The following thoughts on the Apostles’ Creed were sent out by our vicar Chris, over a few weeks, to members of SPOTR. They are reproduced here for anyone interested in this amazing summary of the faith.
Thoughts on the Apostles’ Creed
Week one
Starting today, for a few weeks in this weekly email I am going to write a series on the Apostles’ creed. We say this creed in our morning service regularly (and no doubt will in the evening at some stage!). It is one of a few statements of faith we declare together, and probably the one we use the most. I plan to say more about the content of the creed in future weeks, but for today I want to start addressing a question I often hear – why do we say this old thing together?
There are a number of reasons people ask that question, again some of which I plan to address in future. But one reason is – it is so old! Maybe saying an old thing like this was normal back in the day, but it isn’t now. Does it have connection to us now, and the way we do church?
Well, it is indeed old – not quite going back to the Apostles themselves, but it is from the early days of the church and seeks to summarise the essential teaching of the Bible, focussed especially on the sorts of things the Apostles taught. And saying something together like that might seem strange. But a trend growing in the Western world currently, which I have mentioned before, is people (especially young people) looking for ways of understanding life that have ancient roots. Many feel the world is full of things that are here today, gone tomorrow, and they want something that has stood the test of time. Obviously, for Christianity the Bible is that above all. But being able to express a summary of the Bible’s teaching through a creed can have a powerful sense of connecting to our roots.
So, odd as it might seem, the creed is likely to have increasing value evangelistically in coming years. It is certainly one way in church where we can connect with, and identify with, the ancient roots of our faith. And, in fact, it connects us to the way those ancient roots have been continually expressed throughout the last couple of thousand years. I’ll come to that more next week, but better leave it there for now!
Week two
Last week I began a series on the Apostles’ Creed, a summary of the Christian faith we often say together in church. And I started answering the question – why do we say this old thing in church in the 21st Century? The first part of the answer was that it being very old is actually part of its power, and I noted the increasing desire among young Westerners for something that has ancient roots.
Another element of that is the idea of catholicity. People often ask me ‘why do we say we believe in the catholic church in the creed when we aren’t Roman Catholic?’ Fair question! But catholic (small ‘c’) doesn’t actually mean Roman Catholic (just like saying we are an ‘apostolic church’ doesn’t mean we are part of the Apostolic denomination). The word ‘catholic’ means ‘universal through space and time’. So when we say we believe in the ‘catholic church’, we are saying we believe the church goes through time and across the world, not just in one place (or in one denomination), nor just now. We are saying we believe Jesus saves and brings people together across the world and throughout time.
This is actually really beautiful when you think about it, and another reason the creed is worth saying together. The creed itself is ‘catholic’ in that it has been declared by churches all over the world for nearly all of Christian history. So there is a very real sense that we stand and declare the creed with a Christian congregation in 5th century Rome, with a young girl getting baptised (who would have recited the creed at her baptism, as we still do) in 8th century France, with a church resisting pressure from Islamic powers in 10th century Northern Africa, with a church in 14th century southern India, with a church that has rediscovered the centrality of the Scriptures and grace during the Reformation in 16th century London (and one in Geneva and one in Strasburg at the same time), and churches standing and declaring their faith on the same Sunday we do in Canada, Uganda, Seoul and Christchurch.
The creed reminds us we are part of something much bigger, and connects us to that bigger reality. What a privilege to be part of that reality!
Week three
This is the third in a series I have been writing for these emails on the Apostles’ Creed. I have written about the reasons we say such an old creed together, including the power of something deeply rooted and something that we share with the church across time and space.
But what is the creed, and what is in it?
This creed, as I noted before, is a summary of the faith that goes back a long way – not to the time of the Apostles, but it is still pretty early, and was developed from earlier shorter versions. The intention of the creed is to summarise the essential teaching of the Bible, focused especially on the sorts of things the Apostles taught. It has been traditionally recited at baptism, as the faith a person is baptised into (we use it in this way in our baptisms).
One striking thing about the creed is its Trinitarian shape.
It begins by saying ‘I believe in God, the Father almighty’, speaking of him as creator.
Then it moves to ‘Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord’. This summary of Christ’s incarnation, death, resurrection, ascension, and future return, is the longest section of the creed, reflecting that our faith is focused on the way God has revealed himself and brought salvation through Jesus.
The last section begins by saying ‘I believe in the Holy Spirit’, and ties the Spirit directly to the church, the communion of saints (ie gathering and connection of Christians), forgiveness, the resurrection of the body (referring to our resurrection, which is sure because of Jesus’ resurrection already mentioned), and life everlasting.
The Trinitarian structure framing our faith reminds us that our faith is centred on God and who he is, rather than on ourselves or anything else. And the content reminds us of the main things that Christians have always considered main!
So as we declare this creed together, take note of what you are saying – the rich faith we have been blessed with, by our generous God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Week four
One final weekly word on the Apostles’ Creed! For the last three weeks we have thought about the deep roots of the creed in the history of the church and the way it connects to other Christians across time and space. We considered what the creed is (a summary of the essentials of the Christian faith which we declare together) and its content (based around a Trinitarian structure, focused especially on the coming and work of Jesus).
I want to finish the series with a couple of more practical considerations on saying the creed together, and why it is worth focusing on when we do declare it together in church.
Firstly, I mentioned last week the connection to baptism – that it has been traditionally declared at baptisms, as the faith into which a person is baptised. This means it is also a summary of the faith you were baptised into. So as you say it, think of your baptism (whether you remember it well or not!) and remember the connection you have to this faith and to the faith of people throughout the centuries.
The creed is also, in another sense, a declaration of allegiance. This is a summary of the God we are committed to, what he has done and what he will do. In a sense, we nail our colours to the mast when we declare this creed. Richard Drury, when he leads our services, often reminds us that this creed summarises the faith people die for in many places in the world – because it is worth dying for.
Related to both of the above, there is a sense where saying ‘I believe’ these things is like a ‘renewal of vows’. We are saying, ‘I am still committed to this faith this week, I recommit myself to it’.
Finally, repeating the creed regularly is an aid to memory. Many older saints who have declared this creed regularly all their lives, even when memory generally is fading, can still remember these words. I know that this, along with verses of Scripture, is something I would like to have among my lasting memories!
I hope you have enjoyed considering the creed together, and I hope saying it will not be a mindless act, but rather a declaration together of a rich summary of the truth of God our Saviour!
St Peter's of the Rock 