Sermons Vander Kam on HC Lord's Day 3
Q&A 6 Sermons Vander Kam on HC Lord's Day 3
Q&A 66 Q. Did God, then, create man so wicked and perverse?
A. By no means; but God created man good, and after His own image; that is, in true righteousness and holiness, that he might rightly know God his Creator, heartily love Him, and live with Him in eternal blessedness to praise and glorify Him.
Beloved in the Lord; the chapter that I read to you this morning is one of the greatest chapters that has ever been written. And it is also the chapter that has been debated more than virtually anything else that has ever been written. Because we have in all simplicity, we have simply told how things have come into being. And that at the very beginning God has created the heavens and the earth, and that He has created all the things that are in it. That He has created all the things that are moved upon it, and that is the way in which all things have come, that is their origin. Now if you do not have this first chapter of Genesis of course, then you are at a loss, and the only way that you are then going to be able to find anything is this, that you begin with the present moment and work back from that. That you look at things as they are at the present time and then look back and seek to figure back far enough so that you come to some kind of an idea concerning its origin; how did it all begin. How did it all begin as far as man is concerned, as far as the whole creation is concerned, as far as the heavens are concerned, as far as astronomy is concerned. Concerning all the things that exist, how in the world did they ever come into being.
And then, it is also well to note that if by archeology you would today, if you did not have the Bible, and if by archeology you would then stumble on something like this, that there was a chapter written ages and ages ago that simply stated it in the way in which it does here, that "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth," and takes it step by step by step, that He has created these and that He has created that, and that it is all in very logical order, that there are no plants before there is sun, moon and stars, and that there are no living creatures before there are plants, and all these things in perfect logical order. That would have been considered to be the greatest find of the ages.
But seeing that it is before us, and that we have always had it, therefore it is debated more than anything else. And that people come to the conclusion that this is far too simple, you certainly cannot believe this, this is so simple, that God has created this; is there a God, that is the first problem that man has. And the Bible does not go into that at all. And it does not begin with this, and if you or I would have written the Bible that we would have begun with that; who is God, and what is His nature. But the Bible doesn't. It takes Him for granted; it says in the very first sentence, "In the beginning, God." He's already there, and therefore you have to deal with Him. He's already there and He is already active. "In the beginning God created." And He created everything that is, and behold, it was very good. So that you see here, that in all simplicity it is given to us, that a child is able to understand. And now we are trying to make it more and more difficult of course, in order that it may be seen more scholarly. And that we look at it in this way that it cannot be like this, that it must be something symbolic, or that it must be poetic. But that it is actually history, no, that is impossible because there was no one there to check up on it. With history you always have to have checks and balances. You have to be able to check whether it is so, yes or no.
I believe that George Washington lived, but I don't know, because I wasn't there. But I believe that he lived because it is attested to by various other things. And concerning the beginning of heaven and earth, there is nothing that attests to it except this Word. Only the Scriptures come with that, but there was nobody there who was able to bear witness to it and say that it was indeed the way it was. And if there wasn't anybody there to do that, then of course, men say that isn't history as we know it. That underlies the kind of situation that we have in our day when it is denied. Because it is not historical, not considered to be historical. While the Bible comes with it at all times and so it also refers to it later, that it is indeed history. That it is indeed the kind of history that is to be believed. That it is history of the very highest order. That He is the one who has written it, He is the historiographer who is God Himself. He has written it and says, this is the way in which I have done it, step by step by step. And each one was very good, so that there was nothing lacking. That is the way in which all things came into being.
And then finally, you come to man himself. That creature which stands above all others, until recently. But in recent days they begin to even question that and say, why is he greater than the animals. Don't the animals have rights? And then the Bible comes to us and says, no, it is entirely this way, that man is the crown and the jewel of all creation. He is the vice-chairman under God. He is the one who is to rule over the animals. He is to rule over the whole earth. He is there to give an account to his Maker, because he is the one who has been appointed to be the vice-chairman over it all. That is the way in which Scripture comes to us; that man is ndeed the ruler of this earth while he is here. That he has dominion, that he has to give an account to his God, because He has made him good, and it has to stay that way.
