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GOD'S CALL

Major themes in the Scriptures

The wisdom of God (6)

Wisdom in creation

Reference: GDC-S19-006-Mw-R00-P2

(Originally spoken on 5 April 2015, edited on 10 April 2015)

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The Lord willing, today we will consider the subject, "The wisdom of God" the sixth message, in seeking to appreciate major themes in the Scriptures.

A short summary of today's message:

God is perfectly good and infinitely wise, but we often do not appreciate His wisdom because we often are not humble in spite of the ignorance and little knowledge that we have, and our preferences are not based on good moral meaning. This is seen in His wisdom expressed in His creation of this universe.

We will seek the Lord to appreciate more of what this means.

The Scriptures were given by God to help us understand the world we live in; to understand who He is, what He has done, what He intends for us, what we can benefit from; and also the consequences if we go astray.

The Scriptures begin with Genesis 1: 1 and it says,

Genesis 1: 1

• In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

So we are told that God is the Creator of the heavens and the earth; He is the Creator of this whole universe.

There is this aspect of non-living things that God has created and the wisdom of God in terms of His intelligence, His greatness, is manifested in the way He created the universe. Many scientists have spent many, many years studying the intricacies, the beauty, of God's creation. From the vast expanse of the galaxies to the intricate details seen in the electron microscope, God has created all these and so the Psalmist said, "The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands."

So God's wisdom is manifested in the way He created the non-living universe.

Then we see that in Genesis 1, the description goes on to tell us how God created the living things. He created the trees, the vegetation, and subsequently He created the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky and the animals on the land. Here again we see the great variety and beauty of God's creation: God's wisdom in His intelligence manifested in this way.

But our concentration in seeking to appreciate the wisdom of God is not centred on God's intelligence; we are more interested in God's wisdom in the moral and spiritual realm.

Why did God create the universe? How did He create the universe? What was the purpose? Is there something really meaningful that manifests His character as we look at the world He has created?

When God created the living things such as the plants, basically while they are living, they do not communicate, they generally do not move about except in a very limited way. But animals are living things that can move about, they can speak, they can communicate in their own ways. But still, if we think about it, their choices are very much limited. What kind of choices do they have? Do they have choices?

When we observe them, it must be reasonably obvious that the animals do have choices: their movements are not fixed. When a monkey sees a rubbish bin, he does not always behave in the same way. He has many different choices how he would go about to search for things in the rubbish bin. There are different factors that may affect his choice but those choices are in the non-moral realm and all these choices are within the power of God to regulate and to control.

If we were to put ourselves in the position of someone who is the Creator, who is almighty, what would we want to create?

It would be quite easy for us to think along these lines: I want to create something beautiful, something I can enjoy, something that manifests my glory, something I can be pleased with and something which I can always be in full control of. If I were to lose control of what I create, then I am no longer the almighty Creator.

So, our way of thinking would be that God, being God, He must have full control of everything He has created.

But then when we look at the Scriptures, we realize that God took a different path. God did not create all things such that He has full control over everything.

What does this mean?

It may seem rather strange to us. How is that possible? If He does not have full control, does it not mean He is not sovereign, He is not almighty?

Well, God in His wisdom has created moral beings such that He does not have full control over all our actions and choices, but He has ultimate control. It is important to distinguish between the two.

God does not have full control over whatever you may decide or choose - you are free to choose - but God has ultimate control: He can punish you, He can destroy you, He can remove you from the scene, He can work against you. He has ultimate control but He does not have full control over everything you choose to do.

We contrast that with the non-moral beings. God spoke to Elijah the prophet and on behalf of God, Elijah declared to King Ahab of Israel: He said, "There shall be neither dew nor rain these years except by My word." After that, God told Elijah to go and hide himself by the brook Cherith, and He said, "...you will drink of the brook and I have commanded the ravens to provide for you there."

God said, "...I have commanded the ravens to provide for you there."

Here, we see God had full control of the ravens. Whatever He wanted the ravens to do, they must do. The ravens could not rebel against God's instructions. God may give them freedom to fly north or south, east or west but when God commands them, they have to obey. Does it mean that God can speak their language? Certainly, He created them, He can talk to them; or He may do it directly through their brain processes.

As human beings, we have created computer systems and robots that can obey us according to the software that you implant in them and they would do what you have placed in them for them to do. And that is why a computer can play a game of chess and beat grandmasters in chess, because the programme is designed by many grandmasters of chess giving their input.

