How we talk about God has big implications for how we live in God’s world. We are always asking and answering two questions whether or not we know it. They are: How do I perceive God? How do I perceive myself? How we understand who God is directly influences what we understand about ourselves and how we live in this world. This is a simple definition of discipleship. It is the continual asking and answering of those two questions. How do I perceive God? How do I perceive myself? As my answer to one grows more complete, so does my answer to the other. We’re currently exploring how the Apostles’ Creed helps us in this endeavor.
This week we focus on the parts of the Creed that describe God, the Son. The Apostles' Creed contains no less than 11 statements that succinctly answer two other questions: Who is Jesus? What has He done? Talking about the answer to the first question is to discuss Christ’s person. Discussing the second question is to talk about Christ’s work. We can’t answer one question without also answering the other, too, but sometimes it is helpful to distinguish between Jesus’ work and His person in order to talk clearly about what they mean for us.
These first three statements talk about the person of Jesus. Jesus is the only begotten Son of the God the Father Almighty. Our English versions of the Creed sometimes do not emphasize the word that should be translated “only begotten,” yet this is a very important word in the Creed. It reminds us that Jesus is of one substance with the Father. In other words, Jesus isn’t created. He is not part of God’s creation. Jesus is God. The Nicene Creed expands the wording of this to further clarify, but both the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed are in agreement that Jesus is God and Jesus is the Son of God.
Jesus is our Lord. In order to speak this Creed out loud and not be lying, one has to confess Christ as their master. In saying “our” we are also simultaneously affirming that not only do we belong to Jesus, but we belong to each other. Jesus is not “my” Lord. He does not belong to me, and I do not simply belong to Him. Jesus is our Lord. All his people belong to Him. If I will have Christ as my master, then I will have His church as my brothers and sisters, too.
Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit. Here is another statement that tells us about the person of Christ. He is not only human, but he is divine. The Holy Spirit must also be God. When Joseph had an angelic vision, he was told not to fear because the child Mary conceived was from the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:20). So now in three short phrases the Apostles’ Creed lays out the mystery of the Trinity. How’s that for short and sweet?
The question comes back, “What if they meant something else by those statements?” Indeed, could it be that they didn’t mean to lay the framework for a tri-personal God (to use John Frame’s word)? The next statement further explicates the mystery. Jesus was born of the virgin Mary. Only God could cause the human birth of child from the womb of a woman who had not intimately known her husband yet. “Born of the virgin Mary” is the phrase that summarizes the truth about the two natures of Christ—divine and human. In other words, Jesus is fully God and fully man.
This may all make sense, but why the phrase stating “he suffered under Pontius Pilate”? What does Pontius Pilate conjure in your mind? Imagine Pontius Pilate as an icon on your computer screen. If you double-click him, what images and windows open up? First, we should understand that Jesus was an historical person, just like Pilate. We have archaeological records outside the Bible that attest to the reality of Pilate as an actual man who actually ruled in Rome during the first century. Second, we should understand that Jesus suffered as an innocent man. How could a human put God on trial and find fault with Him? This phrase reminds us of Jesus’ sinless life of obedience to His Father. He was obedient to the point of suffering unjustly by a human who had no fear of God.
The most climactic statements about Jesus in this creed are the next two phrases: He was crucified, died, and was buried, on the third day He rose again from the dead. (Note that I'm skipping the phrase "he descended into hell" in this blog post. That one is going to take a blog post of its own to discuss, especially since there are whole books written about this one controversial piece.) This is the centerpiece of Christ’s work, described by four verbs. “Crucified” more completely describes His suffering. “Died” confirms that the suffering was complete. “Buried” tells us that no one expected Him to come back. But the most amazing miracle is the historical detail next given that on the third day He rose again from the dead. Death could not hold Him down. All my sin put on Jesus on the cross could not keep Him in the grave. God raised Him up for my justification and for your justification. The finished work of Christ is that He has dressed us in His righteousness, so I no longer depend on my own merits but solely on Christ's merits.
In the next post, I'll finish exploring these phrases about God the Son and go on to talk also about the role of the Holy Spirit as we find it in the Creed.
Last year in Foundations we took some time to talk about the nine saving events of Christ. We studied them in order: 1) His birth 2) His sinless life 3) His death 4) His resurrection 5) His ascension 6) His session 7) His outpouring of the Holy Spirit 8) His intercession on our behalf 9) His parousia, or second coming. This Creed has them all—and all stated very briefly. How can we talk about all that Christ is and all that He has done? Start by learning this Creed and then thinking about what each phrase means. Think about those parts of Scripture on which the Creed is based. Then you will have a succinct way to talk about and understand our God in all His fullness.
In Him,
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