.
Firstly, notice that the first thing we must say about the works of God is that God created. God issued his decree in eternity and the first thing that he did (as it pertains to his relationship to us) was to create all things seen and unseen.
Secondly, notice that the word “work” is singular. When we come to talk about providence, we will talk about God’s “works” in the plural. But creation is said to be God’s work (singular). Why? Because this is a work that God has finished – it is not ongoing. You might be thinking, well what about all of the creatures that are brought into existence in time – men and women, animals, trees and plants, etc. Well, though God is indeed their source too, they are brought into existence through ordinary and natural means. When we speak of God’s work of creation we are to think of that original and supernatural act of creation that God worked in the beginning.
Thirdly, our catechism says, “The work of creation is God’s making all things…” So, all that exists must be placed into two broad categories. There is the one and only living and true God, and there is his creation. Stated in another way, there is the Creator and there are his creatures. This might seem obvious to you, but many have errored by blurring or disregarding this distinction. Idolatry, for example, is a failure to maintain the Creator/creature distinction. There is God and there is God’s creation. God alone is God. And everything else that exists is God’s creation. We must know this to be true in the mind and we must live according to this truth from the heart. God alone is to be honored as God, and the created things are to be honored, used, and enjoyed appropriately, as created things.
The fourth observation to make about Baptist Catechism 12 is that it says, God made all things of nothing. This is a very importaint doctrine. You and I can create things, but we cannot create something out of nothing. Only God can.
Genesis 1:1 describes creation out of nothing. “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1), that is to say, the earthly, physical realm and the heavenly, spiritual realm. Hebrews 11:3 is very clear. It says, “By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible” (Hebrews 11:3).
Perhaps you are thinking, but didn’t God create some things by forming and fashioning them out of preexisting material? Most famously, we are told that God made the first man from the dust of the earth and the first woman from the man’s side. But that does not contradict the doctrine of creation out of nothing. In the beginning, there was nothing (except the Triune God) and then there was something? What made the difference? God made the difference through his work of creation.
Fifthly, our catechism describes how God created. He did so “by the Word of His power.” This is what Genesis 1 teaches throughout. There is a phrase that appears again and again in this chapter: “And God said…” Genesis 1:3: “And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.” Genesis 1:6: “And God said, ‘Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters’.” Genesis 1:9: “And God said, ‘Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.’ And it was so.” And on and on we go. Our catechism is correct, “The work of creation is God’s making all things of nothing, by the Word of His power…”
This is a very important observation. It should help to see that creation was the work of the Triune God. As we move on in the Scriptures from our consideration of Genesis 1, things that are hinted at there become more clear. When all is considered, we must confess that it was the Triune God – the one living and true God who eternally subsists in three persons, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – who created the heavens and earth. The Father created through the Son (or Word) and by the Spirit.
The sixth thing to notice about Baptist Catechism 12 is that it says this work of creation was accomplished “in the space of six days…” This is a very important doctrine, one that is filled with meaning.
How long did God take to create the heavens and the earth? Genesis 1 plainly states that God took six days to finish his work of creation. Notice another phrase that repeats in Genesis 1. It appears at the end of each of the days of creation. Genesis 1:5: “And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.” Genesis 1:8: “And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.” Genesis 1:13: “And there was evening and there was morning, the third day”, etc.
Here is the question I think we should be asking. Why did God take six days to create? Did he not have the power to create it all instantaneously? Did he lack the wisdom? Did he grow tired or run out of time? Well, do not forget what we have said about God in Baptist Catechism 7. The answer to these questions must be, no. You and I are limited in power and wisdom. You and I grow tired and run out of time. It is not so with God. Notice, I did not ask, why did it take God six days to create, but rather why did God take six days to create? It should be clear to all that God finished his work of creation like this for a reason. What is the reason? In brief, we must see that God took six days to create to set an example for man to imitate and to communicate something about his purpose for man, made in his image. We will eventually come to consider the fourth of the Ten Commandments in our journey through teh Baptist Catechism. The fourth of the Ten Commandments is, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8, ESV). The thing that I want you to see today is that the pattern of six days for work and one day for rest and worship was baked into the created order by God’s work of creation. Man is to imitate God in his work and rest. And in this pattern of work and rest, there is an invitation to enter into God’s eternal rest. Adam failed to enter. Christ has entered that rest. And we will enter that rest too, through faith in Jesus, the perfectly obedient, crucified, buried, and ascended one.
The last thing we must say about creation is that when God finished his work, it was “all very good.” Here is another repeated refrain found in Genesis 1: “And God saw that it was good” (see Genesis 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, & 25). After the account of God’s creation of man we read, “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day” (Genesis 1:31). The creation that came from God’s hand was good, good, very good. The was no defect. There was no corruption. There was no sin.
*****
Conclusion
As you know, not all is good in God’s creation now. We will eventually come to talk about why that is. And that conversation will also open the door to talk about God’s work of redemption. Man fell into sin, but God was merciful to provide a Savior, Christ the Lord. But for now, we must be content to lay this foundation.
Q. 11. How [does] God execute His decrees?
A. God executeth His decrees in the works of creation and providence.
Q. 12. What is the work of creation?
A. The work of creation is God’s making all things of nothing, by the Word of His power, in the space of six days, and all very good.
Brothers and sisters, let us be sure to see the world in this way. There is God, and there is his creation. Besides these two things, nothing exists. And let us not forget that this creation and everything that happens within will be to the glory of God the Creator, who is infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.