We speak to you this morning on man, the image of God. Noticing in the first place, its meaning; secondly, its purpose; and finally, its importance.
Now when we deal with the matter beloved, that man is the image of God, that we are to realize that we are sitting in there in the very highest place. That there is no higher place that could ever be given to him, that could be assigned to him, than this, that he is the image of God. That it is noteworthy that in our day and already as long as we have lived, it has always been this way, that when the matter is discussed, who is man, in secular circles, then the definition that has always been given, that is this, that man is an intellectual, a rational animal. That he is an animal, he belongs to the animal world, but he has a rationality. He is able to think, and thereby he is also far above the others. That is therefore, the kind of a definition that man is given concerning himself, that he is a rational animal and that is the reason why he is also distinguished from all the other animal life. And then comes the Bible and it says no, it is not a rational animal, but he is the very image of God. Don't you go to the animal world, but you go to the divine world to give an explanation as to who man is. He is not an animal that has now also a rationality, but here you are dealing with a divine image that has been imprinted upon him. That's what he is. He is a portrait of God Himself. That is what the image means. That image and likeness which is spoken of in Genesis 1, are interchangeable, those mean the same thing. It is His image, it is His likeness, just like your portrait, it is the likeness of you. That is not you, but that is the likeness. That is the image, and that's the way God has imprinted it upon man.
And therefore we are to realize that when we are dealing with this matter of evolution for example, and these things are not so far from us anymore of course, but they have now crept into our own circles. And that then they may soften it a little bit so that it is 'creative evolution'. That there was a Creator, sure, but from then on He has dropped it and has allowed it to go on and it has developed by itself. Now that is nothing new, that it was already the deism that was flooding this country at the time of its founding. Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin were deists. But it is God who made the world and that he set it down and that it runs, and it runs on and on and on, and finally comes the last tick, and that's it. Just like a watchmaker; makes a watch and then he doesn't hold it all the time and watches it, but he lays it down, and then when it runs down, that is the end. Those are the beginnings and that is the end according to the secular world. That is plain deism, and that is deism that is totally contrary to what Scripture teaches.
Now this the kind of thing that we have in our day, that it is a creative evolution; God made it, and then He just set it aside, He doesn't watch over it, and now it is running down, and finally there comes the last moment, and then that is the end of it. There is, in other words, no purpose, there is no guiding light, there is nothing there except that this thing is now running down, and that is the way in which we are seeing it go during our lifetime. And that's the way we see our own lives.
Creative evolution begins with this, says that man began at the bottom and that he is slowly rising, slowly rising until he comes to the time where he is now, and in a few more generations he will overcome all the problems that are still there today. And the Bible says, he started at the top and from there he fell like a stone, and that's where he is today. The opposite, you can't put the two together. Remember that! They are opposite directions. That is the clear teaching of Genesis 1. That is also the clear teaching of our Confession. Man made in the image of God. That means this, that he now portrays God, that he is His vice-chairman, that he is the image of God, so that when others look upon him, there they see their Maker revealed, revealed in the face of man. Can you imagine! That's Scripture. It means this, that that man has a spiritual character and that he is thereby united unto the spirituality that still exists in this universe. That he is thereby united unto the God of spirituality, unto the God who is Spirit. And thereby he is also completely different from all the other creation; completely. It is not a thinking, a rational animal, but the very image of God. You are thereby, when you have set the terminology of today of the secular world, you are thereby bringing dishonor not only to your God, but also to man himself. And we must realize that man, being the image of God, has then a propensity for God, he is drawn unto Him because, though God is a Spirit, I also have that Spirit within me; I have been made that way.
And that God is the one who thinks, that is also what He has given to me. That I am far above all the rest of creation, because I bear the image of God. You see that a little bit, that he has dominion. You have noticed that we are getting away from that a little bit of course, in our lifestyle of the present day, but when you used to see a team of horses for example, each one close to a ton, and a little child seven or eight years old driving them and calls to them and they turn.
