Our Need for Creed

Introduction

No creed but Christ??

Looking at Paul’s Creed

To call what the Apostle has written here a creed is perhaps not entirely accurate. Paul isn’t giving them something which is to be repeated as a creed necessarily. However, as far as content goes, it does form the most basic idea of the purpose of a Christian creed.

What is the purpose of a creed? A creed is a formal statement of beliefs (the word comes the latin credo, which means, I believe). By stating these beliefs, it is setting the boundary in defining a community of faith. In other words, a creed is a definition of who can and cannot be called a member of the church.

A confession is similar, but a little more specific. While the Christian Creeds generally define what beliefs are essential to be a true church, confessions define a specific movement or tradition within Christianity. The Second London Baptist Confession of Faith, published in 1689, is a confession that generally defines what a church belonging to the Particular (or Reformed) Baptist Tradition is. A creed is generally broader and defines what is considered necessary belief in order to be a Christian.

Not everything in every creed needs to be completely understood in order to be saved, although some are. For example, believing that Jesus is the Son of God is necessary, but believing in the hypostatic union, although essential to the faith, may be passed over in ignorance. However, to deny the doctrine of the hypostatic union would put someone outside of what can biblically and historically described as the true Church of Jesus Christ.

So we may consider the statement in verses 3-4 as a creed in the sense that it is the Apostle’s most pithy and basic description of the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ. To deny this is to deny Christ and puts you outside of the church and salvation.

The Reminder

While the ESV reads “Now I would remind you” the Greek literally says “I make known to you.” and is in the present tense. The idea is not so much that Paul is reminding them, but rather that he is continuing in proclaiming the Gospel to them in all that he says. All of his instructions come back to the fundamentals of the Gospel. In his exhortations, he is continuing to build on the same foundation, drawing out and instructing the believers on the kind of lifestyle and church that results from a true faith in the foundational Gospel.

“you received…stand fast…are being saved” This is the same Gospel that Paul preached to them when they first believed, and in all that he instructs them the fundamentals are in view. In this, they stand fast, since they continue in their faith, despite their problems and shortcomings. Many have noted that while Paul is ready to call the Corinthians “saints”, he did not do so for the Galatians. They had accepted a heresy that went against the fundamental Gospel. The Corinthians, although in trouble, had stood firm on that Gospel. However, it will only do them any good if they continue to hold fast to that original Gospel. Once that is lost, the gig is up and there is no true Christian witness left.

When Paul says “being saved” here, it reminds us that while justification by faith happens in a moment, the fullness of our salvation is a lifelong process. Justification bears sanctification leading to glorification. Although they have started that road, they must continue in it if they are to see the end of their salvation realized. Many begin the path to life, but many fall away from it over time when faith in Christ is lost.

“unless you believed in vain.” This also is badly translated, and terribly so. It makes it sound as if someone could believe and yet their faith would be vain, that is, insufficient to save them. In Greek, the word translated vain means to take something lightly, inconsequentially, and without thinking or seriously considering its outcome. So what Paul is saying is not that true faith might be insufficient to save them, but rather that a light and unconsidered confession of faith will not be enough to keep them in the Gospel and in true salvation.

Here is the nature of true saving faith, a faith that thinks and seeks to understand and contemplate. Salvation is not attained through a faith that is not thoughtful and serious, a faith that does not consider the consequences of what is believed or how it should be lived out. This is no faith at all, for it does not take seriously that which is the most serious of all. It is closer to a sarcastic mockery than genuine belief. Essentially, Paul is saying that faith in this Gospel will save them unless they never gave any real, serious thought to what it was they were believing.

This tells us something about the nature of Creeds and of the Gospel message itself. It is not something you can simply recite without understanding or giving much thought or consideration to what it means. Jesus was not one to push someone to a decision to follow him, but rather said to count the cost. Consider it carefully, so that if you do decide to follow Christ you will do so with full conviction and understanding. This is what was so awful about the sinner’s prayer used for so long in evangelism, it engendered a passive and vain faith, a faith that gave little consideration to what it was believing or what that would mean for their life. So it is not enough for you to cite Creeds, or Scripture for that matter. Its not enough to have your theological ducks all in a row, or even to be a baptized member of a church. Is your faith of such a quality that you are seeking and considering it and the way you must hold to it in your life, confession, and worship? The message of the Gospel is not “get on board the train of salvation, sit back, and enjoy the ride.” It is, “get ready for the long and difficult hike up into the rocky mountains, making sure to always carefully stay on the path on which you started.” That path is the Gospel, and the genuine believer has assessed and continues to assess the road ahead, making sure that their feet are planted securely on a biblical confession.

Paul’s Creed

Now let us look at the nature of what we might here call Paul’s Creed for our purposes here. What is the content, and how should it be understood? We see here the very most basic understanding of the Gospel to which we must hold.

“Of first importance” what Paul initially preached to them as the most important thing was the very message that he received from Jesus on the road to Damascus. Remember, Paul got his Gospel from Jesus personally, not from the preaching of the other Apostles, though his Gospel agreed completely with theirs. Paul stresses this here and elsewhere, we even saw it last week in Romans 16, that his Gospel is divine in origin and comes not from him nor from any man. However, it agreed with the Gospel which the disciples preached and so was confirmed by all the other witnesses of Jesus’ resurrection. This, which Paul made known to them, the very essence of the message of salvation, was communicated to him to be delivered as the primary focus and importance. Nothing is more important than the very next words, as it is the very essence of what must be embraced by faith in order to be saved.

