The Children's Westminster Catechism: Question 2

Question: What else did God make?

Answer: Everything!

In the previous question we learned that God made us; we learned that we are special, created in God’s image to be His representatives in the world, and created in His likeness  so that we can be good representatives. We also learned that God is intimately involved in our lives and has a plan for us. In this question we learn that God made everything that exists! Let’s look at a few verses from the Bible:

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 

[Genesis 1:1]

‘It is I [God] who made the earth and created mankind on it. My own hands stretched out the heavens; I marshalled their starry hosts.’ 

[Isaiah 45:12]

Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created. 

[Revelation 4:11] 

The Bible, from the first book of the Bible to the last, is adamant that God created everything that exists. In Christian theology, this is called Creation Ex Nihilo; the ‘Ex Nihilo’ is a Latin phrase that means ‘out of nothing.’ God didn’t create the world out of stuff that already existed; He called into existence all that exists outside Himself. From atoms to galaxies, from microbes to mammoths, everything that exists, has existed, or will exist is created by God ‘out of nothing.’ As Paul says in Romans 4:17, our God is the One who ‘calls those things which do not exist as though they did,’ and in the process the very power of His Word brings stuff into existence. 

The Bible tells us that all of creation is a message from God. Psalm 19:1 tells us, ‘The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky proclaims His handiwork.’ Romans 1:20 teaches us that ‘since the creation of the world [God’s] invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse…’ In Christian theology, this is called Natural Revelation: it is the way God reveals Himself through nature. People of all nations, ages, educations, and degrees of civilization have witnessed God’s works in nature. This is true for individuals, communities, and generations unlearned in the sciences, and it’s also true for esteemed scientists of our day and age. This knowledge of God’s existence and attributes is why we have so many religions in the world; all cultures across the world are inherently religious, but without Special Revelation (i.e. the Bible), they are left to their own devices and darkened hearts to make sense of what they know to be true. 

Natural Revelation is the way God reveals Himself through His creation. Sometimes this is also called General Revelation. It is through Natural Revelation that that we can decipher the existence and glory of God, His eternal and creative power, His divine nature (He is not like us!), and His wrath against unrighteousness. 

Special Revelation – which we will talk more about in another lesson! – is specific information God has given us through the Bible that builds upon and expands what we know through Natural Revelation. Natural Revelation teaches us a lot about God, but it doesn’t reveal to us our sin, our need for salvation, or the way God has provided for our salvation in His Son, Jesus Christ. 

The Bible also teaches us that God’s Son, Jesus Christ, the second member of the Godhead, was involved in creation. John 1:3 tells us that ‘all things were made through [Christ], and without him was not any thing made that was made.’ In other words, Jesus was the divine agent through him God’s creation was made. 1 Corinthians 8:6 says, ‘Yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.’ This teaches us, again, that all things were made through Christ, and it goes even further to say that our current existence – our walking, talking, eating, and laughing – is sustained by Jesus, too! And all of this – the creation of all things and our very existence – happens not only through Jesus but for him as well! Colossians 1:16 says, ‘For in [Christ] all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible… all things have been created through him and for him.’ 

Taking all of this together, the Bible teaches us that:

(a) God created all things out of nothing. Nothing exists that was not created by Him. 

(b) God reveals Himself through creation (Natural Revelation), but the knowledge found in creation isn’t enough for salvation; Natural Revelation doesn’t teach us about our sin, our need for a Savior, and God’s provision of that Savior in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Natural Revelation is enough to tell us that God is holy, to be feared, and worthy of all honor and obedience. 

(c) Jesus was the divine agent through whom God created everything.

(d) All things were created ‘in’ Christ, ‘through’ Christ, and ‘for Christ.’ 

We close with Psalm 104, a praise of God’s majestic creation of the earth, its waters, and all its creatures! 

O Lord my God, You are very great:

You are clothed with honor and majesty,

Who cover Yourself with light as with a garment,

Who stretch out the heavens like a curtain.

He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters,

Who makes the clouds His chariot,

Who walks on the wings of the wind,

Who makes His angels spirits,

His ministers a flame of fire.

You who laid the foundations of the earth,

So that it should not be moved forever,

You covered it with the deep as with a garment;

The waters stood above the mountains.

At Your rebuke they fled;

At the voice of Your thunder they hastened away.

They went up over the mountains;

They went down into the valleys,

To the place which You founded for them.

You have set a boundary that they may not pass over,

That they may not return to cover the earth.

He sends the springs into the valleys;

They flow among the hills.

They give drink to every beast of the field;

The wild donkeys quench their thirst.

By them the birds of the heavens have their home;

They sing among the branches.

He waters the hills from His upper chambers;

The earth is satisfied with the fruit of Your works.

He causes the grass to grow for the cattle,

And vegetation for the service of man,

That he may bring forth food from the earth,

And wine that makes glad the heart of man,

Oil to make his face shine,

And bread which strengthens man’s heart.

The trees of the Lord are full of sap,

The cedars of Lebanon which He planted,

Where the birds make their nests;

The stork has her home in the fir trees.

The high hills are for the wild goats;

The cliffs are a refuge for the rock badgers.

He appointed the moon for seasons;

The sun knows its going down.

You make darkness, and it is night,

In which all the beasts of the forest creep about.

The young lions roar after their prey,

And seek their food from God.

When the sun rises, they gather together

And lie down in their dens.

Man goes out to his work

And to his labor until the evening.

O Lord, how manifold are Your works!

In wisdom You have made them all.

The earth is full of Your possessions—

This great and wide sea,

In which are innumerable teeming things,

Living things both small and great.

There the ships sail about;

There is that Leviathan

Which You have made to play there.

These all wait for You,

That You may give them their food in due season.

What You give them they gather in;

You open Your hand, they are filled with good.

You hide Your face, they are troubled;

You take away their breath, they die and return to their dust.

You send forth Your Spirit, they are created;

And You renew the face of the earth.

May the glory of the Lord endure forever;

May the Lord rejoice in His works.

He looks on the earth, and it trembles;

He touches the hills, and they smoke.

I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;

I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.

May my meditation be sweet to Him;

I will be glad in the Lord.

May sinners be consumed from the earth,

And the wicked be no more.

Bless the Lord, O my soul!

Praise the Lord!

[Psalm 104]