The Words of the Lord

The Works of the Lord

Over the door of the Cavendish Laboratory for physics on the campus of the University of Cambridge is the inscription “The works of the Lord are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein.” It is a bit strange for a public university building built in the 1970s to have the words of Psalm 111:2 over its doors. But as a Christian educator, it would feel wrong NOT to have it. 

This approach to the world – that it is a place filled with the works of the Lord that we can seek to understand – is the underpinning mindset of Christian education. We strive to better understand God by studying the world He created. 

The endeavor to know God is one that pleases God, and one that He aids by making Himself known through His works, His Word, and His Son. 


Through His Works:

Scripture is clear that we can know about God through the world he created.

Psalm 19:1-2
“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.”

Colorado’s purple mountain majesty cries out to us every morning that God is there and that He is great!

This is referred to as general revelation – that we can know in general that a god exists through nature. Nature can communicate that. But nature cannot tell us anything specific about God. That is why the Psalmist seamlessly transitions from extolling God’s glory in creation to praising God for His Word.

Through His Word:

Psalm 19:7-9
“The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether.”

God’s revelation through His Word is a special revelation – it tells us specific and “special” things about God that we could not know otherwise. His word is a gift through which he makes himself known, but the pinnacle of God’s special revelation is Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Through His Son:

Hebrews 1:1-3a
“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days, he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.”

In the second person of the trinity, God has fully revealed Himself.

What can we conclude about a God who has gone to such great lengths to reveal Himself?

He wants to be known!

Therefore, as a Christian school, we study His works when we unpack the intricacies of cells in biology; we study His word not just in Bible classes, but in all classes to make it a lamp for our feet; and we glorify the Son as we partner with families to make young men and women more like Him.

 

Written by:

Wade Williams, Resurrection Christian Middle School Principal