Close your eyes for a second and imagine a vast, dark expanse stretching out before you. It’s as empty as a blank canvas, just begging for the touch of the Master Artist. Suddenly, out of fucking nowhere, in a crazy explosion of divine energy, God speaks, and BAM! Everything bursts into life. Stars twinkle, planets spin, mighty oceans roar, and towering mountains rise from the deep damp void. It’s a spectacle like no other!

Welcome to the wild world of Ex Nihilo—a life-altering concept that’s anything but dull! It’s a truth that punches you right in the gut! It’s a theological concept that insists that God isn’t some distant spectator, watching everything from the sidelines. No, He’s a hands-on Creator, rolling up His sleeves and fashioning everything from scratch. And if He can create something out of nothing, just think about the possibilities for your own life!

“No matter how stuck in a rut you may feel or how directionless your life may seem, remember that the same God who breathed the stars into existence can breathe new life into your sorry ass.”

The same God who made the mountains can move them on your behalf. And the same God who spoke the oceans into being can calm the tempests in your life.

The classic doctrine of Ex Nihilo (Latin for “out of nothing”) is a timely reminder that God transcends the limits of our world. He exists outside of time and space, and yet He actually gives a damn about every single detail of your life. So when you find yourself wandering around in darkness or feeling hopeless as hell, take heart. God is the ultimate Creator, and He can transform the chaos of your life into an awe inspiring masterpiece!

See, good doctrine isn’t some dusty old textbook filled with irrelevant ideas from bygone eras. No way, Jose! It’s the key that unlocks the full measure of God’s love and power in your life. And I know you’re probably like “Doctrine? Boooring! Why the hell would you waste your time writing a booklet on a doctrine? Who cares? Who do you think your audience is? Are you delusional?!” Well, maybe. But the more people I sit down and talk with about this stuff, the more I realize that everyday ordinary folks actually do give a damn about it. And I bet you do to, possibly more than you know. 

That’s part of my point in writing this. So I might as well come out and say it up front. Our world desperately needs to recover the wonder and mystery of some of the ideas put forth by some of the greatest thinkers throughout time, who wrestled with the text of Scripture and sought ways to apply it to their world! As Historians have insisted for years, we can’t know where we are going if we don’t know where we’ve come from. Or as Winston Churchill famously said, “Those who don’t know their history are doomed to repeat it.” Good doctrine not only speaks powerfully into our lives shaping our world and adding color and texture to the otherwise bland existence around us, but it also helps answer some of the deepest most profound shared questions of the human struggle. 

These next few posts only scratch the surface. It’s a brief group of musings about one such doctrine, that if you will allow it to, might just light your ass on fire. In a good way!

So, are you ready to dive in with me? If so, take a deep breath and let’s explore the doctrine of Ex Nihilo. Together, let’s discover the beauty, purpose, and sheer wonder that emerges from the chaotic void… and along the way we might just discover a type of reverence that only irreverent folks like us can acquire, if we choose to open our hearts, let go of our biases, and get out of our own goddamn ways. Let’s go…