Creation of man and woman

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But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’ ” [Rom. 9:20]

The Bible tells us that humanity is a creation. How ironic, then, that we humans so fervently deny and resist the idea of being creatures. Satan tempted Adam and Eve in the garden by deceiving them into rejecting the limitations of creaturehood. They thought they could be gods. The atheistic German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche said that lust for power differentiates humans from all other creatures. People cannot stand the fact that they are creatures.

Do you have trouble with authority? With humility? We have these problems because we want to be gods. We do not want to concede our dependence on anything or anyone else, and we do not want to be subordinate. Jesus Christ saves us from sin and makes us new creations, but he does not make us gods; even if he did make us gods we would be created gods, thus still creatures.

There is a massive qualitative difference between the creature and the Creator. Confusing the two is the sin of idolatry, for it involves worshiping creation. In the early church, various heretics tried to maintain that Jesus was a man who became God. The church replied the opposite, that Jesus was God who became man. This distinction is maintained in the Nicene Creed, which states that Jesus is very God of very God, who through his incarnation, was made man. Creator and creature are joined in Christ, but not merged.

As a creature, human beings have a relationship with the Creator. No one can escape being dependent on God, because God sustains life. The relationship is inescapable; resisting and disclaiming this relationship cannot change it. All inescapably exist in relationship with God and give account to him as creatures.

How easy it is for us to live as though we are self-sufficient. The wise Christian knows that his heart is “prone to wander” from submission to God and seeks to humble himself to God in prayer. Prayer expresses your dependence on God. Make this concern the theme of your prayer today. Through this day remind yourself of ways in which you are utterly dependent upon God.

Sproul, R.C., Before the Face of God: A Daily Guide for Living from the Old Testament, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books) 1994.

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