Paragraph 1: I Believe in God

Catechism of the Catholic Church · Part One › Section Two › Chapter One › Article 1 · Paragraph 1 (§§199–231)

Paragraphs · 33

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Paragraph 1. I BELIEVE IN GOD

§199 — "I believe in God": this first affirmation of the Apostles' Creed is also the most fundamental. the whole Creed speaks of God, and when it also speaks of man and of the world it does so in relation to God.vatican.va

I. "I Believe in One God"

§200 — These are the words with which the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed begins. the confession of God's oneness, which has its roots in the divine revelation of the Old Covenant, is inseparable from the profession of God's existence and is equally fundamental.vatican.va
§201 — To Israel, his chosen, God revealed himself as the only One: "Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God is one LORD; and you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might."vatican.va
§202 — Jesus himself affirms that God is "the one Lord" whom you must love "with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength".vatican.va

Ii. God Reveals His Name

§203 — God revealed himself to his people Israel by making his name known to them. A name expresses a person's essence and identity and the meaning of this person's life.vatican.va
§204 — God revealed himself progressively and under different names to his people, but the revelation that proved to be the fundamental one for both the Old and the New Covenants was the revelation of the divine name to Moses in the theophany of the burning bush,…vatican.va
§205 — God calls Moses from the midst of a bush that burns without being consumed: "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob."vatican.va
§206 — In revealing his mysterious name, YHWH ("I AM HE WHO IS", "I AM WHO AM" or "I AM WHO I AM"), God says who he is and by what name he is to be called.vatican.va
§207 — By revealing his name God at the same time reveals his faithfulness which is from everlasting to everlasting, valid for the past ("I am the God of your father"), as for the future ("I will be with you").vatican.va
§208 — Faced with God's fascinating and mysterious presence, man discovers his own insignificance. Before the burning bush, Moses takes off his sandals and veils his face in the presence of God's holiness.vatican.va
§209 — Out of respect for the holiness of God, the people of Israel do not pronounce his name. In the reading of Sacred Scripture, the revealed name (YHWH) is replaced by the divine title "LORD" (in Hebrew Adonai, in Greek Kyrios).vatican.va
§210 — After Israel's sin, when the people had turned away from God to worship the golden calf, God hears Moses' prayer of intercession and agrees to walk in the midst of an unfaithful people, thus demonstrating his love.vatican.va
§211 — The divine name, "I Am" or "He Is", expresses God's faithfulness: despite the faithlessness of men's sin and the punishment it deserves, he keeps "steadfast love for thousands".vatican.va
§212 — Over the centuries, Israel's faith was able to manifest and deepen realization of the riches contained in the revelation of the divine name. God is unique; there are no other gods besides him.vatican.va
§213 — The revelation of the ineffable name "I AM WHO AM" contains then the truth that God alone IS. the Greek Septuagint translation of the Hebrew Scriptures, and following it the Church's Tradition, understood the divine name in this sense: God is the fullness of Being and of every perfection, without origin and without end.vatican.va

Iii. God, "He Who is", is Truth and Love

§214 — God, "HE WHO IS", revealed himself to Israel as the one "abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness". These two terms express summarily the riches of the divine name.vatican.va
§215 — "The sum of your word is truth; and every one of your righteous ordinances endures forever." "and now, O LORD God, you are God, and your words are true"; this is why God's promises always come true.vatican.va
§216 — God's truth is his wisdom, which commands the whole created order and governs the world. God, who alone made heaven and earth, can alone impart true knowledge of every created thing in relation to himself.vatican.va
§217 — God is also truthful when he reveals himself - the teaching that comes from God is "true instruction". When he sends his Son into the world it will be "to bear witness to the truth": "We know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, to know him who is true."vatican.va
§218 — In the course of its history, Israel was able to discover that God had only one reason to reveal himself to them, a single motive for choosing them from among all peoples as his special possession: his sheer gratuitous love.vatican.va
§219 — God's love for Israel is compared to a father's love for his son. His love for his people is stronger than a mother's for her children.vatican.va
§220 — God's love is "everlasting": "For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you." Through Jeremiah, God declares to his people, "I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you."vatican.va
§221 — But St. John goes even further when he affirms that "God is love": God's very being is love. By sending his only Son and the Spirit of Love in the fullness of time, God has revealed his innermost secret: God himself is an eternal exchange…vatican.va

Iv. the Implications of Faith in One God

§222 — Believing in God, the only One, and loving him with all our being has enormous consequences for our whole life.vatican.va
§223 — It means coming to know God's greatness and majesty: "Behold, God is great, and we know him not." Therefore, we must "serve God first".vatican.va
§224 — It means living in thanksgiving: if God is the only One, everything we are and have comes from him: "What have you that you did not receive?"vatican.va
§225 — It means knowing the unity and true dignity of all men: everyone is made in the image and likeness of God.vatican.va
§226 — It means making good use of created things: faith in God, the only One, leads us to use everything that is not God only insofar as it brings us closer to him, and to detach ourselves from it insofar as it turns us away from…vatican.va
§227 — It means trusting God in every circumstance, even in adversity. A prayer of St. Teresa of Jesus wonderfully expresses this trust:vatican.va

In Brief

§228 — "Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God is one LORD..." (Dt 6:4; Mk 12:29). "The supreme being must be unique, without equal. . If God is not one, he is not God" (Tertullian, Adv.vatican.va
§229 — Faith in God leads us to turn to him alone as our first origin and our ultimate goal, and neither to prefer anything to him nor to substitute anything for him.vatican.va
§230 — Even when he reveals himself, God remains a mystery beyond words: "If you understood him, it would not be God" (St. Augustine, Sermo 52, 6, 16: PL 38, 360 and Sermo 117, 3, 5: PL 38, 663).vatican.va
§231 — The God of our faith has revealed himself as HE WHO IS; and he has made himself known as "abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness" (Ex 34:6).vatican.va

Scripture cited · 110 verses

I Believe in God