The One Creator

In many Christian and bible-believing circles, I hear confusion about who the Creator is (or who the Creators are). Some think it was Jesus/Yeshua. Some the Father. Some a cooperation of the two. Still others think it was a group effort within the Trinity. If we believe that God wants to be known, and deserves praise for creating the world, we should expect a clear answer from His Word. 

Who is the One Creator?

Genesis 1:1,3

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. … And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

Ex 20:11

For in six days YHWH made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day.

Psalm 33:6-9

By the word of YHWH the heavens were made,

and by the breath of his mouth all their host.

He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap;

he puts the deeps in storehouses.

Let all the earth fear YHWH;

let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!

For he spoke, and it came to be;

he commanded, and it stood firm.

Psalm 146:5-6

How blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, Whose hope is in YHWH his God, who made heaven and earth, The sea and all that is in them; Who keeps faith forever;

Psalm 148:1-5

Praise YHWH!

Praise YHWH from the heavens;

praise him in the heights!

Praise him, all his angels;

praise him, all his hosts!

Praise him, sun and moon,

praise him, all you shining stars!

Praise him, you highest heavens,

and you waters above the heavens!

Let them praise the name of YHWH!

For he commanded and they were created.

Okay, so far we have seen that "YHWH" created everything by speaking, commanding, breathing, or saying something. Let's continue:

Isaiah 42:5-6

Thus says God, YHWH,

who created the heavens and stretched them out,

who spread out the earth and what comes from it,

who gives breath to the people on it

and spirit to those who walk in it:

“I am YHWH; I have called you in righteousness;

I will take you by the hand and keep you;

I will give you as a covenant for the people,

a light for the nations,

Isaiah 44:24

Thus says YHWH, your Redeemer,

who formed you from the womb:

“I am YHVH, who made all things,

who alone stretched out the heavens,

who spread out the earth by myself,

The last verse from Isaiah has YHWH saying that he was alone during creation, and did the work by himself. Notice also all of the singular pronouns. Lots of "I," "myself," "my hand," etc. 

Isaiah 45:12

I made the earth and created man on it; it was my hands that stretched out the heavens,

and I commanded all their host.

Isaiah 45:18

For thus says YHWH, who created the heavens (He is the God who formed the earth and made it, He established it and did not create it a waste place, but formed it to be inhabited), “I am YHWH, and there is none else."

Isaiah 48:12-13

I am he; I am the first, and I am the last. 13 My hand laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand spread out the heavens;

Jeremiah 10:12 "It is he who made the earth by his power, who established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding stretched out the heavens"

Malachi 2:10

Have we not all one Father? Has not the one God created us? Why then are we faithless to one another, profaning the covenant of our fathers?

The Old Covenant authors, most clearly Malachi, have YHWH = The Father as the One Creator. Isaiah specifically says he (singular) was alone when creating, and he used his words/command/speech/breath to do it. As in: "Let there be..."

Mark 10:6

But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ [-Yeshua]

Mark 13:19

For in those days there will be such tribulation as has not been from the beginning of the creation that God created until now, and never will be. [-Yeshua]

John 8:40, 54

[Yeshua:] "…you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God… Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’ "

John 17:1-3

When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

Throughout the gospels, Jesus always refers to God, his Father, as someone other than him. He nowhere implicates himself as a participant in creation. He says specifically that the Father is "the only true God," distinct from "Jesus Christ, whom you have sent." If Jesus doesn't claim to be responsible for creation, where does the idea come from?

Acts 4:23-30

they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit,

“‘Why did the Gentiles rage,

and the peoples plot in vain?

The kings of the earth set themselves,

and the rulers were gathered together,

against the Lord [YHWH] and against his Messiah’—

for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. 29 And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, 30 while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

Peter is also quite clear in his idea of creation. It was the "Sovereign Lord," YHWH who created, and who sent and anointed his "holy servant Jesus." Peter does not think Jesus participated in creation.

Acts 14:15

Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men, of like nature with you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them.

Acts 17:24, 30-31

The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, … The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.

Paul, at least through the perspective of Luke (the author of Acts), clearly distinguishes between "the God who made the world" and the "man whom he has appointed." Paul, in Acts, does not get anywhere close to saying Jesus was an active agent in creation.

Romans 1:20

For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him,

Ephesians 3:9

God, who created all things...

It should be noted that Paul never once uses the Greek word Θεος/theos to refer to or describe Jesus. So based on this and the above, Paul, in his own letters, whenever writing about the creation of the world, always attributes it to "The God" or "Ο Θεος," which to Paul is always the Father, YHWH.

Hebrews 11:3

By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. [think "Let there be... and it was so."]

Revelation 4:11

“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.”

Compare:

Rev 5:8-10

the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb... And they sang a new song, saying:

“Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”

Revelation 10:6

And the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven and swore by him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and what is in it, the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it, that there would be no more delay,

Revelation 14:7

And he said with a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.”

In Revelation, John is also careful to never call Jesus "God." He is instead called "the Faithful Witness," "a Son of Man," "the First and the Last," "the Living One who died and is alive forevermore," "Faithful and True," "the Chief of God's creation." But titles such as "almighty," "sovereign Lord," "the One Who Is," etc. are reserved for God, the Father.

Conclusion:

Well, it seems clear enough from the above scriptures that only the Father, YHWH is responsible for creation. YHWH himself says he did it alone, by himself. Jesus, whenever speaking of creation, always attributes it to his God and Father, a being distinct from him. The apostles also are careful to attribute creation to "the God," who is always the Father. In the vision of the throne in Revelation 4-5, the angels and the elders praise God for creating the world, and the Lamb for redeeming a people for his God. Our God and our Messiah each deserve praise; let us praise them for what they have done, and not confuse them.

But what about John 1, Colossians 2, or Hebrews 1? We'll get to that. For now, it seems like these would be outliers in their traditional interpretation, and introducing contradictions to the bible narrative. There must be a reasonable way to understand them as agreeing with the wealth of scripture above.