The First Article.
God Has Made Me And Preserves Me Out Of Fatherly, Divine Goodness And
Mercy.
Which is the First Article of the Creed?
_I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and earth._
What does this mean?
_I believe that God does all this out of fatherly, divine goodness and
mercy, without an merit or worthiness in me._
1. We have learned that God has _made_ me by giving me my body and soul,
and that He still _preserves_ me by giving me richly and daily all that
I need for life and body, by guarding and protecting me from all evil.
Now we ask, _Why has God done all this for me?_ Our Catechism answers:
He has done _"all this purely out of fatherly, divine goodness and
mercy."_ This answer is taken from the Word of God. _"The Lord is good
to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works."_ Ps. 145,9.--
God is moved by His _goodness_ to bestow His manifold blessings on us.
_Our God is good._ Ps. 118,1. He loves all His creatures, especially
those whom in Holy Baptism and through faith in Jesus Christ He has
accepted as His children. He wishes to make them happy here on earth and
above all, eternally in heaven. He also loves you; therefore He has
formed your body so beautifully and given you an immortal soul;
therefore He provides you with all that is needed for your life and
body, and does this richly and daily.
2. God is moved by His _mercy_ to provide for me and protect me. _"His
tender mercies are over all His works." Our God is a merciful God._ He
knows that without Him, without His provident care, we are helpless,
unable to support our life, not even for a single day. And He has
compassion on us. He does not like to see His children in need and
danger. His tender mercies are over you also; therefore He feeds and
clothes you through your parents or friends; therefore He guards and
protects you, His child.
3. His goodness and mercy is _fatherly_ goodness and mercy. He provides
for me and protects me as a _father_ provides for his children and
protects them. _"Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord
pitieth them that fear Him."_ Ps. 103,13. Not only in His Word does God
assure us that He is our loving Father, but He daily proves it to us by
the blessings He sends us. He has given me my beautiful body and a
rational soul, that is, powers to think and understand; He daily
provides for everything I need; He is at my side in every danger to
defend me; from every evil that comes near me He protects me. Surely
_God is my Father._--His goodness and mercy are a _divine_ goodness
and mercy, such as only God has and can have, a _perfect_ and
_never-failing_ goodness and mercy. My Father is the _Father
Almighty,_ who daily will and can provide for and protect His
children. _"His compassions fail not. They are new every morning."_
Lam. 3,22.--Therefore I confess: _I believe in God, my almighty
Father,_ that is, I do not only know from the Word of God and from the
blessings I am daily receiving from Him that the almighty God is my
Father, but _with all my heart I trust in Him,_ I confide in Him, I
rely on Him as on my true Father. When I am in need, I trust in Him,
my Father; He will and can provide for me. When dangers surround me, I
trust in Him, my Father; He will and can defend me. When evil seems to
come near me, I trust in Him, my Father; He will and can protect me. _To
believe in God the Father Almighty means to be fully assured that the
almighty God is my Father, and with all my heart to trust in Him who is
my Father for Jesus' sake._
4. Whatever God does for His children, He does _"purely_ out of
fatherly, divine goodness and mercy." His fatherly goodness and mercy--
nothing else--moves Him to show us goodness and mercy. He provides and
protects me _"without any merit or worthiness in me."_ When a man
performs some work for another man, he has done something for him and
thereby earned, or _merited,_ payment for such service. We have not
given anything to God, so that He would be in duty bound to reward us
for it. We have not earned His fatherly love, nor can we ever do so.--
When a rich man bestows a free gift upon a poor man, this poor man has
certainly not merited this gift, but he may be _worthy_ of the help. His
worthiness may have moved the rich man to take pity on him. We are _not
worthy_ of anything that God bestows upon us; we do not deserve His
fatherly love and kindness. We have transgressed, and daily transgress,
His holy commandments. We are sinners. We so often misuse God's kindness
and His gifts. If God were to treat us according to our merits and
worthiness, He would not be able to bless us, but he would have to
punish and condemn us. In us God does not find anything that might move
Him to love us and to care for us. It is _purely_ out of His fatherly,
divine goodness and mercy that He loves me and provides for me, an
unworthy sinner. We must confess with Jacob: _"I am not worthy of the
least of all the mercies and of all the truth which Thou hast showed
unto Thy servant."_ Gen. 32,10.