License

I have written an e-book, Does the Bible Really Say That?, which is free to anyone. To download that book, in several formats, go here.
Creative Commons License
The posts in this blog are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. You can copy and use this material, as long as you aren't making money from it. If you give me credit, thanks. If not, OK.

Tuesday, September 07, 2021

Maker/Creator of heaven and earth

The creeds are often part of congregational worship (See here for a discussion of the creeds). One of the Sunday services we watch on-line recently included recitation of a creed. My wife and I were glad to say the words together, although not together in time and space, with the congregation.

One part struck me: "I believe in God the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth ..." (Some churches say "maker of heaven and earth.")

Was the Father maker of heaven and earth?

The Old Testament does not say much about the Trinity. Judaism was a monotheistic religion. One God. That God, of course, was Creator and Maker. So over half of the Bible does indicate that God the Father was creator. The New Testament doesn't present a clear picture of the Trinity, and perhaps a picture of the Trinity can't be clear enough for our limited minds to grasp. But Christ and the Holy Spirit are certainly persons of importance in the New Testament.

There are passages in the New Testament that indicate that God the Son was the main creative agent in making and creating heaven and earth:

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him. Without him, nothing was made that has been made. (Scripture quotations from the World English Bible, public domain.)

The Word was the Son.

Colossians 1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created in the heavens and on the earth, visible things and invisible things, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things are held together.

Again, the context makes clear that "He" is God the Son, Christ. And Christ was not only Creator, but is Sustainer of creation.

and Hebrews 1:1 God, having in the past spoken to the fathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 has at the end of these days spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds. 3 His Son is the radiance of his glory, the very image of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power, who, when he had by himself purified us of our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high,

Again, God the Son is creator and is sustainer.

I'm not suggesting that the Creeds be re-written. They won't be. But, like other parts of the Creeds, there's more that Christians should know and act upon than can be expressed in a sentence or phrase. God the Son, Christ our Savior, was deeply involved in creating, and is now deeply involved in sustaining that creation.

Thank you for reading.

No comments: