In the beginning we know that God created the heavens and the Earth (Genesis 1:1) and we know God created humanity with free will. We have the choice to make decisions and the choice to sin, and God being omniscient (Psalms 147:5) knew we would sin. So why did he carry on creating us? God is love and, in this love, he created us so it may be experienced with and through him (1 John 4:8). However, this does not the primary reason. God created the universe and everything in it to glorify himself and Jonathan Edwards discusses this at greater length in his book, “The End for Which God Created the World”. Having free will doesn’t guarantee sin because we can make choices to do good after the fall though now tainted with sin, and surely it was the same before the fall with no pollution of sin to interfere because it had not come yet. Being that human free will is under the influence of God’s sovereignty (Genesis 50:20; Proverbs 21:1; Acts 4:27-28), he also didn’t ordain it. So, what exactly happened?
Being made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26) we share the authority to rule over creation, to facilitate resources for the benefit and advancement of society and it is our responsibility to care for God's creation in that process. We are to respect the world He has given us and the life of our fellow human, and animals we are to rule over. As God rules over all creation, we were given a piece of that and told to model Him and do what He did in the opening chapter of Genesis, bring order to this world so that it may flourish. We share His likeness also in that we have the capacity to love, do good for other, build up, lead a family, work honest labor so that others may see the goodness in life and in the world and glorify the God that goodness is sourced from (James 1:17; Psalms 16:2). The good things we do require choice, however. Reflecting on this from my finite earthly mind it would seem more glorifying for God to watch a creation choose to model their lives after Him because He is so good as opposed to being forced to. It would glorify him in that all of heaven would be witness to it, but all of created mankind would witness to it. Even after the fall it is no different. People ask why we are obedient to God, why we love Him, are so committed and all the other questions. It is because He is so good! We cannot help it. Through sin though we are enticed to believe something else is true and there is good apart from God. The choice presented leaves us the opportunity to choose sin. The liar and deceiver comes along and assured us that the sin we are faced with is better than what God has given us.
We’re faced with the question if God is the originator of sin. The short answer is no he is not. But that’s no explanation. What are we to make of Isaiah (45:7) who states the Lord created calamity, or as some translations say, evil? We have to look at context. God states that he will reward the faithful and punish the wicked over and over (Deuteronomy 7:9-16; Proverbs 11:21; Isaiah 13:11, 45:9) and his people have been wicked and will be punished. This theme of reward and punishment and reward is seen in eternity, and it is seen numerous times in the Old Testament known as "Retribution". The reader can see that God's people were sinful as all people across human history and it takes no Bible scholar to discover this and see there were consequences. The book of Isaiah presents the reader with various serious of warning and promise, restoration at the appropriate time, and punishment at the appropriate time. Punishment was coming soon. Isaiah warns king Hezekiah that his people and resources would be given over to Babylon, and as a result the next several chapters up to 45 are assurances of hope for God’s people, despite this, there will still be consequence for turning from God to various idols. As the people are warned of what is to come, they are also reassured there is promise they will be delivered from Babylonian captivity by a king to come, Cyrus, who will take down Babylon (Isaiah 45:1-13). This “evil” that God creates for his captive people is the chaos permitted to form between nation, from the absence of good, that would investigate war. In this case Cyrus of Persia would rise against Babylon. God is no direct author of evil, but God will often permit evil to be orchestrated for the punishment of wickedness.
As humanity chose to sin from the beginning in the garden, we can see the result over time. Ordered creation was disordered, nature was polluted, people taken advantage of, etc. Man has become captive to their sins (Proverbs 5:22). With the sin of Israel, we see God is still glorified in his display of righteousness and justice, just as we would see it if Israel and all of mankind chose to obey. When mankind is kicked from the Garden, though unfavorable but deserved for us, God’s righteousness is displayed in the consequence and requirement as a result of His nature. He is glorified for who he is. With sin rampant in the world, those who are saved glorify him for his mercy and grace towards them and his patience for the unsaved. The unsaved who recognize who he is in due time will praise him for his patience and mercy as well. We become on right terms with God and the creation, and everything above and below, in the celestial realm and super celestial realm rejoices. They rejoice because they know Him and that He should not save us. It has been said that one of the most troubling questions for man is how God could judge us so harshly, but one of the most troubling questions in heaven is how God could save such a wicked man. The answer lies in his grace and mercy, love and justice, the penalty paid by Christ. For all of this heaven will glorify God more and the sinner will be brought to repentance.
The pinnacle of love is Christ and his sacrifice. We are told that there is no greater love that a man would die for his friend (John 15:13). Scripture teaches that Jesus gave up his divine status to come down to his creation, taking the form of a servant, so that he could be obedient and die on a cross for humanity and every knee bow and recognize him as the true king to the glory of the Father (Philippians 2:6-11). Either way this situation ends up, without sin or with sin, the glory of the Father will be recognized. As stated previously that is the end goal. This is not to say God is not concerned with our happiness and because of that He allowed the fall. However, his primary motivation is His glory and what greater glory can He get than for His creation, greatly enticed with sin, to find their ultimate satisfaction and Joy in knowing Him? Without creation there could be no fall, without fall there could be no redemption, and with no fall God does not present his goodness, holiness, justice, and righteousness to His creation. Through these circumstances we come to know something greater than the pre-fallen world, the Father’s will, the Spirits work, and the Son’ who is the Messiah coke to die for us. The Son of God who would demonstrate the greatest love by giving himself up for men who did not deserve it. For the few who will truly know God in the end, this relationship will be infinitely sweeter because of the awareness of what was deserved. This will all be, “…for the glory of the Father” (Philippians 2:11). Lastly, if you like what you see and are interested in supporting the ministry then be sure to check out our store!
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