Made in the image of God in our spiritual life, that we are well able to understand, that we are drawn unto Him. That we are the point of contact between our souls and the living God. There's that point of contact. So that He is able to speak to us in that Word and that He is able to speak to us by His Spirit. And those are the things that you and I are able to understand, and no other creature is able to. Those are the things that we therefore understand but so many times that we do not understand that it also goes farther. And that is, for example, we are always and forever, and that is the thing that we have found in the terminology of the church of recent years, and that is, that they are always saving souls. The Bible never speaks of that. The Bible always speaks of saving men, not souls. There are also many churches that have so many souls; I think also the bodies; but they always speak of the souls, because that is the important thing. As though that is the only thing that is made in the image of God. And here comes Genesis 9 and says, capital punishment is to be upheld because man is the image of God. Capital punishment, that is of the body, because he is the image of God. And that whole man is made in the image of God, not only that, you are even able to go farther than that and say, as also Genesis 1 does, that He made them, male and female created He them, in His image. Even that, I think, doesn't go quite far enough yet perhaps, and that it is that family unit, that is, His image.
And so we can go on. He has laid down His laws, His moral laws, for that moral creature. That's why you are never apart from the Law. That's why we are never free from the Law. Because He has made us moral creatures, and that moral Law of God is the Law of human nature; that is the Law for man. There is no animal that is going to led by that Law, but it is the image of God that it speaks to. That is the Law that we need, and then when they cry out that we are free from the Law, we are free from its curse but we are not free from the Law. That would be like a physical thing being free from the law of gravitation. That belongs to its being, and so He has spoken to us, so that when we are dealing with man as the image of God, then we realize that he has started at the top. And from there he fell, how far; so far that he is totally depraved. But again, how far, not that he is lost any. Be careful, there are so many articles that have been written in recent years that claim that man has lost the image of God. That is wrong. That is contrary to Scripture. Man has not lost it, but it is, what we say in a theological term, it has been 'vitiated', it has been spoiled; but not lost. He is still the image of God. It is so difficult to see. When you are dealing with a person for example, that is on his deathbed, is that still the image of God? And there's nothing left. When you go to see some bereft of understanding, practically nothing left of the body; it's still the image of God, and be careful with it. You see a drunk lying in the gutter, it's still the image of God. So we have to look upon man in order that there may be mercy, in order that there may be love standing between the one and the other; we are to love our neighbor as ourselves. That's the meaning of man, the image of God.
Secondly, notice also its purpose.
The purpose that is given us beloved, is very clearly seen here in this answer that Lord's Day 3 gives us. And that is that he has remained in true righteousness and holiness, that he may rightly know God as his creator, heartily love Him and live with Him in eternal blessedness to praise and glorify Him. That is first. That is the purpose of man in this life, that is the purpose of man on this earth, that he has remained in this way, that he has been made in righteousness and in holiness, so that he may know his Creator, so that there is also that knowledge and that we may not go through this life in such a way as though we have ignored the Creator. That is the greatest affront that we can ever bring to Him, that we ignore Him, and that is also the most common. There are not so many that actually hate God, that is, that come to an open hatred of Him, but that the great majority ignore Him. And that is the worst thing that can ever happen to a person. When you are ignored, that is, that you don't even count, and that is the way in which this secular world looks upon its God. No, we are to know Him and that is the purpose of life, the purpose of this human life is not to see that we get through it as well as possible, with the least amount of difficulty, with the least amount of suffering, but we are to get through this life in such a way that we know Him and that we worship Him, that we praise Him. That is the way in which we are to answer to our purpose.
