In today’s Bible reading, we hear Peter’s confession of who Jesus is, namely, “You are the Christ (Messiah), the Son of the living God” (Matthew). In a sense, this is Peter’s Creed. Contrary to popular belief, a creed is not a prayer, but is a confession, or a statement of what a person believes. Very often when we confess our common Christian faith in church, in the words of the Apostle’s Creed, we see people with folded hands and bowed heads, which is not wrong, or bad, but would it not be wonderful if we could open the back (or front) doors of the church and all shout our belief to the world? If you have ever wondered what you would tell someone who asked you what it is that you believe, you could simply recite the creed, or use it as an outline, putting it in your own words.
The Apostle’s Creed can be thought of as a compact Bible. Our Christian faith in a triune God is more than adequately expressed in the Creed. The work of each person in the Trinity is described in the articles, one article for each Person, and our faith in one God is seen in the whole creed.
The first article expresses our belief in God the Father, the Creator and preserver of the world. The second article goes on to describe Jesus, the Christ or Messiah, the Redeemer of the world. The third article describes the Holy Spirit, the Person of the Trinity whose work it is to bring us to faith and to keep us in faith.
The three articles of the creed together form one Creed, in the same way the three Persons of the Trinity, God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and God the Holy Spirit, form one God. This statement of Trinity can also be seen in two more similar creeds, the Nicene Creed, which is most often associated with and said on Communion Sundays in our church, and the Athanasian Creed, which is recited (or more often, read, because not many people have this one memorized) on Trinity Sunday, once a year.
As you can see, the Creed is not only a statement of what we believe, confessed by each individual, but it is a great evangelism tool, a tool to be used to express what you believe, and if you also have the explanations to the articles memorized, why you believe. If you have not done so by now, I suggest you submit at least the Apostle’s Creed to memory and use it as often as possible, not only to express your faith to others, but also as a reminder to you of your faith.
O Lord, God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, I believe as I confess in the Apostle’s Creed, forgive my doubt and help my unbelief. Thank You for this creed, this statement of what I believe. Help me to use it, not only for my own strengthening, but also as a way to share my faith with others. I pray this for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
Sorry it has taken so long to respond to this comment. For some reason I must have missed it, but came across it today, so . . .
ReplyDeleteI am sure that when you read the Hebrew you notice that in the Shema God is in the plural, i.e., Hear O Israel the Yahweh, Our God (plural) the Yahweh is One. And certainly when you read in Genesis One that in the beginning God (again plural) created the heavens and the earth. And of course you have read how Jesus equates Himself with the Father, how Jesus, Son of man continually demonstrates His divinity through the signs, wonders and miracles He performed (see Gospel of John), and certainly you have read in Revelation how God is alpha and omega, beginning and end and how He was dead and now is alive (Rev. 1:18), and how He tells us to baptize in His name, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Certainly this has not escaped your attention and study.
Let’s start with the fact that Jesus Himself declares that He and the Father are one, John 10:30.
ReplyDeleteNow let’s go through Revelation:
Rev. 1:8
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
Who is the Alpha and Omega? Also notice the Trinitarian description of Jesus, is, was, is to come.
Now go to Rev. 21:5-7
5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.
Again, who is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end?
Now go to Rev. 22:13
13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”
And again, who is the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end?
Now go to Rev. 1:17-18
17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.
So, when did the first and the last, the Alpha and Omega die?
Jesus had to be truly God, and He was, conceived by the Holy Spirit, in order to be perfect.
Jesus had to be truly human, and He was, born of the human woman, Mary, in order to be able to be our substitute.
Interestingly enough, a cult or sect is described as a group that holds beliefs contrary to the traditional Christian faith, i.e., the teachings of the Apostles, Nicene and Athanasian creeds. All creeds written in order to combat heresy and heretical teachings in the orthodox Church.
To the statement, God cannot die. If Jesus is not God and if Jesus did not die, as God, then the price for sin, eternal spiritual death has not been paid. Likewise, if Jesus did not rise from the dead, then we would of all people be most pitied. But the fact is that Jesus is God, who died in the flesh of a human to pay the price, once for all, for the sins of humanity, and rose victorious over sin, death and the devil.
ReplyDeleteNow, as for Jesus being God, let us look at Luke 5:17-26
17 On one of those days, as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with him to heal. 18 And behold, some men were bringing on a bed a man who was paralyzed, and they were seeking to bring him in and lay him before Jesus, 19 but finding no way to bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down with his bed through the tiles into the midst before Jesus. 20 And when he saw their faith, he said, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.” 21 And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 22 When Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answered them, “Why do you question in your hearts? 23 Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? 24 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the man who was paralyzed—“I say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home.” 25 And immediately he rose up before them and picked up what he had been lying on and went home, glorifying God. 26 And amazement seized them all, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, “We have seen extraordinary things today.”
Notice that the Pharisees believed that only God could forgive sins and that only God could do miracles. Thus, to prove He was God, not only did Jesus forgive sins, but healed the man, thus proving His divinity. Of course, as we read in other passages, the Pharisees were quite dismayed and upset knowing that if Jesus kept proving Himself to be God, and the Messiah, that others would turn to Him in faith and be drawn away from their Pharisaic lifestyle.
Another example, among many, of Jesus showing Himself to be God is the account of Jesus calming the storm on the sea. Although some would like to allegorize this story to show that even though we have troubles in life and God calms our troubles, the true meaning of this account is to show that Jesus is God. Who else, except God has power even over nature itself?
Truly, to deny that Jesus is God is to deny salvation, for is Jesus is not God, then our faith is in vain, because our faith would then have to be internalized and we would end up believing in ourselves for our own salvation, which is idolatry.
And, the reason God is in the plural is because He is a God who is a plural God, not a pantheistic God, not a polytheistic God, but a plural God, a God who is three persons in one Godhead. Otherwise, God would have had Moses write God in the singular.
ReplyDeleteIf Jesus were not God, why would He answer Satan that is is God by saying, "Jesus said to him, 'Again it is written, "You shall not put the Lord your God to the test."’” Matthew 4:7
ReplyDeleteWhy do you suppose the Pharisees were ready to stone Jesus when He told them, "Before Abraham was, I AM," except they knew that Jesus was claiming to be God, I AM, as in God telling Moses that I AM has sent me! And how could Jesus be before Abraham, except that He is God.
ReplyDelete