The Foundation for Lordship

By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. (Hebrews 11:3)

The foundation of the doctrine of the Lordship of Christ is his role as Creator of the universe. He is not an intruder into another person’s territory. He simply claims his own. He has bought us twice — once by his act of creation and again by his act of redemption.

This short little verse is amazingly well-crafted — with several nuances that the English translation does not pick up.

By faith we understand — The biblical principle is plain, that we must believe to understand. The story of Christ and the biblical account are not unreasonable — his resurrection, for example, as amazing as it was, was well attested by eye witnesses. But ultimately we take the step of faith and believe in Him because of his call in our lives. And then faith enables us to understand. We do not understand in order to believe, but we believe in order to understand.

That the universe was created by the word of God — Last night I sat in a Bible study with some seriously well-educated people — one working on his second master degree in Physics, another with two engineering degrees, another studying architecture, etc. All were multi-lingual and together we formed an international world coalition of sorts — only South American was omitted — North America, East Asia, South Asia, Africa, Europe were all represented.

We asked the question about the logic of Creationism, and these brilliant minds all came back to the point that in their minds some One who stands outside the system of creation must have created the universe. Since the universe is decaying (Law of Entropy), and everything is moving from organized to less organized, and since this is always the case, then some one who is not affected by the physical decay must have created it by an act of will.

This is exactly what this verse says. And it is interesting that it used the word aiona in Greek and not kosmos — “universe” and not “world.” This is a metaphysical idea that includes not only the matter of the universe but the physical laws that govern it. A fundamental flaw in Marxism-Leninism is the belief in the eternal existence of the physical universe — “dialectical materialism” is the idea that the conflict of society is between material forces, and not spiritual forces. But science tells us that this philosophy is fundamentally flawed. The spirit is eternal, not the physical universe.

Created — This little word is worth our attention. It means to have been “knit together,” to have been created in such a way that the various elements depend on one another, support one another, interact with one another. It includes the idea of ecology and the interconnectedness of life. God did all of this with intention, forethought, planning, and purpose.

Not made out of things visible — Consider “visible” to mean “measurable.” God who is Spirit and unaffected by the system that he created is the Power and the Personality who made the universe. He placed within the make-up of the world human life to tend for the planet. When human life lost its moral direction we vacated the role that God made for us to hold. Derek Kidner described it this way: “Leaderless, the choir of creation drones on in discord.”

But we can be put on the right track as individuals by repentance and faith in Christ. We can be restored and redeemed to the original purpose God had given to us to tend to this world, and to prepare people for the next world. Speaking of this very point, the Spirit inspired Paul to write:

For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. (Romans 8:19–25)

The frustration and futility that the creation has been subject to is due to our human sin, and our failure to fulfill our role. But God is also a Redeemer and he is redeeming us through Christ. So all of creation waits until the Creator can be properly enthroned in the lives of an obedient and faithful people. This is our hope, that one day this universe’s purpose to bring glory to God will be fulfilled.

And this is our purpose as well, to bring glory and honor to God through Christ. So His Lordship rests upon the truth of his role as Creator and upon his work as Redeemer. By surrendering to his authority and living underneath his Lordship we have become reunited with our original purpose as God’s creation.

A testimony of faith: Dr. Boris P. Dotsenko, received his first academic degree in physics and mathematics at University of Luou, Ukraine, 1949. M. Sc at Univ. of Leningrad and doctorate at Moscow State Univ. 1954. After working three years in the Academy of Sciences of the USSR on intercontinental and space rocket research, Dotsenko moved to the Institute of Physics in Kiev, where he was eventually appointed Head of the Nuclear Laboratory. In 1966, while traveling on official business he sought political asylum in Canada. He has taught at Waterloo Lutheran University and University of Toronto.

He became a believer in Christ and one of the key influential elements of his conversion was his understanding of the second law of thermodynamics, the law of entropy. Which in his understanding meant that if there were no God who stood outside the material system and had authority over it the universe would have disintegrated into a chaotic cloud of dust long ago. In faith he embraced Christ but it was also his science that influenced him to seek logical answers to the questions of our origins. He found these in Christ.