Page 7 - Outline of Our Christian Faith

the fullness of eternal life. Entrusting ourselves wholly to God's care, we receive the grace to be
patient in adversity, thankful in the midst of blessing, courageous against injustice, and confident
that no evil afflicts us that God will not turn to our ultimate good. (Ps. 146:9; Is. 58:11; 41:10; 2
Cor. 1:3-5; Ps. 30:5)

2.10 What does the Creed mean in saying that God is "Maker of heaven and earth"?
First, that God called heaven and earth, with all that is in them, into being out of nothing by the
power of his Word. Second, that by that same power all things are upheld and governed in perfect
goodness, righteousness and wisdom, according to God's eternal purpose. (Rev. 4:11; Gen. 1:1;
Heb. 11:3)

2.11 Did God need the world in order to be God?
No. God would still be God, eternally perfect and inexhaustibly rich, even if no creatures had ever
been created. Yet, without God, all created beings would fail to exist. Creatures can neither come
into existence, nor continue, nor find fulfillment apart from God. God alone is self-existent and self-
sufficient. (Acts 17:24-25; John 1:16; John 5:26; Eph. 1:22)

2.12 Why then did God create the world?
God's decision to create the world was an act of grace. God chose to grant existence to the world
simply to bless it. God created the world as a place to make known God's glory, to share the love
and freedom at the heart of God's triune being, and to give us eternal life in communion with God,
all demonstrating the goodness and glory of God. (Ps. 19:1; 2 Cor. 3:17; Ps. 67:6-7; Eph. 1:3-4;
John 3:36)

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