“that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas (Peter), then to the twelve.”

In these short sentences, Paul has compacted all that is necessary for saving faith. Let us unpack it for a moment to see we understand everything.

“Christ” in the first word of this credal statement, already it is full of doctrine. He is called Christ, that is Jesus. Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, the one prophesied about, the one who delivers God’s people, the true King of all things. The first and most fundamental part of the Gospel is what we think about Jesus. He must be Christ to us, rightly understood, otherwise there is not true Christianity.

“died for our sins”. This, of course, is crucial. The very heart of the Gospel is the work of Christ. The Jews were awaiting the Christ, and some wondered that he might be him. However, even Peter, who made the first confession of Jesus as the Christ, could not bear this truth at first. That the Christ must die was in the prophets, though the interpretation was missed. We must believe that he did truly die a human death and that this death was for sins we’ve committed. Without the death of the Christ to do away with our sins, the Gospel is nothing.

“according to the Scriptures”. Though we may often forget it, the connection Jesus has to the OT is very important. If Jesus is not the Christ of the OT, he is not Christ. The prophets looked forward to the work he would do, and so the Gospel must be in line with the OT Scriptures. This makes the OT a crucial part of our Bible’s, for without it, we cannot with full confidence confess this part of Paul’s Gospel.

“buried…raised”. He was buried which confirms that his death was a true death, as opposed to various ideas that Jesus was not truly dead but only in a coma. His body was interned in the ground, which is reflected in the phrase in the Apostle’s Creed, “he descended to hell” which does not refer to Christ literal visit to hell, but earlier Greek manuscripts have it as a descent into the grave. Hades, which is sometimes equated with hell, was used to describe the ground symbolically as the realm of the dead. He joined the human race in being interned in the ground in hope of resurrection life. Being raised, he became the firstborn of the resurrection (Col 1:18) which is the foundation of all our hope for life in Christ. In his resurrection, death has been defeated which means sin has also been defeated. Now this speaks of a true, bodily resurrection from the dead. To reject the physical, bodily resurrection of Christ is to place yourself outside of salvation in the Gospel. The resurrection is the cornerstone of our hope in Christ, and without it there is no hope and we are still in our sin destined for eternal death. This resurrection, also, lines up with what the Scriptures had expected, as the Gospel is in the OT concealed until the time should come when all things would be made clear.

“he appear to Cephas, then to the twelve”. Of course by “twelve” he means the disciples as a collection, not the literal number since aside from Peter and Judas they were only ten at the time. Nevertheless, this is an important part of the Gospel because it is an affirmation of the NT writings, the Gospels, the epistles, and the Gospel as it is handed down to us. These were eyewitnesses of the Lord’s resurrection, and their testimony is vital to the truth we believe. While “according to the Scriptures” validated the OT, these appearances validate the NT as the truth given to us from those who saw the resurrected Lord.

Why a Creed?

Why is it so important for us to formally put our beliefs into a creed?

Because without a solid definition of what is and is no Christianity, the Church remains open to attack and schism. Since we will differ in so many things, we must be able to define what unites us.

But isn’t Scripture enough?

Scripture is indeed enough to give us the Gospel. However, many who profess to believe the Bible do not believe the Gospel, so a sure definition of it’s most important teachings is necessary.

Why do we need more than Paul’s simple Gospel here?

Because Satan tends to twist Scripture for his own gain, and some interpretations of Scripture are wrong to the point of heresy that is not compatible with true Christianity. Further creeds were necessary in the early church, and confessions throughout church history, to establish the correct interpretation of the Gospel in issues such as the Trinity, the duel nature of Jesus Christ, and more. Over time, heresies arise that must be dealt with, and the historic creeds deal with these fundamental errors that pop up again and again throughout history.

How can we know what the right interpretation is?

The Bible can be interpreted correctly when personal bias and truthful searching of the Scriptures is done. However, many who do not know God are used by Satan to destroy the church through heretical interpretations that are not true to the text.

Are creeds infallible?

A good creed does not contain error, and yet it is not infallible in authority. We do not believe a creed is infallible in itself, like Scripture is. Rather, a creed may be without error because it aligns correctly with the Biblical Gospel.

Why should we be familiar with historic creeds and confessions?

Because like Paul, we should seek to know what is most important, what was given to him and the other Apostles, because by that Gospel we are saved. The church has historically held to certain truths and necessary to grasp the true Gospel, and in learning about how they worded those truths we can be made safe from error in our day. There is no need to invent the wheel.

Conclusion

Over the next few months, we will be examining the historic creeds that we hold to as true interpretations that safeguard the Gospel by which we are saved.

Knowing these will help us connect with the historic church, see how they dealt with heretical error, and familiarize ourselves with the creeds that all Christian traditions that can be called Christian have built themselves on, which in turn are built on the Scriptures.

But it is not enough to know the truth in mind, lest we believe in vain. We must know these truths in our hearts and constantly meditate on them and their outcome in our lives. In this true and living faith, we have assurance that we will be saved in full at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.