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UNDERSTANDING THE CREEDS OF FAITH

UNDERSTANDING THE CREEDS OF FAITH. West Coast Conference Lay Organization Lay Lesson Linnell Baker, WCC Director of Lay Activities. LEARNING OBJECTIVES. Recite the Apostles Creed Explain the origin and meaning of the Apostles Creed Discuss the Nicene Creed

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UNDERSTANDING THE CREEDS OF FAITH

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  1. UNDERSTANDING THE CREEDS OF FAITH West Coast Conference Lay Organization Lay Lesson Linnell Baker, WCC Director of Lay Activities

  2. LEARNING OBJECTIVES • Recite the Apostles Creed • Explain the origin and meaning of the Apostles Creed • Discuss the Nicene Creed • Explain the origin and meaning of the Nicene Creed • Differentiate between the Apostles Creed and the Nicene Creed

  3. I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ his only son our Lord who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead; and buried. The third day he arose from the dead’ he ascended into heaven and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Church Universal, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting. Amen. • Can You Recite the Apostle’s Creed?

  4. PROBING QUESTION Where in the Bible can you find the Apostles Creed? Answer: The Apostles Creed is not found in the Bible. It is not Scripture, but it is a simple list of the great doctrines of the faith.

  5. WHERE DID THE CREED COME FROM? • As the Christian church spread throughout the Roman world in the first century, and as the first leaders died out, there was a practical need for local churches to have a basic statement of beliefs. As false teachers began to bring in strange ideas, Christians needed to know “Just what is it that we believe?” • The early Christians also realized that new people didn’t have to know everything before they could be baptized and accepted as believers. How much should they know and accept before being admitted into the church? This was another reason that early churches wanted a brief statement of what they believed to be most essential.

  6. Origins of the Apostles' Creed • The Apostles Creed is the creed most widely used in Christian worship in the western world. Throughout the Middle Ages it was generally believed that this creed was composed by the Apostles on the day of Pentecost and that each of them contributed one of the twelve sections. This appears to be a legend dating back to somewhere between the 4th and 6th Centuries. However, it still has good reason to be called the Apostles Creed because its content is in agreement with apostolic teaching.

  7. HISTORY OF THE APOSTLE’S CREED • In its oldest form, the Apostles’ Creed goes back to at least 140 A.D. Many of the early church leaders summed up their beliefs as they had an opportunity to stand for their faith—see, for example, 1 Timothy 6:12. • These statements developed into a more standard form to express one’s confession of faith at the time of baptism.

  8. HOW THE CHURCH GOT THE APOSTLE’S CREED • Paul, the first Christian missionary and the author of many of the books in the New Testament, mentions in a letter to one of the first churches that what he “passed on” to them in his teachings and writings was what had been passed to him. • The Creed seems to have had three uses, first as a confession of faith for those about to be baptized, secondly as a catechism (an instruction for new Christians in the essentials of the faith), and thirdly, as a ‘rule of faith’ to give continuity to orthodox Christian doctrine.

  9. DEFINING “CATHOLIC” • The word “catholic” means “relating to the church universal” and was the word used in the original version of the Creed. • It does not mean the Roman Catholic Church, but the church, the body of Christ, as a universal fellowship. The phrase, “He descended into hell,” was not part of the creed in its earliest form.

  10. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO “COMMUNION WITH THE SAINTS”? • The word communion means “an act or instance of sharing.” When the Apostles’ Creedspeaks of the “communion of the saints,” it is not just specifically referring to the Lord's Supper/Holy Communion in which believers come together to remember Jesus’ sacrifice through the bread and the wine. The communion of the saints is much deeper than this important ordinance.

  11. COMMUNION WITH THE SAINTS • The communion of saints is what each one of us has in common with all other believers. We have been forgiven through His death and saved by His life (Romans 5:10), set free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2), and passed from spiritual death to eternal life (1 John 3:16). We have all been permanently adopted as children of God by the will of God (John 1:12-13). We have become God's handiwork to do good works that He has prepared for us (Ephesians 2:10), and we have all been given an eternal home in the New Jerusalem in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ, our Lamb, our Temple, and our Light (Revelation 21:22–27). These are only a few of the blessings we have in common with all other believers.

  12. What the Apostles’ Creed Teaches • All systems of belief strive to explain the nature of reality. The Apostles’ Creed does this by using three “I believe” statements to explain who God is and what he is doing in the world.

  13. “I believe in God…” • Fundamental to the Christian faith is a belief in God. The Creed begins by calling God “Father.” He is a parent, with all the loving, nurturing, and teaching capabilities that the role requires. • The Creed then goes on to refer to God as “creator of heaven and earth.” Calling God creator likens him to an artist or inventor who thoughtfully and innovatively makes new things. This also separates Christianity from other belief systems that teach that the creator and the universe are one and the same. • Within Christianity, as creator, God the Father is separate, above, and in control of all he has made. This is what makes God “Almighty”.

  14. “ I believe in Jesus Christ” • The bulk of the Apostles’ Creed focuses on Jesus. Part of Jesus’ role is to rule along with God the Father. • He has a unique identity as God who came in the flesh into human history; he is fully human and fully divine. He is Lord, a position that commands more respect than that given to bosses, leaders, or governments. • Jesus’ story begins with a miracle: a virgin birth, made possible by the Holy Spirit. His life ended in crucifixion, a torturous execution at the hands of Pilate, a Roman governor. But—and this is the Creed’s key claim about Jesus—unlike all who die, Jesus was resurrected from the dead, ascended to heaven, and now reigns with God the Father. Yet this is not all: Jesus will imminently return as the judge of “the quick and the dead.”