So a computer can make choices: if you move step A in the opening sequence, the computer may not always reply with step B; it may reply with step B, C, D, E, F, G; there are choices. But still, all these are within the framework of what it has been designed, and that is why human beings who are clever enough may be able to find a way to beat the computer.

Anyway, what I want to concentrate upon now is to appreciate the difference between non-moral and moral beings. The raven is a non-moral being, so God has full control and it will obey Him. And so we see that when Elijah went to the brook Cherith, the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he would drink from the brook. The ravens might not understand what they were doing; they might not know that Elijah was a prophet of God, that he had a function, but they were told to do that.

However God decided that the most meaningful thing would not be just to create things that He had full control of and so He created moral beings. This is a very major aspect that we need to appreciate in the wisdom of God. The issues involved are very great and very, very important.

Genesis 1: 26-27

26. Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."
27. God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

God created man in His ... image. Why? And what did it mean?

Two major aspects that we can appreciate are: First, God has authority and power. When God created man in His image, likely this was an aspect that He bestowed on man: to have authority and power.

But the more important aspect is the second aspect: When God created man in His own image, He created man with the potential to become like God in His moral perfection.

And in order to do that, man must be able to exercise moral choice, independent moral choice.

God exercises His moral choice in His perfection; man would be called upon to exercise his moral choice without beginning in moral perfection. Man would be neutral and he would have a choice, which way he would go.

So Genesis 1: 28-31 tells us:

Genesis 1: 28-31

28. God blessed them; and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth."
29. Then God said, "Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you;
30. and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to every thing that moves on the earth which has life, I have given every green plant for food"; and it was so.
31. God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

So having created Adam and Eve, God gave them authority to rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth. That was an aspect of the image of God: His authority, His sovereignty, His power. So God gave to man authority over His creation.

While we may marvel at the greatness of the non-living things that God has created, it is good for us to be conscious that these non-living things were created for a purpose. It was not just so that we can say they are so beautiful - that is part of it and we can properly appreciate how beautiful it is - but beyond that, it is a context in which God wanted to place the living things.

So, the non-moral living things like animals would feed on the living things like plants and these exist in the context of the non-living things.

Then when God created Adam and Eve, He placed them with authority over all living things, as well as power in the context of the non-living things.

God created with a very meaningful purpose, and what was that?

We know that God told Adam, "From every tree of the garden you may freely eat, but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat for in the day you eat of it, you will surely die." So this tells us that God gave to Adam a choice, a moral choice: whether to listen to God and obey Him or to reject God's instruction and go his own way and God would not stop him because he was a moral being.

If God were to stop Adam from making a choice contrary to God's will then Adam could not be a moral being. A moral being must have the freedom to choose: whether the path of righteousness or the path of unrighteousness is his choice.

So, we know that Adam and Eve both chose to go their own way, but God gave them the choice because of His sovereignty; He decided on that.

And while He did not have full control over their choices, God had ultimate control: God would punish them; God would deal with them and their descendants according to His sovereign wisdom and power.

And so we live in a world which is different from the Garden of Eden. That is an aspect of the sovereignty of God manifested. And we live in a world where the vast majority of people reject God's ways; they want to go their own way. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God, but even for those who have repented, who have chosen to come back to God, it is still a common experience that we still often go our own way.

To live a life of righteousness is very difficult; to choose to obey God always is very, very difficult. God knows that and it is for that reason He placed us in this world: so that it would be a very difficult time for us. That is God's wisdom in His sovereignty.

So let us look at Romans 1: 20-23.

Romans 1: 20-23

20. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.
21. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
22. Professing to be wise, they became fools,
23. and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.

So man knows who God is; God has revealed Himself to man both in his conscience as well as in the creation around. But man chooses to go his own way and God will not stop us from going our own way like sheep going astray.

He allows us to make that choice but God will deal with us in accordance with His righteousness.

When we look at the whole universe that God has created, it is so very, very vast and we look at man: he is such a tiny little speck in this universe.

But when we read the Scriptures, when we understand what is in the heart of God, we realize that importance is not equal to size. Man may be very small but the importance of man to God is very, very great. The whole universe works in the context of God's plan for man. What will happen to this universe, to the heavens and the earth, are related to the conduct of man and the way that God will deal with mankind.

The apostle Peter put it this way in 2 Peter 3: 7-13.

2 Peter 3: 7-13

7. But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
8. But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.
9. The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.
10. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.
11. Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,
12. looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat!
13. But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.

Notice that the apostle Peter tells us the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire - in what context? He says: "...kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men." So what will happen to the heavens and the earth are related to the conduct of man. "Ungodly men" will be associated with the day of judgment and destruction that will be applied to the present heavens and earth. He tells us the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. God created all these things - so beautiful, so marvellous - but He will destroy them all in the context of man's rebellion.

"...according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells" - So man with all his ability, authority, wisdom, power, knowledge and the power of moral choice decided to go his own way and to a very large extent has destroyed many of the good things that God has created.

While there are those who appreciate God, worship Him, and enjoy the wonders of God's creation, much of the earth has been destroyed by men who are evil, self-centred, greedy, dishonest, as a result of which we live in a very difficult world.

But God will destroy this and He will bring about new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. The key word here is "righteousness". That is what God is looking for. He will create new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness will dwell.

Then, as we ponder over God's creation of man and we see that man is at the centre, at the heart, at the apex, of God's creation, we may then wonder: what about Satan, the evil spirits, the angels?

Who are they? What is their place? When God created them, what was His intention?

Genesis 3: 1

• Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Indeed, has God said, 'You shall not eat from any tree of the garden'?"

Satan was speaking through the serpent and in this context we can see clearly he was seeking to tempt Eve into disobeying God. And he has been doing that ever since the creation of man. So from what we can understand, Satan already existed before the creation of man. Does that mean therefore he was more important; angels were more important than man?

To understand this, we need to appreciate more God's purpose, how He works out His purpose.

Revelation 12: 7-9

7. And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war,
8. and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven.
9. And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

So we see here there are two groups of angels: one group led here by Michael and these were angels who were obedient to God; the other group was Satan and his angels who rebelled against God and sought to oppose what God was doing. And the dragon here is also called the serpent of old; he is also called the devil and Satan. So we are told that angels and evil spirits, the bad angels, were also present in the spiritual realm and in the Last Days, there would be war in heaven and Satan and his angels will be cast down to the earth.

When men living on earth in their limited bodies, in their weakness, when they encounter angels, they are very impressed: the power that they can exert, the things that they can do; people can be very impressed.

Revelation 22: 8-9

8. I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed me these things.
9. But he *said to me, "Do not do that. I am a fellow servant of yours and of your brethren the prophets and of those who heed the words of this book. Worship God."

Notice that this is the apostle John. When the angel brought him to see and to hear the things in heaven, he was so impressed that he fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed him these things. And so too through the ages, men have encountered angels and they stand in awe of them.

The angels can appear in many different forms, sometimes very big and sometimes in bright shining light and performing things that human beings cannot do. So, we may therefore think that angels are more powerful, more able, more precious to God.

What then is the function of angels? Why did God create them?

If we see in the Scriptures that man is at the heart of God's purpose in His creation then what is the role of the angels? What did God want of them?

I do not intend to go into a detailed study of this subject now, but I want to bring across some aspects for us to be conscious of, to see things in perspective.

Hebrews 2: 14-16

14. Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,
15. and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.
16. For assuredly He does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the descendant of Abraham.

The Lord Jesus, the Logos, God Himself, came into this world as a Man. He died on the cross. What was the purpose? To save man; to save mankind; and He suffered so very greatly for that purpose.

It was not to save the angels who sinned.

The angels who sinned did not have the opportunity of forgiveness through the cross; that is meant for human beings, the descendant of Abraham: those who believe in God, those who trust Him, those who walk in His way, who are prepared to repent and to follow God, they will receive benefit but the angels who rebelled against God would not be able to benefit.

1 Corinthians 6: 1-3

1. Does any one of you, when he has a case against his neighbor, dare to go to law before the unrighteous and not before the saints?
2. Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? If the world is judged by you, are you not competent to constitute the smallest law courts?
3. Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more matters of this life?

The apostle Paul was trying to help the believers to understand that what God has in store for us as His children is something very significant. We may be impressed by kings and judges and rulers of this world but the apostle Paul says, "...do you not know that the saints will judge the world?" And more than that, he says, "Do you not know that we will judge angels?"

But does that mean that all men will judge all angels? Of course not! Here, it has to do with moral quality. Moral quality is the real issue that God is interested in, not power in the physical realm or even what we see in the spiritual realm.

Angels may have great power to do many things but it is the moral quality of being that God is looking for. The poor widow with the two copper coins is very, very precious to God because of the moral response of her heart. She may appear like a "nobody" but in the spiritual realm, in the moral realm, in the future, we may see her in a great position of power and authority.

Hebrews 1: 13-14

13. But to which of the angels has He ever said, "SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES A FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET"?
14. Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?

Here is an explanation of one of the major roles of the angels. God created them to be ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation. They have an important function and they are there to help those who will respond to God, who desire to walk in God's ways.

There will be temptations; the evil spirits will seek to draw men away from God and we may at times feel very discouraged, find life very difficult. Sometimes the appearance of an angel can be very encouraging in such a situation; they are sent to minster, to help in ways that can be an encouragement to us.

When the Lord Jesus was in the garden of Gethsemane and He was in great anguish, an angel came to assist Him. That is in the physical realm but in the moral and spiritual realm, the Lord Jesus had to go through it in the depth of His heart, in His self-giving to God and to the world - that, He had to shoulder: It was His moral choice, it was His character, it was His spirit, His being, but the angel helped Him, sustained Him in the physical realm.

Luke 1: 18-20

18. Zacharias said to the angel, "How will I know this for certain? For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years."
19. The angel answered and said to him, "I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.
20. "And behold, you shall be silent and unable to speak until the day when these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time."

We see that Gabriel the angel spoke with great authority. Why did he speak with such authority? It was because he was sent by God; God gave him the authority to speak in that way. He said, "I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you..."

So Gabriel spoke on behalf of God. He was a messenger; he came to bring good news, but Zacharias did not believe what he said to him. So he said, "... you shall be silent and unable to speak until the day when these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time."

So as it stands, you will see that Gabriel had the power to inflict this upon Zacharias, that he would be dumb, he would not be able to speak.

It could be that God told him, "If he does not believe, you do that to him", but it might not have been. God might have given him a range of things for him to do and Gabriel understood sufficiently of what God wanted to accomplish and Gabriel had power. So, he could exercise power in that context and he made him dumb because he did not believe the message that came from God.

But notice this is in the physical realm. He caused him to be dumb but he could not make him choose good or evil. In fact, because he was dumb, it gave Zacharias the opportunity to think about his life, to consider and therefore to appreciate more what God had told him so that when it came to pass, he was very appreciative of the message that God had brought.

So if we look at this picture, we see God created non-living things, which is very vast, and it shows His great power, knowledge, and His intelligence, but this vast creation is not the primary thing that God is so interested in. Yes, it shows His glory, His power, but this is the context in which He wants to create moral beings.

So to create moral beings, God also created non-moral beings, including the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and the animals on the land, so that we can appreciate the difference between non-moral choices and moral choices.

Animals do not choose whether to be righteous or unrighteous but men have to choose whether they want to be righteous or unrighteous: they cannot say, "I do not want to choose".

If you do not choose to be righteous, to follow God and obey Him, you are not obeying Him, and you will move in the direction of unrighteousness. We have to choose: Which way do we want to go?

Then we have another category of moral beings: the angels.

What is the difference between angels and man?

One aspect that we can see is that angels do not have a body but we have. So what is the significance of that; why is the body so very important that helps us to become so important to God?

One aspect that I can see that we can ponder about is that when God created the angels, they were in heaven together with God and without a body like ours that would limit them. They had freedom; they could do, move about, do many things with great power; and they were living in the presence of God.

So we can say that the angels, when they were created, they were in an environment that was difficult to sin. It was difficult for them to sin because they were living in the presence of God with such holiness, glory, beauty, and there was no one there to tempt them in the direction of sin.

So, it was very difficult for them to sin and yet, Satan sinned. That is why his sin is so very serious. In spite of the fact that the environment was so helpful, conducive to choosing the path of righteousness, he chose the path of evil. He chose to be proud, he chose to exalt himself, and he wanted to be worshiped. And so it is so very serious.

And there were other angels who followed him; they were also attracted to that path as a result of Satan's taking that step. The likelihood is that he influenced them significantly. Satan was very powerful and when he moved in that direction, he likely would have influenced many of the other angels.

That may be the basic reason why there is no forgiveness, why there is no path of salvation for them when they sinned.

They were already in a context that was very difficult to sin; they chose to sin, so there was no forgiveness.

The angels who remained faithful to God, they continue; they are very happy to follow God.

So, we may wonder: is it good to be an angel? Would it be better if they were men, since man has a great place in God's creation?

