This was a chapter that seemed to move in a lot of different directions, most of them interesting, but a little less closely connected than others. One of the themes in the chapter on creation, however, did really stand out. That was the fact that in every doctrine for Luther justification must be a lens through which it’s understood. Luther finds justification all over the place, and this is helpful, because I think sometimes we treat it as one or even the chief element of theology, but then we move on.
Think about creation. There’s a fancy Latin phrase that talks about how God creates, ex nihilo, which leterally means out of nothing. God creates out of nothing. Now you can take that as a simple scientific statement, that God didn’t create out of stuff, but it’s much more than that. There’s also something very personal involved, something that goes towards our own worth. God created us out of nothing, which means we were nothing beforehand. There was nothing in us, no spirit, or something sitting around asking God to create. There was nothing that made us deserving of being created. Creation was God’s first gift. He gave us life without anything worthy in us. He did it out of his love for us that predated our actual existence.
The second element of creation that’s often overlooked also has to do with justification. Perhaps because of the way we’ve formed ourselves scientifically today, we tend to remove God from the present creation. Even if you think of God as the Creator, even if you don’t believe in Evolution, people still tend to forget about God’s continued role in the creation. We see things and assume they all work fine on their own. But that’s not the case. At some level God is still preserving all creation, still supporting existence, and he does so in a twofold way. First, there is a gift he gives to all creation, whether it has a relationship with him or not. He is still the creator and perserver of all. Second, he does so in a special way for those of us who have faith. For us, God is not just there, he is there for us. This is important. He is not just keeping us kind of going, he is taking an active hand in leading our days, actions, and moving them on a path toward our eternal salvation and new creation.
I hope these elements help you reflect on God’s very active role in your daily life and how his justification is woven into every element of that life.
