Creator of Heaven and Earth

Creator of Heaven and Earth

Scriptures
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." (Gen. 1:1).

"All things came into being through Him, and without Him not one thing came into being." (Jn.1:3).

"Let them praise the name of the Lord, for He commanded and they were created." (Ps. 148:5).

“For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him.” (Col.1:16).

The Shepherd of Hermas, Mand. 1, 1 (C. 140 -155 AD):
"Believe first of all that God is one, that He created all things and set them in order, and brought out of non-existence into existence everything that is, and that He contains all things while He Himself is uncontained."

Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies 4, 20, 1 (C. 180 AD):
"God had no need of others to make what He had already determined of Himself to make, as if He had not His own hands. For with Him always are the Word and the Wisdom, the Son and the Spirit, through whom and in whom He had made all things freely and spontaneously; and to whom He spoke, saying: ‘Let us make man in our image and likeness’."

Theophilus of Antioch, To Autolycus 2, 4 (C. 181 AD):
"And what great thing were it, if God made the world out of existing Matter? Even a human artist, when he obtains material from someone, makes of it whatever he pleases. But the power of God is made evident in this, that he makes out of what does not exist whatever He pleases; and the giving of life and movement belongs to none other, but to God alone."

Origen, Fundamental Doctrines 2, 9, 6 (Inter 220-230 AD):
"...God, the Creator of all things, is good and just and almighty. He, when in the beginning He created those things which He wished to create, that is, rational beings, had no other cause for creating them except on account of Himself, that is, His own goodness."

Back to Home page, or go to Next Phrase of Apostles' Creed.

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Other Scriptures taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®, unless otherwise noted.

Author's Note: Also see Who is God? and The Bodily Form of God the Father. You may also access my complete blog directory at Writing for the Master.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

Creator of Heaven and Earth: Angels

...Creator of heaven...

Scriptures
“Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?” (Heb. 1:14).

"A thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood attending him" (Dan. 7:10).

"His ministers that do his will" (Ps. 103:21).

“Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders.” (Rev. 5:11)

Ignatius of Antioch, Epistle of Ignatius to the Trullians (c. 35-107)
"...Might I not write you things more full of mystery? But I fear to do so, lest I should inflict injury on you who are but babes (in Christ). Pardon me in this respect, lest, as not being able to receive their weighty import, ye should be strangled by them. For even I, though I am bound (for Christ), and am able to understand heavenly things, the angelic orders, and the different sorts of angels and hosts, the distinctions between powers and dominions, and the diversities between the thrones and authorities, the mightiness of Aeons, and the pre-eminence of the Cherubim and Seraphim, the sublimity of the spirit, the Kingdom of the Lord, and above all, the incomparable majesty of the Almighty God–though I am acquainted with these things, yet am I not therefore by any means perfect..."

Clement of Rome, Epistle to the Corinthians XXXIV (c. 96 AD.)
"Let us think of the whole host of angels, how they stand by and serve his will, for Scriptures say: "Ten thousand times ten thousand were doing service to him, and they cried out: Holy, holy, holy, Lord Sabaoth; the whole of creation is full of His glory." Then let us gather together in awareness of our concord, as with one mouth we shout earnestly to him that we may become sharers in his great and glorious promises."

Clement of Alexandria, The Stromata of Miscellanies (c. 150-215 AD)
"...angels, whether seen or not, the divine power bestows good things. Such was the mode adopted in the advent of the Lord. And sometimes also the power 'breathes' in men’s thoughts and reasonings, and 'puts in' their hearts 'strength' and a keener perception, and furnishes 'prowess' and 'boldness of alacrity'..."

"...these primitive and first created virtues are unchangeable in substance, and along with subordinate angels and archangels whose names they share, effect divine operations. thus Moses names the virtue of the angel Michael, by an angel near to himself and of the lowest grade.... Moses heard him and spoke to him face to face. On the other prophets through the agency of angels an impression was made as of beings hearing and seeing."

"On this account also they alone heard, and they alone saw....If the voice had been open and common, it would have been heard by all....It was heard by him alone, in whom the impression made by the angels worked."

"...by an ancient and divine order the angels are distributed among the nations...[and] the best thing on earth is the most pious man; and the best thing in heaven, the nearer in place and purer, is an angel, the partaker of the eternal blessed life. But the nature of the Son...is the most perfect..."

Origen (c. 185-254 AD)
...it is neither from want of discrimination, nor from any accidental cause, either that the “principalities” hold their dominion, or the other orders of spirits have obtained their respective offices; but that they have received the steps of their rank on account of their merits, although it is not our privilege to know or inquire what those acts of theirs were, by which they earned a place in any particular order.

Tertullian, Apology 22, 4 (197 AD):
"The business (of the fallen angels, who are the demons), is to corrupt mankind. Thus, from the very first, spiritual wickedness augured man’s destruction. Therefore do they inflict diseases and other grievous misfortunes upon our bodies; and upon the soul they do violence to achieve sudden and extraordinary excesses. Their marvelous subtlety and elusiveness give them access to both parts of man’s substance...Therefore are they everywhere in a moment. The whole world is but one place to them. What and where anything happens they can know and tell with equal facility."

Origen, Fundamental Doctrines 1, Preface, 6 (Inter 220-230 AD):
"In regard to the Devil and his angels and opposing powers, the ecclesiastical teaching maintains that these beings do indeed exist; but what they are or how they exist is not explained with sufficient clarity. This opinion, however, is held by most: that the Devil was an angel; and having apostatized, he persuaded as many angels as possible to fall away with himself; and these, even to the present time, are called his angels."

