I Believe in God the Father
Almighty
“The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God’” (Ps. 14 [13]).
In the first article of the Creed we state our belief in one infinite, self-
existent Being, a supreme Spirit possessing every perfection in an infinite
degree, having no beginning and no end.
Being infinite, God possesses infinite power (omnipotence), knows all
things (omniscience), and is present everywhere (omnipresence).
Moreover, God is infinitely wise, holy, just, merciful, true and faithful.
Outside of Himself all created things depend on God for their existence.
God’s providence takes an account of all the works of His hands and all our
thoughts, words and works: “but it is your providence, O Father, that steers
its course, because you have given it a path in the sea, and a safe way
through the waves” (Wis. 14:3).
God is one and unchangeable, single in nature: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord
our God is one Lord” (Deut. 6:4). Yet in this one divine nature there are
three Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Despite being
numerically distinct from each other these three persons have one and the
same indivisible divine nature and substance. The Father, the Son, and the
Holy Spirit are all truly God––yet these three Persons are not three separate
Gods, but one God in Trinity. As Persons they are distinct, in substance
they are one: “There are three that give testimony in heaven, the Father, the
Word, and the Holy Spirit: and these three are one” (1 John 5:7).¹
In the language of Scripture, certain qualities are attributed to each Divine
Person pre-eminently: power and creation are attributed to the Father;
1
Douai Version. Since the pronouncement of the Biblical Commission in 1927, it
is open to Biblical exegetes to question the Scriptural authenticity of this verse.
This stems from the fact that it is not found in any of the extant ancient Greek
manuscripts, but only in later Latin versions.
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