The Divine Teaching Of The Christian Faith

Have we not all

one Father?

Has not one God 

created us?

Why do we deal

treacherously

with one another

by profaning the

covenant of

the fathers?

Malachi 2:10

     The Scriptures are very clear and teaching plain so that anyone who would read God's word would come to the same conclusion: God created the world. This is a Divine teaching of the Christian faith. Notice the words of Malachi: "one Father" and "Has not one God created us." From the words of Scripture we can come to no other conclusion but that it is only one Mind behind the universe, it did not originate from itself. This Sovereign God created out of nothing, ex nihilo, and this because from the infinite God by His Providence out of nothing did He create and by this utterly God, He brought into existence all that exist by means of the Word: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1), further teaching is, that is, speaking of the Word who is Jesus Christ is: "All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made" (John 1:3). By the mouth of two or three witnesses every matter shall be settled: "By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible" (Hebrews 11:3). For those who hold another religious view of Jesus Christ, even though they will admit that He created, I would ask how they can sleep at night when their theology teaches that Jesus Christ is only an angel, as do the Jehovah Witnesses, and that as an angel He did the creating, when the Bible conjoins both God and Jesus Christ, in a definite manner, no reason to deny the witness of the Scriptures, both are said to be the creator and by that fact it is false to deny that both are the same, yet both demonstrate their personalities according to God's economy for the salvation of man, and both are said to be the creator. God is the fountainhead, and it is impossible for One who is Good to be mean or unwilling, reluctant about anything. It was God's will that all come into existence and He gave existence out of noting by means of His own Word, our Lord Jesus Christ and He has reserved a special mercy for the race of men. Allow me to use an old Tertullian illustration about the Fountainhead: A fountainhead relates to a spring from which water flows and as it flows it forms a river, or a stream of water, and from both the water from the spring and the river there develops a vapor, a vapor that returns to both the spring and the river, all the same essence, water, and all demonstrate or exercise differently, but all remain the same essence. This analogy may be applied to the Trinity, it is possible that the Godhead is a Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, all the same essence, each has its own personality and demonstrates this personality in their exercises of operation. 
     God bestowed upon man a grace which no other creature had, namely the impress of His own image, a share in the reasonable being of the very Word Himself, so that, reflecting Him and themselves becoming reasonable and expressing the Mind of God even as He does, though in limited degree they might continue forever in the blessed and only true life of the saints in paradise. This is a divine teaching: we are made in the image of God and we can express the Mind of God, even if it be limited, which it is, and it was the Mind of God who created man to live forever and this creation was by Himself, the Word. This is most important to understand, Jesus Christ is God, the Second Person of the Trinity. He is not some created being given the responsibility to create man in such a manner as to have the image of God impressed upon them. In Fact, a good question is: "Why would a Good and Sovereign God limit Himself to give to another the ability to create from nothing, when He has the ability to do so Himself. What purpose would that serve? You might cavil at this and admit that God did so because He foreknew that man would fall and needed a Savior, a special creation that would have the authority to do this work. If one believes that then God would have given to another who themselves could sin, the work that He was able to do for Himself: all that is done then is to state that God in some way limited Himself. A Sovereign and Good God would not do this, He does not sit back and wring His hands waiting for things to go one way or another. No, as was discussed in the blogs on the Sovereignty of God, in His Providence, and by Himself He controls, influences all things so that His Will is worked out exactly as He has planned for them to do, and this without usurping second causes. This is the nature of Sovereignty, and God is Sovereign. It is most important to discuss this fact, It was God who was incarnate, and this for the salvation of men. It is God who is the First Cause leaving man to live in a world of second causes, yet He Himself has never left man and Has determined to save some men that He predestined from before the foundation of the world (Romans 8:28-29). Our faith is as should be, based upon the foundation of our faith, Jesus Christ, He as the Second Person of God, the Word of God, the Wisdom of God, is our Savior. As God His incarnation takes on a special significance for it was God who came for men, it was God who decided in His omniscience to bestow upon man grace and mercy setting aside His justice for those who place their faith in Him, it the one Who He sent, namely, Jesus Christ. Justice will be served for God is not a liar, only that in His mercy and grace He paved a way for salvation, an overriding of the sin and corruption that besets man. This He did Himself by becoming man, suffering as a man, dieing upon a cross as man, then He resurrected Himself for He never lost or gave away Who He was, God, God in the flesh. He rose from the dead, ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God making an eternal intercession for all those that His Father gave to Him, He will lose none, all will be saved: "Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them" (Hebrews 7:25). 
     As the Nicene Creed that outlines the Christian faith and Doctrine states: 
We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.
     We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from True God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father, Through Him all things were made.
     For us and for our salvation he came down form heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man.
     For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. 
     He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.
     We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets. 
     We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Chruch.
     We acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins.
    We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come.
Amen.
      This creed and the Apostles Creed should be put to memory and recited regularly, reminding a person of the Divine Foundation of our faith. We sing diddy songs and memorize them, that is good, but the better is to put to memory, in a concise manner, those words of the early Church fathers who in fighting against heresy formed those creeds so that Christians would have a foundation to lean upon. But, why did God choose to become incarnate? Why not just exercise His justice and move on, make another? This is what will be discussed and will give a deep foundation for our Divine faith, that God became incarnate for man.


Sanctify them by 
     Your truth,
Your word is truth.
           John 17:17


Be of Good Cheer, Jesus overcame the world


Richard L. Crumb