God the Father

=== History ===
{{God}}
Since the second century, [[creed]]s in the [[Western Church]] have included affirmation of belief in "God the Father (Almighty)", the primary reference being to "God in his capacity as Father and creator of the universe".<ref name="kelly">Kelly, J.N.D. ''Early Christian Creeds'' Longmans:1960, pp. 136, 139, 195 respectively</ref> This did not exclude either the fact the "eternal father of the universe was also the Father of Jesus the Christ" or that he had even "vouchsafed to adopt [the believer] as his son by grace".<ref name="kelly" />

Creeds in the [[Eastern Church]] (known to have come from a later date) began with an affirmation of faith in "one God" and almost always expanded this by adding "the Father Almighty, Maker of all things visible and invisible" or words to that effect.<ref name="kelly" />

By the end of the first century, [[Clement of Rome]] had repeatedly referred to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and linked the Father to creation, [[s:Ante-Nicene Fathers/Volume I/CLEMENT OF ROME/First Epistle to the Corinthians/Chapter XIX|1 Clement 19.2]] stating: "let us look steadfastly to the Father and Creator of the universe".<ref name=Veli70>[[Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen]], ''The Doctrine of God: A Global Introduction'' 2004 {{ISBN|0801027527}} pp. 70–74</ref> Around AD 213 in ''Adversus Praxeas'' ([[s:Ante-Nicene Fathers/Volume III/Anti-Marcion/Against Praxeas/III|chapter 3]]) [[Tertullian]] is believed to have provided a formal representation of the concept of the [[Trinity]], i.e. that God exists as one "substance" but three 'Persons': The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and with God the Father being the Head.<ref name=Olson29>Roger E. Olson, Christopher Alan Hall, ''The Trinity'' 2002 {{ISBN|0802848273}} pp. 29–31</ref><ref>Eric Osborn, ''Tertullian, First Theologian of the West'' (4 December 2003) {{ISBN|0521524954}} pp. 116–117</ref> Tertullian also discussed how the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son.<ref name=Olson29 /> While the expression "from the Father through the Son" is also found among them.{{refn|name=TertullianAdversusPraxea4|Tertullian ''Adversus Praxeas'' 4 ([[s:Ante-Nicene Fathers/Volume III/Anti-Marcion/Against Praxeas/IV|ANF 3:599–600]]): "I believe the Spirit to proceed from no other source than from the Father through the Son"}}{{refn|Tertullian ''Adversus Praxeas'' 5 ([[s:Ante-Nicene Fathers/Volume III/Anti-Marcion/Against Praxeas/V|ANF 3:600–601]]).}}<ref>{{Cite book |last1=O'Collins |first1=Gerald |author-link1=Gerald O'Collins |last2=Farrugia |first2=Mario |year=2015 |title=Catholicism: The Story of Catholic Christianity |edition=2nd |location=Oxford |publisher=Oxford University Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q0mPBQAAQBAJ |page=157}}</ref>

The [[Nicene Creed]], which dates to 325, states that the Son (Jesus Christ) is "born of the Father before all ages", indicating that their ''divine'' Father-Son relationship is seen as not tied to an event within time or human history.