Answer. That the eternal Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, (who of nothing made heaven and earth, with all that is in them, who likewise upholds and governs the same by his eternal counsel and providence,) is for the sake of Christ his Son, my God and my Father; on whom I rely so entirely, that I have no doubt but he will provide me with all things necessary for soul and body; and further, that he will make whatever evils he sends upon me, in this valley of tears, turn out to my advantage; for he is able to do it, being Almighty God, and willing, being a faithful Father.
Exposition
I believe in God. To believe God and to believe in God, are two very different things. The first expresses historical faith; the latter, true faith or confidence; for when I say, I believe that God is, if I speak properly, I believe there is a God, and that he is such an one as he hath revealed himself in his word, viz: a spiritual essence, omnipotent, &c., the eternal Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. When I say, I believe in God, I mean, I believe that he is my God, that is, whatever he is and has is all for my salvation. Or, to believe God, speaking properly, is to believe a certain person to be God, according to all his attributes. To believe in God, is to be persuaded that he will make all things attributed to him subservient to my salvation, for the sake of his Son.
In God. The name of God is here taken essentially for God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; because the phrase I believe, with the particle in, is referred in the same manner to all the three persons of the Godhead; for the reason that we do not believe in the Son and Holy Ghost less than we do in the Father.
Father. When the name of the Father is opposed to the Son, it is taken personally, and signifies the first person of the Godhead, as here in the creed; but when it is opposed to creatures it must be understood essentially, and signifies the whole divine essence, as in the Lord’s prayer, Our Father who art in heaven. In this sense the Son is expressly called by Isaiah, “The everlasting Father.” (Is. 9:6.) The first person is called the Father: 1. In respect to Christ, his only begotten Son. 2. In respect to all creatures, as he is the Creator, and Preserver of them all. 3. In respect to the elect, whom he hath adopted as his children, and whom he hath made accepted in his beloved Son.
To believe in God the Father, therefore, is to believe in that God who is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; and to believe that he is also my Father, and as such has a fatherly affection toward me, for and on account of Christ, in whom he has adopted me as his son. In a word, it is to believe: 1. That he is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2. That he is a Father to me for Christ’s sake.
Obj. 1. I believe in God the Father. Therefore, the Son, and Holy Ghost are not God, but the Father alone. Ans. This is a fallaoy of composition and division; for the word God is joined with the Father in such a manner as not to be separated from the Son and Holy Ghost; a comma should be placed after the words in God, in this manner—I believe in God, the Father. This is proven: 1. Because the name God, as it is here used in the creed, signifies essentially, and embraces the three persons, which are, as if by apposition, placed in order in the creed—I believe in God, the Father; and in Jesus Christ his only begotten Son; I believe in the Holy Ghost. For, I believe in the one true God, who is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, yet so that the Father is not the Son, nor the Holy Ghost the Son or the Father. 2. We expressly profess that we believe in the Son, and Holy Ghost, not less than in God, the Father. And yet we do not believe in any one else, except in the one only true God. 3. Many of the Greek copies read, I believe in one God, to wit, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. As we are, therefore, to believe in the Father, because he is God, so we are also to believe in the Son and Holy Ghost, because they are God. The name of God is placed but once in the creed, because God is only one, but never as if the Father alone were called God.
Almighty. To believe in God Almighty, is to believe in such a God: 1. Who is able to accomplish whatever he wills, yea even those things which he does not will, if they are not contrary to his nature, as he might have delivered Christ from death, but he would not. 2. Who can accomplish all things by his simple command, and without any difficulty. 3. Who alone has power to do all things, and is the dispenser of that power which is in all his creatures. 4. Who is also almighty for my benefit, and can and will direct and make all things subservient to my salvation.
Obj. God cannot lie, die, or undo that which is once done. Therefore, he cannot do all things. Ans. He can do all things which are indicative of power. But to lie, to die, &c., is no sign of power, but of infirmity or want of power. But defects are in creatures, not in God. Therefore, they are contrary to the nature of God. Hence, by inverting the order of reasoning, we thus conclude, God is not able to do or will those things which are indicative of weakness, and contrary to his nature; therefore, he is almighty.
Maker of Heaven and Earth. To believe in the Creator, is to believe: 1. That he is the Creator of all things. 2. That he sustains and governs by his providence all things which he has created. 3. That he has also created me, and made me a vessel of his mercy, that I should obtain salvation in Christ; and that he, by his special providence and grace, will lead me to that salvation which he confers upon his people. 4. That he has created all other things for us, that they may contribute to the salvation of the church, to the praise of his glory. In short, to believe in the Creator, is to believe that God created me that I might contribute to his glory, and that he created all other things that they might be subservient to my salvation. “All things are yours, and ye are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s,” as if he should say all things are created for us, and we for God. (1 Cor. 3:22, 23.)
The doctrine which treats of the works of God is properly placed next in order after the doctrine concerning God, which is also the arrangement in the creed. There are five general works of God: 1. The work of creation, of which we have an account in the book of Genesis, where we are informed that it was accomplished in six days. 2. The work of preservation, by which God sustains heaven and earth, and all things which he has created, so that they do not fall into ruin. 3. The work of government, whereby, through his great wisdom, he directs and governs all things in the world. 4. The work of restitution, by which he repairs, in Christ, all things which are subject to corruption, by reason of the sin of man. 5. The work of perfection, or completing, in which he brings all things to their appointed end—but especially does he perfectly deliver and glorify his church. We shall now speak of the work of creation, or of the creation of the world, in reference to which we must enquire:
I. Did God create the world?
II. How did he create it?
III. Wherefore, or for what end, did he create it?