Creed 4 The Pantocrator, Creator

Pantocrator Of all the attributes of God, only God’s omnipotence is named in the Creed To confess this power has great bearing on our lives What does it mean? The One who created all, sustains all, governs, feeds, cares, responds, etc God’s power is loving and mysterious; loving, for He is our Father and mysterious for only faith can discern it

Pantocrator The Scriptures describe God as “the Strong and Mighty,” “Lord of Hosts,” “Mighty One of Jacob” Nothing is impossible with God He is the Master of history, governing hearts and events in keeping of His will He shows infinite mercy, His power is at its height by freely forgiving sins His power could not be contradicting His Essence, will, intellect, wisdom, or justice

Pantocrator We should always expand the image we have in our minds and heart about God. For example, God can change hearts. This would invite us to seek His power to help us overcome weakness

Pantocrator The Mystery of God’s Apparent Powerlessness Faith in God’s omnipotence can be put to the test by the experience of evil and suffering God can, sometimes seem to be absent and incapable of stopping evil But in the most mysterious way, God the Father had revealed His almighty power in the voluntary humiliation and resurrection of His Son, by which He conquered evil Christ crucified is thus “the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” 1 Cor 1:24-25

Pantocrator There is no stronger way to confirm our faith than to keep your eyes on the fact that there is nothing impossible with God. The rest of the Creed will be accepted easily and without any hesitation

Creator Creation Account: in the first 3 chapters of Genesis is God’s revelation of the beginning of things, the fall and the promise of salvation It responds to the questions of “what is our origin? Where do we come from? Where are we going? What is our end?” We start the week of Pascha with the account of Creation on Monday The catechesis of many of the apostolic churches would include the account of creation from Genesis in their primary instructions In the Byzantine church the creation account is kept in all the feasts of the Lord

Creator The question about the origins of the world and of man has been the object of many scientific studies that have enriched our knowledge of the age and dimensions of the cosmos The discoveries invite us to even greater admiration for the greatness of the Creator. “with Solomon we can say, ‘it is He who gave me unerring knowledge of what exists, to know the structure of the world and the activity of the elements… for wisdom, the Fashioner of all things taught me.’” Wisdom 7:17-22

Creator The studies of the origin of the visible creation looks into when and how the universe arose physically, or when man appeared The real question that stimulates these studies is of another order, its rather a question of discovering the meaning of such an origin: Is the universe governed by chance? Blind fate? Anonymous necessity? Or by an intelligent, Good Being called God? And if the world does come from God’s wisdom and goodness, why is there evil? Where does it come from? Who is responsible for it? Is there any liberation from it?

Creator Challenging responses to Christian faith regarding the origins Pantheism: everything is God, that the world is God, or that the development of the world is the development of God (He’s growing) Others have said that the world is a necessary emanation arising from God, and returning to Him. Dualism, Manichaiesm: the existence of 2 eternal principles, good and evil, light and darkness, locked in permanent conflict

Creator Challenging responses to Christian faith regarding the origins Gnosticism: it is one of the concepts of dualism. The world (at least the physical world) is evil, the product of a fall, and is thus to be rejected or left behind Deism: the world was made by God, but as by a watchmaker who, once he has made a watch, abandons it to itself Materialism: reject any transcendent origin for the world, but see it as merely the interplay of matter that has always existed

Creator Evolution does not contradict the account of Genesis, unless you see the account from the point of view of the “Creationists” The “Creationists” are a group of Christians who believe that the 7 days of creation are 7 “24 hours” and if there is no mentioning of dinosaurs then God didn’t create them and the fossils of dinosaur skeletons could be hidden by God to fool the scientists Evolution does not say anything about the existence of God. It is again a question of how things developed, not Who created it, or why it is here

Creator Creation is the work of the Holy Trinity “In the beginning God created the Heavens and the Earth” Genesis 1:1 The verb “create”- Hebrew, bara, always has God for its subject. It is not used for anybody else “In the beginning was the Word… and the Word was God… all things were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made” John 1:1-3 “All things were created, in heaven and on earth… all things were created through Him and for Him. He is before all things and in Him all things hold together.” Col 1:16-17 That’s why the Church affirms “By Him all things were made” in the Creed

Creator: Creation is the work of the Holy Trinity The Father created the world by His Son (the Wisdom of God) Proverbs 8:22-31: “The Lord possessed me at the beginning of His way, before His works of old. I have been established from everlasting, from the beginning, before there was ever an earth. When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no fountains abounding with water… When He marked out the foundations of the earth, then I was beside Him as a master craftsman; and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him, rejoicing in His inhabited world, and my delight was the with the sons of men.”

Creator: Creation is the work of the Holy Trinity The Father creates everything by His Son and His Spirit Job 26:13 “by His Spirit He adorned the heavens” Psalm 104:30 “You send forth Your Spirit, they are created” (bara) Psalm 33:6 “by the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth” The Father made all things by His Word and by His Wisdom “by the Son and the Spirit” Who, so to speak, are “His Hands” The creation is the common work of the Holy Trinity

Creator Creation was made to manifest the glory of God, and not to increase His glory Romans 1:20 “for since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead” God made us “to be His sons through Jesus Christ according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace” Eph 1:5-6

Creator For “the glory of God is man fully alive; moreover man’s life is the vision of God: if God’s revelation through creation has already obtained life for all the beings that dwell on earth, how much more will the Word’s manifestation of the Father obtain life for those who see God.” St. Irenaeus The ultimate purpose of creation is that God “Who is the Creator of all things may at last become ‘all in all.’ Thus simultaneously assuring His own glory and our own blessedness (happiness).”