Review: So far we have seen that God is the necessary, eternal, immaterial, immutable, and unique source of all contingent existence. There is more to learn from creation!
The “First Cause”
God is the Creator of all.
Since contingent things depend on something to come into existence, the necessary being is the source of creation.
He is the “First Cause” in time.
Peeking ahead – Genesis 1:1; Hebrews 11:3
God is the Sustainer of all.
Since contingent things depend on something to remain in existence, the necessary being is the sustainer of creation.
He is the “First Cause” in rank.
Peeking ahead – Acts 17:28; Hebrews 1:3
This means that what we call “laws of nature” are simply descriptions of God’s sustaining work (as in Psalm 104:10-15).
Just Like vs Sort of Like
God is very different from anything in our immediate experience as contingent beings in a contingent world. So God isn’t “just like” anything we directly observe (Isaiah 40:18, 25).
But God has revealed himself in ways that help us see what he is “sort of like.”
