The Works of God — House of David Ministries

Unveiling the Mysteries: Exploring the Purpose of God’s Works in Creation

Scripture is clear regarding God’s Divine purpose in the creation. He is omniscient and knows every detail of humanity and the nations from the beginning through the end. All God’s works are sovereignly governed according to His plans and purposes.[i] As we read: “God reigns over the nations; God sits on His holy throne” (Psalm 47:8); “Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying, 'My counsel shall stand, And I will do all My pleasure,' Calling a bird of prey from the east, The man who executes My counsel, from a far country. Indeed I have spoken it; I will also bring it to pass. I have purposed it; I will also do it” (Isaiah 46:10-11, NKJV).[ii]

We read: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). The first word in Hebrew is Be-reisheet, “in the beginning.” This word signifies the very act of creation—God brought “being” into existence from “non-being,” something from nothing.[iii] The creation started with God’s wisdom, which our sages call “the beginning.” We read, “O LORD, how manifold are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all” (Psalm 104:24). If we revisit Genesis, with emphasis added, it reads: “With the beginning (Be-reisheet), God’s wisdom created (bara) the heavens and the earth.”

God spoke His word and brought all into existence out of not—ex nihilo. Thus, by faith, we believe that the worlds were created by His word (Rhema in Greek). We read, “By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible” (Hebrews 11:3); “All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made” (John 1:3).

The sages tell us that God’s spiritual tools, the Hebrew letters, are the foundation of all creation and are called the “letters of foundation.” They are also called “stones.” These stones are the foundation for all that exists and the foundation of God's building—His church and Kingdom. Just as stones are excavated from a mountain of stone, so are the Hebrew letters hewn and cut from the four-letter name of God. As it is written, “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer” (Psalm 18:2).

We read: “By the word [speech] of the Lord the heavens were made, And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth” (Psalm 33:6). Wind cutting letters in the form of speech is like one cutting building blocks from a mountain of stone, and sound, wind, and speech are all characteristics of the Holy Spirit. We read: “The Spirit of the Lord spoke by me, And His word was on my tongue” (2 Samuel 23:2). The Holy Spirit emanates from the highest spiritual realm of God, as it is written: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you” (Luke 1:35).

The sages also tell us that the word “beginning” in Hebrew refers to wisdom. Therefore, God’s wisdom reveals His unbound will and knowledge through the creation and now through Christ—the firstborn over all creation. As we read, “The LORD by wisdom founded the earth; By understanding He established the heavens” (Proverbs 3:19).

However, we need to recognize the difference between God’s infinite light of His unbound Will (God’s unknowable transcendence), and the limited light of His Wisdom and Understanding made known to creation (God’s revealed immanence). We read, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9).

God’s revealed will for us is that we should live, as He declared: “I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live” (Deuteronomy 30:19). God is good and did not create evil yet has allowed for its existence. Why He does remains a mystery.

Yet, we accept this truth—that a people redeemed from a world filled with moral depravity and sinfulness leading to eternal death and separation from God will forever be grateful to the one who saved them from this pitiful condition; as Paul cried, “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:24).

God gave us life and breath and provided for our sustenance.[iv] Not willing that any should perish, He provided a way for us to be washed clean of our sins and inherit eternal life in Christ.[v] Jesus said: “Every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men” (Matthew 12:31). God’s love, His truth in the person of Christ, was poured out upon the nation of Israel, faithfully binding them to himself through a new and everlasting covenant as a husband betroths his wife.[vi] Jesus, the very name and essence of God’s salvation, has come to Israel, and now His salvation is freely offered to all who choose Him.

Even before our creation, God foreknew those who would accept and those who would reject His Son. And for those in Christ, it was God’s purpose that we would become His church (ecclesia), a great assembly (kahal) from every tongue, tribe, nation, and people.[vii] As we read, “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren” (Romans 8:29). Thus, God’s Divine purpose includes His church.

