Systematic Theology, by Louis Berkhof - New Leaven

III. Creation in General
The discussion of the decrees naturally leads on to the consideration of their
execution, and this begins with the work of creation. This is not only first in order of
time, but is also a logical prius. It is the beginning and basis of all divine revelation, and
consequently also the foundation of all ethical and religious life. The doctrine of
creation is not set forth in Scripture as a philosophical solution of the problem of the
world, but in its ethical and religious significance, as a revelation of the relation of man
to his God. It stresses the fact that God is the origin of all things, and that all things
belong to Him and are subject to Him. The knowledge of it is derived from Scripture
only and is accepted by faith (Heb. 11:3), though Roman Catholics maintain that it can
also be gathered from nature.
A. THE DOCTRINE OF CREATION IN HISTORY
While Greek philosophy sought the explanation of the world in a dualism, which
involves the eternity of matter, or in a process of emanation, which makes the world the
outward manifestation of God, the Christian Church from the very beginning taught the
doctrine of creation ex nihilo and as a free act of God. This doctrine was accepted with
singular unanimity from the start. It is found in Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Tertullian,
Clement of Alexandria, Origen, and others. Theophilus was the first Church Father to
stress the fact that the days of creation were literal days. This seems to have been the
view of Irenaeus and Tertullian as well, and was in all probability the common view in
the Church. Clement and Origen thought of creation as having been accomplished in a
single indivisible moment, and conceived of its description as the work of several days
merely as a literary device to describe the origin of things in the order of their worth or
of their logical connection. The idea of an eternal creation, as taught by Origen, was
commonly rejected. At the same time some of the Church Fathers expressed the idea
that God was always Creator, though the created universe began in time. During the
trinitarian controversy some of them emphasized the fact that, in distinction from the
generation of the Son, which was a necessary act of the Father, the creation of the world
was a free act of the triune God. Augustine dealt with the work of creation more in detail
than others did. He argues that creation was eternally in the will of God, and therefore
brought no change in Him. There was no time before creation, since the world was
brought into being with time rather than in time. The question what God did in the
many ages before creation is based on a misconception of eternity. While the Church in
general still seems to have held that the world was created in six ordinary days,
137