  15. “I believe in the Holy Spirit . . .” • The Holy Spirit appears twice in the Apostles’ Creed, first as the power behind the virgin conception and then as the subject of the Creed’s third “I believe” statement. • The Creed describes the nature and destiny of the Church. It seems to be saying that the Church is what happens when the Holy Spirit is at work in people. • The Spirit is the power behind the catholic Church. The word “catholic” here—with a lowercase c—means universal; that is, the Creed is saying that there is one universal Church. • The Spirit enables individuals to live together in “communion,” an open sharing of one’s heart, possessions, and daily life. • The Spirit also delivers the forgiveness of sin. • Finally, the creed affirms that the Spirit has the power to provide resurrection bodies that will never die.

  16. Can I Get an Amen? • The Apostles’ Creed ends with a simple “amen.” The word is an affirmation. When a person says amen, they are agreeing with a statement made. • For Christ-followers, the Creed provides both comfort and challenge. • The Creed challenges believers to ask themselves whether or not they are living lives consistent with what they are saying.

  17. For those who are exploring God, the Creed acts as a guide to what Christians believe. • The Creed does not replace the Bible, being a part of a local community of Christ-followers, or living by the power of the Holy Spirit, but it is a helpful and well-worn tool for beginning this journey.

  18. KNOWLEDGE CHECK

  19. QUESTION ONE • What are/were the three uses of the Apostles Creed? • ANSWER: The Creed seems to have had three uses, first as a confession of faith for those about to be baptized; secondly as a catechism (an instruction for new Christians in the essentials of the faith); and thirdly, as a ‘rule of faith’ to give continuity to orthodox Christian doctrine.

  20. QUESTION TWO • How many “I Believe” statements are stated in the Apostles Creed and what is their purpose? • Answer: There are three “I Believe” statements. They explain who God is and what He is doing in the world.

  21. QUESTION THREE • What are the three “I Believe” Statements? • Answer: “I Believe in God” ; “I Believe in Jesus Christ”; and, “I Believe in the Holy Spirit”.

  22. PROBING QUESTION FOR YOU? What is the Nicene Creed?

  23. HISTORY OF THE NICENE CREED The Nicene Creed was developed after the Apostles' Creed and has a much more certain past. When Constantine won control of the Roman Empire in 312 A.D., he elevated Christianity to favored status. He soon discovered the fractured state of the church and what it believed. To bring unity, he convened a council in the year 325 that met in the city of Nicaea. Out of that convention came the Nicene Creed, which is still a standard of belief for many Christian churches.

  24. Along with the Apostles' Creed, most Christians todayregard the Nicene Creed as the most complete expression of the Christian faith, with it often being recited in worship services. Some evangelical Christians, however, reject the Creed, specifically its recitation, not for its content, but simply because it is not found in the Bible.

  25. THE ROLE AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE NICENE CREED • The main significance of the Nicene Creed was that it established much of what is now known as orthodox Christian teaching on the subject of God and the Trinity. It remains the only statement of faith that is accepted by all major parts of the Christian faith.

  26. CONTEMPORARY NICENE CREED • We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty,maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen. • We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father,God from God, light from light, true God from true God,begotten, not made, one in Being with the Father. • For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven, • By the power of the Holy Spirit he was born of the Virgin Mary and became man. • For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;He suffered, died and was buried.On the third day he rose again in fulfillment of the Scriptures;He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,and his kingdom will have no end.

  27. NICENE CREED (cont’d) We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,who proceeds from the Father (and the Son)Who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified.Who has spoken through the prophets.We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

  28. WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE APOSTLES CREED AND THE NICENE CREED? • The two creeds, both in use today, have evolved from very different contexts. The Apostles' Creed, having been written first, was the primary admission of faith and was considered by early Christians to be a thoughtful synopsis of the faith. It was a definitive and well-known statement by most believers through the end of the fourth century. Nevertheless, it was not a formally recognized creed. • The Nicene Creed became the first official creed and was used as a liturgical piece and as a framework for theological education. It also was used to recognized the institutional church and was practically required by church leaders later in the fourth century.

  29. INFLUENCES The influence that one creed has had on the other has evolved over time. The Apostles' Creed, written first, served as a framework for the Nicene Creed. After the Nicene Creed was finalized and grew in popularity, however, it's thought that it later influenced future revisions of the early Apostles' Creed. In fact, the Apostles' Creed did not take its final form until the eighth century in France.

  30. BONUS QUESTIONS Who were the 12 Apostles of Jesus Christ? We find the names of the 12 apostles in Matthew 10:2-4, Mark 3:14-19, and Luke 6:13-16: And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles: Simon, whom he named Peter, and Andrew his brother, and James and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot, and Judas [also called Thaddeus or Jude] the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

  31. BONUS QUESTION # 2 What was the name of the person that replaced Judas Iscariot after he betrayed Jesus? • St. Matthias had replaced Judas. The choosing of St. Matthias as the twelfth apostle is recorded in the first chapter of the Book of Acts. • "For it is written in the Book of Psalms: 'Let his dwelling place be desolate, And let no one live in it'; and, 'Let another take his office.' • "And they proposed two: Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and MATTHIAS.  And they prayed and said, 'You, O Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which of these two You have chosen to take part in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.'  And they cast lots, and the lot fell on MATTHIAS.  And he was numbered with the eleven apostles" (Acts 1:20-26).

  32. WHAT QUESTIONS DO YOU HAVE?

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