FAQ 6: Did Jesus create heaven and earth?

The following are texts in the KJV and NIV that cause this question to be raised:

Jn 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. KJV

Jn 1:3Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. NIV

1 Cor 8:6But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him. KJV

1 Cor 8:6…yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live. NIV

Eph 3:9And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ. KJV

Eph 3:9…and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. NIV

Col 1:16For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him. KJV

Col 1:16For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. NIV

Heb 1:2[God speaking from verse 1] Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds. KJV

Heb 1:2[God speaking from verse 1] …but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. NIV

Upon reading these verses, the questions that should come to mind of a Bible believer is:

1. What are these verses telling me?
2. Is the Bible really saying Jesus is the creator of all things?
3. If so, how can that be?
4. Who is Jesus Christ?

What Robert Sabin taught in the 1980’s provides us with some insight:

“The Lord said to the devil in Genesis 3:15, I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. Who was He talking about? The seed of the woman! Who was this seed of the woman? He was talking about Himself! In the beginning was the Word. That is God’s envisaging of what He Himself would be. God made the world, but He did not make it without a thought in His mind that someday He would come into the world, take up humanity, be born of a woman, be made of a woman and be made under the law. God determined that. The Logos, God’s foreknowledge of Christ’s coming, held this world together. The Bible says, by him all things consist (Colossians 1:17). That means “are held together.” Jesus Christ is the glue. That is not a very good expression, but he was the glue that held the universe together. The thought of Christ (in God’s mind) was what held it all together for four thousand years from Adam until Mary.” [1]

This excerpt answers all the questions. Robert Sabin taught that God is telling us that he alone was the creator of all things. While doing so, he looked forward to when he would be Jesus, the mediator and savior of the beings he was about to create. God’s plan for the future existence of the Messiah, Jesus, becoming reality held the world together from the time of formation of the plan to its fruition. Jesus is God Almighty robed in flesh. It deserves to be read again.

Believing that Jesus is the creator of heaven and earth actually, results in Biblical inconsistencies and contradictions. By now, Isaiah 44:24 should immediately come to memory: “I am the Lord, who has made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself.” Jesus disqualifies himself in John 14:10 when he tells Philip, “the words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.”

Before pursuing the answer to this question, let us examine the texts that initiate it.

Comment:

I do not consider the first verse, John 1:3, to be fitting for this discussion. Triniarians believe the Word of John 1:1 is Jesus. The earlier discussion of the Prologue of John established at least two possibilities: 1. The Word was the thoughts, plans, and ideas of God that was made flesh in verse fourteen upon the birth of Jesus. The personification of the Word by describing those thoughts of God as “him” is similar to the personification of wisdom in Proverbs 8 where wisdom is identified as “she” and “I” with the NIV adding “her.” 2. A more emphatic possibility from the Jewish Targums is the use of “Memra” which “was the most appropriate word John could have used to designate God revealing himself to man” (Lightfoot).

Comment:

1 Corinthians 8:6 begins by establishing the fact that there is but one God, the Father. Immediately, Jesus is exempted from the role of God and designated “Lord,” the Greek word kurios which could indicate designation as Yehovah’ if it was linked to an Old Testament reference where the Tetragrammaton was used but it was not. Therefore, the title referring to Jesus is master or sir, or something else that commands respect but not supremacy.

Next, the Father is given the role of creator by the words “of whom are all things” (KJV), or “from whom are all things” NIV, “who created everything” (NLT), and “who is the Source of all things” (Amp). Jesus is included and credited with being the one “by whom are all things” (KJV),

Jn 5:16-22So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews persecuted him. 17 Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working.”  18 For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God. 19 Jesus gave them this answer: “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, to your amazement he will show him even greater things than these. 21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. NIV

Jn 10:24-30

The Jews gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” 25 Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father’s name speak for me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.” NIV

Preposition By NT:1722

KJV – about, after, against,  almost,  altogether, among,  as, at, before, between, (here-) by (+all means), for (… sake of),  giveself wholly to, (here-) in (-to, -wardly),  mightily, (because) of, (up-) on, [openly-],  outwardly, one,  quickly,  shortly, [speedily-],  that,  there (-in, -on), through (-out), (un-) to (-ward), under, when, where (-with), while, with (-in). Often used in compounds, with substantially the same import; rarely with verbs of motion, and then not to indicate direction, except (elliptically) by a separate (and different) preposition.

(Biblesoft’s New Exhaustive Strong’s Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006, 2010 Biblesoft, Inc. and International Bible Translators, Inc.)

[1] Excerpt from Robert Sabin’s sermon “The Creator Became Part of Creation” taken from whoisjesus.com.