A few year ago, I had a church member tell me how much he appreciated reciting the Apostles' Creed in church each Sunday. You see, he didn't grow up in a Methodist church, but a little country church and they didn't say the creed. And when he came to the Methodist church, he was skeptical of what seemed like a unnecessarily formal ritual. But after a a while, he asked his young daughter what Christians believe and she recited to him the Apostles' Creed. And man told me, "I get it now."
The Apostles' Creed is a beautiful and succinct summary of the basic Christians faith--what we believe. It’s important to know, everything in the Creed is based on Scripture. Now, you can't look up the Apostle's Creed and find it in the Bible. But all the principles it teach are in the Word. And that's why we believe it.
Matthew 16:13-17
13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”[a]
14 “Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.”
15 Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah,[b] the Son of the living God.”
17 Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John,[c] because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being.
Scripture tells us that God sent Jesus to save and perfect His children. Ephesians 1:4-5 says, “Long ago, even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. And this gave him great pleasure.”
Who is Jesus? If a person stopped you on the street and asked, “Who is Jesus?” What would you say? What would you say if they asked you what He did? Perhaps you would be at a loss about what to say, but you don’t have to be, because we recite who Jesus is and what He did every Sunday in our Apostle’s Creed. Say it with me:
The Apostles’ Creed
I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth;
And 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, dead, and buried;
He descended to the dead;
the third day He rose from the dead;
He ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead...
“He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary…”
You know the Christmas story. God sent the angel Gabriel to appear to Mary. In Luke 1:34-35 it says, Mary asked the angel, “But how can I have a baby? I am a virgin.” The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby born to you will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God.”
Jesus is special. He was part of God’s plan to save us from the beginning. He is the Son of God. He is the product of a miraculous birth. He is the fulfillment of a multitude of prophecies given hundreds of years ahead of time.
Yet He was also born as a helpless baby to a very human mother. He was flesh and blood.
He had to grow up like us. He had to learn. He felt emotions, got his feelings hurt, felt hunger, got tired, cried real tears and shed real blood. Hebrews 2:17 says, “It was necessary for Jesus to be in every respect like us, his brothers and sisters, so that He could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God.”
Jesus also suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried.
Matthew 27:1-2 – “Very early in the morning, the leading priests and other leaders met again to discuss how to persuade the Roman government to sentence Jesus to death. Then they bound him and took him to Pilate, the Roman governor.” [A real person… Seat in Caesarea Philippi…]
Suffered – John 19:1-3 – “Then Pilate had Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip. The soldiers made a crown of long, sharp thorns and put it on his head, and they put a royal purple robe on him. “Hail! King of the Jews!” they mocked, and they hit him with their fists.”
Buried – Mark 15:46 – “Joseph bought a long sheet of linen cloth, and taking Jesus’ body down from the cross, he wrapped it in the cloth and laid it in a tomb that had been carved out of the rock. Then he rolled a stone in front of the entrance.”
These are real places. These are not just stories. These events really happened. Jesus is a real man who went through utter agony and paid the ultimate price for you and me!
And 1 Peter 4:6 — “For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are dead…”
(See also Acts 2:2, 31; Ephesians 4:8-10; and Romans 10:6-7)
There are differing interpretations on why Jesus descended to the dead and what it means. I find comfort in thinking that it means even those who lived and died before Christ's atoning sacrifice had a chance to hear His message and be saved and Christ personally took them the message.
Thousands, if not millions, of people visit this tomb every year. Jesus is still not there. I’ve been there and I’ve seen it and I can testify. The tomb is empty; Jesus is risen! I know He is risen, because I talked to Him just this morning!
We believe in a Lord who has authority over everything—even death. When you begin to worry that your problems are too big, remember you believe in Jesus Christ who rose from the grave! He can overcome any problem you face—even death.
It was important for Jesus to return to heaven. It tells us that His home is heaven. Jesus has taken His rightful place on the heavenly throne. We too should set our sights on our Heavenly Home and think not only of this world. For even if we suffer and die here (as Christ did), our true Home is in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Jesus’ ascension to heaven also tells us that we have a job to do here on earth. If Jesus wanted to do all the work, He would have stayed until all the work was done. He ascended to heaven so we would have a chance to do some of the work ourselves. Though Jesus empowers us and helps us to accomplish his plans, we are the ones who have to act as his hands and feet. We are his body. If we don’t act as Jesus to this world, no one will.
Say it again with me:
We believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth;
And 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, dead, and buried;
He descended to the dead;
the third day He rose from the dead;
He ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
Do you truly believe? Reciting the words doesn’t save you. Only a personal relationship with Jesus based on true faith saves you. It is when your eyes are suddenly opened and you realize, “Oh my! Jesus really does want to save me! He really did suffer and die for me. He was whipped for my transgressions. He was punished for my disobedience. He bled to wash away my sins! He died for me! And on the third day, He rose from the grave. He ascended to heaven and one day He’s going to come back for me and I want to be ready!”
When you realize that, repent, and you pray in your heart, “Lord, I believe in You and I want You to save me! Forgive me! Help me to live the way You want me to live! Be the Lord and Savior of my life!” Then, you will be saved.
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