On the fourth day, the luminaries were made. This was because God, who possesses foreknowledge, knew the follies of the vain philosophers. He knew that they were going to say that the things that grow on the earth are produced from the heavenly bodies. For in this way, the philosophers exclude God. Therefore, in order that the truth might be obvious, the plants and seeds were produced prior to the heavenly bodies. For that which is later cannot produce that which precedes it. Theophilus (c. 180, E), 2.90
Any person who sees a ship on the sea rigged and in sail, and heading for the harbor, will no doubt infer that there is a pilot in her who is steering her. Likewise, we must perceive that God is the Pilot of the whole universe, although He is not visible to the eyes of the flesh. For He is incomprehensible. Theophilus (c. 180, E), 2.90
God formed Adam, not as if He stood in need of man, but so that He might have [someone] upon whom to confer His benefits. Irenaeus (c. 180, E/W), 1.478
For with Him were always present the Word and Wisdom, the Son and the Spirit, by whom and in whom, freely and spontaneously, He made all things. He speaks to Him, saying, “Let Us make man after Our image and likeness.” Irenaeus (c. 180, E/W), 1.488
The other works of creation He made by the word of command alone. But man He framed by Himself, by His own hand. Clement of Alexandria (c. 195, E), 2.210
How could creation take place in time, seeing time was born along with things that exist. Clement of Alexandria (c. 195, E), 2.513
God completed all His works in a specified order. At first, He laid them out in their unformed elements, so to speak. Then He arranged them in their finished beauty. For He did not inundate the light all at once with the splendor of the sun. Nor did he immediately temper darkness with the moon’s soothing beam. He did not adorn the heaven all at once with constellations and stars. Nor did He at once fill the seas with their teeming monsters. He did not endow the earth all at once with its various kinds of vegetation. Rather, He first gave it existence; then He filled it. Tertullian (c. 200, W), 3.493
The truth is, a great matter was in progress—out of which the creature under consideration was being fashioned. . . . Imagine God wholly employed and absorbed in it—in His hand, His eye, His labor, His purpose, His wisdom, His providence, and above all, in His love. All of these things were dictating the lineaments [of man]. For, whatever was the form and expression that was then given to the clay, it was in His thoughts that Christ would one day become man. Tertullian (c. 210, W)
This is also part of the church’s teaching: that the world was made and took its beginning at a certain time and that it is to be destroyed on account of its wickedness. But there is no clear statement in the teaching of the church regarding what existed before this world or what will exist after it. . . . Insofar as the credibility of Scripture is concerned, the declarations on this matter are easy to prove. Even the heretics (although having widely differing opinions on many other things) appear to be of one mind on this, yielding to the authority of Scripture. Concerning the creation of the world, what portion of Scripture can give us more information regarding it than the account that Moses has transmitted about its origin? It contains matters of profounder significance than the mere historical narrative appears to indicate. Furthermore, it contains very many things that are to be spiritually understood. When discussing profound and mystical subjects, it uses literal language as a type of veil. Nevertheless, the language of the narrator reveals that all visible things were created at a certain time. Origen (c. 225, E), 4.340, 341
It may be said that the family of lions, bears, leopards, wild boars, and similar animals has been given to us in order to call into exercise the elements of the manly character that exist within us. Origen (c. 248, E), 4.532
We should admire the divine nature that gave even irrational animals the capacity . . . of imitating rational beings, perhaps with a view of putting rational beings to shame. For example, by looking upon ants, men might become more industrious and more thrifty in the management of their goods. Likewise, by considering the bees, they might place themselves in subjection to their ruler and take their respective parts in those constitutional duties that are of use in ensuring the safety of cities. Origen (c. 248, E), 4.533
The immediate Creator, and, as it were, the very Maker of the world was the Word, the Son of God. By commanding His own Son, the Word, to create the world, the Father of the Word is the primary Creator. Origen (c. 248, E), 4.601
When all things had been settled with a wonderful arrangement, He determined to prepare for Himself an eternal kingdom and to create innumerable souls, on whom He might bestow immortality. Then He made for Himself a figure endowed with perception and intelligence—that is, after the likeness of His own image. . . . So He formed man out of the dust of the ground. Lactantius (c. 304–313, W), 7.58
It cannot be said that God made the world for His own sake. For He can exist without the world. . . . It is evident, therefore, that the world was constructed for the sake of living beings, since living beings enjoy those things that it consists of. Lactantius (c. 304–313, W), 7.198
God designed the world for the sake of man. But He formed man himself for His own sake. Man was, as it were, a priest of a divine temple, a spectator of God’s works and of heavenly objects. For he is the only [earthly] being who is able to understand God, for he is intelligent and capable of reason. . . . On this account, he alone of all the other living creatures has been made with an upright body and stance. So it seems that he was raised up for the contemplation of his Parent. For this reason also, he alone has received language . . . so that he may be able to declare the majesty of his Lord. . . . So it is plainly most just that man should worship Him who bestowed such great gifts upon him. He should also love his fellow man, who is united with him in the participation of the divine justice. Lactantius (c. 314, W), 7.271
He made man . . . destitute of those things that are given to the other animals, because wisdom is able to supply those things that the condition of nature has denied to him. Lactantius (c. 314, W), 7.282
When he sees that even elephants (with their vast bodies and strength) are subservient to man, can anyone, then complain about God . . . simply because man has received only moderate strength and a small body? Lactantius (c. 314, W), 7.284