The Catechism of the New Apostolic Church

3.3.1 God, the Creator

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1: 1). This statement from the first verse of Holy Scripture expresses a basic truth which we profess in the First Article of Faith. It is God who has created the heavenly worlds and the universe, and who, in so doing, has given the earth its place in the universe. It is here that God became Man.

Everything that exists has emanated from God's creative activity. On the one hand, He has wrought this creation from nothing (creatio ex nihilo) and without any template, that is to say, in a completely independent way: "God ... calls those things which do not exist as though they did" (Romans 4: 17; cf. Hebrews 11: 3). On the other hand, He has also fashioned things and living beings from the matter He created (Genesis 2: 7-8, 19). All created things are subject to Him.

The creation and its order bear witness to God's wisdom, the magnitude of which no human being can fathom. With admiration the psalmist exclaims: "O Lord, how manifold are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all. The earth is full of Your possessions" (Psalm 104: 24).

The New Testament reveals that God has created everything through His Son. This follows primarily from the beginning of the gospel according to John: "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 nothing was made that was made. ... And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1: 1-3; cf. Colossians 1: 16; Hebrews 1: 2; see 3.4.2). Like the Father and the Son, the Holy Spirit is also Creator. This is suggested by the words: "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness ..." (Genesis 1: 26).

Through His word, the triune God has created the material world. He sustains its existence and governs it. Thus the creation not only harbours the mystery of the origin and the beginning, but also of the continuation and the future. Everything demonstrates the Creator's constant care: "For Thou lovest all the things that are, and abhorrest nothing which Thou hast made: for never wouldest Thou have made any thing, if Thou hadst hated it. And how could any thing have endured, if it had not been Thy will? Or been preserved, if not called by Thee? But Thou sparest all: for they are Thine, O Lord, Thou lover of souls. For Thine incorruptible Spirit is in all things" (Wisdom of Solomon 11: 24-12: 1).

SUMMARY

God reveals Himself in unique and unsurpassed fashion in the incarnation of God, the Son. (3.3)

When the term "Father" is used in connection with God, it is linked to aspects of His creation, His authority, and His loving care. (3.3)

Through His word, God has created all that exists. On the one hand, God has created from nothing and without template. On the other hand, He has also fashioned things and living beings out of the material He has created. All creation is subject to Him. He sustains the creation and guides it. (3.3.1)