The matter of matter
The first verse of the Bible, Genesis 1:1 opens by declaring,
“In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth”
Everything in this world was created by God, the world itself, and the entire universe, everything! Being created by God it therefore rightly belongs to Him, revealing His creativity, wisdom, power, and majesty.
'You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.’
Rev 4:11
God is the architect, the designer, the artist, and the master builder, who by his word spoke everything into existence. He created the universe from absolutely nothing! “ex nihilo”. None of us have anything to fear in professing belief in the doctrine of “ex nihilo” or from believing in creation. We might not be able to prove it scientifically, but likewise, no one can disprove it. If we asked any of the world’s top physicists “What is matter?” they can't give us a comprehensive answer! Why? simply because they don’t know! That’s one of the reasons why they keep smashing subatomic particles into one another at ever higher velocities and energies deep underground at the large Hadron collider located in Cern, just outside Geneva. Through their observations however, they can provide a general overview of matter, and describe in great detail, protons, electrons, neutrons, photons, muons, quarks, etc, even stating their electrical charge and up-down spin orientation. But none of them can say what matter is actually made from, or tell us what dust, the stuff that we’re made from, actually is made from!
But the reality is that when matter is examined at the "Quantum" level, its fundamental building block, what's discovered is that matter, the very stuff that God made us and the entire universe from, is mostly a whole lot of nothing! It's a sobering thought to realise that our entire reality is made from virtually nothing.
For example, a Hydrogen atom (1 electron and 1 proton) consits of 99.9999999999996% empty space which is a whole lot of nothing! But don’t panic, we know that God knows what He made matter from, and that’s good enough this side of eternity! (PS, space isn't nothing btw, but that's for another day)
On a clear night when we look up to the heavens and marvel at the countless stars within the countless galaxies within our universe, or simply pause for a moment in awe of the beauty that is found in one single flower of the field, we see the work of God written in the entire fabric of His good creation.
Paul writes in Rom 1:20
“For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse”
The 16th-century Belgic confession captured and contained this insight wonderfully
“Nature is a most beautiful book in which all created things, whether great or small, are as letters showing the invisible things of God to us”,
poets couldn’t have described it any better!
(I've included a link to the entire document below.)
On a star-filled clear night sky, the beauty of the flowers of the field, the beauty of a sunrise or sunset, especially when on a walk along the beach; it’s at times like these that we see the real beauty of God’s creation and recognise the work of his hands. In these moments, we are reminded that we too are created beings and part of creation.
The Almighty made all of us in His image, even the very physicists, who just like us search for meaning, understanding, and purpose. Verse 27 of Genesis 1 tells us,
"So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them"
Begin made in the image of God, tells us that our God is a relational God. That He is our Father and the one who gave us the very breath of life itself. When He created us, He created deep within each of us a God-shaped space for Him to reside and be with us throughout our lives.
When we invite him into our lives, that once-empty space gets filled with God’s spirit and we are made complete. His immediate presence fills our bodies as we become living Temples of God. Paul assures us of this in 1 Corinthians 3:16
"Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?"
Have a great day, and God bless,
Trev.