God the Creator
In Genesis 1:1 it states, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” All things that exist have an explanation for their existence, and all things that begin to exist have a cause for their existence. While God’s existence is explained by His necessary eternal nature, man’s existence is explained by God as man’s cause.
God the Designer
In Genesis 1:2 it states, “The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep.” More than merely creating the physical realm and material existence, God also shaped it. As we look throughout the rest of the chapter we see God adding, dividing, multiplying, forming, and shaping in His creation. We see Him establishing systems and processes; in short, we see God giving His creation a design. As we now look at God’s creation, we can see God’s meaningful and purposeful nature in its apparent design. Every time God creates He does so with purpose, and He communicates that purpose with His words. Until man, we see every part of God’s creation obeying His communicated purposes.
God the Template
In Genesis 1:27 it states, “So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” In creating man, God used Himself as a template, giving to man characteristics that echoed God’s own. He gave man the ability to rule over other parts of His creation. (Genesis 1:28) He gave man a conscious mind able to discern and choose a course of action. (Genesis 2:15-17) He gave man the ability to also communicate his ideas and purposes with his words. (Genesis 2:23) In doing this, God gave man the ability to willingly choose whether His commands would be answered with “and it was so.”
God the Lawgiver
We often think of God as the moral lawgiver who communicates His righteous will to man, but it is important to remember that God established all the laws that govern every part of His creation. Laws of thermodynamics, gravity, etc., were in existence before man recognized and named them. One law to which all creation is subject is that all actions have consequences. We see man using his own will to disobey God’s in Genesis 3:6, but we also see him being subjected to the law of consequence in verses 10, 16, and 17-19. John says, “sin is lawlessness,” (1 John 3:4) and Paul reminds us, “the wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23) Although God gives man the ability to choose, rejecting God’s will, law, and purpose for man still earns him death, since it separates him from God (Isaiah 59:1-2), who is the source of life. (Genesis 2:7; Acts 17:24-25) From this we learn that man rejects God’s desire for him when He rejects God by refusing to obey His will.
God the Just
In 1 Samuel 15:22 we see that God’s desire for man is that he obey “the voice of the LORD.” Obedience comes from the will, as do love and faith, which God also desires from man. (1 John 4:7-8; Hebrews 11:6) This answers the question of why God allows man to choose, but why does God allow man to choose things contrary to His will? Why not design man only with the ability to do what is good and right? If that were the case, there would be no discerning and choosing because there would only be one option. One might then ask, “Why doesn’t God just take away the consequences of sin?” The fact is, God being just means He always upholds the law (in every sense of the word), so while man may be allowed to break God’s law, God does not break the law of consequence to keep man from facing the consequences of his actions. To this one might respond, “If God is just, why let man suffer at the hands of another man? What about the innocent?” God absolutely hates “hands that shed innocent blood,” according to Proverbs 6:17. As we have already seen, though, God allows man to choose, even to his own hurt and the hurt of others. The consequences of Adam and Eve’s sin are an example of this. At this point, one’s picture of life might be a bit depressing, but consider that God is both the just and justifier of the one whose faith is in Jesus, satisfying the requirements of His law with the death of His Son for our sins. (Romans 3:19-31) Consider that man will always reap what he sows. (Galatians 6:7-8) Consider that God will repay and shows no partiality. (2 Thessalonians 1:5-10; 2 Peter 2:4-10; Romans 2:6-11)
“Vengeance is mine...For the LORD will vindicate His people and have compassion on His servants.” (Deuteronomy 32:35) The question remains: Are you one of His people? When He commands, will your response echo “and it was so?”