October 26, 2022

I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth…This simple sentence turns the entire doctrine of God into a single affirmation so simple any child can understand it but so powerful that we ran out of time to discuss it in Sunday school. Here we see God’s person revealed through the manifold witness of his works - he is the Father Almighty: the Lord of all, and eternal Father to his eternally begotten Son. Already we catch a glimpse of the Trinitarian dynamics which will later frame the remainder of the Creed. Second, He is the Father - Almighty: the fountainhead of all authority, power, and might in the entire universe. 

All human authority is derived from and accountable to His heavenly authority. How does he wield it? He is the maker of heaven and earth - the universe and all it contains, including you and me. We struggle with authority a lot in life: bad bosses, corrupt politician, exasperating parents, and unfair teachers hamper and frustrate our efforts with regularity. Occasionally, these run-ins with abused authority makes us doubt the God who gave it, but the creed begs an important question - how do each of us have a standard to measure authority against? God, as our Almighty Father, used his power to create, and His creation speaks of his goodness even now; even against those grievous examples of authority run amuck.

-Matt Allhands