By Nate Atwood
TE, Presbytery of the Central Carolinas
Perhaps you’re old enough to remember Francis Schaeffer. Without doubt he was a tour de force of biblical insight, and I still hear him quoted with appreciation. Recently, I watched the sermon Schaeffer delivered at the first EPC General Assembly in 1981 and was struck by his statement, “The primary message of the Old Testament prophets was the doctrine of Creation.”
Isn’t the doctrine of Creation at the heart of our conversation about Greg Johnson and ordaining “same-sex attracted” (SSA) pastors in the EPC? After all, what’s more basic to Creation than sexuality and sexual attraction? Is it time to remember that Scripture tells us that “in the beginning” we were created “male and female” and designed for the covenant relationship of marriage between one man and one woman? (Genesis 1:16, 27).
Those who support ordaining SSA pastors point to the importance of reaching the gay community for Christ and the foundational doctrine of grace. I get it. All of us struggle with temptation, so how is it fair to exclude those who are homosexually tempted yet celibate?
Still, shouldn’t a fully biblical debate include not only evangelism and redemption, but the Creation standard of “boy meets girl”?
Returning to Francis Schaeffer, I admit that I wasn’t originally convinced that Creation was the central message of the prophets. As I listened to his sermon, I immediately thought, “What about the doctrines of God’s covenant faithfulness or His holiness? Aren’t those still more central to the prophets than Creation?” My curiosity piqued, I spent a few days perusing the prophets to test Dr. Schaeffer’s claim. Gradually, I began to see his point. While I’m not prepared to say that Creation is the primary theme of the prophets, it is at least essential to their preaching. For example, when God appealed to wayward Israel through the prophet Isaiah, He reminded them:
“Lift up your eyes on high and see, who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name, by the greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power not one of them is missing.” (Isaiah 40:25-26).
Similarly, Amos, Hosea, Micah, Nahum Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Joel, Jeremiah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi all meaningfully include Creation themes. Turning to the wisdom books, Job finds its climax in the final few chapters which poetically retell the story of Creation. The psalms do the same:
“Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said … ‘Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding.’” (Job 38:1,4).
“The heavens declare the glory of God and the skies proclaim the work of His hands.” (Psalm 19:1).
Why this constant appeal to God as Creator, and how might that inform our current debate about sexuality and ordination in the EPC? The sad reality of ancient Israel included descent into the sexual sins of adultery, ritual prostitution, and homosexuality as legitimated by the various Canaanite religions. At the foundation of this pagan belief system was a view of the natural world created by amoral gods for whom sexual perversion was normative. The prophetic call back to Creation was God’s reminder that God had established and ordained an order for humankind in Genesis 1 and 2.
Switching to the New Testament, we find more of the same. John 1 echoes Genesis 1, reminding us that God is the Creator and revealing that Jesus is God’s logos: “All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made” (John 1:3). We find references to Jesus as Creator as well as Logos in 1 Corinthians 8:6; Ephesians 3:9; and Colossians 1:16-17. Hebrews 1 advances the thought still more, explicitly connecting the doctrines of redemption and creation in Jesus Christ:
“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.” (Hebrews 1:1-4).
What conclusion is there other than the Doctrine of Redemption and the Doctrine of Creation exist side-by-side in the Person of Jesus? Said differently, the New Testament makes it clear that Redemption and Creation are a package deal bound together in Christ Himself.
The Cultural Debate
Recently, speaking at a pro-life rally in Charlotte I pointed out that the abortion battle was not only a moral battle but also that it centered on the doctrine of creation. Did God create the child inside the womb or not? If so, the implications are obvious and far-reaching. Similarly, so many of our most intense cultural battles center on Creation. Gay marriage and transgenderism are really Creation debates. Did God create us, and if so, did He make us male and female? In fact, the whole of the LGBTQ+ constellation of ideas is nothing other than an alternative and godless view of the natural world.
