Credo 17 - ... through Him all things were made ...

In the middle of the 2^nd century a Christian theologian called Marcion began to teach that the world was made by a Demiurge, a second god, and that the God and Father of Jesus is not the same God that we read about in the Old Testament. This teaching of Marcion led to a controversy and the Church stood up for its faith in the One God. Marcion’s opinion was rejected by other Christians as not being a part of the faith handed down by the Apostles.

St. Irenaeus wrote at the time:

‘There is one only God, the Creator - He who is above every Principality, and Power, and Dominion, and Virtue: He is Father, He is God, He the Founder, He the Maker, He the Creator, who made those things by Himself, that is, through His Word and His Wisdom - heaven and earth, and the seas, and all things that are in them’ [Adverus Haereses 2, 30, 9].

When we say that ‘through Christ all things were made’ we confess our belief that creation is a work of the One God in Three Persons. Christ who is one with the Father and the Holy Spirit is the same God who created heaven and earth, and who made covenants with the people of Israel. Christ is God’s ‘Word’ and the Spirit is God’s ‘Wisdom’.

Nowadays Christians bear witness to the fact that the world is good in itself - because it was created by God and not by some evil spirits - not only when they care for sisters and brothers but also when they act in an environmentally-minded way. Creation is good and by living responsibly and caring for our environment we bear witness that it was made by the Father, ‘through His Word and His Wisdom’, for the glory of God and to the benefit of all creatures.

‘Through Him all things were made’ reminds us also that we can meet God in all aspects of our lives: not only in short periods of time when we attend church worship. That is to say that the whole of our life is spiritual, whether we pray, work, go out with our friends, even when we sleep.