Rose Publishing - The Creeds: How Early Christians Defended the Gospel

Caravaggio: Crucifixion of St. Peter, Santa Maria del Popolo, Rome

Early Christians struggled to keep their faith rooted in the historical truth about Jesus Christa truth first proclaimed by apostolic eyewitnesses, then passed on through oral traditions, and recorded in the New Testament writings. By providing brief summaries of the truth about Jesus, creeds promoted unity and identity among believers in Jesus Christ.

DOCTRINE: From the Latin word doctrina , meaning teaching, learning. A doctrine is a belief that a group holds as true. Christian doctrines organize and explain the beliefs the church learns from the Bible.

CREED: From the Latin word credo , meaning I believe. Creeds are simple summaries of beliefs. They are easy to memorize and flexible to teach.

Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of Gods promises to the people of Israel. For this reason, Christianity was not simply another Jewish sect like the Pharisees and Sadducees. Early Christian writings, including the earliest of the creeds, clearly reflect efforts to demonstrate that Christian faith consummated and fulfilled the Old Testament promises of a Messiah. Eventually, this radical claim led to a separation between the church and mainstream Judaism. Some Jewish religious leaders persecuted believers in Jesus. One of these religious leadersSaul, later known as Pauleventually trusted Jesus as his Lord and Messiah.

The early church also experienced persecution from the Roman Empire. The Romans were tolerant of other peoples religions to a point; because of their respect for ancient and venerable traditions, the Romans even tolerated the Jewish religion. As persecution drove believers away from Jerusalem, it became clear that Christianity was not simply another Jewish sect, and the Romans began to demand that Christians worship the Roman emperor. Christians refused to worship the Emperor and declared that Jesus alone is Lord. Christians refusal to worship the Emperor was one reason for the vicious Roman persecution in the latter half of the first century. The powerful influences of pagan cultureboth in the state religion of emperor worship and in the growing presence of Gnosticismmade it all the more important to articulate clearly what Christians ought to believe. Identifying God as the sole Creator of all things and declaring Jesus as the only Lord became an important confession for the early church.

Jesus life and ministry challenged Jewish expectations and hopes. The radical call to be transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit and live a different life is not easy to digest. New Testament writers had to stretch their knowledge and understanding. These Spirit-inspired authors presented the truth about Jesus in ways that could be understood not only by Jewish people but also in the broader Greco-Roman world and beyond. The New Testament writings and the creeds of early Christianity answered some of the challenges of the Greco-Roman world.

Today, the creeds still give us identity as Christians. They tell us the following and much more:

• What does it mean to be a Christian?
• Why is it important to believe in the Trinity?
• Why is it important that Jesus is fully God and fully human?
• What unites us as believers?

The Apostle Paul emphasizes one Lord, one faith, one baptism (Eph. 4:2). When we recite the creeds, we agree with them; and this agreement joins us in one Lordthe God of the Bible, revealed to humanity as one God in three personsand one faith: the confession of our common belief. The creeds identify us as the church, the called-out people of God.

CONFESSION: From the Latin word confiteri , meaning acknowledge. Like creeds, confessions are an active acknowledgement of the churchs faith and teachings. Often, confessions of faith include not only creedal declarations but also statements that summarize the unique teachings of a particular denomination or group of believers.

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Creeds in the Bible

The Bible is a confessional document. It is Gods revelation of Gods plans for humanity. It also includes human responses to Gods revelation: praises (psalms), confessions (for example, Naamans and Peters in 2 Kings 5:15 and Matthew 16:16), petitions, and creeds. To treat the Bible as a confessional document means that Christians affirm (confess) its teachings as truthful. These confessions identify Christians as Gods people.