Because we must remember that He has said already in Genesis one, that He has made all things good. And that is also the thing that He says concerning man. Not in superlatives you know, not that it's this way that is unbelievable what a wonderful creation He has made, no, but that he has been made good. Which means simply this, that he answers to his purpose. If you have a good watch, that is one that keeps time, that's all. It is not in superlatives but it is this, that it answers to its purpose. And now this man answers to his purpose. That is therefore the question people, and the question that you and I are to answer, are to ask ourselves, and that we are also to ask of everyone in this world around us. Does man answer to that purpose that he is to know God; that he is to love Him; that he is to serve Him; and that is the only purpose of man. He has been made in righteousness and in holiness so that he is able to do it. He has been made in such a way so that there is no excuse. He may never say to his God, I was not able because I was not able to understand or I did not have the moral capacity. No, he has been made in that righteousness and holiness that belongs to the image of God. He is made in that righteousness so that he is able to rule over all creation, that he is the king. Lord's Day 12 is going to go into that very much in regard to Christ Himself. That He is our eternal King and that there is therefore that righteousness, and that there is going to be nobody that is ever going to say to Him that He has done wrong. "Who convicteth me of sin," says Christ, because He stands far above it all. He is the perfectly righteous one, and he is made in holiness, so that he is separated from all other creatures. Separated for that one purpose so that everything may be focused upon his God. Trouble of it is, we don't see that in this world. The greater trouble of it is, we don't even see that so much in our own lives.
Oh, there is that spiritual life, no doubt about it, there is that spiritual life which we also seek to nurture, there is that spiritual life in which we are also able to rejoice in a manner. But nevertheless to say that that is our one consuming purpose in life and that is to know God and to love Him and then to live with Him forever, that is not something that we usually find within ourselves, but that belongs to the image of God. That's the way He has made us, that is our purpose. And if that purpose is not attained, then you realize of course, then we are total failures. Ah, this is the way He has made us so that we will also be able to answer to our purpose and that it may then be this that we are to live with Him in blessedness forever. That we live with Him in eternal blessedness to praise and glorify Him. That is the purpose that we have in mind. That is not the way we put it today. I heard yet this week of someone saying, "I believe that I will go to heaven." Aha, that is the terminology that I can understand. They all want to go to heaven, whatever is there, but it must be a whole lot better than any other place. And then this, this confession comes and says, "to live with Him in eternal blessedness." That is the One whom they deny, that is the One whom they hate, says the former Question and Answer. And that's the One whom they have to live with. And what makes heaven, heaven? Is it this, that it is going to be free from sickness and pain, and that it is going to be free from all difficulties? No, not according to Scripture. But nevertheless, it is essentially going to be this, that we are there going to be living in blessedness with Him, with Him. Are we going to recognize one another — oh, that is a big problem with most people. Will I recognize my family members? The Bible doesn't go into that. I don't know. But it goes into this, although that there we are going to meet Christ; oh, what a disappointment, huh! You would have thought that it would be a whole lot different in that we would there see people, recognize people. And but it is to be living in blessedness with Him, and that for all eternity. That is heaven, and that is the goal that is there before us, that is our purpose. That is the goal that is going to be attained, and therefore when we are dealing with man as the image of God let's realize, here we are not dealing with something that is hanging in mid-air, but it is something that it impinges upon our common, everyday life. It is something that ought to build our minds and our hearts, that we realize who we really are, what our purpose is, what our goal is; in order that we may love Him and live in blessedness with Him; eternally. That's what we are going to do, if we are children of God. If that image is again restored. Because that image is restored of course, it is restored in Christ Jesus. That's why He has that triple office; prophet, priest and king. Not so very important — Jesus saves; that's the only important thing. No, says Lord's Day 12, "This is the heart of the whole matter — that He is our only High Priest, that He is our chief prophet, that He is our eternal King", and that by the means of that triple office He has lifted up again my righteousness and holiness and knowledge, and has lifted us up to that place where it ought to be that I there show the image of God fully. That's why He has come, to restore that image which was not lost completely, but vitiated; spoiled. And therefore Christ Jesus came in order that we might have life and that we might have it abundantly, and that we might then learn to know Him, to love Him, and to live with Him in blessedness, forever.
And finally, notice its importance.
