The Creed Part II: God's Divine Plan for Creation

Basic Reading Assignment:

Relevant Paragraphs from the Catechism:

The Creator

279 "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." Holy Scripture begins with these solemn words. The profession of faith takes them up when it confesses that God the Father almighty is "Creator of heaven and earth" (Apostles' Creed), "of all that is, seen and unseen" (Nicene Creed). We shall speak first of the Creator, then of creation and finally of the fall into sin from which Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to raise us up again.

The Mystery of Creation

God creates by wisdom and love

295 We believe that God created the world according to his wisdom. It is not the product of any necessity whatever, nor of blind fate or chance. We believe that it proceeds from God's free will; he wanted to make his creatures share in his being, wisdom and goodness: "For you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created." Therefore the Psalmist exclaims: "O LORD, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all"; and "The LORD is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made."

God creates "out of nothing

296 We believe that God needs no pre-existent thing or any help in order to create, nor is creation any sort of necessary emanation from the divine substance. God creates freely "out of nothing":

If God had drawn the world from pre-existent matter, what would be so extraordinary in that? A human artisan makes from a given material whatever he wants, while God shows his power by starting from nothing to make all he wants. (St. Theophilus of Antioch, Ad Autolycum II, 4: PG 6,1052)

297 Scripture bears witness to faith in creation "out of nothing" as a truth full of promise and hope. Thus the mother of seven sons encourages them for martyrdom:

I do not know how you came into being in my womb. It was not I who gave you life and breath, nor I who set in order the elements within each of you. Therefore the Creator of the world, who shaped the beginning of man and devised the origin of all things, will in his mercy give life and breath back to you again, since you now forget yourselves for the sake of his laws. . . Look at the heaven and the earth and see everything that is in them, and recognize that God did not make them out of things that existed. Thus also mankind comes into being. (2 Macc 7:22-21,28)

298 Since God could create everything out of nothing, he can also, through the Holy Spirit, give spiritual life to sinners by creating a pure heart in them,148 and bodily life to the dead through the Resurrection. God "gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist."149 And since God was able to make light shine in darkness by his Word, he can also give the light of faith to those who do not yet know him.

God creates an ordered and good world

299 Because God creates through wisdom, his creation is ordered: "You have arranged all things by measure and number and weight." The universe, created in and by the eternal Word, the "image of the invisible God", is destined for and addressed to man, himself created in the "image of God" and called to a personal relationship with God. Our human understanding, which shares in the light of the divine intellect, can understand what God tells us by means of his creation, though not without great effort and only in a spirit of humility and respect before the Creator and his work. Because creation comes forth from God's goodness, it shares in that goodness - "And God saw that it was good. . . very good"- for God willed creation as a gift addressed to man, an inheritance destined for and entrusted to him. On many occasions the Church has had to defend the goodness of creation, including that of the physical world.

God transcends creation and is present to it

300 God is infinitely greater than all his works: "You have set your glory above the heavens." Indeed, God's "greatness is unsearchable". But because he is the free and sovereign Creator, the first cause of all that exists, God is present to his creatures' inmost being: "In him we live and move and have our being." In the words of St. Augustine, God is "higher than my highest and more inward than my innermost self".

God upholds and sustains creation

301 With creation, God does not abandon his creatures to themselves. He not only gives them being and existence, but also, and at every moment, upholds and sustains them in being, enables them to act and brings them to their final end. Recognizing this utter dependence with respect to the Creator is a source of wisdom and freedom, of joy and confidence:

For you love all things that exist, and detest none of the things that you have made; for you would not have made anything if you had hated it. How would anything have endured, if you had not willed it? Or how would anything not called forth by you have been preserved? You spare all things, for they are yours, O Lord, you who love the living. (Wis 11:24-26)

Providence and the Scandal of Evil

309 If God the Father almighty, the Creator of the ordered and good world, cares for all his creatures, why does evil exist? To this question, as pressing as it is unavoidable and as painful as it is mysterious, no quick answer will suffice. Only Christian faith as a whole constitutes the answer to this question: the goodness of creation, the drama of sin and the patient love of God who comes to meet man by his covenants, the redemptive Incarnation of his Son, his gift of the Spirit, his gathering of the Church, the power of the sacraments and his call to a blessed life to which free creatures are invited to consent in advance, but from which, by a terrible mystery, they can also turn away in advance. There is not a single aspect of the Christian message that is not in part an answer to the question of evil.

The Angels

328 The existence of the spiritual, non-corporeal beings that Sacred Scripture usually calls "angels" is a truth of faith. The witness of Scripture is as clear as the unanimity of Tradition.

Who are they?

329 St. Augustine says: "'Angel' is the name of their office, not of their nature. If you seek the name of their nature, it is 'spirit'; if you seek the name of their office, it is 'angel': from what they are, 'spirit', from what they do, 'angel.'" With their whole beings the angels are servants and messengers of God. Because they "always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven" they are the "mighty ones who do his word, hearkening to the voice of his word".

330 As purely spiritual creatures angels have intelligence and will: they are personal and immortal creatures, surpassing in perfection all visible creatures, as the splendor of their glory bears witness.

