Exploring the two glorious books of God’s revelation to mankind

Since the early church, theologians and philosophers alike have talked about two, extraordinary divine books.

But it may not be what you think. These two books are not the Old and New Testaments. I’m not referring to an additional holy writing apart from the Bible – not even the Westminster Confession of faith… So, what in the world am I talking about?

Perhaps it would be best to turn to our Puritan ancestors – and in particular the pastor, philosopher and theologian par excellence, Jonathan Edwards. Fond of walking among the natural beauty and bucolic scenes of colonial New England and contemplating the glories of God, even as a boy, its no wonder that Edwards embraced this centuries-old maxim of the two books of God’s revelation to mankind – two ornate and intricate windows into the utter glory, majesty and wonder of God: The Book of Creation, and the Book of God’s Holy Word.

Book 1: Creation

Chronologically, the first of these two books is the world around us. It’s first pages were written on the fabric of our universe as the Lord called all matter into being (Genesis 1), and ever since, the volume grows ever larger, day by day, as Christ continues to sovereignly inscribe and sustain every unfolding page of history by the power of His Word (Hebrews 1:3, Colossians 1:15-17). All of it is a testament to God’s glory (Psalm 19:1), from the amazing artistry and complexity of your unique fingerprint to the massive GN-z11 galaxy and it’s billions of stars, that despite it’s size, is so far away – over 32 billion light-years-distant – that even the mighty Hubble Space Telescope and all its resolving power can just barely make out a hazy red dot.

So, what does this book have to tell us? For starters, we experience the Book of Creation subjectively. We see the beauty around us, we experience the gifts of God’s common grace, and it shapes how we understand the world around us. But it is subjective – in the sense that we do not all come to the same conclusion. Some may look out into the world, only to conclude that there is no God, while others see a creation worthy of our devotion and worship.

“The heavens are telling of the glory of God;
And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.”

Psalm 19:1, NASB 1995

But there is an objective aspect to creation as well. The true message of creation is one we all instinctively perceive. Romans 1:18-23 teaches that creation declares enough about who God is, what He’s like, and with sufficient clarity that no one can rightly claim ignorance before God’s throne. But what exactly does it reveal about God? The passage tells us, “since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen.” Creation teaches us that God is omnipotent and omnipresent. It teaches us, through common grace, that He is longsuffering and gracious. The created world also shows all too clearly the reality and cost of sin. But creation, in and of itself, cannot teach us what we need to know most – the redemptive and glorious purpose for which God created all things.

For that, we need another book…

Book 2: The Word

If the Book of Creation is like a hazy, 200 year old pane of glass through which we can see glimpses of truth, the second book, God’s Holy Word, is like a powerful telescope that displays for us, in vivid and beautiful detail, the manifold glories of God and the unfolding details of His redemptive story.

“All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”

2 Timothy 3:16-17, NASB 1995

The Bible is a gift of supreme value, an offering handed down to us through the blood of countless martyrs. Yet like the beat of our heart or the breath in our lungs, its easy to take for granted what we have in abundance. Most of our households have more Bibles than people. But that wasn’t always the case. Maverick reformers like John Wycliffe and William Tyndale saw such value in bringing the English Bible to the masses that they gave their life’s effort (and in the case of Tyndale, his very life) to this cause. Everyday citizens paid a tremendous price as well. In 1519, a group of seven Lollard parents were burned at the stake in Canterbury for daring to teach their children the Lord’s prayer in their native English tongue. For compassion’s sake, one of them, a widowed mother, was granted a reprieve and sent home with strict instructions to cease teaching her children the Bible in the English tongue. But she could not in good conscience withhold the blessed Word from her children, preferring to leave her children as orphans over keeping God’s Holy Word from them, so she too was executed at the stake. Would the Lord, by His merciful grace, give us hearts that treasure His precious Word with even a fraction of the zeal and devotion of these examples.

But what makes the Bible so precious and special – worth even dying for? Unlike any other writing in all of history, it is uniquely and inerrantly a record of God’s perfect communication to us. It’s 66 books are full of prose and poems, wisdom and warning, example and exultation. Though written over the course of at least 1,500 years, by forty different authors, on three seperate continents, it offers one unified message of the redemptive history and purposes of God, to create, call, redeem and adopt a people for His unending glory and their unmatched joy.

So how should we respond to such a gift? Like a letter from a beloved spouse, the Word is to be a source of great joy, satisfaction and encouragement. It should be to us like the sweet taste of honey on our lips. In Psalm 19:7-11, David overflows with praise for God’s Word and its amazing benefits. He teaches us that the Word restores the soul, makes one wise, rejoices the heart, enlightens the eyes. He goes on to proclaim the Word is true, clean and righteous. The Word is more desirable than fine gold, sweeter than honey dripping from the honeycomb, and by the Word we are warned. From the Word we can glean great reward.

Why focus on The Two Books?

In creating this blog, why focus on these two realities? At it’s heart, I am drawn to the parallel between our creative acts of writing and photography, and these two books. At their best, all of our writings and artistry are mirrors that point to these two grand books – a footnote on the page of creation that points back to the whole – like a flickering and faint flame that points to the radiant, overflowing glory of the sun.

From a personal perspective, as I look at the passions and gifts the Lord has given me, I find myself in a place where exulting both in God’s Word and the glories of His Creation seems like a natural outflow of what He has done in my life. Between my love and passion for rightly exegeting and exulting in the God’s Word, and my vocation as a professional photographer with a penchant for landscape photography, a place like this seems like a natural outflow of God’s work in my life.

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light”

1 Peter 2:9, NASB 1995

Second, I suspect that there are others like myself – armchair theologians and Christian photographers – who would enjoy having a venue to rejoice in God through their writings and artistry. If the Lord should choose to prosper this blog, I would love to see it grow into a community with this shared passion and mission. Perhaps this may even become a space for people with a broader set of gifts – where poets and painters, songwriters and sculptors, and so many others, could join in this mission to use their talents to declare the excellencies of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light!