This first monograph on Luther's doctrine of the creatio ex nihilo demonstrates the comprehensive character of his interpretation of the phrase, emphasises its present-day significance and inquires into its theological and philosophical backgrounds. If the notion of creation from nothing runs counter to all logic and experience, the author works from Luther's great lecture on Genesis to show that for Luther the phrase names neither the "Whence" of creation nor the scientific "How" of its genesis. Rather, it answers the question of the relationship between creator and creature - in creation, maintenance and recreation. Thus the formulation creatio ex nihilo is no peripheral determination of divine action, but the basic matrix of the Creator's dealings with humans and the world.