Guardian Angels

336 From its beginning until death, human life is surrounded by their watchful care and intercession. "Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life." Already here on earth the Christian life shares by faith in the blessed company of angels and men united in God.

In the Image of God

356 Of all visible creatures only man is "able to know and love his creator". He is "the only creature on earth that God has willed for its own sake", and he alone is called to share, by knowledge and love, in God's own life. It was for this end that he was created, and this is the fundamental reason for his dignity:

What made you establish man in so great a dignity? Certainly the incalculable love by which you have looked on your creature in yourself! You are taken with love for her; for by love indeed you created her, by love you have given her a being capable of tasting your eternal Good. (St. Catherine of Siena, Dialogue 4,13 "On Divine Providence": LH, Sunday, week 19, OR)

Body and Soul but Truly One

362 The human person, created in the image of God, is a being at once corporeal and spiritual. The biblical account expresses this reality in symbolic language when it affirms that "then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being." Man, whole and entire, is therefore willed by God.

Equality and Difference Willed by God

369 Man and woman have been created, which is to say, willed by God: on the one hand, in perfect equality as human persons; on the other, in their respective beings as man and woman. "Being man" or "being woman" is a reality which is good and willed by God: man and woman possess an inalienable dignity which comes to them immediately from God their Creator. Man and woman are both with one and the same dignity "in the image of God". In their "being-man" and "being-woman", they reflect the Creator's wisdom and goodness.

370 In no way is God in man's image. He is neither man nor woman. God is pure spirit in which there is no place for the difference between the sexes. But the respective "perfections" of man and woman reflect something of the infinite perfection of God: those of a mother and those of a father and husband.

The Reality of Sin

386 Sin is present in human history; any attempt to ignore it or to give this dark reality other names would be futile. To try to understand what sin is, one must first recognize the profound relation of man to God, for only in this relationship is the evil of sin unmasked in its true identity as humanity's rejection of God and opposition to him, even as it continues to weigh heavy on human life and history.

Relevant Scripture Passages

From the Book of Genesis

1: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2: The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters. 3: And God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. 4: And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. 5: God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day. 6: And God said, "Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters." 7: And God made the firmament and separated the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament. And it was so. 8: And God called the firmament Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day. 9: And God said, "Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear." And it was so. 10: God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. 11: And God said, "Let the earth put forth vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, upon the earth." And it was so. 12: The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 13: And there was evening and there was morning, a third day. 14: And God said, "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years, 15: and let them be lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light upon the earth." And it was so. 16: And God made the two great lights, the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night; he made the stars also. 17: And God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light upon the earth, 18: to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19: And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day. 20: And God said, "Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the firmament of the heavens." 21: So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22: And God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth." 23: And there was evening and there was morning, a fifth day. 24: And God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds: cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds." And it was so. 25: And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the cattle according to their kinds, and everything that creeps upon the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 26: Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth." 27: So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28: And God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth." 29: And God said, "Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. 30: And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food." And it was so. 31: And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, a sixth day. (Gen 1:1-31)

From the Gospel of John

1: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2: He was in the beginning with God; 3: all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. 4: In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5: The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 6: There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7: He came for testimony, to bear witness to the light, that all might believe through him. 8: He was not the light, but came to bear witness to the light. 9: The true light that enlightens every man was coming into the world. 10: He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world knew him not. (John 1:1-10)

31: Now is the judgment of this world, now shall the ruler of this world be cast out; 32: and I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself." 33: He said this to show by what death he was to die. (John 12:31-33)

From the Gospel of Matthew

31: Therefore do not be anxious, saying, `What shall we eat?' or `What shall we drink?' or `What shall we wear?' 32: For the Gentiles seek all these things; and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33: But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well. 34: "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day's own trouble be sufficient for the day. (Matthew 6:31-33)

31: "When the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32: Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33: and he will place the sheep at his right hand, but the goats at the left. (Matt 25:31-33)

Advanced Reading Assignment:

Documents from Vatican II

Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, Gaudium et Spes

"Drawn from nothingness by God's power, wisdom and goodness, the created being can do nothing if it is cut off from its origin, for without a creator a creature vanishes. Still less can a reature attain its ultimate end without the help of God's grace." #36

Theological Treatise

Angels by Father William G. Most

Relevant Quotations from Church Fathers and Saints

St. Augustine

"Our hearts are restless (God), until they rest in thee." (Confessions)

"For almighty God..., because he is supremely good, would never allow any evil wahtsoever to exist in his works if he were not so all-powerful and good as to cause good to emerge from evil itself." (Enchidirion)

Optional Questions:

Name five tangible things God created.

Name five intangible things God created.

What is Divine Providence?

What is redemptive suffering?

Random Quotes

"God is dead." -- Nietzsche

"Nietzsche is dead." -- God

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Disclaimer: I do not wish to present myself as an expert in either theology, history, or scriptural interpretation. I am merely someone who is attempting to answer the call of Christ. The ultimate authority and interpreter of scripture is our Holy Catholic Church. If at any point I deviate from the teachings of the Church, please correct me, alfredo@nevarez.net, as this is my shortcoming and in no way meant to be an expression of my views superceding those of the Church founded by Jesus Christ.

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San Jose Bible Study
Alfredo Nevarez
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