Do you believe in God?
Yes. I believe in God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.
Catechism for the Global Methodist Church, question 1
1In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2The earth was formless and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. 3And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. 4And God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness. 5God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. 6And God said, "Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters." 7And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse, and it was so. 8And God called the expanse heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day. 9And God said, "Let the waters under the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear," and it was so. 10God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering of the waters he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. 11And God said, "Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit according to their kinds, with seed in them, upon the earth," and it was so. 12The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their kinds, and trees bearing fruit with seed in them according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13And there was evening and there was morning, the third day. 14And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for appointed times and for days and years. 15And let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth," and it was so. 16And God made the two great lights, the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night, and the stars. 17And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth. 18And to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day. 20And God said, "Let the waters swarm with a swarm of living creatures, and let birds fly upon the earth across the expanse of the heavens." 21And God created the great dragons and every living creature that creeps, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22And God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth." 23And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day. 24And God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds: livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds," and it was so. 25And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 26And God said, "Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the animals and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth." 27And God created the man in his image; in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28And God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth." 29And God said, "Behold, I have given you every vegetation yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree in which is fruit of tree yielding seed; it shall be for you for food. 30And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food," and it was so. 31And God saw all that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
1Abram was ninety-nine years old when the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am El the Almighty. Walk before me and be unblemished.
11When we heard, our heart melted and no spirit remained still in a man from your face, for the LORD your God, he is God in the heaven above and upon the land beneath.
3When I see your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established. 4What is man that you remember him, and the son of man that you care for him? 5You made him a little lower than God and crowned him with glory and honor. 6You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you set all under his feet. 7Sheep and cattle, all of them, and also the beasts of the field. 8The bird of the heavens and the fish of the sea, passing the paths of the seas.
5Thus says God, the LORD, the one creating the heavens and stretching them out, the one beating out the earth and its offspring, the one giving breath to the people upon it and spirit to those walking in it.
6yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for him, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and we exist through him.
6One God and Father of all, the one who is over all and through all and in all.
5For to which of the angels did he ever say, 'You are my Son; today I have begotten you'? Or again, 'I will be his Father, and he will be my Son'?
11"Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created."
This is the question a candidate hears at baptism and at confirmation. The words of the reply are the first article of the Nicene Creed, spoken in the first person. On Sunday morning the church says "We believe" together; at the font the candidate says "I believe" for himself. A person who answers this question is claiming as his own what the whole church confesses.
One sentence says three things about God. God is the Father. Jesus taught his disciples to call him by this name, and the apostles use it for the one God who is over all (Ephesians 4:6, Hebrews 1:5). God is the Almighty. He made himself known to Abraham under this name (Genesis 17:1), and Rahab, a Canaanite, confessed him when she said that (Joshua 2:11). God is maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen. He is the Creator of Genesis 1. Paul writes that there is (1 Corinthians 8:6), and the elders in Revelation sing that he created all things by his will (Revelation 4:11).
God made more than what can be measured. Angels and the human soul belong to him as surely as the heavens Isaiah describes God stretching out (Isaiah 42:5) and the moon and stars the psalmist saw set in place (Psalm 8:3-8). Article I of the Confession of Faith teaches the same doctrine in the church's own words: one true, holy, and living God, Creator and Sustainer of all things. A Methodist who says "I believe in God" is trusting a Father who is able to do whatever he wills and who made everything the believer will ever see, and everything he never will.