Divine prerogatives

For some people the idea of God as Creator represents a specific problem: they do not like the idea because they realise that God would logically have the right to command their obedience. There are three things to say to such people, and the first is, that we are not dealing with simple philosophical ideas here. The witness of Jesus and all the biblical prophets, the findings of science as it has revealed how fine-tuned our universe is, and the deep intuition in the human heart combine to tell us there is a Creator behind this amazing world we inhabit. Chance does not do things so extraordinarily well! I have sought to show this in previous posts.

The second thing follows from the first: whether we like it or not, whether we acknowledge it or not, we have been created by an almighty, wise and loving God. Once we are persuaded that Jesus came from God, his teaching is clear: God is our Creator. The subtle reason many people strive against Christianity is because there is that in our nature which does not like being obliged to obey a higher power. To those who share this viewpoint I would say, I understand, for I have been there. It was realising how greatly God loves me that enabled me to bow the knee to his lordship over my life, and that would be my advice – study how much God loves you. I plan to deal with this in an upcoming post.

Thirdly, we should get it into our heads that we, God’s creatures, are obligatorily in some kind of relationship with God: it is either a warm friendly relationship or a fraught distant relationship. He is there, and he knows us through and through, even though we deny him and don’t want him to be there! Wisdom dictates that we make peace with God, that our relationship is positive. That is what God wants, and that is what is best for us.

We do need to clarify, however, what God’s prerogatives are as the Creator of all things. If he is over us, we are necessarily under him – under his all-seeing eye and subject to his ultimate judgment on the way we conduct ourselves. For though God did create us with the freedom to reject him and disobey his will, he did not put us in a context where we could rebel with impunity. We are responsible beings, and our Creator does hold us answerable for our conduct.

Furthermore, it is God’s prerogative to tell us what is true. If we reject God, we reject the source of the very truth we need to answer our existential questions. There is no other source of absolute truth to which we can turn for such answers! We need both humility and wisdom to listen carefully to what God has said to us, through Jesus and in his word, the Bible. 

In particular, God’s word not only indicates general truth about our relationship to God, but also, as our Creator, he gives us moral truth – clear indications of his will for us. He is wise, loving and holy: his commands are wise, indicating what is really best for us. As he is loving, he seeks our true happiness, and his commandments are good and right. Indeed, our Creator defines what is good – as no-one else in the universe can. Believe it – he really does want the very best for you!

Clive Every-Clayton