And the importance of this matter of course, is something that is already very evident. That you are not dealing with a doctrine that is far removed from us. While we are dealing with a doctrine beloved, that undergirds our lives, that undergirds all of our activities, and that we are not able to live in this world without that knowledge. When we have not come to the proper knowledge of these things then we are also living carelessly, and that we are living in such a way so that it has no purpose whatsoever. But when we realize that these are the underpinnings of all of our spiritual life, that this is the foundation upon which we build, then we also know that here we are dealing with those things that are approved of our God, that here are the things that are given to us in such a way so that we may have life abundantly. Now the question is here asked, "did God then create man so wicked and perverse?" Is that the possibility, because the former question and answer has come to this conclusion, that by nature I am prone to hate God and my neighbor. We are still dealing with this matter, how great my sins and miseries are, it is still the first part of the Catechism. And now then comes the question, "did God make man that way?" Is that what it is all about? And then the answer is this, "No, He didn't make man that way but He made him good and in His own image. My lands, this is not making him, creating him that way, as he is now.
You see that here there is that possibility, I even hesitate to use that term, the possibility of an answer to this; How did man become so depraved, so totally depraved? Is it because God made him that way; that, says the Canons of Dort, is blasphemy. It not only is not true, it is blasphemy. You mayn't say that. And but is that a possibility? After all, I am this way now, how did I get that way? There are, perhaps, various ways whereby that might have come about, but is there that one possibility that God has made me this way? As someone has said, it would be like a child who is sick and the mother is tending to that child day and night, and now there would arise in the mind of that child, why am I sick? Could it be that my mother has poisoned me! Possibility — no, blasphemy! That that question would even come up in the mind of man, that God has created man perverse, that He has created man wicked. In the first place, He can't do that. That is against His nature. All that He had made He looked upon, and behold, it was very good. That whole week of creation, He looked back upon it and He said "It is very good," everything answers to its purpose. There is nothing awry. There is nothing that is gone amiss, but everything answers to its purpose, the whole creation, as it were, lifts up one song of praise to its Maker. And now that crown of creation comes along and says, "How come it is this way now, did God make me that way?"
And then we can be very happy. The Canons of Dort which are certainly not held in high esteem in our day, not only not in the world, but also not in the church; that these Canons make it so abundantly clear, that anyone who has that even as a possibility in mind, that's blasphemy. That is going directly contrary to what He has said, and that we may never do. To blaspheme the name of God is the greatest sin that can ever be committed. He will not leave that unpunished, He says in the third commandment, which is fierce. He doesn't say what He is going to do, but He won't leave it unpunished. What is then going to happen? And to give that quarter, to give that a place, and to say, that is a possibility; He might have made me this way. No, He didn't. He made us in such a way so that we were at the top. And then that fall is so terrible, which is taken up in the next question and answer. Where did that depraved nature then come from if He didn't make us that way? We did it all by ourselves beloved, all by ourselves. In our disobedience, but He is not to blame. And therefore whenever we look upon ourselves even, that miracle of miracle says man, someone has said, the weakest of all God's creatures in infancy, most powerful when fully developed; that's interesting always. That is man. The image of God; you look upon that and you see God reflected, you see it again when he comes to the knowledge of Jesus Christ. You see it again when there is that new life, that is now reflected in His countenance, in His face. Then you see again the image of God, restored completely in Jesus Christ so that we again answer to the purpose of our creation. That is the way of salvation, that is the way salvation has to come. He has to start at the bottom. He has to replant us, from the bottom up. It is not something that is cheapened, grace. But it's something where he has to go to the root of the matter. Radically. Man has to be saved. Saved from the burning. And that is because he is the image of God. He's worth it. Amen.....
We give Thee thanks Lord our God, for Thy Word wherein Thou didst inform us, wherein Thou dost teach us, wherein Thou dost instruct us. Wherein Thou dost also comfort us, wherein Thou dost give us all the things that we need. We thank Thee Father for the riches of that Word. And we pray that it may ever be applied to our hearts by Thy Spirit Divine, in order that we may live out of that Word from day to day. Bless us further on this day, bless the Sunday School classes and the catechism classes as they meet. Wilt Thou bring us together again into Thy House this evening that Thy Word may again speak to us, for we need it, in order that it may lead us on our pathway of life. Forgive our sins, and hear us in Jesus name. Amen..
Information What's New Our Beliefs Sermons Literature U.R. Churches Classis Michigan Links Search Feedback Home