| The Apostles' Creed, Part 4: "...the maker of heaven and earth..." |
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| Written by David Lawrence |
| Monday, November 07 2011 00:00 |
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The first part of the Apostles’ Creed deals with who God is; the second statement deals with what He has done: He has made heaven and earth. In the language of historical creeds make refers to create. To create is to make something out of nothing. As the Bible begins, we have the phrase “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” The word is translated from the Hebrew word Bara which indicates that very idea. Medieval theologians had an expression: nihil ex nihilo fit, which means “nothing comes from nothing.” Logically the idea makes sense. In apologetics we speak of the cosmological argument for the existence of God. The fact that something exists logically demands that there be a cause, for if there was ever a time when nothing existed; then nothing would continue to exist to this day. Atheists have tried to deal with this argument by asserting the eternality of matter. But theists have a problem with that. If matter existed from eternity in an active manner, then there would be no beginning of anything. That would in itself disprove the theory of evolution. They also say that primordial gasses suddenly exploded, and everything evolved from that. But, as Chuck Swindoll asked, “Who struck the original match?” From where did these gasses come, and why, after eons did inert and static material become active? The questions provide real dilemmas for the atheist. Logically, their arguments have serious difficulties. Thus the Apostles’ Creed asserts in the very description of God’s activity that He is the maker of heaven and earth. There have always been atheists, not many in number, but still vocal in their criticism of the idea of God. But the early Christians who composed this creed dealt with their criticisms and the doubts of people throughout time by pointing out the logical fact that we do have heavens and earth, and they didn’t just happen without a sufficient cause, and that sufficient cause can only be defined as God. God is thus the maker of heavens and earth, the Creator of all things. Such an assertion is critical for the understanding and belief of every Christian, so important that these early Christians wanted to make it a part of a creed that would be affirmed in every worship service! |
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