Into this broken time we should preach the grace of Christ and the power of the Cross. However, if we are to preach the whole counsel of God how can we neglect Creation, particularly at this moment in time? In fact, some theologians have noted that Creation has become the “theological stepchild” of the Church at the very moment we most need to champion this most basic truth.1
When Israel descended into sexual confusion and compromise the prophets fearlessly and faithfully returned to the first words of the Bible, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). When the Pharisees attempted to justify divorce and the dissolution of marriage, Jesus countered by saying, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female,” and said, “Therefore a man will leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife.” (Matthew 19:4,5). When the early church first penned her most basic statement of faith, let’s remember how it began: “I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.”
Maybe it’s time to follow the lead of our spiritual forefathers and respond to sexual confusion, perversion, and brokenness in our time by running to the doctrine of Creation rather than running away from it.
Toward a Complete Doctrine of Ordination
Although the doctrine of Creation is central to the whole of the Bible, it has been conspicuously absent in the EPC conversation about Greg Johnson, ordination, and SSA. In fact, I believe that a fully biblical view of ordination immerses us in the Doctrine of Creation rather than ignoring it. Let me explain.
I made the case in the Open Letter to the EPC that Old Testament ordination required priests to be married. In other words, heterosexuality was simply assumed. While scholars generally agree that the Old Testament standard of marriage was defined as it was to prevent divorce among those ordained, let’s not forget that God had established and ordained an order for mankind in Creation itself (Genesis 1-2).
The same pattern exists in the New Testament. When establishing the requirement for ordination of elders, Paul states that elders must be “the husband of one wife” (1 Timothy 3:2). The general consensus among scholars is that Paul uses the language of “one wife” to establish a “no divorce” standard among elders, thus mirroring the “no divorce” standard among priests. Still, let’s not miss the creation context. “No divorce” means marriage, marriage means husband and wife, husband and wife means Creation, Creation means heterosexuality.
Taken as a whole, it’s clear that you can (and should) draw a straight line from the New Testament ordination standards back through Old Testament ordination standards and ultimately to Creation itself. The common and connecting thread is heterosexuality. Rather than ignoring Creation and the heterosexuality it views as both binding and normative, ordination is built upon it.
Ordained Ministry is Iconic
In my 42 years of ministry, I have figured something out — ordained life is iconic. Whether we are comfortable with it or not, the demanding language of obedient children, well managed households, and lifelong marriage tells us we are examples and models to others within the church. I learned this early as Helen and I looked to our pastor, Percy Burns, and his wife, Sara Jo. They lived out man and woman, husband and wife, parent and child with grace, consistency, and clarity. Almost inexorably, though wordlessly, they imprinted the most basic life messages of Christ and His Church (Ephesians 5) and man and woman (Genesis 1-2) upon an entire generation of younger couples at St. Giles. Far beyond what Percy or Sara Jo did, it was who they were that mattered most.
Yes, the family standards in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 are high. They are meant to be. God’s people have a right to expect a faithful and unconfused pattern in the lives of those who lead them. Is it wise, especially in these sexually disoriented times, to place before our people anything less than whole marriages in which the marriage bed is kept in purity, both in act and attraction, or single individuals whose most basic identity and attractions are consistent with the whole counsel of Scripture — including Creation? If we turn our back on this, what other clear Scriptural requirements will we conveniently minimize in the face of an ungodly culture?
I have no animus against someone who is gay or same-sex attracted. Over my decades in the pastorate, I have keenly felt the responsibility to pray with and encourage any who are seeking Christ and yet caught in the broken world of LGBTQ+. How can any pastor do less? Ordination, however, is not church membership. The clear biblical standard to serve as an elder, whether ruling or teaching, is unflinchingly heterosexual and thus grounded in Creation as well as grace and the call to evangelize our lost culture.
As Francis Schaeffer pointed out to the EPC in our first General Assembly, we forget the Creation mandate of the prophets to our own peril — especially in times such as ours. From sexual dysphoria, God calls us back again to His design and blueprint in Creation, to which the Bible offers no alternatives.
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1 See Dr. Rolf Rendtorff and Dr. Walter Brueggeman as quoted in “Creation in the Old Testament Prophetic Literature.” Perspective Digest, Volume 16, Issue 3. July 1, 2011.
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