Thanks, Len. I appreciate your comments. I would just challenge the assertion that God is “bound” by his creations. If God creates something as an extension of himself, those things reflect his qualities. Thus, they are not independent of Him. For instance, John 1 informs us that the Logos created all things. Genesis reveals that out of darkness and chaos, God brought order, beauty and purpose. These things are a reflection of the Logos, not simply independent realities. What I mean by that is, when God created something “good” it reflected His character, personality, brilliance and so forth. LIkewise, when he created man, he created him “in his image.” So, while God may not be “bound” by the law of gravity that he created, the laws of the universe reflect order in contrast to chaos. God is a God of order and therefore that order is an extension of himself. He is not “bound” by order, he is, in a sense, order.
I think this is also reflected in the NT when Paul writes,
For God, who said, “let light shine out of darkness,“ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. - 2 Cor. 4:6
In the same way that the Word spoke to the darkness to bring, order, beauty and light in creation in Genesis 1, so Christ, the Word of God, speaks into our lives of darkness and chaos to bring light, order and beauty. Thus, when God redeems us, he is not merely making us new (as he did his creation), but he is injecting his light, goodness and order into our life through the word of Christ. (As a side note, I would also say this is an interesting appeal to Christian baptism. Just as God created the world through the Spirit, the Word and the waters, so the Christian is reborn through Spirit, Word and water). Thus, we as his new creation, are an extension of himself into our lives. So, this creation is not something independent of God that he is outside of and not “bound” by but is a reflection of who he is both in creation and within the life of the redeemed.
Anyway, I just think we shouldn’t look at the created world or the recreated Christian as some work of God that he has done as a painter paints a painting. Rather, these things reflect the presence of the very mind and Spirit of God. To suggest he is bound by these things is inaccurate. He IS these things…and when his presence comes to a dark, chaotic world or a dark chaotic life…the reflect Him and not just one of his acts.