Jesus Christ is the creator. Under the direction of the Father, Jesus created the earth and everything on it (John 1:3, 14). Jesus is also the creator of our salvation and the author and finisher of our faith. Through His atoning sacrifice, those who repent of their sins and obey the commandments can live eternally with Jesus and the Father. Jesus is Jehovah, the God of Israel, and as such, is the creator of Israel. But in all these things, Jesus Christ worked under the direction of God, our Heavenly Father. Jesus taught,
I do nothing of myself, but as my Father hath taught me. ... And he that sent me is with me, the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him (John 8: 28-29).
And in all that Jesus did, He sought not His own will but the will of the Father, not His own glory but the glory of His Father. Thus, Jesus Christ is the Creator, but the power to do so and the glory for doing so belong to God, our Heavenly Father. Let me explain.
Creator of the Earth
The scriptures teach that God created the heaven and the earth and all things in them. God separated the light from the darkness and called the light Day and the darkness Night. He divided the waters and made the firmament, and then gathered together the waters under heaven so dry land would appear. God commanded the earth to bring forth grasses, herbs and fruit trees bearing seeds after their own kind. God made the sun, moon, stars, and seasons of the earth. He created the fowls, fishes, mammals, and insects. And then, in His own image, God created man and woman and placed them on the earth to take care of it. (See Genesis 1:1-31.)
Paul explains to the Ephesians that Jesus Christ is the God who created the earth. He said, “God ... created all things by Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 3:9). Jesus said,
The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise (John 5:19).
Christ is the creator, under the direction, power, and authority given to Him by the Father. Jesus taught, “All things are given unto me in heaven and in earth (Matthew 28:18). “The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into His hand” (John 3:35).
Creator of Our Salvation
Jesus Christ is the creator of our salvation because salvation comes through faith in Him and obedience to His commandments. Jesus taught,
I am the way, the truth and the life. No man cometh to the Father but by me (John 14:6).
Although He is eternal (as we all are), He is the Firstborn of the Father in spirit and the Only Begotten of the Father in the flesh (Hebrews 1:6). With a Heavenly Father and mortal mother, Jesus had the power to overcome the flesh. (See Isaiah 7:14 and Matthew 3:17.) From His Father, He gained the power to lay down His life. From His mother Mary, He inherited the traits of mortality, including death and being subject to temptation. (See Hebrews 2:18, 5:8.) But He overcame His trials, lived a sinless life and was obedient to the Father in all things. Because of this, Jesus Christ was the only One who could make the atoning sacrifice.
Through His atoning sacrifice—which began with His suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane and continued with His Crucifixion, death, and, ultimately, Resurrection—Jesus Christ unlocked the gate by which we can enter into eternal life if we follow Him. Through His atoning sacrifice, Christ overcame the stain of sin and the sting of death for each one of us. We can repent and be forgiven of our sins through Christ’s atoning sacrifice. And we, too, will be resurrected because Christ overcame the sting of death through His Resurrection.
The gospel of Jesus Christ “is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth” (Romans 1:16). But we must do our part, having faith on Him, repenting of our sins and obeying His commandments, if we are to partake of the salvation that He offers.
Creator of the House of Israel
Jesus Christ is the Jehovah of the Old Testament and, as such, is the creator of the House of Israel. God made a covenant with Abraham that, if he and his seed were obedient, God would make them a chosen people and a great nation (Genesis 17:2 and Deuteronomy 14:12). And through them, all the families of the earth would be blessed (Genesis 12:3). Isaiah explains,
And [the Lord] said, ... I will also give thee for a light unto the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth (Isaiah 49:6).
The Lord chose Abraham, a righteous man, to be the bearer of His priesthood power so that, through Abraham and his seed, all nations of the world be blessed. But Abraham and his seed had to be righteous for the covenant to be in force. The blessings flowed as a birthright through Abraham’s son Isaac to Isaac’s son Jacob. Jacob had twelve sons. God changed Jacob’s name to Israel. Thus, the House of Israel—Jacob and his sons—are under the same covenant as Abraham and Isaac. The House of Israel is a chosen people because the light of the gospel will be spread to the world through them, if they are righteous.
God gave Abraham His laws commandments, and Abraham taught them to his posterity. The children of Israel were later given the Law of Moses, which “was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ” (Galatians 3:19-24). And they point to Christ because He is the author and finisher of our faith and, through faith in Him and obedience to His commandments, we can find salvation.
Purpose of The Creation
Why did Jesus create the earth, our salvation and the House of Israel? Christ taught,
My meat is to do the will of Him that sent me, and to finish His work (John 4:34).
We are God’s work. We are His spirit children (Deuteronomy 14:1). The scriptures teach,
Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him (Isaiah 43:7).
We came to earth to be tested to see if we will follow the commandments of God in all things. Jesus said,
Herein is my Father glorified, that ye should bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples (John 15:8).
Thus, Christ commanded us to “be perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). The fruit that we bear is our faith in Christ and obedience to His commandments. So that we may overcome, and, as He said, “sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne” (Revelation 3:21).