Chapter 3: The Laws of Creation

Upon the framework of time -- that the plan of ages has been laid out -- operate all the laws of creation within which free will has to work. These laws, created by God, are also 100% enforced by God. I believe these laws can be divided into three groups: physical laws, moral laws, and spiritual laws. These three correlate to the three spheres of our human life: the body in the physical, the soul in the moral, and the spirit in the spiritual. All the laws work together in harmony to create an efficient ecology of physical, moral, and spiritual life. I believe that all the laws of God originate in the spirit: "For we know that the law is spiritual" (Rom. 7:14), and that "the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good" (Rom. 7:12). God's plan gave man the freedom of will to obey or disobey any of these laws. To obey these laws is to produce an abundant life. To disregard the laws is to disrupt the harmony and to create discord with destructive consequences.

The word of the Lord is the law of creation. "For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast" (Psa. 33:9). It is His word that provides shape and form to all creation. "The worlds were framed by the word of God" (Heb. 11:3). The laws of creation provide the form and boundaries to life. Life and freedom come from knowing and understanding these laws so that one may move within their systems. Jesus said, "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly" (John 10:10). And, "If ye continue in my word, ... ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:31 & 32). To cross the boundaries of God's laws is to destroy the frame of life, and bring death. To be formless is to be nonexistent. It is the separation of entities that brings specific existence. Life and freedom, then, only exist within the boundaries of the laws of life.

PHYSICAL LAWS

Physical laws are the laws governing all of the physical creation. The physical laws are obvious to the senses. Gravity, centrifugal force, aerodynamics, and so on, are examples of physical laws. These laws are constant and unchanging. If we willfully violate these laws, then God is under no obligation to free us from the consequences. Satan tempted Jesus to defy gravity by challenging him to jump off the pinnacle of the temple mount. Satan quoted a verse to Jesus to justify the act: "He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at anytime thou dash thy foot against a stone" (Matt. 4:6). But the Lord responded, "It is written again, 'Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God'" (Matt. 4:7). Wisdom obeys the physical laws. If we willfully violate the physical laws, then we should expect dire consequences. God is gracious, however, and at times will help us, particularly when we are not at fault. But it is presumptuous to expect God to be obligated to help. Our attitude should be like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego when they faced the fiery furnace, "Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us.. .But if not" (Dan. 3:17a & 18a), then we will continue to serve and to worship Him.

God created the physical laws and He operates by them. All laws are from His Word, and His Word is final. "Forever, O Yahweh, thy word is settled in heaven" (Psa. 119:89). In fact, His Word is immutable, for He has set it above Himself. "For thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name" (Psa. 138:2). Jesus said, "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away" (Matt. 24:35). God does the miraculous which defies natural physical laws, but by definition a miracle is a rarity. He uses the established laws of life in the usual accomplishments of His purposes. Consider some of these verses. Solomon said, "If the iron is blunt, and he do not whet the edge, then must he put to more strength: but wisdom is profitable to whet" (Ecc. 10:10). In other words, sharpen the ax to make the cutting easier! When Jesus exhorted us to be generous, he said, "Give, and it shall be given unto you: good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom" (Luke 6:38). Money from God comes through people, not magically. Expect God to use natural resources in his dealings with us, and be wise in understanding natural and physical laws by obeying them.

MORAL LAWS

Moral laws, or ethical laws, are laws peculiar to people. Animals have moral laws that govern their social behavior, but have not been given the free moral will to disregard these laws. Animals and people all have free wills, but only people have free moral wills. Animal social behavior is instinctive. Human social behavior is the realm of the soul.

