The answer
Holy Scripture says, “In the beginning God create the heaven and the earth” (Gen. 1:1 LXX).
This is the doctrine of creation through which we affirm that all things exist by the will of God, and by it alone, drawing their being from Him.
God did not just create, but He continues without ceasing. As long as the universe is in existence, it is upheld by the word of His power,14 which is why the Lord Jesus says, “My Father has been working until now, and I have been working” (John 5:17).
God is not a retired designer, but “in Him we live, and move, and have our being” (Acts 17:28).
As for man, he is the crown of God’s creation. He was formed after the world was filled for him with other creatures. God endowed him with many attributes that were not bestowed upon any other, namely the mind, the will, freedom, creativity, love, and an eternal spirit. These are all characteristics that are akin to those of God, which is why Scripture says that God made man according to His image and likeness (Gen. 1:26).
The creation of Eve followed, who was a suitable help to Adam, the First Man. This is an image of the union of man and woman (Gen. 2:23, 24), where the two genders are equal and complementary of the other. Marriage is then seen as the means of their union in a profound manner and a definitive bond (Gen. 1:24; Matt. 19:6).
His Holiness Pope Tawadros II
Notes
14 Translator’s note: Cf. Heb. 1:3.
Pope Tawadros II, My Faith: A Series of Dialogues on the Creed (Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate, 2014), 39–40.
The pages in the book (39–40)
