Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2025 / ii / Paper 2 / 16H / b

Suppose first that $M\models T$. By the soundness theorem for first-order logic, every theorem of $T$ is true in $M$. A contradiction cannot be true in a structure, so $T$ is consistent.

Conversely, the Godel completeness theorem says that every semantically valid consequence is derivable. Its equivalent model-existence form says directly that every consistent first-order theory has a model. Hence