Apostles’ Creed (part 2)

Posted on by

I believe // In God the Father, // Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.

    • Gen 1:1 “In the beginning God …” The Bible assumes God.
    • Not so much “what” we believe in but “whom” we believe in.
    • Rom 11 doxology. What does the term God mean? “After all, God, in biblical and Christian terms, refers us to a reality lying way beyond the natural range and reach of anything of which our bodies, minds, and languages together are properly adapted to know and speak. … speak of God … as the uncreated source of ‘all things, visible and invisible.’” [1]
      • Via negativia.
      • God does reveal God’s Self in creation, Scripture, and most fully in Jesus.
    • Ex. 3—God self-revelation. Both identity/character and actions – God’s story.
    • See also Ex. 34:6–7. God the Father. Monotheism is rooted in the first command. The first violation of the covenant was Ex 32 with the golden calf. Ex 34 is a midrash on the first commandment. God’s self-revelation. God as creator, almighty, none other. God is not just the center, but all in all, all-inclusive. Therefore, exclusive devotion. The Nicene Creed goes further adding terminology from Col 1:16, “all things, visible and invisible.” This spotlights the nonmaterial, the spiritual realities. [2]
    • And it is more than acknowledgment, but I put my faith in God, I trust God. I believe in God. The Shema, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might” (Deut. 6:4–5).
    • And according to the Creed, “I believe in one God, the Father…and in one Lord Jesus Christ, … and I believe in the Holy Spirit.”
    • God is …
      • Love (1 Jn. 4:8).
      • Light (1 Jn. 1:5).
      • Spirit (Jn. 4:26).
      • Holy (Lev. 19:1).
      • Faithful (1 Cor. 1:18).
      • Good (Lk. 18:19).
      • Able (2 Cor. 9:8).
  • Why Did God create the heavens and the earth?
    • God’s Glory.
    • Out of God’s Love. “God, in love, eternally purposed a creation marked by order rather than chaos and so fit for human habitation and flourishing together with God and with our fellow creatures.”[3] To understand an obligation to this cosmic order and be a summons to worship this same God.
    • And God will bring to completion the “goodness” of God’s creative intent.
  • God as Father is a relational metaphor.
    • 1 Cor 8:6 “I believe in one God the Father …” as the ultimate ground of the cosmos, the one “from whom are all things,” the one who generates all things. [4]
    • Seen in the Lord’s Prayer–Our Father.
      • New birth. Gal 4 with our adoption into God’s family. Not by creation but by adoption.\
      • Eucharist as family meal.
      • Familial language. Household language. The church is the household of God.
      • God’s deep and abiding concern for widows and orphans who are excluded from family.
  • What is the OT conception of God as Father?[5]
    • The OT uses the term “father” 15 times (Israel referred to as “son” or “child of God” 9 more times.[6]
    • Jesus calls God “my Father and your Father” (Jn 20:17), “Your heavenly Father (Mt 6:14), Jesus teaches his disciples to pray, “Our Father” (Mt 6:9). Jesus uses the term “father” 160 times. He does not use the term “Lord” to refer to God (the OT’s favorite term). [7] There is something unique in Jesus’ relationship with the Father. Jesus is the begotten Son, the one and only Son. The relationship is defined particularly.
      • “C. S. Lewis observed, that one ‘begets’ something fundamentally like oneself (and similarly for what proceeds from oneself), while one ‘creates’ or ‘makes’ something unlike oneself.”[8]
      • Tertullian, “Father makes a son to be a father, and a son must have a father to be a son.”
        • When did I become a father?
        • When did God become “Our Father”? So the unique relationship that Jesus has with the Father is now available to us.
  • Is there a problem with the word “father” today? The early church also saw this issue and did not use the term in gendered ways but used it to connote relationships.
    • K. Cukrowski’s list of feminine expressions of God in the Bible.[9]
  • “Almighty” — How is “power” understood theologically?
    • “Almighty” is associated with and modified by the fact that the Almighty is Father and Creator. It makes a difference who has the power.
    • Isa 45: 6–7.
  • There is that which God cannot do. God cannot die. God cannot lie. God cannot do unjustly.[10]
  • More like maternal love caring for an infant, a power found in weakness, a cruciformed power seen at the cross. Kenosis is who God is and not an attribute God puts on when needed.
  • “When the accent falls upon the first word of this confession, God, is our Father, persons find reason to cherish themselves even when all the reasons the world could offer have vanished. Because God is their Father, they are worthy to exist and worthy in existence; no worldly evidence against them can contradict the significance of this paternity.”[11]

[1] Hart, Confessing and Believing, 17.

[2] Hart, Confessing and Believing, 51.

[3] Hart, Confessing and Believing, xv.

[4] Richard A. Norris, “I Believe in God, the Father Almighty,” 24, in Van Harn, Exploring & Proclaiming the Apostles’ Creed.

[5] Keyways the Old Testament portrays God as Father:

  • Creator and Provider: God is described as the Creator of humanity, which can be seen as a paternal relationship. For example, in Deuteronomy 32:6, God is referred to as the one who “made you and established you” and in Isaiah 64:8, God is acknowledged as the “Father” who shapes and forms Israel. God’s care for creation and humanity is likened to a father’s nurturing role.
  • Father of the Nation of Israel: The concept of God as the Father of Israel is more prominent. In Exodus 4:22-23, God refers to Israel as His “firstborn son,” and He commands Pharaoh to let Israel go free. Similarly, in Deuteronomy 14:1, Israel is called “children of the Lord your God,” emphasizing a special relationship between God and the nation. Isaiah 63:16 also refers to God as the “Father” of Israel, noting that He is the “Redeemer” and protector of His people.
  • Fatherly Discipline and Care: God’s fatherhood is sometimes associated with discipline and instruction. In Proverbs 3:11-12, the Lord’s discipline is likened to a father’s loving correction: “The Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.” Hosea 11:1-4 portrays God as a loving father who raised Israel but also expresses sorrow over Israel’s rebellion. This passage shows both the care and grief a father might feel for a wayward child.
  • Father of the King: In certain royal psalms, such as Psalm 2:7 and Psalm 89:26-27, God is depicted as the Father of the king, particularly the Davidic king. This represents a special relationship between God and the monarch, who is seen as God’s son in a more symbolic and representative sense.
  • Limitations of the Old Testament View: While the Old Testament includes references to God as a father, the understanding is often more about God’s role as Creator, protector, and disciplinarian, and it is more collective in nature (focused on Israel) rather than the individualized, intimate fatherhood seen in later Christian theology.

[6] Hart, Confessing and Believing, 41.

[7] Hart, Confessing and Believing, 41.

[8] Marguerite Shuster, “The Triune God,” 6, in Van Harn, Exploring & Proclaiming the Apostles’ Creed.

[9] See Appendix B. Ken Cukrowski, Class Notes. Shared by request as an email attachment.

[10] Augustine, De symbol ad catechumenos 2. Quoted in Richard A. Norris, “I Believe in God, the Father Almighty,” 31, in Van Harn, Exploring & Proclaiming the Apostles’ Creed.

[11] Harned, Creed and Personal Identity, 33.