The Ontological Argument from Creation

On Wednesdays we “walk in the Word” through study & application of Biblical doctrine. Rightly understanding Biblical doctrine fuels doxology, delight in Jesus, & gospel centered discipleship. Today we conclude a short series on knowing God through General revelation, focusing specifically on ontological reasoning for an eternal God.  Previous posts in this series include:
General Revelation & Eternity
Cosmological Reasoning for an Eternal God
Teleological Reasoning for an Eternal God
Axiology and the Existence of an Eternal God

Creation exhibits both an external and internal witness to the eternal. Externally, creation speaks, declares, and pours forth language that witnesses to God’s eternal nature and power. The cosmological and teleological arguments for God’s existence appeal to causation and design, and the axiological argument embraces the value of creation through a Giver. There is also a distinctively ontological line of reasoning rooted in human consciousness, an internal witness pointing us toward the eternal God. Following the unsettledness of the human conscience will lead us to an eternal Creator.
 
             The Conscience Whispers what Creation Shouts
An ontological argument arises from “the conscience of all people” who are created in God’s image and universally aware in “some sense of a supreme being, above whom nothing higher can be conceived.” Herman Bavinck reasons that the existence of such a sense cannot be dismissed as mere illusion without undermining the reliability of human conscience itself (see Wonderful Works of God, Chapter 3). Humanity’s longing for a transcendent moral authority and accountability points to more than sociobiological conditioning; it reflects the reality that the law of God is written on the hearts of humanity (Romans 2:14–15).
 
The human appetite for justice, moral accountability, impartiality, or fairness marking every heart is a longing that directs us to consider that there is, in fact, a supreme standard. Eternity echoes within humanity because we bear the image of an eternal God and we are created to be in relationship with Him (Ecclesiastes 3:11). God alone is just, and His love impartial. It is an unavoidable reality that the very structure of our conscience and our desires testify to the One in whom “we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28).
This line of logic follows C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity:
 
“My argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. What was I comparing this universe with when I called it unjust? If the whole show was bad and senseless from A to Z, so to speak, why did I, who was supposed to be part of the show, find myself in such violent reaction against it? A man feels wet when he falls into water, because man is not a water animal: a fish would not feel wet. Of course, I could have given up my idea of justice by saying it was nothing but a private idea of my own. But if I did that, then my argument against God collapsed too—for the argument depended on saying that the world was really unjust, not simply that it did not happen to please my fancies.

                    The Witness of Conscience
​The ontological argument is confirmed in the moral and spiritual consciousness of humanity. Paul writes that even the Gentiles, those who do not have the Mosaic law, “show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness” (Romans 2:15).
This universal moral awareness is irreducible. Attempts to reduce conscience to evolutionary convenience or sociological construction fail to explain why humans persistently yearn for transcendence, justice, impartiality, fairness, and eternity. If conscience is nothing more than adaptive conditioning, why should we trust it? To dismiss the reality of the sensus divinitatis, the innate sense of God that Bavinck describes, is to undermine the very faculties by which we trust logic, science, and morality.
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Conscience whispers what creation shouts: there is more. We are not self-contained, temporal accidents. We are creatures made in the image of God, bearing a longing that can only be satisfied in God. As Augustine prayed, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” (Confessions, 1.1)
 
                        The Eternity of God Revealed in Jesus
The ontological sense of God’s existence must not be severed from special revelation. Left to itself, the human conscience suppresses the truth in unrighteousness (Romans 1:18). Yet even that suppression testifies to the reality of the God we deny. The appetite for eternity can only be satisfied in relationship with our eternal God.
 
In the fullness of time, the eternal God has revealed Himself in Jesus Christ (Galatians 4:4). The One who is “the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature” (Hebrews 1:3) entered creation to satisfy justice and justify those whose faith is in Him (Romans 3:21-26). Jesus is the eternal Word made flesh, through whom all things were created (John 1:1–3). To know Jesus is to have eternal life (John 17:3).
 
                                                    Conclusion
The ontological argument from creation is not a mere philosophical curiosity. It is the embodied reality of every human heart: eternity echoes within us because we are made in the image of the eternal God. Our conscience, our desire for justice, our longing for more… are not imagination. They are real yearnings, signposts pointing us to Him “who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light” (1 Timothy 6:16).

Creation and conscience together, searching to connect with the God who is from everlasting to everlasting. Our desire for justice will never be satisfied until our faith rests solely in Jesus. 

Richly Dwelling
-Where do you see human conscience seeking what only God can give, that is moral authority, accountability, justice, impartiality, fairness, ect…?
-Why is it significant that the eternal God entered creation to satisfy these hungers of every human heart?
-Who do you know who needs to move from unsettled conscience to covenant relationship with their Creator through Jesus Christ? Take a moment to pray for them and ask Jesus for a moment to speak with them about the content of this post. Maybe share it with them and ask for their thoughts!