All events of nations, even our personal choices, are known to God from the beginning. And yet, God’s Divine plan and purpose do not change. His unbound will is fulfilled without violating humanity's freedom to choose; our “free will.”[viii] God never violates this freedom but does not absolve us of the responsibility for our decisions. In giving us this freedom, God will hold each person accountable for their actions. We read, “He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained” (Acts 17:31).

God is the supreme and sovereign judge and King over creation, and He works all things to His ultimate glory.[ix] And the stewardship of the whole of creation has been given to the Son—Jesus. We read, “All things have been delivered to Me by My Father” (Matthew 11:27); “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist” (Colossians 1:16-17).

God is both preserving and sovereignly controlling all He created. Preservation is defined as “that continuous agency of God by which He maintains in existence the things He has created together with the properties and powers with which He has endowed them.”[x] And God’s sovereignty is called “providence.”

As Christians, by faith, we believe that God created the universe out of nothing, ex nihilo, which is irrational and impossible to comprehend. Thus, we recognize that the universe cannot continue to exist apart from the One who created it. God is holy, benevolent, wise, and omnipotent, and His preservation and providence are required; otherwise, the universe would cease to exist without Him.

God’s providential oversight is demonstrated in His governance over the physical universe. We read: “The Lord has established His throne in heaven, And His kingdom rules over all” (Psalm 103:19). He governs the nations, as we read, “For the kingdom is the Lord’s, And He rules over the nations” (Psalm 22:28).[xi] God cares for the animal realm, as it is written, “Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them” (Matthew 6:26).[xii]

But more importantly, God cares for us. We read, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you” (Jeremiah 1:5); “I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed” (Psalm 139:14-16). And Jesus said, “The very hairs of your head are all numbered” (Matthew 10:30).

God has provided a way for everyone to find Him as we read: “God has dealt to each one a measure of faith” (Romans 12:3). And “He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us” (Acts 17:26-27).

God is personal, and He cares about our successes and failures. We read: “He has put down the mighty from their thrones, And exalted the lowly” (Luke 1:52). He protects the righteous, as it says, “I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; For You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety” (Psalm 4:8).[xiii] God supplies our wants and needs as we read, “Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy” (1 Timothy 6:17).[xiv] And He answers our prayers, as it says, “When you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him” (Matthew 6:7-8).[xv]

Lastly, the Lord governs the reward of the righteous and judges the wicked. We read: “For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the ungodly shall perish” (Psalm 1:6). However, we rejoice in knowing that “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). Jesus said, “He who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life” (John 5:24).

As Christians, we have faith in God’s Divine providence. If we cannot trust the Lord, then who can we? Men will fail us, but the Lord never will. He is faithful. And yet, we find tribulation in the world, but Jesus comforted us by saying, “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Jesus also promised to send us the helper and comforter, the Holy Spirit.[xvi] Only in Him do we find “The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7).

God’s love and presence now dwelling in us will cast out all fear.[xvii] And in Christ, we can endure and overcome all things in this world because we trust in God’s Divine providence. As it is written, “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.” (1 John 4:4, 5:4).

[i] Duffield, Guy P. and Van Cleave, Nathaniel M. Foundations of Pentecostal Theology. Foursquare Media. 1910.
[ii] All Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Bible (NKJV) unless otherwise noted, Thomas Nelson Inc., 1982.
[iii] Glotzer, Leonard R. The Fundamentals of Jewish Mysticism: The Book of Creation and Its Commentaries. Jason Aronson, Inc.
[iv] Acts 17:25.
[v] Genesis 50:20. 1 Peter 1:19-20. 2 Peter 3:9. Titus 1:2.
[vi] Isaiah 54:5. Zechariah 2:8. Isaiah 62:4.
[vii] Revelation 5:9.
[viii] Isaiah 44:28, 45:1-4. Ezekiel 1:1-6.
[ix] Romans 8:28.
[x] Strong, 410.
[xi] Psalm 66:7.
[xii] Psalm 104:21.
[xiii] Psalm 75:6-7. Romans 8:28.
[xiv] Philippians 4:19.
[xv] Matthew 6:33.
[xvi] John 14:16.
[xvii] 1 John 4:18.