The Apostles Creed | Maker of Heaven and Earth
Maker of Heaven and Earth
As the Apostles’ Creed begins, one of the primary statements that leads off the creed comes in proclaiming God as the maker of Heaven and Earth. This belief mirrors the proclamation of Genesis 1 where God speaks into existence the heavens and the earth. Each day brings about another aspect of creation all spoken into existence. From reading through the first chapter of Genesis, you get a sense of the magnificence of God’s ability to produce such a masterpiece of all creation from the pronouncement of his imaginative and creative desires. Thus, while Genesis begins with the creation of the world by a magnificent and holy God, the Apostles’ Creed does likewise. In proclaiming that we believe in a God who created heaven and earth, we proclaim a God who reigns sovereign over all creation. Furthermore, as we proclaim this belief, we must do more than give it lip service, but allow the sovereignty of God to reign fully in every aspect of our lives.
The Sovereignty of God Over All Creation
For all the arguments regarding the purpose and statements of Genesis 1, the crux comes from asking who did the creating and what did they create. Furthermore, we do not need to look to far to find the answers for these questions. “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1 ESV) The God that the Creed proclaims is not just any other God, but the God of the Bible who stands over all creation. He alone reigns over every aspect of all creation with no other being capable of doing anything comparable to the creation of the world. As much as we might try, we cannot speak life into existence as God did. Yet, we must view the days of creation in Genesis one as direct depictions of the authority of God as well as the intention design of His handiwork. For God to create each aspect of creation places it under the care and rule of our Heavenly Father.
With God as the source of creation, it would naturally flow out of that doctrine that God is the source of all true life. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” ( John 1:1-5 ESV) Life cannot be found apart from God and nothing is able to stand against the creator. With God’s creation of all thing, God is the supreme power that will not be defeated by any opposition. John makes the case abundantly clear; life exists because of the grace of God to care for His people. Nothing apart from God will find or sustain life and everything revolves around the glory of God in creation.
Submitting to The Maker of All Things
The sovereignty of God is not just a theological concept but a framing of our position in the story of creation. When God is sovereign over all creation, we take our place as stewards of God’s Kingdom according to His ways. At the start of creation, God placed mankind in paradise with the honor and privilege of serving God and living in His presence by caring for all of creation. Thus, for us to confess in our belief in a sovereign God is no mere lip service but an ordering our lives under the sovereignty of the God who created all things. As it pertains to creation, we have been given the gift of creation as representatives of Jesus Christ. While we may disagree with the manner in which in which this is accomplished, Christians should not relinquish the responsibility of being a steward of the world around us. Our care for the gift of creation should mirror God’s concern for creation. When we view the world as first and foremost under the rule and reign of Jesus Christ, the way we care for the earth will change.
Even bigger than caring for the physical resources of the earth, our lives should also be ordered appropriately as God intended. God, being the creator of heaven and earth, designed all creation, including humanity to function in a specific way. There is profound intentionality in God’s design of all creation and we will only find the abundance of blessing when we live according to the word and will of God. If we are to profess a sovereign God, we must be wiling to submit to God’s sovereignty. We allow God to define who we are, how we interact with the world, our relationships, and our understanding of right and wrong as He is the one who ordered all creation for His purposes. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9 ESV) God’s understanding of the world far exceeds our own and as we declare that God is the maker of heaven and earth, we assert His sovereignty to rule and reign over every aspect as the one who ordered everything according to His purposes.
