Introduction
For the last few weeks, as we’ve gone through what the Creed says about the Lord Jesus, the focus has been on who he is eternally. So, he’s the Only Begotten Son who is begotten of the Father before all ages. And he’s God from God and he’s Light from Light and he’s true God from true God. He’s begotten, not made, and he has the same being or essence as the Father. That’s all to do with who he is eternally; and, in particular, it’s to do with who he is in relation to the Father. He’s both from the Father, but he’s also the same as the Father. That’s who he is eternally.
Today we’re thinking about the next line in the Creed, where we say that through him all things came to be. And so, we’re now beginning to think about his outward works. His outward works are his works of creation and redemption. In terms of creation, all things came to be through him. In terms of redemption, he came down from heaven for us and for our salvation and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and was made man. And he was crucified for us and suffered and was buried and rose again and ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of God the Father. And he will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead. And his kingdom shall not end.
We’ll get to his work of redemption in future weeks. Today we’re thinking of his work of creation. All things came to be through him.
Biblical witness
This line from the Creed is taken from John 1:3 where it says, ‘Through him all things were made’ and then it goes on to say that without him nothing was made that has been made. So, all things were made through him. That is to say, God the Father made all things through him. This matches what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 8:6 where we read: ‘that for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.’ So, all things came from God the Father and through the Lord Jesus. God the Father worked through him to make all things. Or in Colossians 1:16, Paul says that ‘by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.’ So, God the Father made all things by his Son. And in Hebrews 1:2 it says that God made the universe through him.
Each one of these verses is making the point that the Father made all things through the Son. The Son is the Father’s co-creator.
I made the point on Sunday evening that the Father and the Son and the Spirit work inseparably to accomplish our salvation. And the Scriptures also make clear that the Father and the Son, and the Spirit, worked inseparably to create all things in the beginning. So, the verses I’ve just quoted make the point that the Father and the Son created all things together. And we know that the Spirit was involved in the creation, because it says in Genesis 1:2 that the Spirit was hovering over the waters at the time of the creation. And in Psalm 104:30 the psalmist says that when God sends his Spirit, they — all living beings — are created. So, the Father made all things through his Son and by his Spirit. They worked inseparably.
And this makes perfect sense, because the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit are themselves inseparable. As we were thinking about last week, the three persons of the Trinity possess one and the same divine being. They are not three separate individuals who work separately. They are one and the same God and they therefore work inseparably.
So, the Father made all things, but he made all things through his Son and by his Spirit. They worked inseparably to create the heavens and the earth and all that they contain.
Creator and not creature
When we say that all things came to be through the Son, we’re confessing and proclaiming that the Son is the Creator and not one of God’s creatures. So, think of that imaginary line once again, separating the Creator from the creation. The Son goes on the same side of the line as God the Father, because the Father and the Son are not creatures, but Creators. And so, this line of the Creed agrees with the line we were thinking about last week where it says that the Son is begotten and not made. If he was made, then he would be one of God’s creatures. But he’s not made. On the contrary, all things were made through him. He’s the Creator.
God
When we say that all things came to be through the Son, we are confessing and proclaiming that the Son is the Creator. And therefore we’re confessing and proclaiming that he is God. We’re confessing and proclaiming that he is God, because the Bible makes clear that God is the one who made all things. For instance, in Revelation 4 the angels worship God for creating all things by his will. That means, the heavens and the earth did not appear by chance, but by the will of God. All things have their being because of God who made them. And if the Son made all things, then that means he is God.
The Father’s co-creator
When we say that all things came to be through the Son, we are confessing and proclaiming that the Son is the Creator and that the Son is God. But we’re also confessing and proclaiming that the Son is the Father’s co-creator. The Father did not make all things by himself. And the Son did not make all things by himself. Neither one worked on his own when the world was made. Neither one was doing his own thing when the world was made. It’s not that the Father was working and the Son was doing nothing, because — and as I’ve already said — they work inseparably.
Came to be
When we say that all things came to be through the Son, we are confessing and proclaiming that the Son is the Creator and that the Son is God and that the Son is the Father’s co-creator. But we’re also confessing and proclaiming something about the way all things were made.
I didn’t make this point when we were studying John 1:3, but I could have. The Creed uses the same Greek verb as John does in his gospel to refer to how all things were made. And it’s a form of the verb to be. John says that all things came to be through the Son. And the Creed says the same thing. All things came to be or all things came into being through the Son.
When you and I make something, we take things that already exist and we put them together or we mix them together or we shape them in order to make something new. So, we take bits of wood and we put them together to form a chair. Or we take different ingredients and mix them together to make a cake. Or we take a block of stone and we chisel away at it to form a statue. We take something that already exists and we change it in some way. We might say that a painter created a masterpiece, but all the painter did was take some paints and some brushes and a canvas, all of which already existed, and he brushed those paints onto the canvas. He might have done it in a remarkable way, but he didn’t actually create anything. He used what already existed.
But when God the Father created the heavens and the earth through his Son, he caused the heavens and earth to come into existence. The heavens and the earth did not exist; but then they came to be. And they came to be — or they came into existence — because of God. Once they were not; and then they were. Once they did not exist; and then they did exist. And they came into existence because of God. They came into existence from the Father and through the Son.
And I’ve made the point in another sermon that neither the Father nor the Son — nor indeed the Holy Spirit — exerted themselves when they made the heavens and the earth. Creating all things required no effort on their part. God only had to will it and speak it and it happened.
And so, it’s not that the Father wasn’t able to do it by himself and he therefore needed the Son to help him. When you and I have to move a large piece of furniture we might call someone to help us because we can’t do it by ourselves. But that’s not why the Father made all things through his Son. It’s not that the Father was too weak on his own to make all things. Making all things required no effort from God. He did not need to exert himself in order to create all things. It was easy for him.
No, the Father worked through the Son because they are one God; and as one God they work inseparably. Since they possess one and the same divine being with one and the same divine power and with one and the same divine will, they always work inseparably.
God’s good creation
And the next thing to say is that since all things came into existence because of God, then that means the creation is good. God is good and what he created is good.
There have always been people who have said that physical things are evil. The Gnostics, for instance, regarded the human spirit as good, but it’s trapped inside a physical body which is evil. And they longed for the time when their spirits would leave their bodies and be free. In the meantime, they either tried to control the body and its desires, because they’re evil; or they did the exact opposite and they gave in to every evil desire, because they thought the body did not matter.
And it’s still the case that some people believe that it’s good for their soul to give up certain physical things like chocolate at Lent, even though everything God created is good. Or other people indulge themselves by following their evil desires. And their desires are evil when they desire something in a way that God forbids.
But everything God created is good — because it was created by God the Father and through his Son — and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving. And so, we can enjoy God’s creation and give thanks to him for it.
New creation
And the final thing to say is that God the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are working inseparably to bring us into the new heavens and earth. God the Father gives us eternal life in his presence through the Son who died for us and by his Spirit who enables us to believe. And by his Spirit and through his Son, we will one day come before the Father in the new heavens and earth and we’ll worship our great God for ever and for ever.
Sermons and Stuff 