Westminster Confession of Faith, 4.1-2
II. After God had made all other creatures, He created man, male and female, with reasonable and immortal souls, endued with knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness, after His own image;having the law of God written in their hearts, and power to fulfil it; and yet under a possibility of transgressing, being left to the liberty of their own will, which was subject unto change. Beside this law written in their hearts, they received a command, not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; which while they kept, they were happy in their communion with God, and had dominion over the creatures.
Summary
The Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is the Creator of all things, none of the Divine Persons ever being created, formed, nor beginning to exist. God created all things out of nothing, ex nihilo. This means that material existence is not eternal, but had a beginning. Before creation, there was nothing but God, who is spirit. God's first act of creation was to speak matter into existence and then begin His creative work of shaping it. He did not stumble upon preexisting matter and then shape what He had found. God is an Artist who first speaks His paints into existence, and then paints with them.
He did this to manifest, or demonstrate, the glory of His eternal power, wisdom, and goodness. Some false religions throughout history, and even today, teach that matter is inherently evil and wicked; that the goal of humanity is to escape material existence, which is seen as the cruel prison for our true selves, longing to get out. Some have even gone so far as to say that this world must have been created by an evil god, who trapped our formerly free spirits in material bodies to torment us. The confession, following the teaching of Scripture, rejects that idea entirely. The Creator God did not create the world to entrap us or torment us, but to show forth His goodness, love, and power. Further, the material existence He created is not evil, but all "very good." All this He created in the space of six days by the word of His power, not, as some suppose, in the space of billions of years by the use of "natural" processes.
As His crowning achievement, God created man in His own image, male and female. One part of being made in God's image is that God created humans with "reasonable and immortal souls". We as humans are both immortal and capable of reasoning; both of which distinguish us from other creatures of God. As well, God endues mankind with "knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness". God did not create man sinful; man became sinful after the fall, which will be dealt with in chapter 6. When God first created man, He created them holy, righteous, with His law written in their hearts, with "power to fulfil it". As an aside, this means that the Ten Commandments, the summation of God's Law, are eternal. While they were officially spelled out through the Mosaic covenant (c.f. Exodus 20, Deuteronomy 5) the Ten Commandments have always been around and always will be, since they are the self-expression of God moral character. Adam and Eve were created with the ability to obey these commandments, but they were also created with the possibility of transgression, since God created them with liberty of will. Besides this moral law, written on their hearts, Adam and Eve also received the explicit verbal command not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. So long as they kept this commandment, they were happily in fellowship with God, and rightly exercised dominion over creation. We don't know how long they maintained this status, but it suffices to say that it did not remain forever.
It's important to see the goodness of God in His commands. Consider that God created an entire world for Adam and Eve to explore, to maintain, to rule over in His name, and to enjoy as His image-bearers. Of the thousands, even millions of trees which He created, including the tree of life, God made no negative command; Adam and Eve were free to partake of them and enjoy them to the fullest. God only said "No" regarding one tree; that of the knowledge of good and evil. (C.f. Genesis 2:16-17) Any notion that God is a stingy nay-sayer; a cosmic tyrant in the sky, must be dispelled by this truth. God gives humanity a world full of "Yes" and in only one instance says "No". From the beginning, His desire was to do good for men; to see them flourish. And even when man fell, God still pursues them through the law, the prophets, and ultimately, Christ. 2 Corinthians 1:20 says that "all the promises of God in Him [Christ] are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God". God has an abundance of blessings, both temporal and eternal, ready for the human soul, but there is one requirement: man must come humbly, repentant, only through faith in Jesus Christ. (John 14:6)
As His crowning achievement, God created man in His own image, male and female. One part of being made in God's image is that God created humans with "reasonable and immortal souls". We as humans are both immortal and capable of reasoning; both of which distinguish us from other creatures of God. As well, God endues mankind with "knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness". God did not create man sinful; man became sinful after the fall, which will be dealt with in chapter 6. When God first created man, He created them holy, righteous, with His law written in their hearts, with "power to fulfil it". As an aside, this means that the Ten Commandments, the summation of God's Law, are eternal. While they were officially spelled out through the Mosaic covenant (c.f. Exodus 20, Deuteronomy 5) the Ten Commandments have always been around and always will be, since they are the self-expression of God moral character. Adam and Eve were created with the ability to obey these commandments, but they were also created with the possibility of transgression, since God created them with liberty of will. Besides this moral law, written on their hearts, Adam and Eve also received the explicit verbal command not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. So long as they kept this commandment, they were happily in fellowship with God, and rightly exercised dominion over creation. We don't know how long they maintained this status, but it suffices to say that it did not remain forever.
It's important to see the goodness of God in His commands. Consider that God created an entire world for Adam and Eve to explore, to maintain, to rule over in His name, and to enjoy as His image-bearers. Of the thousands, even millions of trees which He created, including the tree of life, God made no negative command; Adam and Eve were free to partake of them and enjoy them to the fullest. God only said "No" regarding one tree; that of the knowledge of good and evil. (C.f. Genesis 2:16-17) Any notion that God is a stingy nay-sayer; a cosmic tyrant in the sky, must be dispelled by this truth. God gives humanity a world full of "Yes" and in only one instance says "No". From the beginning, His desire was to do good for men; to see them flourish. And even when man fell, God still pursues them through the law, the prophets, and ultimately, Christ. 2 Corinthians 1:20 says that "all the promises of God in Him [Christ] are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God". God has an abundance of blessings, both temporal and eternal, ready for the human soul, but there is one requirement: man must come humbly, repentant, only through faith in Jesus Christ. (John 14:6)
+ Blessings in Christ +
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