Expositio super symbolum Nicenum

Maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible.

This is said against the heretics who say that the world existed from eternity. But he in the beginning created heaven and earth.¹ By earth understand corporeal things, by heaven spiritual things; or by heaven, the empyrean heaven, which as soon as it was made was filled with saints, by earth understand the machine of the elements; or by heaven the upper parts of the sensible world, by earth the lower.

And note that God is improperly called "maker," but properly "creator." For to create is to make something out of nothing. Hence God, who creates matter and form together, supplying matter for form and impressing form upon matter, is called creator, or creating as concretely creating. The operation is called creation, as it were con-creation. The created work, as it were the con-created.

Nature is said to procreate, as if creating from another, at a distance, because it procreates like things from like: its operation is procreation, its work the procreated. Man, however, is properly called a maker, who from afar imitates nature.

Of all things visible and invisible.

This is said against the Manichaeans, who established two principles of things: the principle of light and the principle of darkness, asserting that corporeal things are from the principle of darkness, spiritual things from the principle of light.

Thus far extends the first article of the symbol, which turns upon omnipotence, unity, authority. The same import is contained in the first article of the apostolic symbol, where it is said: "I believe in God the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth." But what is said implicitly in this article is explained in the aforesaid. This article, according to some, was put forth by Peter.