Creation and the Incarnation

In this post I want to briefly look at the doctrine of miracles, as they might be related to the subject of Creation. This will be more of a bible study than an essay.

Quotes and comments;

A. 'The central miracle asserted by Christians is the Incarnation.... Every other miracle prepares for this, or exhibits this or results from this.' [1.]

- We could go back to the beginning of Genesis, and trace the miracles in the Bible to the end, to see how they might relate to the Incarnation. (i.e. God becoming man)

- I would think that the creation is the greatest pre-incarnation miracle. Here we see a sort of first picture of the Incarnation. We see the ideas and thoughts (wisdom) of God being 'incarnated' (as it were) in matter. We see God 'imprinting' various forms into basic matter. [Later we will see the incarnation not only of God's thoughts, but of God's very being, as one member of the Trinity will become incarnate.]

- The Incarnation means [literally, plainly] the word made flesh.

- We might call this creation the life miracles. Should the creation of the world be called a miracle? I agree with those who think so. [We'll later be told, in the gospel of John, that the Son is the creator of all things.]

- In early Genesis we see the creation of intelligent beings. We might call this the intelligence miracle.

- We see God communicating with our first parents. We take communication and language so much for granted that we don't see them for the wonders they are. We might call this the miracle of communication. [Jesus will consummate these miracles of communication with what he tells the people of his day.]

- We're told of Enoch, that God took him up; if this interpreted plainly we might call this a miracle of transcendence. (I'm not sure.) [We'll later see prophets 'translated' to the heavenly realm; as well as the 'going away' of Christ.]

- We have the miracle of Noah knowing the flood will happen. We can call this the miracle of prophecy. [We'll see the development of this in due time, with prophecies of the messiah, and then prophecies By the messiah.]

- Should we consider the Flood a miracle? I don't know. If it's seen this way it might be called a miracle of judgment. [Later we'll be told that Christ has come to judge Israel, and that one day he will come to judge the world.]

- We see the miracle of Babel, how God confused the nations, and wrecked their plan at replacing God's covenant with a totalitarian government. We can see this as a miracle of governance. [We'll later see how Jesus rejects the idea of political domination; how Christ is the be the focus of the nations, not elitist power seen in the State.]

- We see the miracle of God's intervention in the story of Abraham and Isaac. In this well known, and well debated story, God (as it were) saves Isaac by providing a ram for the sacrifice. [Later we will see how He will save His people by providing His Son as a sacrifice.]

- One could go on. (I think it would be a worthy paper to write; at any rate it makes a good study.)

- I'll just mention one more miracle. The famous axe story has long been a favorite of skeptics. As you recall, through the word of the prophet, an axe head that had been lost in a stream, floats up to the surface and is recovered. This has been rejected by many people as impossible. It seems to me that this could be the very message the incident is trying to teach. (i.e. with God all things are possible.) We might call this a miracle of (doing) the impossible. [Later we will see in the incarnation the accomplishment of what might have been seen as an utterly impossible thing. i.e. of Spirit becoming incarnate in mere matter. We might say that earlier incidents of 'impossible' things happening paved the way for this greater miracle.]

- Summary; the Incarnation and the Creation work to support each other. i.e. if the creation is true, the Incarnation is possible; if the Incarnation (of Jesus) is true, the creation is certainly possible. As Lewis says, miracles aren't just some 'add-on' to Christianity, but rather lie at the heart of it. The message is simply that if it weren't for miracles nothing that we see around us would exist.

Notes;
1. Miracles; C. S. Lewis/173
- a wonderful book.
2. C. S. Lewis early defines miracle as, 'an interference with nature by a supernatural power. [p.5] I don't think there's much doubt there was an intelligent agent behind the creation, and I feel that the God of the bible is the best candidate to be that creator. [I don't think there's any way that matter could so transcend itself as to provide the complex information required to do the job.]
3. If God the language he used to communicate with Adam, we can see this as another miracle.
4. 'Johann Peter Süßmilch established in 1756 that man could not have
invented language without having the necessary intelligence, and also that
intelligent thought in its turn depends on the previous existence of speech.
The only solution to this paradox is that God must have given human
beings language as a gift. - Werner Gitt/In the beginning was information/213
- I highly recommend the appendix on language in the above book.