Obedience to the ethical laws result in God's blessing. Disobedience to the moral laws result in God's chastisements and continued consequence of acting out a perverse path. Like physical laws, moral laws work together in a harmonious system of cause and effect when obeyed. An example would be marital fidelity or infidelity. To be faithful in marriage is to bring the blessing of God. "For Yahweh preserves the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth [i.e., punishes] the proud doer" (Psa. 31:23). "The wicked are overthrown, and are not: but the house of the righteous shall stand" (Prov. 12:7). Obedience to faithfulness is wisdom which brings a reward from God. "Through wisdom is a house builded; and by understanding it is established: and by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches" (Prov. 24:3 & 4). To disregard one's marital vows is to bring down the judgment of God. "when thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed" (Ecc. 5:4). "He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind: and the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart" (Prov. 11:29). Consequences will always occur when one violates the moral laws. "But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul" (Prov. 6:32). "The strange woman.. which flattereth with her words:.. her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead" (Prov. 2:16 & 18). "Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death" (Prov. 7:27).

Sin, in the generic sense, means to miss the mark. Therefore, anything done that misses the mark is sin. To ignore the physical laws of life is to sin. But in the traditional sense it means to offend God, specifically in the moral laws of life. Consider this: "And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger? For the ways of man are before the eyes of Yahweh, and he pondereth all his goings. His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be held with the cords of his sins" (Prov. 5:20-22). This passage clearly shows the Lord's watchfulness over moral behavior. It is the specific sin committed that brings continued entanglement, even with repentance of the sin. There is forgiveness from God, but the cause and effect of violating moral laws will continue after wards.

SPIRITUAL LAWS

All three laws - physical, moral, and spiritual - are interconnected and play out upon one another. Just as the trinity of God is integrated as one unit, so, too, are the three laws of creation integrated. God has created integrity throughout all creation. The spiritual laws are the meaning, or design for, the moral and physical laws. An example of a spiritual law would be in sowing and reaping. Even the Aryans who founded Hinduism recognized this law and perverted it into the philosophy of karma (which is strictly a doctrine of reincarnation). The spiritual law of sowing and reaping is manifested in the moral law known as the "golden rule," "To do unto others as you would others unto you" (Matt. 7:12). Sowing and reaping is expressed in the physical law as cause and effect. "For every action, there is an opposite and equal reaction" (Newton's third law of motion).

The spiritual law of sowing and reaping is specific to the seed sown, and has variables that affect the outcome. "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting" (Gal. 6:7 & 8). This spiritual law has a profound effect on our lives since life is in the seed. All it takes is a small exposure to some perversity for that seed - which can lay dormant for extended periods of time - to bud later. This is why corrupt communications (pornography, wicked ideas, and such) are to be avoided. The command of the Bible is to "Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart" (2 Tim. 2:22). The seed of lust reaps a harvest of sin, and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death" (James 1:15). But the seed of good company "yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness" (Heb. 12:11), otherwise it comes by God's chastisement!

Quantity is one variable that affects a seed's outcome. "But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; but he which soweth bountifully shall also reap bountifully" (2 Cor. 9:6). Environment is another variable. Jesus illustrated this in his parable of the sower and the seed (Matt. 13:3-8). Seed on hard ground won't grow, and is easily eaten by birds (v. 4); seed sown in stony ground gets no deep root, and is easily scorched by the sun's heat (v. 5); seed sown by thorns grows but bears no fruit (v. 7); but good soil provides good growth and abundant fruit (v. 8). The seed was the same in all instances.

Therefore, in terms of practical application, the reality of one's motives and intents determine the outcome of the actions. An altruistic act of generous giving seen by others, with the true intent of being praised by men, results in the meager reward of human praise. Jesus said of the hypocrites, "They have their reward" (Matt. 6:2). The first step in being spiritual is to admit the truth of dishonest and perverse intents so that God can remove them. True spirituality is integrity of righteousness. A person who obeys the commands of God with pure intent is able to be sensitive to the leadings of the Holy Spirit, and will reap rewards on Earth and in Heaven.