Back to Home page, or go to Next Phrase of Apostles' Creed.

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Other Scriptures taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®, unless otherwise noted.

Author's Note: Also see Who is God? and The Bodily Form of God the Father. You may also access my complete blog directory at Writing for the Master.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

Creator of Heaven and Earth: Man

...Creator...of earth...

Scriptures
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." (Gen 1:1)

"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him" (Gen. 1: 27).

God then "breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being" (Gen. 2:7). Man was also given dominion over all the other creatures upon earth.

Tatian the Syrian, Address to the Greeks 15 (C. 165-175 AD):
"...it is necessary for us now to seek what once we had, but have lost: indeed, to unite the soul with the Holy Spirit, and to strive after union with God...The perfect God is without flesh; but man is flesh...Such is the form of man’s constitution: and if it be like a temple, God desires to dwell in it through the Spirit, His Representative; but if it be not such a habitation, then man excels the beasts only in that he has articulate speech, and in other respects his manner of life is like theirs and he is not a likeness of God."

Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies 5, 3, 2 (C. 180 AD):
"God, taking soil from the earth, made man. And surely it is much more difficult and more incredible that from non-existent bones and nerves and veins and the rest of the human system, he makes him to exist, and in fact raises him up as an animated and rational living being..."

Tertullian, The Soul 22, 2 (Inter 208-212 AD):
"We define the soul as born of the breath of God, immortal, corporal (sic), having form, simple in substance, acquiring knowledge by its own operation, showing itself in various ways, free to choose, subject to misfortunes, changeable according to natural inclinations, rational, the mistress, she who divines, descended from a single source."

Cyprian of Carthage, The Advantage of Patience 19 (256 AD):
"The Devil bore impatiently the fact that man was made in the image of God; and that is why he was the first to perish and the first to bring others to perdition. Adam, contrary to the heavenly command, was impatient in regard to the deadly food, and fell into death; nor did he preserve, under the guardianship of patience, the grace he received from God."

Back to Home page, or go to Next Phrase of Apostles' Creed.

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Other Scriptures taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®, unless otherwise noted.

Author's Note: Also see Who is God? and The Bodily Form of God the Father. You may also access my complete blog directory at Writing for the Master.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

Jesus Christ, His Only Son, Our Lord

...And in Jesus Christ, His Only Son, Our Lord.

Scriptures
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life" (Jn.3:16).

"For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all" (1 Tim. 2:5).

"God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Phil. 2:9-11).

"Thou art my Son, today I have begotten thee" (Heb. 1:5).

"He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation" (Col. 1:15).

Clement of Rome, Letter to the Corinthians 36, 1 (C. 96-98 AD):
"This is the way, beloved, in which we found our salvation, Jesus Christ, the High Priest of our offerings, the defender and helper of our weakness. Through Him we fix our gaze on the heights of heaven; through Him we see the reflection of the faultless and lofty countenance of God; through him the eyes of our heart were opened; through him our foolish and darkened understanding shoots up to the light; through him the Master willed that we should taste of deathless knowledge; who, being the brightness of His majesty, is as much greater than the angels as the more glorious name which He has inherited."

Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Ephesians Address (C. 110 AD):
"Ignatius, also called Theophorus, to the Church at Ephesus in Asia...united and chosen through true suffering by the will of the Father in Jesus Christ our God...There is one Physician, who is both flesh and spirit, born and not born, who is God in man, true life in death, born both of Mary and from God, first able to suffer and then unable to suffer, Jesus Christ our Lord...For our God, Jesus Christ, was conceived by Mary in accord with God’s plan: of the seed of David, it is true, but also of the Holy Spirit..."

Justin Martyr, First Apology 13 (Inter 148-155 AD):
"Our teacher of these things, born for this end, is Jesus Christ, who was crucified under Pontius Pilate, the procurator in Judea in the time of Tiberius Caesar. We will prove that we worship Him reasonably; for we have learned that He is the Son of the True God Himself, that He holds a second place, and the spirit of Prophecy a third. For this they accuse us of madness, saying that we attribute to a crucified man a place second to the unchangeable and eternal God, the Creator of all things; but they are ignorant of the mystery which lies therein."

Tertullian, Apology 21, 6 (197 AD):
"So also, that which proceeds from God is God and Son of God, and both are one. Likewise, as He is Spirit from Spirit, and God from God, He is made a second by count and in numerical sequence, but not in actual condition; for He comes forth from the source but does not separate therefrom."

Athanasius, On the Incarnation of the Word of God Against the Arians 21 (C. 365 AD):
"And when (Christ) says, ‘Father, if it be possible, let this chalice pass from Me; yet, not My will be done, but Yours;’ and ‘the spirit is ready, but the flesh is weak,’ He gives evidence therein of two wills, the one human, which is of the flesh, and the one divine, which is of God. That which is human, because of the weakness of the flesh, shrinks from suffering. That, however, which is divine, is ready."

Back to Home page, or go to Next Phrase of Apostles' Creed.

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Other Scriptures taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®, unless otherwise noted.

Author's Note: Also see Is Jesus God?, Supremacy of Christ, The Eternal Firstborn of All Creation, and The Bodily Form of the Lord Jesus Christ. You may also access my complete blog directory at Writing for the Master.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.