If you were to ask the angels, I think they will say, "No, I am very happy to be an angel. Look at you all suffering, the dangers that you are going through, the problems that you are facing; I would rather not go through that. I am very happy to stand in the presence of God, worshiping Him. I am happy to assist you: What is your problem? I can come." (And the Scriptures do tell us the children also have angels that are watching over them.) So they may find that it is a very suitable thing for them.

What about us? We were created with a body: first, Adam created with a neutral body - a body that was not inclined towards sin, not inclined towards righteousness, but a body that could function, depending on his choice. But Adam was restricted in this body. It is different from having a spirit without a body. The body restricts the functions of the spirit; we cannot just do as we wish in the spirit. That is one aspect.

The other aspect is that when Adam was created, Satan was present in the Garden of Eden to tempt Eve and then to tempt Adam and Satan was very powerful and very evil.

So we can say in that context, it was very easy to sin. The temptation to sin was very strong, both for Eve as well as for Adam and subsequent to that, for all mankind.

After Adam sinned, God caused a judgment on the whole world: we live in a different environment and the body has changed; we now have a natural body, a body of sin that is inclined towards things that are not good. So we experience the temptation to sin in this body. So it is very difficult not to sin.

So we are living in an environment where it is very difficult not to sin.

God knows that; it is deliberate on God's part. He wants us to live in a context that is very difficult not to sin.

Why?

He wants to bring about the highest quality of moral development. So he places us in this context where it is very easy to sin, very difficult not to sin.

And because of that, God was prepared to take the path of the cross.

All of us have sinned; all of us have gone astray. God is prepared to bring about the cross with such intense suffering for Himself, so that He can provide the way for us to repent, to find forgiveness, and to work at being righteous.

If we look at the history of Israel, the history of the world, if we look at our own lives, we can see that in spite of God's grace, in spite of the cross, in spite of the working of the Holy Spirit, it is still so very easy to sin, it is still so very difficult to be righteous.

But it is possible, and God expects us to work hard because the consequences of being unrighteous are very serious.

So, many people may say, "I do not want to be a human being; I would rather be an angel. I do not have to struggle with all this; I can stand in the presence of God." Well, you can consider for yourself: Is that really what you want?

Are we appreciative of God's wisdom? God has different purposes for different things He has created. The purpose that God has when He created the stars and the galaxies is different from His purpose when He created the birds and the bees and is different from His creation of angels, is different from His creation of man.

So, it is good for us to ponder over the wisdom of God in His creation of man and what this should mean to us. If we do not sufficiently appreciate this, we may waste away our lives pursuing the wrong things, being engulfed by the things of this world and destroy our own lives.

The potential in man is very, very great. Think of it: God Himself became man. God is spirit but He became man. Why? We may say He became man to identify with us but the issue involved is much, much more than just to identify with us.

The Lord willing, we will consider further God's wisdom in His creation of man.

In the meantime, you can ponder over this: Why do you think God created us this way? Why do you think God created the universe in this way? Are you very happy that you are created like that? Are you very happy that God has placed you in this world that is so difficult?

If you can appreciate what God is doing, the way you live your life may change significantly. You may no longer pursue the things that are really valueless and even negative.

You will concentrate on what is in the heart of God, what He wants to accomplish: that has eternal significance. God has placed us here in time and there is physical suffering, there is physical death, but it is to prepare us for the future when we will have an incorruptible body, a spiritual body, in eternity, if we respond well, if we follow the Lord, if we walk with Him, we are obedient to Him.

So if we want to live our lives well and fulfil God's call in our lives, we must learn to appreciate the wisdom of God in His creation of the universe and give our lives absolutely to Him in worship with reverence and gratitude and full obedience, and work together with Him gladly and in faith to fulfil His will.

We have seen that the worship of God is the greatest choice that you can ever make and if you understand that, it will help greatly if you ponder over and appreciate more deeply how He has created the universe and what He intends for us. This will help us to work together with Him and it will deepen our worship of God.

And as we look at God and what He wants to accomplish, the things of the world will grow strangely dim; they may no longer be that important to us. Our hearts will be with God all the time and His values become our values, His ways become our ways.

So then, let us come before the Lord and ask Him to help us to appreciate more His great wisdom in the way He has created this universe. And this wisdom is not just intelligence; this wisdom is a wisdom of moral perfection, a wisdom of love, compassion, of righteousness, holiness, justice.

God created in accordance with His wisdom in His moral perfection, so let us ask Him to help us to live according to what He intends for us.