PROBABILITIES AND CHANCE

The laws of life combine together to create a tapestry of dynamics that includes probabilities and chance. Chance exists, but is confined and limited by the laws of life that it works within, and the ultimate will of God which moves all things to His ultimate end. As the proverb says, "The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of Yahweh" (Prov. 16:33). Since God operates within the confines of His own laws, He, in His omniscient abilities, is able to calculate all the outcomes of all the laws working together. Like the chess master who knows all the possible moves in advance, God accounts for our free will choices and all their possible consequences. He anticipates our needs before we even know we have needs. This is why He said, "And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear" (Isa. 65:24). From our point of view, obeying or violating God's laws will bring specific consequences. And in this context, we will experience things by chance, that are not specifically brought about by God, but are wholly accounted for by Him.

THE RAIN FALLS ON THE JUST AND THE UNJUST

God is no respecter of persons (Rom. 2:11), and the laws of God apply to all people regardless of whether they believe in Jesus Christ or not. As Jesus said, "Your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and the unjust" (Matt. 5:45). Any one who comes to understand any of the laws of life, and obeys them will be the recipient of God's blessing. It is the premise of this historical work, that the nations that have prospered, did so because someone in their leadership understood the laws of life that God established and followed them. The fall of all nations is because the leadership disregarded these laws. There have been wicked rulers that prospered because they still followed enough of God's laws to continue ruling. But if the nation disregards these laws, then it reaps the consequence of its choice, and will collapse from within, or become judged by God and destroyed.

THE BLUEPRINT IS CALLED WISDOM

According to the Bible, before God created anything in creation, He created (or possessed) wisdom. Consider this passage from Proverbs 8:22-31:

Yahweh possessed me [wisdom] in the beginning of His way, before His works of old. I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was. When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water. Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth: while as yet He had not made the earth nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world. When He prepared the heavens, I was there: when He set a compass upon the face of depth: when He established the clouds above: when He strengthened the fountains of the deep: when He gave to the sea His decree, that the waters should not pass His commandment: when He appointed the foundations of the earth: then I was by Him, as one brought up with Him: and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him; rejoicing in the habitable part of His earth; and my delights were with the sons of men.

Wisdom preceded creation. I believe the wisdom that the Scriptures refer to, are the laws of creation placed upon the grid of time: hence, God's blueprint. Since verse 22 says possessed in the beginning, it probably means that wisdom is a part of God. Wisdom being by Him reminds us of John 1:1 which states, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Wisdom, then, is another name for Jesus. But it also says, "I was set up from everlasting" which suggests that from wisdom the design of wisdom, or blueprint for life, came. But God's greatest delight is when men acquire wisdom and walk in it.

The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding. Proverbs 9:10.

Knowing that God is the awesome power that created and enforces the laws of life, one must fear Him. The fear of the Lord for believers is not one of terror, but rather, a respect and reverence towards Him in knowing that disobedience brings chastisement. His corrections can be severe since He is serious about His purposes. But obedience brings a rich satisfaction of living in harmony with life. For the unbeliever, when one realizes that eternal damnation is a reality, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom in accepting the salvation of the Lord. Until that time, the unbeliever's life can be filled with frustration as he blindly opposes the laws of life that God enforces, never understanding why things don't worked the way he wants them to do so.

I wisdom dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge of witty inventions. Counsel is mine and sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have strength. Proverbs 8:12 & 14.

Wisdom, understanding, and knowledge are three related intelligences. The least of these three is knowledge. Knowledge is the surface level of facts that makes up the data that one may know, and compares to the body in physical creation. Understanding is the relational level of facts that connect the facts together beneath the surface of knowledge, and compares to the soul's place in creation. Wisdom is the application level of working within the systems that make up the whole body of facts, and compares to the spirit in creation. When a person sees only the knowledge level without understanding how the relationships work together, then one is susceptible to the deception of pride - for "knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifies" (1 Cor. 8:1) - and there is no right perspective on how to live one's life. When one understands the relationships of the laws of life, then "good understanding gives favor" (Prov. 13:15), but without right application, frustration and guilt are sure to ensue. As Paul said, "charity [love] edifeth" (1 Cor. 8:1). The right application of wisdom is to live according to God's love. For "love worketh no ill will to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law" (Rom. 13:10). Harmony between the physical, spiritual, and moral laws of God's creation all begin with God's love. A wise man walks in love.