Nicole is an old acquaintance of mine from High School. She grew up as a good Catholic girl and took classes to teach her the basics of the Christian faith. One of the lessons she learned was the Apostles Creed—the same creed we say on Sunday mornings, the same creed used in thousands of churches of many different denominations all around the world.
As an adult, Nicole still remembers the creed she learned as a child and it is a continual reminder of the Christian faith. Nicole has hosted many exchange students from around the world and the Apostles’ Creed helped Nicole share her faith with them as she explained what Christians believe. Nicole has been a good an ambassador for Christ.
Christians should take advantage of every opportunity to share our faith with others. But in order to do that, we have to know what we believe. Perhaps, like Nicole, the Apostles’ Creed can help you be more effective in explaining what you believe. The Creed is a succinct declaration of our belief—the faith handed down to us for generations all the way back to the 12 Apostles in the Bible. (And most of us probably have the Apostles’ Creed committed to memory by now!)
Over the next few weeks, we’ll study the Apostles’
Creed—mining the rich treasures of our faith hidden in each section. But first, let’s hear the Word of God.
Genesis 1:1 – “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
John 1:1 – “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the
Word was God.”
Now, say the first section of the Apostles’ Creed with me: We believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth; And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord… Here we have the first and most basic statement about our Christian faith.
We believe in God. We believe there is a Higher Power that is beyond us. There is more to life than just us and what we see. There is a God.
That
simple fact changes life from a mere struggle for the survival of the fittest
to something altogether more meaningful.
It means there must be a grander purpose to life. These four simple words,
“We
believe in God…”, beg us to ask all kinds of questions like: Who is this
God? What is God like? Can I know God and how do we relate to each
other?
The next words of the Creed provide some of the answer the Christian faith offers:
God is like a father. He looks after and cares about His children. He provides for them. He teaches them. He disciplines them. He plays with them.
When my kids were little, we would sometimes wrestle and tickle each other. What a sight to see an grown man with his children climbing all over him, laughing and playing.
God is a Father. We can play with God, but He will also discipline us when we are disobedient.
God is almighty: all powerful, all knowing, and present in all places. God is the last word, the final say. He has authority over all things. No one and no thing can overpower Him or circumvent Him.
These words may be troubling to those who wish to disobey or disregard God; but, knowing that God is Almighty is a great comfort to those who seek Him for strength to overcome adversities that are too big for us to handle on our own (but never too big for an Almighty God).
Look
up at the stars in the night sky. There
are a thousand billion trillion stars in the universe. The stars you see are trillions of trillions of trillions of trillions of miles
away. God is present on each of those at the same time that He is here. God created it all and He has power and wisdom and authority over it all.
Now, Christians are not the only religion that believes in God. Every civilization in the history of the world—regardless of where in the world they lived—has believed in God in some form. But of all the religions of the world, Christianity is unique because we believe in Jesus Christ. Without Jesus Christ, our faith is incomplete.
The word Christ means Messiah, the chosen one. We believe Jesus was appointed by God for the special purpose of saving humanity. We believe that Jesus can save us. We believe that Jesus can save our children. We believe that Jesus can save our parents, our friends, our neighbors, our wife or husband. We believe that the salvation of the world comes through Jesus the Christ!
Jesus is more than just a man. All religions have great people who have shaped their religions—Jews have Moses, Buddhists have Buddha, Muslims have Muhammad. But these men were mere mortals.
Christians believe Jesus is more than just a man. Jesus is the Son of God. John 1:1 (which refers to Jesus as “the Word”) says, “In the beginning the Word [Jesus] already existed. He was with God, and he was God.” So, Jesus is the Son of God and He is God. Jesus was with God when the world was created. What a mysterious faith we have!
We believe that Jesus is God and also the Son of God, that Jesus is a divine
being and also lived as a man! We don’t have enough time today to explore all
the ramifications of Jesus as the Son of God—but it is a fundamental and unique
belief of the Christian faith that Jesus is the Son of God.
That is, Jesus is unique in his relationship with God. There are no other “sons” of God that can lead us to God besides Jesus.
Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.”
And finally, we believe in Jesus Christ the only Son of God our Lord. That is, we submit to the Lordship of Jesus in our life. We surrender our lives to him and accept his authority over us. We seek to obey his teachings and follow his direction for daily life.
Say the first part of the Apostles’ Creed with me again: I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth; And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord…
Conclusion
Members of our church promise to support the church with our
prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service, and our witness. We must know what we believe if we want to be
effective witnesses.
The Apostles’ Creed helps us know what we believe. It gives us the basics of the faith in a few short statements. I hope it will help you share your faith with others as you recall the deep
meaning of our Creed.
Not only do I hope you will share your faith. Even more important, I hope you will truly believe. Do you truly believe the words you say when you recite the Apostles’ Creed? Do you believe in God the Father Almighty? Do you believe in Jesus Christ His only Son our Lord? More than anything, I hope you will truly believe and know the eternal life that God offers all who do.
