A consideration of the environment within which the creed arose may provide some context for its construction. Christianity developed and spread across the Roman world in a context of paganism. The creation stories of Rome and Greece spoke of a multiplicity of gods in conflict as they sought to make their way in a world that was birthed out of chaos. In response, the creed proclaims,
“I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.”
Thus, the affirmation of the Almighty God was in sharp contrast to the prevailing beliefs of the culture of the day. This clearly marked out the believer as distinct. The further addition that God is the Creator of heaven and earth marks Him out as distinct and independent from the created order in contrast to the gods of the nations who were very much a part of the universe. Therefore, the first paragraph of the Apostles’ Creed sets forth belief in a holy God – separate and distinct from the creation of which He is Author.
But this God is relational – He is Father to the Son – the unique Son, the One and only, who is Lord. He, rather than Caesar, is the one to be venerated and adored, and He lived here, and has a name – Jesus. He is the answer to the ancient Jewish expectation of a Messiah – the Christ who fulfills the Old Testament prophecies.
“I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.”
The affirmation of His incarnation or embodiment in human flesh was important in the milieu of Gnostic teachings that decried the physical for the spiritual. The explicit affirmation of Jesus’ equality with God will be seen in later creeds, but in this early expression we see that it was understood from the beginning that there is significance to the virgin birth of Christ. He was the long-promised Seed of the woman who would defeat the serpent. The historicity of Gospel accounts is affirmed with the mention of His mother Mary and His suffering under the Roman governor Pilate.
“He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried”.
If there were any questions as to whether Jesus was truly human, they should be put to rest in this historical fact. He was crucified, died, and was buried. Clearly, he wasn’t merely a spirit who inhabited a body – He was in fact fully human and suffered and died as such.
“He descended to hell.”
What is to be made of this curious (to us) statement? This must have been significant in their moment. In the paucity of words in the Apostles’ Creed, it could easily have been skipped and the flow unstopped from death and burial to resurrection. The word hell is not speaking of the fiery place of judgement, but of the grave, the place of departed spirits. So, He descended to the grave carries the sense, and this is more than just that He entered death, as the previous clause already makes this point. Further, it seems to convey that He entered the grave consciously, that His descent into the underworld had purpose. Several biblical passages seem to allude to this without giving much detail as to its purpose (Romans 10:7, Ephesians 4:9). 1 Peter 3:19, a notoriously difficult passage, may also be a source for this phrase in the creed. So, what was Jesus doing in the grave? It seems that in the grave He proclaimed victory over it. He entered the place of the departed, knowing that it could not hold Him (Acts 2:24,27). In the grave, the death knell sounded to the king of terrors (Job 18:14). Therefore, He is Lord of all. When every knee bows to Jesus, every realm is under His control – heaven, earth and under the earth (Philippians 2:10) and is thus subject to Him.
“The third day he rose again from the dead.”
The message of victory proclaimed in the underworld comes to pass as he exits the grave bodily. The salvation work of the cross is accomplished and sin’s penalty satisfied. Paul teaches in 1 Corinthians 15 that His resurrection is the firstfruits of coming resurrections – His is the guarantee and pattern for the bodily resurrection of those who trust in Him (vv.20,23). The inherent value resident in our individual bodies is seen in Jesus forever embodied, and the salvation He procures is one that saves us bodily (Philippians 3:21). The Lord [is] for the body (1 Corinthians 6:13)! He spends a further forty days on earth encouraging and teaching his disciples and then rises into heaven (Acts 1).
“He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty.”
This ascension into heaven indicates that His time on earth did not disqualify Him from the heavenly realm. His bodily return to glory, unsullied by the defilement of this world, has opened the way for believers to have access to the heavenly throne at any time (cp. Hebrew 10:20). His session at the right hand of God points Him out as the Lord of Psalm 110, the Christ of God (Acts 2:36). He is the One to whom the destiny of the universe has been committed. The sacrificial work is over – the Priest sits down (Hebrews 10:12). One day He will rise as King to receive what is lawfully His.
“From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.”
This is what gives life purpose. There is a “Lawgiver” and Judge (James 4:12). Justice will be upheld – “a king will reign in righteousness” (Isaiah 32:1). In the face of distress, disaster, and persecution, the believer can rest in the assurance that all will be accounted for.
In this middle paragraph focusing on Jesus there are eleven verbs. Nine have been completed – He has been conceived, been born, suffered, been crucified, died, been buried, descended, risen and ascended. One is present – He is seated. We await the final one – He will come. John completes the Revelation with the words on every believer’s heart. “Come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20).
But there is a waiting time. He will come, but He hasn’t come yet. What about this interim life on earth? Have we been left alone? The answer, of course, is “No”. The believer knows and affirms,
“I believe in the Holy Spirit”.
Jesus’ return to the Father was followed by the descent of the Holy Spirit. He who had descended on Jesus as a dove at His baptism, enveloped and indwelt the believers in Acts 2. Jesus had promised His arrival in the upper room prior to his crucifixion, saying, “I will not leave you orphans” (see John 14:15-18). The Holy Spirit would come to enable the believers to complete the commission that Jesus left them (see Matthew 28:20) and to unite them into the church which is His body (1 Corinthians 12:13). Therefore, every believer is marked out by God with the seal of His Spirit as the guarantee of their eternal association with Him (Ephesians 1:13-14). They are members of
the holy catholic church,
the separated people, from every walk of life, from every language and people group, who constitute a unique, one-of-a-kind, universal entity that Jesus promised He would build (Matthew 16:18). Together, they enjoy
“the communion of saints,”
since they share the same basis of fellowship,
“the forgiveness of sins,”
on the grounds of salvation by grace, through faith in the Lord Jesus (Ephesians 2:8). This salvation is comprehensive – undoing all that sin has done to us (1 John 3:8) and finally destroying the last enemy: death (1 Corinthians 15:26). The goal of creation – Creator and creature enjoying one another forever – will ultimately be accomplished with
“the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.”
This distillation of Christian truth could be easily committed to memory. In this era featuring waves of persecution, with its pressures to revert to paganism, and the allure of denigrating the physical in favour of the spiritual, these three paragraphs catechized new believers in the fundamentals of Christian belief. Isn’t it glorious to consider that these truths are still recognized as the foundation of faith? That those early believers, without ready access to Bibles and the proliferation of Christian materials that have come to us as a by-product of technology, believed the same things we do? That these truths are still grounding and relevant in the pluralistic environment in which we find ourselves?
References
Know the Creeds and Councils by Justin Holcomb
The Apostles' Creed by Gavin Ortlund on Truth Unites Youtube Channel
