Viewing the World Aright

“For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse” (Romans 1:20).

For Bible class, I (Israel) have been working through James Jordan’s book Through New Eyes, and something caught my eye. Jordan briefly touches on the subject of how the world reveals God and his attributes. It is absolutely amazing how many comparisons there are between creatures on our little blue marble and God and his personality. He has revealed himself through our world in so many ways.

To make this point, Jordan draws from the mastery of the Dutch neo-Calvinist Herman Bavinck’s work in Reformed Dogmatics, vol. II, where Bavink gives this list of analogous comparisons between nature and God and what these teach us about God and his personality:

“He is compared to the lion (Isa 31:4), an eagle (Deut 32:11), a lamb (Isa 53:7), a hen (Matt 23:37), the sun (Ps 84:11), the morning star (Rev 22:16), the light (Ps 27:1), the lamp (Rev 21:23), a fire (Heb 12:29), a spring or fountain (Ps 36:9; Jer 2:13), food, bread, drink, water, anointment (Isa 55:1; Jn 4:10; 6:35, 55), a rock (Deut 32:4), a refuge (Ps 119:114), a tower (Prov 18:10), a stronghold (Ps 9:9), a shadow (Ps 91:1; 121:5), a shield (Ps 84:11), a road (Jn 14:6), a temple (Rev 21:22), and so on” (p. 101).

Jordan captures this by saying, “...God chose to reveal the infinity of his personality in the diversity of this world...” The Lord created this universe in such a way that man could see his creator in the creation around him. Everything in the universe reflects God’s character, but we are special symbols, made in God’s very own image (Gen. 1:26). How well are you reflecting God’s character?

“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” (Ps. 19:1-2).


Israel