The Apostles' Creed - Pt. 27

 

Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. (Psalm 103:1-5 ESV).

 

We don’t always like to bring up the topic of sin. But in our life of faith it’s necessary to face up to our desperate predicament. Sadly, none of us acts the way we should toward God, others, ourselves, and God’s creation. We persistently choose to disregard our maker, contend with others, deceive and harm ourselves, and mistreat creation. Our sin not only leads to trouble and misery but also shows that we rightfully deserve punishment. So with great relief and joy we confess, with the Apostles’ Creed, “I believe in …the forgiveness of sins.” The heart of the creed’s teaching emphasizes our need for the Savior, Jesus Christ. Through his atoning sacrifice, Jesus washed away our sin. Even though we still continue to struggle with sin, Jesus assures us that God will not judge us as we deserve because we have been forgiven.

 

The forgiveness of sins stands at the core of following Jesus. Because we have been forgiven, we can, through the power and help of the Holy Spirit, strive each day to faithfully serve Jesus. As he gave himself for us, out of thanksgiving we can live for him.

 

While this seems superfluous, it is an essential of our faith. Understanding the incredible gift of God sets us free from the burden of religion. This was the whole of the preaching and teaching of Jesus when confronted by the religious leaders of His day. There were literally thousands of rules and laws of their religion. No one could possibly do enough to satisfy the demands of these rituals and laws. Neither can we do so today. The good news is Jesus paid the price I could never pay and died the death I deserved. That declaration then gives me access and standing as a child of God, adopted into His family with all the rights and privileges that accompany that standing.

 

Once again we see the incredibly practical effect of the declaration of our creed. They are not mere words. They are the truths that surround us with a deeper understanding of the mercy and grace of God, our Father! Bless the Lord, O my soul!

 

The Apostles' Creed - Pt. 26

 

For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. (Romans 12:3-8 ESV).

 

Many years ago I heard someone say, “I believe in the communication of the saints.” While good communication is essential in all kinds of relationships, our connectedness in Christ goes beyond communicating well with each another. This is the impact of the next statement of faith in the Apostles’ Creed. When we say, “I believe in …the communion of saints,” we are saying that through Jesus’ blood we not only belong to him but also to each other. Our blood relationship in Jesus transcends even the real blood we share with our own family members.

 

And our communion with each other is more than just a statement of fact. Paul goes on to explain that belonging to one another has a crucial function. Each of us has been given gifts by the Holy Spirit. Though our gifts vary, the purpose for them is the same: to build one another up in service to the Lord and for the benefit of all. Using our gifts leads to all kinds of ways in which we can show God’s love to one another and to all the people around us.

 

The gifts we have may include preaching (prophesying, bringing God’s Word to people), teaching, leading, serving, giving, or a number of other abilities. Jesus wants us to use these gifts with thanksgiving and love to strengthen his body so that all can join in the communion of saints. This truth also helps prevent the heresy of dividing the body of Christ along lines of clergy and laity, minister and member. We are all equipped to share in the ministry of Christ in our world. We are all “called” in the communion of the saints.

 

The Apostles' Creed - Pt. 25

 

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.” (Revelation 7:9-12 ESV).

 

The Christian faith is deeply personal. At the same time, it is also deeply communal. When we say, with the Apostles’ Creed, “I believe in …the holy catholic church,” we are declaring that the church, the body of Christ, includes all who belong to the people of God throughout history. Let’s be clear, though, that this statement does not single out or promote a particular church within the body of all who believe in Christ. The word “catholic” here means “universal,” indicating that the church of Christ includes all of God’s people from all times in history. The breathtaking vision in Revelation captures the scope of Christ’s church gathered “from every nation, tribe, people and language.”

 

While this is difficult for some to verbalize, much less believe, it is the indication of Scripture. Through the centuries we have seen many prerequisites for inclusion in the “catholic” church. Some have used the litmus test of baptism or other actions; while others have various beliefs that have become the mainstay of inclusion in their membership. Please do not misunderstand. It is acceptable to choose to include others in your local community of faith based on these things; however, it is not acceptable to exclude others from the entire family of God based on them. There is only one prerequisite to being born again… that is the work of grace through Jesus. He is the only means to adoption into the family of God (cf. Ephesians 2:8-9).

 

And, this has been the case since the early centuries of the church, the teaching of statements like the Apostles’ Creed has played a central role in uniting Christians around the true faith anchored in Scripture and inspired by the triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I hope this truth and witness of the universal church comforts, encourages, and challenges you to love and serve the God whom countless believers have served through the ages.

The Apostles' Creed - Pt. 24

 

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:14-17 ESV).

 

When we confess, with the Apostles’ Creed, “I believe in the Holy Spirit,” we affirm that the Holy Spirit worked in and through the people who wrote down the words of Scripture to reveal God’s design and purpose for us. Paul describes the Spirit’s work as “God-breathed.” Just as the Holy Spirit breathed life into the first human being (cf. Genesis 2:7), so the Holy Spirit breathed into the work of the Bible’s human authors, making the Scriptures full of life and giving all that we need for faithful living. He also worked in the transmission and preservation of those Scriptures. Paul’s words to Timothy in our reading offer practical advice for us.

