“Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge” are words the psalmist wrote as he gazed on the creation and beheld God’s glory (Ps. 19:2). He watched the sun run its course across the heavens and likened it to an athlete running his race (vv. 4–5). The psalmist, however, didn’t merely marvel at creation’s beauty but acknowledged that it disclosed knowledge: “There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard” (v. 3).
What does the creation say? What speech does it disclose?
Creation reveals God’s existence. Some theologians reject this idea, and yet Scripture and classic Reformed theology say otherwise. God reveals something about himself in creation, a disclosure that falls under the category of natural revelation. This stands in contrast to special revelation, which is the knowledge God discloses about himself chiefly in Scripture.
We can liken natural revelation and special revelation to two “books.” When people read the book of creation and interpret it, this is called natural theology. Let’s briefly consider the objections to natural theology, what Scripture and historic Reformed theology have to say about it, and the importance and benefits of natural theology for the Christian life.
We can liken natural revelation and special revelation to two ‘books.’
Objections to Natural Theology
Theologians from Augustine to Thomas Aquinas to John Calvin have acknowledged we can know something of God’s existence from creation. But in the wake of the Enlightenment, philosophers such as Immanuel Kant claimed we couldn’t reason our way from the creation back to God. Kant separated our knowledge of the world from our knowledge of God.
Other philosophers such as David Hume contended that we cannot assume a relationship between cause and effect. Say we hit a cue ball with a billiard stick and watch it strike the eight-ball, which then rolls into the corner pocket. This doesn’t mean the cue ball caused the eight-ball to move. Hume doubted the relationship between cause and effect, and these doubts resonated with Kant. Can we reason from the creation (the effect) back to the Creator (the cause)?
These objections seemed weighty to the minds of some 20th-century theologians both conservative and liberal, and so natural theology and proving God’s existence from the creation seemed like a fool’s errand to many. Let us, though, contemplate what Scripture says and how the historic Reformed tradition understood Scripture’s teaching.
Scripture and Classic Reformed Theology
Not only do we have the psalmist and his inerrant commentary on creation’s message about God’s existence, but we also have the apostle Paul’s words: “[God’s] invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made” (Rom. 1:20). We can trace the lines of Paul’s statement from creation (the effect) back to God (the cause).
Only a sovereign and mighty God has the power to create this immense cosmos with its trillions of stars. If creation is always in a state of change, then only an immutable and unchanging God can produce such a creation. The creation tells us, therefore, something about God’s nature.
Consider also what historic Reformed theology has said about these things. The Westminster Confession of Faith draws a clear line to say we can know God exists from the creation, but we cannot know the gospel from the creation: “Although the light of nature, and the works of creation and providence do so far manifest the goodness, wisdom, and power of God, as to leave men unexcusable; yet are they not sufficient to give that knowledge of God, and of his will, which is necessary unto salvation” (WCF 1:1). Scripture and historic Reformed theology affirm the legitimacy and necessity of natural theology, a tool that enables human beings to know that God exists, among other important truths.
Significance for the Christian Life
While some acknowledge that we can know something of God’s existence from the creation, they may doubt the necessity of such knowledge given our possession of Scripture. Some question the legitimacy of reading the book of creation when we have the book of Scripture, a book that discloses that God is triune, the incarnation of Christ, the gospel, and so much more. The simple response is that God has given us both books to read and study.
If creation is always in a state of change, then only an immutable and unchanging God can produce such a creation.
When Scripture speaks of God’s creation, it beckons us to lift our eyes from the pages of holy writ and gaze on the world’s beauty. Scripture calls us to look at things as small as ants (Prov. 6:6) to ponder God’s wisdom and to consider birds and flowers to learn something of God’s providential care for his children (Luke 12:24–31). Natural theology in concert with Scripture teaches us much about the God we worship and serve.
We can know of God’s existence through creation and with Scripture in hand we can plumb the depths of God’s wisdom, his invisible attributes, and his power and nature—and we can fill our hearts with wonder. We can join with the psalmist and say, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork” (Ps. 19:1).
