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02. The Creed
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02. The Creed
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02. The Creed29. What is a creed?
A creed is a summary of the essential content of a doctrine of faith. Such a creed contains all the
things which the members of a particular religious denomination profess.
It is by way of its creed that a religious denomination distinguishes itself from another.
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30. Are there biblical creeds?
Yes, even the Old Testament contains texts that bring common convictions of faith to expression. In
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one such creed it says: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!” (Deuteronomy 6: 4).
This profession, entitled “Hear, O Israel”, was one that the Israelites expressed together. Thereby
they attested their belief in the one God in a time when the nations around them venerated many
different gods.
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The New Testament contains texts which employ specific formulations expressing that God grants
salvation in Jesus Christ.
Examples of such New Testament creeds are:
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“Jesus is the Lord!” (Romans 10: 9);
“Maranatha” (1 Corinthians 16: 22) = “O Lord, come”
“The Lord is risen indeed” (Luke 24: 34)
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“[...] if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him
from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the
mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
Romans 10: 9-10
31. How did the first Christian creeds come into being?
, The first Christian creeds are called the “early church creeds”. They came into being between the
second and fourth centuries AD. It was during this time that the doctrine of the trinity of God and the
doctrine of the essence of Jesus Christ, that is, of His nature, were formulated.
This had become necessary because there had been disputes about various contents of faith. For
example, there was the opinion that Jesus Christ did not really die on the cross and that He did not
really resurrect. The function of the creeds was to distinguish the faith from these heresies.
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32. Which statements became part of the content of the Christian creeds?
The deciding factor as to whether a statement about the nature and activity of God could be
incorporated into the creeds was its agreement with the doctrine of Christ and His Apostles.
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33. Which are the most important of the early church creeds?
The two most important early church creeds are the Apostolic Creed (“Apostolicum”) and the Creed of
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Nicaea-Constantinople.
The basic features of the Apostolicum were compiled in the second century and lightly supplemented
in the fourth century. The Creed of Nicaea-Constantinople is the result of the Council of Nicaea (in the
year 325 AD) and the Council of Constantinople (in the year 381 AD). The main purpose of this creed
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was to enshrine the profession of the trinity of God.
A council is an assembly of senior religious dignitaries, who come together to discuss important
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matters of faith.
34. What is the text of the Apostolicum?
“I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, His only
Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He
suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the
third day He rose again. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He
will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy universal
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