Intro Apostle's Creed.Intro

The Easter Vigil

The Apostles’ Creed: A Guide to the Ancient Catechism Introduction: The Ancient Catechism

On the eve of Easter Sunday, a group of believers has stayed up all night in a vigil of prayer, scriptural reading, and instruction. The most important moment of their lives is fast approaching. For years they have been preparing for this day.

When the rooster crows at dawn, they are led out to a pool of flowing water. They remove their clothes. The women let down their hair and remove their jewelry. They renounce Satan and are anointed from head to foot with oil. They are led naked into the water. Then they are asked a question: “Do you believe in God the Father Almighty?” They reply, “I believe!” And they are plunged down in the water and raised up again.

They are asked a second question: “Do you believe in Christ Jesus, the Son of God, who was born of the Holy Spirit and Mary the virgin and was crucified under Pontius Pilate and was dead and buried and rose on the third day alive from the dead and ascended in the heavens and sits at the right hand of the Father and will come to judge the living and the dead?” Again they confess, “I believe!” And again they are immersed in the water.

Then a third question: “Do you believe in the Holy Spirit and the holy church and the resurrection of the flesh?” A third time they cry, “I believe!” And a third time they are immersed. When they emerge from the water they are again anointed with oil. They are clothed, blessed, and led into the assembly of believers, where they will share for the first time in the eucharistic meal. Finally they are sent out into the world to do good works and to grow in faith.

The Apostles’ Creed: A Guide to the Ancient Catechism Introduction: The Ancient Catechism

That is how baptism is described in an early third-century document known as the Apostolic Tradition. It points to the ancient roots of the Apostles’ Creed. The creed comes from baptism. It is a pledge of allegiance to the God of the gospel—a God who is revealed as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; a God who is present to us in the real world of human flesh, creating, redeeming, and sanctifying us for good works.

“Creeds are just political documents”

It is often stated that these creeds are created for political control. A group of bishops in a room with some political leaders to enforce their own understanding of the faith.

In the case of the Apostle’s Creed, this could not be further from the truth. This was not created by a council, it was not part of a theological strategy.

The Apostles’ Creed: A Guide to the Ancient Catechism (Introduction: The Ancient Catechism)

It was a grassroots confession of faith. It was an indigenous form of the ancient church’s response to the risen Christ, who commanded his apostles to “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matt 28:19–20).

Even with that, I would like to mention that the Nicene Creed, which did come from two different councils in the 4th century but it is also just an expounding and clarification of the ancient baptismal confession.

Was it the creed of the Apostles?

There are 12 statements of belief in the creed and one of the urban legends that people like to believe is that each of the Apostles wrote a statement. The truth behind this, though, is that it does have roots in the first apostles. It is a reflection of their leadership and their understanding of faith in the first couple of centuries.

For example, Irenaeus (mentored by Polycarp, who was a follower of the Apostle John) Irenaeus wrote this in a widely dispersed teaching:

The Apostles’ Creed: A Guide to the Ancient Catechism Introduction: The Ancient Catechism

The church, indeed, though disseminated throughout the world, even to the ends of the earth, received from the apostles and their disciples the faith in one God the Father Almighty, the creator of heaven and earth and the seas and all things that are in them; and in the one Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who was enfleshed for our salvation; and in the Holy Spirit, who through the prophets preached the economies.… The church … carefully guards this preaching and this faith which she has received, as if she dwelt in one house. She likewise believes these things as if she had but one soul and one and the same heart. She preaches, teaches, and hands them down harmoniously, as if she possessed but one mouth. For though the languages throughout the world are different, nevertheless the meaning of the tradition is one and the same.

Primary functions of the creed

Two primary functions of the creed:

Educational

Sacramental

Educational:

Catechism for new believers. As we shared at the beginning, the Easter vigil and the preparation for baptism.

The threefold confession of faith was to be written on their hearts. Even if they were illiterate they could have the substance of the biblical story. This gives them the basic guide to biblical interpretation and theology.

Sacramental:

This was not only used for preparation of baptism but it was part of the baptismal rite itself. This is a threefold p[ledge of allegiance and a threefold immersion into the life of God.

Again, Irenaeus,

The Apostles’ Creed: A Guide to the Ancient Catechism Introduction: The Ancient Catechism

“The baptism of our regeneration takes place through these three articles, granting us regeneration unto God the Father through his Son by the Holy Spirit.”

The words are words of power. The words perform like the water of baptism.

Observations of the Apostle’s Creed?

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe 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, died, and was buried; He descended to the dead. On the third day He rose again; He ascended into heaven,

Is seated at the right hand of the Father, and will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic* church,

the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting. Amen.

Simple

Christological

Very little about the Holy Spirit

Confessional

Why is the Apostle’s Creed important?

Why is the Creed important?

1. What we believe is important

2. It is biblical

3. The creed teaches, anchors, directs

1. Belief:

I want to say a word about belief. Believing in something requires obedience or action. The creed within itself has no magical powers. Is it formative to say it every day? Does saying something over and over again affect you, sure but so does telling yourself that you are stupid or valueless everyday. Beyond the formation of repetition, this creed has no power to save within it.

this creed will not be anything other than a statement if we don’t live in it. If it does not shape how we live in the world.

Some of us have never leaned into these statements. We don’t know what we think about the virgin birth, or the ascension, or judgement. So some of us actually do not believe all that is found in the creed.

Secondly, You can know these words and not believe them. Not care much about what you are saying. Me adding this creed to our service will not ensure that we are all living out the same faith.

This series should deepen our devotion to what we believe. And in stating it communally it should bind us together.

2. Biblical:

Second: the truths within this creed are completely biblical.

There are some of you in the room that are nerding out right now. High liturgical background. So this is like your jam right now.

There are some of you that are bible church bible belt, extra-vangelical…and you are going, “I only need one creed and that is the word of God.”

3. Teaches, Anchors, Directs

The Apostle’s Creed (and any of our creeds held by the historic church) do the following:

Why is the creed important?

1. It teaches the faith

Catechism = echo. Teaches the faith.

2. It anchors our faith to nonnegotiable truth

This creed ties us to the mast of our faith so that we do not drift where we do not belong.

Week 1 when I got here, Dr. Baker misspoke and mentioned that the seminary I am attending is Union Theological Seminary. I go to United Theological Seminary. I had to correct him because I was worried yall would google Union. At the time Union had just been allover the social media world because they had a worship service where they filled the sanctuary with plants and worshipped them for earth day. They asked the plants for forgiveness and sang to them. Weird.

More importantly, the president of the seminary was interviewed by the New York Times and admitted to denying the virgin birth and the resurrection.

When you these truths become negotiable, then a lot of weird stuff begins to happen....thus our denominational struggle.

3. It directs our worship in the proper direction

We say the Creed because it is formational and directional. For some of us we have said the pledge to flag of the US more than we have the Creed and this is the most important statement of allegiance we have in our faith. The most clear.

We sing about all kinds of subjective things here. We study and might talk about subjectivity. Like what we feel and what we are learning, and what do we do when we encounter God and What we feel in the presence of God and what salvation feels like.

This is the one thing where the subjective “I” holds to objective truths.

I believe in God the Father almighty. And in Jesus Christ is only son our Lord. And in the Holy Spirit, and the forgiveness of sins, and eternal life.