 

Recently I received an inquiry from a follower of Morning Devotionals. The asked why some translations do not contain some of the verses that appear in others. Usually this is true when comparing newer translations with some of the older ones. Since newer discoveries of manuscripts have been made in recent centuries, some of the translations based on previously discovered texts are corrected to place the corrections in the footnotes. What has been absolutely agreed upon by all major scholars is the truth that nothing of substance has been changed with the thousands of these discoveries. That is because man is not the author of them. It is the Holy Spirit who has written it.

 

Timothy had learned the truth found in the Scriptures. And here Paul encourages him to continue to read, learn from, and trust in God’s Word, which helps every believer focus on living God’s way for full, meaningful life. God’s Word can be trusted because it is not the mere words of imperfect human beings; it is the truth of the eternal God himself.

 

The Apostles' Creed - Pt. 23

 

[Jesus said] “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?” Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me. These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” (John 14:18-26 ESV).

 

Sharing a last meal with his disciples just hours before his betrayal and death, Jesus drops a bombshell. He tells his disciples that he will soon be leaving them. Jesus assures his followers, though, that he will give them an “advocate to help” and counsel and comfort them. The original Greek word here for “advocate” (parakletos) refers to someone like a lawyer who provides counsel in legal matters. Our Bibles today translate this word using “advocate,” “counselor,” “comforter,” and other terms. When we say, with the Apostles’ Creed, “I believe in the Holy Spirit,” we are taking comfort that the Spirit is our advocate and counselor.

 

There are those times in our lives when it seems impossible to know what to do. Not only do we have someone who will accompany us through these difficulties, we also have the presence of God to guide us with His wisdom and strength. This promise of the Holy Spirit offers us great comfort. We are not alone. Jesus has sent the Holy Spirit to counsel and comfort us, leading us into truth. The Holy Spirit is sent by the Father and the Son to live in us, helping us to face the future with absolute confidence.

 

When you find yourself in a crisis, remember who has been given to you for just such a time. Even when there doesn’t seem to be any means of escape from the trial and difficulty, the Holy Spirit is walking in and with us to show us our future. He is the Comforter and Counselor bringing perfect peace and deliverance. That is our confession in the part of the Apostles’ Creed.

 

The Apostles' Creed - Pt. 22

 

As surely as God is faithful, hour word to you has not been Yes and No. For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you, Silvanus and Timothy and I, was not Yes and No, but in him it is always Yes. For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory. And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee. (2 Corinthians 1:18-22 ESV).

 

When we say, with the Apostles’ Creed, “I believe in the Holy Spirit,” we assert that the Holy Spirit is our guarantee (v. 18). “Guarantee” is a legal term more comprehensive and of higher import than either warranty or "security". It most commonly designates a private transaction by means of which one person, to obtain some trust, confidence or credit for another, engages to be answerable for him. We’re somewhat familiar with this concept, though if you are much like me, you are wary of the genuineness of the offer. When we buy electronics, cars, and many other things, they often come with a warranty. This is sort of a guarantee, a promise that the item can be repaired or replaced if it doesn’t work right. There are always certain conditions to be applied in order for these “guarantees” to actually benefit us. Thus we have come to “reading the fine print.”

 

Well, that is not what the Scripture teaches about the “guarantee” given to us for our eternal life. As our reading asserts clearly, God will keep every promise he has ever made. Most importantly, God has promised that he has forgiven our sins through his Son, Jesus. God has also promised that he hears and answers our prayers and that that he will never reject or abandon us. To prove that, He has given us His presence in the Holy Spirit. God’s children have an eternal guarantee, and it’s been purchased for us through the blood of Jesus. After ascending to heaven, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to be our living guarantee. Now the Holy Spirit dwells in our hearts, assuring us in all circumstances that we belong to God.

 

Doubts and temptations will come. When they do, listen for the gentle promptings of the Holy Spirit in your heart. The Spirit is our unshakable guarantee that God loves us. Listen and follow him.

 

The Apostles' Creed - Pt. 21

 

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. (Genesis 1:1-2 ESV).

 

Today we move to the next general declaration in the Apostles’ Creed. After stating that we believe in God the Father and in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, we now follow up with a declaration about the third person of the Trinity: “I believe in the Holy Spirit.” It is interesting that the Apostles’ Creed doesn’t elaborate on the person or work of the Holy Spirit, but that doesn’t mean He’s somehow less important than the Father or the Son. Both the Old Testament and the New Testament teach that the Holy Spirit is God. In our reading today, the Bible’s opening verses, picture the Holy Spirit hovering over the chaos of unformed matter before creation. So the Spirit, together with the Father and the Son, was there in the beginning, giving shape to the cosmos.

 

Belief in the Holy Spirit, third person of the Trinity is at the heart of Christian faith although many people see the Holy Spirit as an abstract concept which they find difficult both to understand and to relate to. Because of this many names and symbols have come to be used to help Christians grasp the dynamism of the Trinity who is Father, Son, and Spirit.

 

The Holy Spirit is active in every aspect of our lives. The Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin and rebellion against God. The Spirit breathes life into our hearts and removes our spiritual blindness, giving us eyes of faith. The Spirit is the one who helps us see and understand that Jesus is the Savior who has shown us the grace and love of the Father. And throughout our lives the Spirit continues to work in our hearts, gradually making us more like Jesus and prompting us to serve him in the world.

 

We will explore some of these as the days unfold; however, that which is central to our understanding today is found in the declaration of Jesus when He instructs the early disciples that “I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, l will send him to you.” (John 17:7 ESV). The key word is “Helper.” He is comforter, the one who strengthens, and sustainer in our lives. He is the eternal, almighty God who indwells us!