joeyday
Puritan Board Freshman
Is the creator-creature distinction an essential doctrine? If someone claimed to be a Christian but denied the creator-creature distinction, would you consider them a Christian or not?
This may seem like a really dumb question, but it’s got me seriously bugged right now. We have clear statements in Scripture that one must believe that God exists, one must believe that God is one, one must believe that Jesus is God and that he is the Son of God, and one must believe Jesus came in the flesh (and maybe there are a few more I’m forgetting just now). If one doesn’t believe these things, according to crystal clear statements of Scripture, one cannot be saved.
I’ve heard people say that you don’t have to know what the Trinity is to be saved, but you have to at least not deny essential things about the Trinity (the oneness of God and the deity of Jesus, for instance). Is the creator-creature distinction the same way? Can a saved Christian have no idea what the creator-creature distinction is but they have to at least not deny essential things about it?
It seems to me the creator-creature distinction is an unstated but foundational background assumption of Scripture, but where can we find it most explicitly stated in Scripture and not merely implied? Is there any place that says one must believe it or, if we think one must believe it, do we come to that conclusion by “good and necessary inference”? If the latter, try and help me connect those dots.
Lastly, are there any good book-length treatments of the creator-creature distinction or really any other resources that focus specifically on the creator-creature distinction? I’d really like to do a deep dive on this.
Thanks so much in advance for any direction and wisdom you can provide on any or all of the above.
This may seem like a really dumb question, but it’s got me seriously bugged right now. We have clear statements in Scripture that one must believe that God exists, one must believe that God is one, one must believe that Jesus is God and that he is the Son of God, and one must believe Jesus came in the flesh (and maybe there are a few more I’m forgetting just now). If one doesn’t believe these things, according to crystal clear statements of Scripture, one cannot be saved.
I’ve heard people say that you don’t have to know what the Trinity is to be saved, but you have to at least not deny essential things about the Trinity (the oneness of God and the deity of Jesus, for instance). Is the creator-creature distinction the same way? Can a saved Christian have no idea what the creator-creature distinction is but they have to at least not deny essential things about it?
It seems to me the creator-creature distinction is an unstated but foundational background assumption of Scripture, but where can we find it most explicitly stated in Scripture and not merely implied? Is there any place that says one must believe it or, if we think one must believe it, do we come to that conclusion by “good and necessary inference”? If the latter, try and help me connect those dots.
Lastly, are there any good book-length treatments of the creator-creature distinction or really any other resources that focus specifically on the creator-creature distinction? I’d really like to do a deep dive on this.
Thanks so much in advance for any direction and wisdom you can provide on any or all of the above.