Early Christian Beliefs About Creation and the Creator

Athenagoras, A Plea for the Christians Direct teaching

Now, about the teaching that from the beginning there was one God, the Maker of this universe, consider it in this way, so that you may also know the arguments for our faith. If there were from the beginning two or more gods, they were either in one and the same place, or each of them separately in his own place. They could not be in one and the same place. For if they are gods, they are not alike. But because they are uncreated, they are unlike. For created things are like their patterns. But the uncreated are unlike, since they were neither produced from anyone nor formed after the pattern of anyone. Hand and eye and foot are parts of one body, and together they make one man. Is God one in this sense? And indeed Socrates was made up of parts and divided into parts, because he was created and perishable. But God is uncreated, impassible, and indivisible. Therefore, He does not consist of parts. But if, on the contrary, each of them exists separately, since He who made the world is above the things created, and about the things He has made and set in order, where can the other or the rest be? For if the world, being made spherical, is enclosed within the circles of heaven, and the

Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book II Direct teaching

But 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: He is just;

Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book II Supporting witness

1. That God is the Creator of the world is accepted even by those very persons who in many ways speak against Him, and yet acknowledge Him, styling Him the Creator, and an angel, not to mention that all the Scriptures call out [to the same effect], and the Lord teaches us of this Father who is in heaven, and no other, as I shall show in the sequel of this work.

Novatian, Treatise Concerning the Trinity Supporting witness

Him, then, we acknowledge and know to be God, the Creator of all things — Lord on account of His power, Parent on account of His discipline — Him, I say, who spoke, and all things were made;

Lactantius, The Divine Institutes Supporting witness

Therefore, first of all, God made the heaven, and suspended it on high, that it might be the seat of God Himself, the Creator.

Ignatius, The Martyrdom of Ignatius Supporting witness

For there is but one God, who made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that are in them;

Didache, Connection to Genesis 1:1 Supporting witness

You, Master almighty, created all things for Your name's sake; You gave food and drink to men for enjoyment, that they might give thanks to You.

Justin Martyr, The First Apology Supporting witness

For, as we wrote above, Moses said, “In the beginning God made the heaven and the earth.

Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions Supporting witness

As, therefore, we believe Moses when he says, In the beginning God made the heaven and the earth;

Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book III Direct teaching

...o created everything through His Word, and another as the Father of the Lord. They alleged that the Creator's Son was distinct from Christ, who remained impassible, descending upon Jesus, the Son of the Creator, and then returned to His Pleroma. They also claimed that Monogenes was the beginning, while Logos was the true son of Monogenes, and that this creation is not from the primary God but by a distant power separate from the divine and hidden realms. John, desiring to end such doctrines and establish the truth in the Church that there is one Almighty God who created everything through His Word, both visible and invisible, shows that this Word also provided salvation to humanity. He begins in the Gospel with: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.” When he says "all things were made by Him," he includes our creation, rejecting the notion that "all things" only refers to those within their Pleroma. If their Pleroma

Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book IV Supporting witness

6. For by means of the creation itself, the Word reveals God the Creator;

Novatian, Treatise Concerning the Trinity Supporting witness

...gs, this principle by which we may learn that all things were created and established by the Son of God, that is, by the Word of God? For he says the same thing that John and the others say. Indeed, it is clear that both John and the others received from him what they say. For if John says, "All things were made by Him, and without Him nothing was made," the prophet David also says, "I declare my works to the King." Moreover, Moses presents God as commanding at the beginning that there should be light, that heaven should be established, that the waters should be gathered into one place, that the dry land should appear, that fruit should be brought forth according to its seed, that animals should be produced, and that lights and stars should be established in heaven. He shows that no one else was then present with God, by whom these works were commanded to be made, except him by whom all things were made, and without whom nothing was made. And if he is the Word of God, for "my heart has brought forth a good Word," he shows that in the beginning the Word was, and that this Word was with the Father, and also that the Word was God, and that all things were made by him. Moreover, thi

Victorinus, Commentary on the Apocalypse Supporting witness

...sacred writings gives us this principle: that all things were created and established by the Son of God, that is, by the Word of God? For he says the same thing that John and the others say. In fact, John and the others are understood to have received from him what they say. For if John says, “All things were made by Him, and without Him nothing was made,” the prophet David also says, “I declare my works to the King.” Moses, moreover, presents God as commanding at the beginning that there should be light, that heaven should be established, that the waters should be gathered into one place, that the dry land should appear, that fruit should be brought forth according to its seed, that animals should be produced, and that lights and stars should be established in heaven. He shows that no one other than Him by whom all things were made, and without whom nothing was made, was then present with God, by whom these works were commanded to be made. And if He is the Word of God, for “my heart has brought forth a good Word,” he shows that in the beginning the Word was, and that this Word was with the Father, and that besides this the Word was God, and that all things were made by Him. Mor

