In this video from the Systematic Theology I course that I taught a few months for a school in South Asia, we delve into the works of God. For the sake of clarity in discussion, the works of God (“ad extra”) are often distinguished into three categories: the divine decree, creation, providence.
This video gives an overview of all three of these as I try to emphasize that God’s words and works flow from his being, but then we focus in on creation, particularly what is known as creatio ex nihilo.
We definitely want to affirm creation ex nihilo—”from nothing”—because otherwise we get a vision of God and creation that doesn’t fit the biblical witness—materialism, pantheism, interdependent dualism, deism. None of these will do.
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