The call to commune with God

From the standpoint of Jesus Christ, then, how can we conceive the man who has been created by God? All that we have been saying hitherto may be summarized in the following statements: In Jesus Christ we know ourselves to be creatures of God, who, in contrast to His other creatures, have been created not only through the Word, but for the Word and in the Word of God. We have been created as “body-soul” persons, whose personal being is based upon their responsibility, and whose responsibility is derived from the call of God. This call of God, however, is to be understood in the light of Jesus Christ, not as a purely categorical imperative or a moral law, but as the call of God to communion with Him the Creator, and through Him to communion with men. The true human quality which is due to this call of God is existence-in-love and is received in faith. The creation of God, true human existence, is an act of God, which can only be completed in the answering act of man. Man has been so created that he must answer, whether he will or no, either by responding to or reacting against the divine will of the Creator.—Emil Brunner, The Christian Doctrine of Creation and Redemption, 73