An Argument for Christ Meriting the Act of Creation of the Universe as through the Cross.

The scriptures inform the reader that Christ redeemed man through the cross (Acts 20:28; 1 Cor 6:19, 20; Gal 3:13; 4:4, 5; Eph 1:7; Col 1:14; 1 Tim 2:5, 6; Tit 2:14; Heb 9:12; 1 Pet 1:18, 19; Rev 5:9) as a meritorious act of sacrifice by Christ (Rom 3:21-26). An effect of the cross is the new creation which brings man into communion with God (Rom 6:4, 2 Cor 5:17, Eph 4:24). Furthermore, the Christ as an anti-type event fulfils the Old Testament (Rom 3:21), which infers the cross and the new creation has its type in the Genesis creation event.

The cross as a meritorious action of Christ must have occurred in some manner prior to the initial creation event for the cross to be a meritorious act connected to the Genesis creation event.

Rev 13:8 - All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast--all whose names have not been written in the Lamb's book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.

As Christ merited the second creation through the cross, and the second creation event fulfils the first creation event, the cross is then a meritorious action of Christ which causes Christ to be the creator of the universe in the Genesis creation event. 

Comment - As God is outside time, Christ's merit can be applied to the initial creation event. The meritorious nature of the cross is consistent with the notion that God's providential plan for human history is centred upon Christ's works. Christ then acts to initially create, then redeem, re-create and glorify based upon the work of the cross.