Greek word · G2936

κτίζω

ktizō

to create

In ordinary Greek: to found or establish, used of a city or colony, or of setting up an institution. In Jewish Greek it became a standard verb for God's act of creating. In the New Testament its subject is always God.

Appears 15 times in 13 verses of the Greek New Testament. · Updated October 24, 2026

What it means

κτίζω

[in LXX chiefly for בָּרָא, Psalms 51:10, al.; also for קָנָה, Genesis 14:19, Proverbs 8:22; יָצַר, Isaiah 22:11 46:11; Wisdom of Solomon 2:23, Sirach 1:4, 9 (and freq.), I Est.4:53, a1. ;]

1. in cl., to people or found a region or city (1Es, l.with).

2. In LXX and NT, of God, to create: Mark 13:19, 1 Corinthians 11:9, Colossians 1:16 3:10 Ephesians 3:9, 1 Timothy 4:3, Revelation 4:11 10:6; ὁ κτίσας, Matthew 19:4 (WH, R, mg.), Romans 1:25; of the divine operation on the soul, Ephesians 2:10, 15 4:24 (cf. Ps., l.with).†

(AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Ephesians 2:10

Range of meaning: In ordinary Greek: to found or establish, used of a city or colony, or of setting up an institution. In Jewish Greek it became a standard verb for God's act of creating. In the New Testament its subject is always God.
Against the English: "Created" is accurate. The NLT's "created us anew" spells out the newness, which the context supports (2:15; 4:24) but which is not a separate word here.
Used elsewhere in the period: LXX Deut 4:32, "since the day God created (ἔκτισεν) humankind on the earth"; Gen 14:19, 22, God "who created heaven and earth". Paul's "new creation" (καινὴ κτίσις) in 2 Cor 5:17 and Gal 6:15. In Ephesians itself: 2:15, Christ "creates in himself one new humanity out of the two"; 4:24, "the new self, created according to God". Jewish texts of the period describe a Gentile's conversion as God re-forming a person. In Joseph and Aseneth 8:9 Joseph prays that God will "renew her by your spirit and form her anew by your hidden hand" (the dating of this work is uncertain).

From the study of Colossians 3:10

Range of meaning: To create, bring into being, or found (a city, a colony). In the LXX and NT it is used mainly for God's acts of creation.
Against the English: BSB, NIV and ESV turn "the one who created him" into the title "its Creator," which is smooth but can lose the point that the new human was itself created.
Used elsewhere in the period: Col 1:16 uses this verb for all things created in, through and for Christ. Eph 2:10 and 2:15 ("to create in himself one new human") and Eph 4:24 ("the new human created according to God") are close parallels. 2 Cor 5:17 speaks of "new creation."

From the study of Ephesians 2:15

Range of meaning: To found, establish, create. In Greek generally it can mean founding a city. In the LXX and NT it is the standard verb for God's act of creation (Gen 14:19, 22; Deut 4:32; Isa 45:7–8).
Against the English: KJV 'make', most modern versions 'create'. 'Make' loses the echo of Genesis and of God as creator.
Used elsewhere in the period: Ephesians uses it for God's new-creation work: 'created in Christ Jesus for good works' (2:10), and the new humanity 'created after the likeness of God' (4:24). Compare Paul's 'new creation' (2 Cor 5:17; Gal 6:15). Isaiah promises God will 'create new heavens and a new earth' (Isa 65:17).

Where it appears

Matthew · 1

Matthew 19:4 κτίσας created

Jesus answered, “Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’

Here: 'The one who created', so 'the Creator'. In biblical Greek this verb is used almost only of God's creating. It names God by his act of making the world, which is the very act Jesus is about to appeal to.

Mark · 1

Mark 13:19 ἔκτισεν created

For those will be days of tribulation unseen from the beginning of God’s creation until now, and never to be seen again.

Here: Aorist: the single past act of creating. 'The creation which God created' says the same thing twice in the solemn Jewish manner and names God as the one who rules all of history.

Romans · 1

Romans 1:25 κτίσαντα, having created [it],

They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is forever worthy of praise! Amen.

Here: 'The one who created [it]'. It shares a root with ktisis, so the wordplay is creation versus Creator, the made thing versus its Maker, exactly the mix-up Paul is describing.

1 Corinthians · 1

1 Corinthians 11:9 ἐκτίσθη was created

Neither was man created for woman, but woman for man.

Ephesians · 4

Ephesians 2:10 κτισθέντες having been created

For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance as our way of life.

Here: "Having been created." This is the Bible's creation verb, and in the New Testament only God is ever its subject. The form looks back to a definite act: God making them alive and raising them with Christ (2:5–6). It is new-creation language.
Ephesians 2:15 κτίσῃ He may create

by abolishing in His flesh the law of commandments and decrees. He did this to create in Himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace

Here: The word the Bible uses for God's act of creating. Christ is the subject: he does not repair or merge the two groups, he creates something new.
Ephesians 3:9 κτίσαντι having created

and to illuminate for everyone the stewardship of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things.

Here: Aorist participle: the one who created. It grounds the plan in the Creator. The God who once made all things is the same God who has now disclosed his long-held purpose for all peoples.
Ephesians 4:24 κτισθέντα having been created

and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

Here: 'Having been created.' The passive leaves God as the unnamed actor. Creation language is used only of God in the Bible. The new human is God's finished creation, which believers put on. They do not build it.

Colossians · 3

Colossians 1:16 ἐκτίσθη ἔκτισται, were created, have been created,

For in Him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things were created through Him and for Him.

Here: The aorist passive looks at the act of creation as one event. The passive is the usual Jewish way of implying God as the one doing it: God created, in the Son.
Colossians 3:10 κτίσαντος having created

and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.

Here: "Having created": in the Bible this verb is used for God's creative acts, here the creating of the new human. It brings Genesis to mind and presents the new life as a fresh act of creation, not self-improvement.

1 Timothy · 1

1 Timothy 4:3 ἔκτισεν created

They will prohibit marriage and require abstinence from certain foods that God has created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.

Here: "Created". A simple past tense (aorist) that looks back to the act of creation in Genesis 1. Food is not a neutral or suspect product of the material world. It was made on purpose by God.

Revelation · 3

Revelation 4:11 ἔκτισας ἐκτίσθησαν.¶ created, were created.

“Worthy are You, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things; by Your will they exist and were created.”

Here: A past-tense verb for the single, completed act of creating. The same verb is used for founding a city, so it carries a sense of origin and ownership.
Revelation 10:6 ἔκτισεν created

And he swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and everything in it, the earth and everything in it, and the sea and everything in it: “There will be no more delay!

Here: “Created.” The One who made everything has the authority to bring everything to its end. Compare Revelation 4:11.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.