Victorinus, Commentary on the Apocalypse Supporting witness

...the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” For His name is also called “the Word of God,” in Revelation 19:13, and not without reason. “My heart has uttered a good word.” He then afterward calls this word by the name of the King indirectly: “I will tell my works to the King.” For by Him all works were made, and without Him nothing was made, as John 1:3 says. “Whether,” says the apostle, “they are thrones or dominions, or powers, or mights, visible things and invisible, all things subsist by Him,” as Colossians 1:16 says. Moreover, this is that Word which came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. For the world was made by Him, and the world did not know Him, as John 1:10-11 says. Moreover, this Word was in the beginning with God, and God was the Word, as John 1:1 says. Who then can doubt, when in the last clause it is said, “The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us,” that Christ, whose birth is being described, is man because He was made flesh? And because He is the Word of God, who can shrink from declaring without hesitation that He is God, especially when he considers the Gospel, that it has joined both of these substantial natures into one harmony o

Novatian, Treatise Concerning the Trinity Supporting witness

...the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." Moreover, His name is called the Word of God in Revelation 19:13, and not without reason. "My heart has emitted a good word." Afterward he then calls that word by the name of the King by implication: "I will tell my works to the King." For by Him all things were made, and without Him nothing was made, as John 1:3 says. Whether they are thrones or dominions, or powers, or mights, visible things or invisible, all things subsist by Him, as the apostle says in Colossians 1:16. Moreover, this is that Word which came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. For the world was made by Him, and the world did not know Him, as John 1:10-11 says. Moreover, this Word was in the beginning with God, and God was the Word, as John 1:1 says. Who then can doubt, when it is said in the last clause, "The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us," that Christ, whose birth is being described, is man because He was made flesh? And because He is the Word of God, who can shrink from declaring without hesitation that He is God, especially when he considers the Gospel, that it has joined both of these substantial natures into one harmony of the

Origen, De Principiis (On First Principles) Supporting witness

The Apostle Paul, moreover, describing created things by species and numbers and orders, speaks as follows, when showing that all things were made through Christ: And in Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and in Him: and He is before all, and He is the head.

Gregory Thaumaturgus, A Sectional Confession of Faith Supporting witness

for the Son is the wisdom by whose instrumentality all things have been created;

Ignatius of Antioch, Connection to Colossians 1:16 Supporting witness

And, "By Him were all things created that are in heaven, and on earth, visible and invisible; and He is before all things, and by Him all things consist."

Gregory Thaumaturgus, On the Trinity Supporting witness

This Word created heaven and earth, and in Him were all things made.

John 1:3 Background

All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

Colossians 1:16 Background

For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.

Hermas, The Shepherd (Pastor) Direct teaching

First of all, believe that there is one God who created and finished all things, and made all things out of nothing.

Theophilus of Antioch, To Autolycus Direct teaching

Moreover, his human, low, and very weak idea about God is shown in the way he begins to describe the creation of all things from the earthly things down here. A man, being below, begins building from the ground. He cannot properly make the roof unless he has first laid the foundation. But God's power is shown in this: first of all, He creates the things that are made out of nothing, according to His will. For the things that are impossible with men are possible with God, as Luke 18:27 says. Therefore the prophet also said that the creation of the heavens happened first of all, like a kind of roof, saying, "In the beginning God created the heavens." That is, by means of the first principle the heavens were made, as we have already shown. And by "earth" he means the ground and foundation. By "the deep" he means the great mass of waters. And he speaks of "darkness" because the heaven that God made covered the waters and the earth like a lid. And by the Spirit that is carried over the waters, he means what God gave for giving life to the creation, just as He gave life to man, mixing what is fine with what is fine. For the Spirit is fine, and the water is fine, so that the Spirit may no

Theophilus of Antioch, To Autolycus Supporting witness

and all things God has made out of things that were not into things that are, in order that through His works His greatness may be known and understood.

Methodius, From the Discourse on the Resurrection Supporting witness

For You created all things out of nothing;

Peter of Alexandria, The Genuine Acts of Peter Supporting witness

For You created all things out of nothing;

Ecclesiastes 7:28 Background

I beseech thee, my son, look upon the heaven and the earth, and all that is therein, and consider that God made them of things that were not; and so was mankind made likewise.

2 Maccabees 7:28 Background

I beseech thee, my son, look upon the heaven and the earth, and all that is therein, and consider that God made them of things that were not; and so was mankind made likewise.

Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions Direct teaching

..., the All-powerful Being, the God and Father of the only begotten and of the firstborn of the whole creation. He is one God, the Father of one Son, not of many. By Christ, He is the Maker of one Comforter and the Maker of the other orders. By Christ, He is the one Creator of the different creatures, and by Him also their Preserver and Lawgiver. He is the cause of the resurrection, and of the judgment, and of the repayment that will be made by Him. We also say that this same Christ was pleased to become man, and lived without sin, and suffered, and rose from the dead, and returned to Him who sent Him. We also say that every creature of God is good, and that nothing is abominable. Everything that supports life, when it is received in a righteous way, is very good. For according to the Scripture, all things were very good, Genesis 1:31. We believe that lawful marriage and the begetting of children are honorable and undefiled, for the difference of the sexes was formed in Adam and Eve for the increase of mankind. We acknowledge that we have a soul that is incorporeal and immortal, not corruptible as bodies are, but immortal because it is rational and free. We hate all unlawful mixtu

Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book V Supporting witness

...at God made to the ancestors. They will reign in it when they rise again to see God in this renewed creation, and judgment will occur afterward. It is fitting that in the very creation where they labored or suffered in many ways, they should receive the reward for their suffering. In the creation where they were killed because of their love for God, they should be brought back to life; and in the creation where they were subjected to servitude, they should reign. For God is abundant in all things, and everything belongs to Him. Therefore, it is proper for the creation itself, once restored to its original state, to be under the unrestricted rule of the righteous. The apostle clarified this in the Epistle to the Romans, when he said: "For the creation eagerly awaits the revelation of the sons of God. The creation was subjected to futility, not by its own choice, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be freed from the bondage of corruption into the glorious freedom of the sons of God."

Athenagoras, The Resurrection of the Dead Supporting witness

...f those created. This life is not kindled for a little while and then extinguished. For to creeping things, I suppose, and birds and fishes, or to speak more generally, to all irrational creatures, God has given that kind of life. But to those who bear the image of the Creator Himself, and are given understanding, and blessed with rational judgment, the Creator has given perpetual duration. He did this so that they might recognize their own Maker, and His power and skill, and obey law and justice, and so pass their whole existence free from suffering, possessing those qualities with which they have bravely borne their preceding life, even though they lived in corruptible and earthly bodies. For whatever has been created for the sake of something else, when the thing for which it was created has ceased, will itself also rightly cease to be, and will not continue to exist in vain, since among the works of God there can be no place for what is useless. But what was created for the very purpose of existing and living a life naturally suited to it, since the cause itself is bound up with its nature and is recognized only together with existence itself, can never admit any cause that

Methodius, From the Discourse on the Resurrection Supporting witness

... choose the worse course? But God did not work in vain or do what was worst. Therefore, God ordered creation with a view to its existence and continuance, as the Book of Wisdom also confirms, saying, "For God created all things that they might have their being; and the generations of the world were healthful, and there is no poison of destruction in them." Wisdom 1:14 And Paul clearly testifies to this, saying, "For the eager expectation of the creation waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God." Romans 8:19-21 For the creation was made subject to vanity, he says, and he expects that it will be set free from such slavery, since he means this world when he uses the name creation. For it is not what is unseen, but what is seen, that is subject to corruption. Therefore, after creation has been restored to a better and more fitting condition, it remains, rejoicing and exulting over the children of God at the resurrection. For their sake it now groa

Novatian, On the Jewish Meats Supporting witness

...t? First, we must believe that whatever God ordained is clean and made pure by the authority of His creation itself. It must not be insulted, lest the insult be thrown back on its Author. Next, the law was given to the children of Israel for this reason: so that they might profit from it and return to those virtuous ways which they had received from their fathers, but had corrupted in Egypt through their dealings with a barbarous people. Finally, those ten commandments written on the tablets teach nothing new. Rather, they remind them of what had been erased, so that righteousness in them, which had fallen asleep, might live again, as if by the breath of the law, like a smothered fire. But they could profit by understanding that those vices are especially to be avoided in men which the law condemned even in beasts. For when an irrational animal is rejected for some reason, it is really that very thing in the man that is condemned, since man is rational. And if something in the animal, which it has by nature, is described as a defilement, that same thing must be blamed even more when it is found in man, because it is against his nature. Therefore, in order that men might be purif

Victorinus, On the Creation of the World Supporting witness

Therefore I regard the creation of both as clean, because both He who created them is holy, and those things which were created are not in fault in being that which they were made.

Victorinus, On the Creation of the World Supporting witness

to say which is certainly characteristic of extreme and excessive folly: it is to accuse God as having created unclean things, and to charge upon the divine majesty the guilt of having made things which are abomination, especially when they were both pronounced very good, Genesis 1:31 and as being good have obtained the blessing from God Himself that they should increase and multiply.

Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book II Supporting witness

Each creation, too, will glorify its own maker, and will be contented with him, not knowing any other;

Justin Martyr, Hortatory Address to the Greeks Supporting witness

For the creator creates the creature by his own capability and power, being in need of nothing else;

Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book V Supporting witness

...ese things are as they are, they cannot be understood in reference to super-celestial matters; "for God," it is said, "will show to the whole earth under heaven your glory." But in the times of the kingdom, the earth has been restored by Christ to its original state, and Jerusalem rebuilt after the pattern of the heavenly Jerusalem, of which the prophet Isaiah says, "Behold, I have etched your walls upon my hands, and you are always in my sight." Similarly, the apostle, writing to the Galatians, says, "But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother." He does not refer to an erratic Æon, or any power that left the Pleroma, or to Prunicus, but to the Jerusalem that has been depicted on God's hands. In Revelation, John saw this new Jerusalem coming down upon the new earth. After the times of the kingdom, he says, "I saw a great white throne, and the One sitting on it, from whose presence the earth and heaven fled, and there was found no place for them." He also describes the events of the general resurrection and the judgment, mentioning "the dead, great and small." "The sea," he says, "gave up the dead it held, and death and hell delivered up the dead they contained; and t

Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book IV Supporting witness

For God made all things, as also David says with regard to all things of the kind: “For He spake the word, and they were made; He commanded, and they were created.”

Isaiah 45:18 Background

For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else.

Athenagoras, The Resurrection of the Dead Direct teaching

And in the arrangement of these they should place first the cause of the creation of men — namely, the purpose of the Creator in making man;

Athenagoras, The Resurrection of the Dead Supporting witness

...ings, then, according to the purpose of his Author and the nature he has received, the cause of his creation is a pledge of his continuing forever. And this continuance is a pledge of the resurrection, without which man could not continue. So, from what has been said, it is quite clear that the resurrection is plainly proved by the cause of man's creation and by the purpose of Him who made him. Since this is the nature of the cause for which man has been brought into this world, the next thing is to consider what immediately follows, whether naturally or in the order proposed. And in our investigation, the cause of their creation is followed by the nature of the men so created, then the nature of those so created as shown by the just judgment of their Maker upon them, and after all these, the end of their existence. Therefore, having examined the point placed first in order, we must now go on to consider the nature of men.

Theophilus of Antioch, To Autolycus Supporting witness

...led to make man, by whom He might be known. Therefore He prepared the world for him. For he that is created is also needy, but he that is uncreated stands in need of nothing. God, then, having His own Word internal within His own bowels, begot Him, emitting Him along with His own wisdom before all things. He had this Word as a helper in the things that were created by Him, and by Him He made all things. He is called the governing principle, because He rules and is Lord of all things fashioned by Him. He, then, being Spirit of God, and governing principle, and wisdom, and power of the Highest, came down upon the prophets, and through them spoke of the creation of the world and of all other things. For the prophets were not yet when the world came into existence, but the wisdom of God which was in Him, and His holy Word which was always present with Him. Therefore He speaks thus by the prophet Solomon: "When He prepared the heavens I was there, and when He appointed the foundations of the earth I was by Him as one brought up with Him." And Moses, who lived many years before Solomon, or rather, the Word of God by him as by an instrument, says, "In the beginning God created the heav

Athenagoras, A Plea for the Christians Supporting witness

... around the north, and also in its spherical form. Yet it is not this that we must worship, but its Maker. For when any of your subjects come to you, they do not fail to pay homage to you, their rulers and lords, from whom they will receive whatever they need, and address themselves to the magnificence of your palace. But if they happen to come upon the royal residence, they give only a passing glance of admiration to its beautiful structure. It is to you yourselves that they show honor, since you are everything to them. You rulers indeed build and adorn your palaces for yourselves. But the world was not created because God needed it. For God is Himself everything to Himself: light unapproachable, a perfect world, spirit, power, reason. If, therefore, the world is an instrument in tune, and moving in well-measured time, I adore the One who gave its harmony, and strikes its notes, and sings the fitting strain, and not the instrument. For at musical contests the judges do not pass by the lute players and crown the lutes. Whether, then, as Plato says, the world is a product of divine art, I admire its beauty and adore the Maker. Or whether it is His essence and body, as the Peripat

Lactantius, The Divine Institutes Supporting witness

For He must have fashioned man, who, before the creation of man, finished the heaven and the earth.

Theophilus of Antioch, To Autolycus Supporting witness

Father, because he is before all things; Fashioner and Maker, because He is creator and maker of the universe;

Isaiah 44:24 Background

Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, And He who formed you from the womb: “I am the Lord, who makes all things, Who stretches out the heavens all alone, Who spreads abroad the earth by Myself;

Isaiah 45:12 Background

I made the earth and created man on it; it was my hands that stretched out the heavens, and I commanded all their host.

Wisdom of Solomon 2:23 Background

For God created man to be immortal, And made him to be an image of his own eternity.

Wisdom of Solomon 10:2 Background

And gave him power to rule all things.