New Series: The Apostles’ Creed
From the early church to the Reformation to our own day and age, the formation of the Christian life centers around three points - The Ten Commandments, The Lord’s Prayer, and the Apostles’ Creed. Over the course of the summer, we will be preaching through the key texts that underlie this historic creed. Before we do, let us address two questions.
First, why creeds? Are creeds necessary? Isn’t the Bible enough? I grew up in a context which declared: “No creed but the Bible!” That in itself is a creed. Creeds are part and parcel of our lives because we naturally summarize life. Let’s face it; the Bible is a big book, and we are tasked with passing it along from generation to generation (2 Tim. 2:2). The Bible is well aware of this fact, for we find creedal statements within the Bible (Col. 1:15-20; Phil. 2:5-11; Deut. 6:4-9). At some point, we need to take these big truths and put them into digestible forms. I envision creeds, confessions, and catechisms as pegs upon which we can hang big biblical ideas. One could easily expound hundreds of verses about God the Father, or we could begin with “I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth.” By doing so, we have packed big truths into a little statement for growing minds, who in turn will spend eternity unpacking this truth.
Alongside the command to proclaim truths to coming generations, creeds serve to protect the truth. As one scans church history, one will find that creeds arise to quell the rise of heresy. In this light, we can say that creeds and confessions do not cause division; heresy does. A house divided will fall; therefore, we are tasked with protecting the truth and with protecting the church built upon the truth. In a world awash with error, we and our children need the tools to protect and proclaim the truth.
The answer to the first question is in the affirmation: creeds are a necessary and unavoidable consequence for our faithful witness to the world. The second question then is this: why the Apostles’ Creed? To begin, the Apostles’ Creed was not written by the apostles but was developed around the sixth century; however, it does summarize the core of their teaching. As Joel Beeke states, “Built on a Trinitarian framework, the Apostles’ Creed affirms faith in the saving acts of the triune God and centers around Christ’s mediatorial work.” Is this not the gist of the Bible’s teaching? (Ephesians 1; 1 Corinthians 15:1-8; Luke 24:45-50). As the late Princeton professor Charles Hodge said on the eve of his retirement, “I have never advanced a new idea, and have never aimed to improve on the doctrines of our fathers. I am not afraid to say that a new idea never originated in this Seminary.” In the same way, the Apostles’ Creed is not original but pulled from the very pages of sacred writ. To deny the Apostles’ Creed or to confess something contrary to these foundational truths would place one beyond the pale of the historic Christian church.
When we confess these truths each Sunday, we confess enduring truths. These truths have formed, preserved, and protected generations. These truths have persevered through the wiles of Satan and the fires of affliction, bringing comfort to millions in both their life and their death. Now, over the course of the summer, let us explore these truths and apply them to our lives that we may tread the old paths with all those who came before us (Jer. 6:16).
