After creating light, God’s next act was to establish law to separate light from darkness:
And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day. Genesis 1:3-5
That act, which almost goes unnoticed in the creation narrative, helps us identify the next divine attribute of God that defines our identity: God is the God of Law.
According to Merriam-Webster, a law is a rule of conduct or action prescribed or formally recognized as binding or enforced by a controlling authority. God is the eternal and unchanging King of kings and Lord of lords. He is sovereign over all spiritual and physical existence. According to James 4:12: There is only one Lawgiver and Judge.
Genesis 1 is the record of God creating the universe – and then setting laws in place to govern his creation. His law defined the boundaries of the sky, oceans, and dry land. His law defined how vegetation would grow and reproduce. He set the sun, moon, and stars in place, and by law, divided time into days, years, and sacred times. He filled the water, air, and land with creatures – and all of them governed by his law.
God then created Adam and Eve under law. He gave them authority to rule over the earth and to subdue it. Law defined what they could eat. It defined their purpose to serve each other, in oneness, and to multiply and fill the earth. Every aspect of creation, ALL OF IT, was governed by the law of God.
It was law that defined the one thing Adam couldn’t eat. It was law that established the penalty of death if he disobeyed. It was law that God carved into the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments. It was law that governed Israel through its ancient history. It was law spoken through prophecy that declared the coming of the Messiah. It was Jesus who fulfilled those prophecies and satisfied the requirements of the law through his sacrificial death on the cross. It was Jesus who declared, Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. Matthew 5:17
Can you imagine what life on Earth would be like if the physical world was not governed by God’s unchanging law? What would happen to the structure of the universe and the structure of your everyday life if gravity were unreliable or ceased to exist? Seriously. Take a moment and think through the craziness. And before you argue that gravity doesn’t exist in space, don’t forget that gravity is what forms the entire universe. It is the existence of gravity and the sharp minds of space engineers who understand the law of gravity that bring our astronauts back to Earth.
How about the law of time? What if tomorrow only had six minutes of daylight, and the next day lasted 23 years – and every morning we had no idea how long the day would be? Consider the madness on Earth if the law of impenetrability were suspended and two objects could occupy the same space? Yikes!
The point is this: you are a child of the God of Law.
I can hear some Christians arguing with me right now: Hartzell, God is the God of grace and liberty! God made us to be free from the burden of law. Why would you highlight law when God clearly wants us to live in liberty?
My friend, before there was liberty, there was law. Liberty is not the absence of law; it is the fulfillment of the law.
Look at it this way. Rejecting the law of gravity doesn’t result in freedom; it results in pain and bondage. If you don’t believe me, then go up on your roof and jump off (please don’t do that). Obeying the law of gravity keeps you from doing stupid things that would break bones and lead to physical bondage. It is obedience to the law that keeps you healthy and enjoying the freedom of movement. Law always comes before liberty – it is the way of our eternal and sovereign Lawgiver and Judge.
More importantly, if you unlock the mysteries of the law of gravity and live in obedience to it, it can give you the freedom to fly through outer space and return safely to earth. Again, flight engineers do not reject the law of gravity; they learn about it, respect it, obey it, and relish the fact that it is utterly reliable. With that knowledge, astronauts are free to travel where no man has gone before.
The unchangeable order of God’s perfect creation is this: Law first, then liberty. Adam thought breaking the law was a shortcut to liberty. He thought wrong. It is the law that leads us to liberty. For us, who suffer under Adam’s sin, it is a painful journey. It is hard to accept the law that through one man, Adam, we all became sinners. But until we accept that law (believe), and own our helpless situation (confess), we cannot receive the grace of forgiveness, reconciliation with God, and eternal life. Paul writes at great length on this topic in Romans chapters 1-8.
4q5q444We are on a quest to answer The Five Questions of Life. The first question, Who am I?, is the identity question. By focusing on God’s qualities, his eternal power and divine nature (see Romans 1:20), we begin to understand our identity. So far, we have focused on Life, Light, and Law. My friend, no one can take away your identity as a child of God. Neither can tragedy nor sickness. Say it! I am a child of God! Don’t ever forget it. We’ll continue the quest next week.
