Acts 17:24-31
God Made the World and Everything in It
24 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. 25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. 26 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. 27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. 28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’
29 “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill. 30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”
Colossians 1:16
God Made Everything in the World
16 For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.
John 1:3
God Made All Things
3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
Romans 11:35-36
God Made All Things
35 "Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?" 36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.
Job 41:11
Everything Under Heaven Belongs to God
11 Who has a claim against me that I must pay? Everything under heaven belongs to me.
Matthew 25:14-30
14 “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. 15 To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16 The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. 17 So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. 18 But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.
19 “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20 The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.’
21 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
22 “The man with the two talents also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.’
23 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
24 “Then the man who had received the one talent came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’
26 “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed?27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.
28 “‘Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. 29 For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. 30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Ephesians 2:4-10
We Are Saved by God's Grace
4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
There are many verses in the Bible, that God created the earth and all things in it...St. Luke, who authored the Acts, writes that St. Paul declared to the Greeks at Mars Hill, that God made everything in the world, including the heavens and the earth...St. Paul says that God gives everyone his life and breath and everything else (in his life)...Then St. Paul writes in his letter to the Colossians, that God created all things in heaven and on the earth, both visible and invisible...St. Paul had great insight in writing about the invisible things...The invisible things of molecules, atoms, quarks, and Higgs bosons, and our DNA were some of the invisible things (at the time of St. Paul's writings) that were invisible to him that God created -and were to be discovered much later...There are probably many more small things and things off in the universe that He created that will be discovered later as time goes by...All these things were created by Him and for Him...
When St. Paul wrote to the Romans, he asks them "Who has ever given to God, that God should repay Him?...For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things...To Him be the glory forever! Amen."...In the Book of Job, God asks "Who has a claim against Me that I must pay?...Everything under heaven belongs to Me...Sometimes we forget that God gives us both our life and our breath...We also forget that what we have accumulated and have in our house (including our house), our car, our wealth, and things we own are a gift from God...
Many times we treasure those things we have and own...We like and might treasure our house, our cars, our wealth, and the things we own...But they are God's things and things He has given us...All these things were created by Him, and for Him...We are just temporary owners...One day we will realize this, if we haven't already -or at least our heirs will...God has given us these things and allowed us to have what we own...We are a part of creation, and the things we have are a part of His creation (and what He created)...We did not create these things...We own things and have things...
And so it is in wanting to get closer to God...And so it is in wanting to go to heaven...We cannot take the things we received from God and give them back to Him, and then have a place in heaven...God has given each of us a talent, and in the Parable of the Talents, we see whatever talent He has given us, whether that talent be large or small, He expects us to use this talent in a way to glorify His Kingdom -and to Him belongs the glory of what we have reaped forever!...We are God's handiwork, created in Jesus to do good works, which God has prepared for us in advance to do...God knows the things we will do, and the things we will not do (or want to do)...St. Paul tells us that we are not saved by what we own, or by having these things on earth, or what we have done on earth, but we are saved by God's Love for us, and by His Grace...