The Creed

Strangers in a strange land

I awoke this morning to the ringing of the phone. The usual daily conversation ensued. It’s not that I want to be bored with the whole thing but this is how my morning starts everyday. These calls with my friend from Mercury are all the usual stuff. He lets me know of any odd solar events that are about to occur. I let him know how the information he gave me yesterday was good, we have a few exchanges of pleasantries and that is it for another day.

Now I suspect and hope that all of you know that I am of course joking. I must be. This would be for many reasons. We of course all know that there is no life on Mercury. We also know that there is no communication to Mercury. And last but not least for the deeper thinking ones here, that there is not enough of a time span, light speed wise, between here and Mercury for early warning to be of much help.

So what is the point?

The point is that I woke up this morning and spoke to the Creator of the universe. I read information in his word that was helpful and relevant to my day, and I thanked him for the blessings of yesterday. Not only this but as far as the world can see my conversation was as committable as the fictitious one with my alien friend.

Beyond that it is about as explainable as the alien conversation too. You see when we get right down to it we believe many things. We believe them for many reasons. We may be able to explain some. We may not be able to explain others. We may be able to rationalize some with logic and able to be flexible about others.

I must say before we dive into the Creed that I do not want to represent it as authoritative or as a part of the Canon. It is not the Lord’s Prayer or the Ten Commandments. But as the Presbyterian confession of faith states; [it is] agreeable to the word of God, and anciently received in the churches of Christ.

As we look at the Apostle’s Creed we find a group of statements that are as much to the core of who we are as anything. We do not flex on these things. We may be able to rationalize some, and may not be able to even explain to ourselves others. But we believe them with wholeness of heart.

Since the early church these basic statements of faith and truth have not been open to question. And as much as they are not questionable they are utter foolishness to the world.

The statement: I believe in God, the Father Almighty, can get by most people but it is not the end of the statement, He is of course the Creator of heaven and earth, and here we are already in trouble and at odds with the world. A complete and sovereign being who made it happen. Not Darwin. Not balanced forces of good and evil, or yin and yang, not the power of man not an independent bang. CREATOR OF HEAVEN AND EARTH.

You see what we really have here is a litmus test. We as Christians accept the authority of the Bible. We live and die by it. At either the onset or somewhere along the way all in the world fall away from these statements. They are not based on the clever thoughts of man rather they are based on the Nature of God, and based on the book he provided. They are what he has revealed to us of his character.

In this first statement we conclude with: and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, OUR LORD. And the completion of the first sentence clears out the other faiths.

In Psalm 100 we read: Know that the Lord, He IS God: It is he who has made us and not we ourselves; We are his people. Now some may have been asking how I ever would have linked the Psalm and the Creed into one. But as I pointed out the Sovereign nature of God is paramount to our understanding of the Creed. I cannot claim authorship of this comparison. It is on this comparison that I was compelled to the Topic.

It is a song written by Rich Mullins about the Creed that I saw this. In his words:

And I believe what I believe, is what makes me what I am.
I did not make it, No it is making me.
It is the very truth of God and not the invention of any man.

And once again incase you missed it.

And I believe what I believe, is what makes me what I am.
I did not make it, No it is making me.
It is the very truth of God and not the invention of any man.

Isn’t that the truth. You see these are not just the statements that define who God is. They are the defining statements that shape who we are. Our Holy Spirit implanted desire to become more Christ like is a process that involves emulation, and emulation is also worship. In our thought process the dwelling on the Sovereignty of God brings about a change. We see God’s Holy nature and it affects us. It changes us. Not once but in an ongoing fashion. These truths of God outline for us a focus on his character and by result our interrelationship to him.

Who was conceived of the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,

So, ah, How does that work? Can you explain it? I know that I can’t. I also can verify the truthfulness of the statement. We say take it on faith. Not convincing but again at the core of our beings as Christians we know or should know that it is true. It is the very truth of God. Not the invention of any man. This is a characteristic of much of what we believe. It is a characteristic of much of the creed. I cannot explain the virgin birth. I cannot explain the Trinity, and I cannot explain the resurrection. I know the truth of all of them. I have an implanted belief. As a matter of proof I have the Faithfulness of God. Again not convincing to one outside of Christ. But very compelling to all in the Body.

Of course it is followed by something not only explainable but reasonably believable. Isn’t it curious how the most understandable and possibly provable statement in this whole creed directly reflects mankind’s darkest hour.

suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.

We need to understand this from two points. One is from the point noting Christ’s undeserved punishment. Understanding that He fulfilled all that was prophesied about him. That he went to the grave. That he went to the grave unjustly. Two is that we are the ones that put him there. This phrase denotes again Christ’s faithfulness to us. But it also denotes our culpability in the act of his crucifiction.

We now come to what I have, in the past, found to be the most incongruous statement in the Creed. I should first let you know that I have spent much time over many years wondering about the next phrase. I also believe that in the minds of the forefathers that penned these words they had a specific meaning in mind. When I read through all the other statements I see the very truth of God. I am led to believe that although the Creed is not canonical, it is unlikely that an actually incongruous statement would have made the cut, and survived all these years.

‘He descended into hell.’ Calvin writes in his ‘Institutes of the Christian Religion’ for four pages on these four words. Although there is more than one way of looking at it I feel that the important question is this; Have you heard of the phrase he’s been through Hell? Well I would submit to you that Christ being wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities is a Hell of its own. It is being forsaken by the Father in a way that we cannot comprehend. What we are saying is that He bore the weight of divine severity since he experienced all the signs of a wrathful and avenging God.

As Calvin writes: This is our wisdom: duly to feel how much our salvation cost the Son of God.

Now the exciting stuff.

I have an image in my mind brought to me buy a certain recording of the Rich Mullins song I referred to earlier. You have all heard the phrase, And the crowd goes wild. On this recording they do. When we speak the words: The third day He arose again from the dead. Do we go wild. Do we feel a leap in our hearts? VICTORY! For the Messiah has fulfilled his mission and has set the captives free. The game is won. He has Set US free.

He ascended into heaven
and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty,
whence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.

Again we are shown the ultimate Sovereignty of God. This image is one of an all powerful God that demands our worship. Our worship in humbly seeing that he has bought and paid for us. And now is overseeing his purchase from his rightful throne. Not as a bystander but through the loving guidance of his comforter.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

For this we thank and worship him. How? We thank him and worship him in private and in, or with

the holy *catholic church,
the communion of saints,

We do this in the manner of Psalm 100

Make a joyful shout to the Lord all you lands!
Serve the Lord with Gladness:
Come before his presence with singing.
Know that the Lord, He is God.
It is he who made us and not we ourselves;
We are his people and the Sheep of his pasture.
Enter into his gates with thanksgiving.
And into his courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him and bless his name.
For the Lord is good:
His mercy is everlasting.
AND HIS TRUTH ENDURES TO ALL GENERATIONS

the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting.

These are of course the promises to us. Not deserved but lovingly bestowed.

So for the point. The point is this. We are strangers in a strange land. Aliens. What we believe is foolishness to the wise. But what we believe is everlasting. There is a fundamental difference between us and the world. The world knows it. So should we. We should hold fast to the truths in the Creed for these truths are the ones that are making me.