Tag: belief

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I Believe

Global positioning systems have all but replaced printed maps. We like the convenience and improved accuracy of GPS when we travel, in spite of the sacrifice of our personal privacy. (I still like to take along my battered road atlas when I take a cross country trip in my car.) The atlas and the GPS are ways for me to believe that I am going in the right direction.

For the early Christians, creedal formulations were a way to stay on course theologically. Average people did not possess copies of scripture. They were rare and expensive. Believers committed portions of scripture to memory along with concise statements of belief. They were like GPS, guides to faith.

Christian truth was learned and reinforced by rote memorization, much like schoolchildren learning the multiplication tables. The early Christian creeds were confessions of faith which were learned in preparation for the baptism of converts. Some of them may have been sung as hymns of worship in Christian gatherings.

An example of a creed that is found in the Bible is 1 Timothy 3:16. Paul is quoting  a liturgical statement that is poetic in structure. It was most likely in use in the churches before he wrote the letter to Timothy. It is speaking of Jesus when it says: “He appeared in a body, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory.”

To say that Jesus “was believed on in the world” was a statement of hope and optimism. Because the good news of Jesus was “preached among the nations,” there were many people in those nations who said “I believe!” It was a confident summary of the results of missionary work. God will ensure the success of the proclamation of the gospel.

This creedal statement agrees with what Jesus said, “This gospel of the kingdom will preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14).

Perhaps this is why the Apostles’ Creed is globally the most widely-accepted statement of faith. It begins with the words, “I believe.” All over the world there are people who recite these words with conviction to affirm their belief in Jesus Christ.

                                                   The Apostles’ Creed

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic (universal) church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

The Creed begins with the words “I believe” and concludes with the word “Amen,” which means “I agree!” Do you believe? Do you agree?

Pastor Randy Faulkner

A NOTE TO READERS; This entry is the last of seventeen posts on the subject of the Apostles’ Creed. If you care to read the other articles, scroll back to the month of March. Feel free to share these blog posts as a witness to others.

 

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We Need the Creed

Some readers of this blog can quote the Apostles’ Creed from memory. To them it is as familiar as the words to “Jesus Loves Me this I Know” or John 3:16. Others, who were brought up as I was, were taught to say, “Baptists are not a creedal people. Our only creed is Christ,” or “The Bible is my creed.”

But even Baptists have had their written statements of faith such as the historic “New Hampshire Confession” and “The Baptist Faith and Message.” The Apostles’ Creed is the oldest and most widely-accepted of the Christian statements of belief. It is a simple, concise summary of convictions held in common by all Christians.

It is important to know what we believe and why we believe it. In today’s world, the very idea of absolute truth is being questioned. Everything is up for grabs and truth is whatever individuals want it to be. In this environment Ray Pritchard has written that the Apostles’ Creed “is a  radical challenge  to the skepticism of our age.” It can be a buttress for our faith in an uncertain world.

There are examples of early Christian creeds in the New Testament. It is believed that the great formulation of the doctrine of the resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15:3-7 is a quotation by Paul of a statement of faith that was already being circulated by followers of Jesus just a few short years after his resurrection.

1 Timothy 3:16 is another example of an early creed quoted by Paul. It was already in use in the churches at the time he wrote to Timothy in Ephesus. It begins with the phrase “by common confession,” or “beyond all question,” a statement of certainty and conviction.

Perhaps the most commonly used and familiar of the early creeds was the courageous declaration, “Jesus is Lord” (Romans 10:9, 1 Corinthians 12:3). The trinitarian benediction in 2 Corinthians 13:14 is also believed to be an early creed. Jude 3 speaks of “the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.” One of the ways the faith was transmitted orally was by the repeated recitation of creeds. This was before the writing of the epistles and gospels of the New Testament.

It is not necessary to believe that the twelve apostles personally composed the Apostles’ Creed, to believe that it reflects their teachings. It is not a part of the New Testament, but it is based upon the Bible. It is considered to be ancient in origin, perhaps dating back to the fourth century. The creed is regularly  quoted in churches and by individuals all over the world to reinforce the faith of God’s people and as a public witness to that faith.

“As the Lord’s Prayer is the Prayer of prayers,” wrote Philip Schaff, “the Decalogue the Law of laws, so the Apostles’ Creed is the Creed of creeds. It contains all the fundamental articles of the Christian faith necessary to salvation.”

I intend to explore the Apostles’ Creed over the next several weeks in this blog. This is because it matters what we believe. The creed begins with the words “I believe,” or credo in Latin, which gives us the English word “creed.” What we believe is a matter of life and death. The creed points the way to eternal life.

                                                The Apostles’ Creed

I believe in God the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ his Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.

He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic (universal) church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

Pastor Randy Faulkner