“But, who do You say that I am?” Matthew 16:15

In this week’s Post, we’ll continue to explore the meaning of the various phrases contained in the Apostles Creed.  We had covered the first two lines, and now pick up our narrative with …

“…who was conceived by the Holy Spirit…”  In Christian theology, the Holy Spirit is a member of the Holy Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Ghost.  These three are referred to as “God in One”, meaning that all three are aspects of the same singular deity we refer to as the God Almighty.  Depending on how literally you take the Bible (more on that later), God has expressed Himself on Earth in three ways: as God (seen walking in the Garden of Eden looking for Adam and Eve); as Jesus Christ (the only begotten Son of God as described in the New Testament); and as the Holy Spirit (God’s ephemeral essence of “Spirit”) which is (and always has been) “with” us here on Earth, and has manifested at various times and in various ways throughout History.  Rather than ‘visit’ Mary in physical form, God chose to have her conceive by means of the Holy Spirit; whereby she would have become pregnant via “Immaculate Conception” (i.e., conception without congress with a man).

“… born of the Virgin Mary …”  The only way that Jesus’ paternity could be absolutely guaranteed was for Him to have been conceived before Mary had engaged in a conjugal relationship with a physical man.  Hence, the need for her to have been a virgin at the time of conception, and her conception to be caused by the Holy Spirit (see above).  Although Mary and Joseph had been betrothed/engaged, the Jewish tradition was that the engaged couple would live together for a year before they were married, and that they would abstain from sex with each other during that time.  In their culture, it was important for a woman to be a virgin at the time of her engagement/betrothal to assure that any offspring occurring after the marriage were the progeny of the husband.  Mary’s pregnancy would have undoubtedly been reason for much gossip among their small community, but Joseph stood by her, finished the engagement period and married her despite the fact that her son was not actually “his.” [Matthew 1:18-21]

“… suffered under Pontius Pilate …”  We know from historical texts that Pontius Pilate did exist.  He is recorded as the fifth prefect of Judaea, roughly the southern half of what had once been the Jewish Kingdom of Israel.   Pontius Pilate actually kept his primary residence in Caesarea on the Mediterranean Coast but made periodic appearances in Jerusalem on special occasions.  He had come to Jerusalem to observe the Jewish Feast of the Passover when Jesus was brought to him for judgment and crucifixion.  Details of Jesus’ suffering at the hands of the Romans come exclusively from the Bible.

“… was crucified dead and buried …”  The Jews were not allowed by Rome to execute anyone.  Although Rome allowed the Jews fairly broad authority in religious matters, execution was deemed a ‘civil’ matter, and was as such the exclusive prerogative of the Roman Government and its representatives.  The gruesome details of Jesus’ crucifixion, death and burial are known only from the Bible.  However, the fact that He was crucified and that He died are independently reported by other contemporary non-biblical sources.  Crucifixion was one of the cruelest punishments that could be meted out by the Romans.  It was intended to be both an example of the consequences of a challenge to Roman authority, and a deterrent to anyone considering such a challenge.  While the bodies of most persons crucified were simply thrown on a pile of bones nearby and allowed to rot (another indignity to be visited on the guilty), Jesus’ body was allowed to be taken to a nearby tomb and interred.

“… the third day He arose from the dead…”  Again, while we have only the Scriptures for the details of His resurrection, those are of exquisite authorship and possess at least the same amount of authority as any other writings from the period [Mark 16:1-8].  There are also non-biblical contemporary accounts of his reporting the claim of His ‘supposed’ resurrection by His believers.  Since He was crucified and laid in the tomb on Friday (the first day), his body resided in the tomb on Saturday (the second day), and the tomb was found to be empty on Sunday (the third day), we say, “the third day.”  We can discuss the Resurrection more fully at a later time, but it cannot be questioned that the Apostles claimed to have seen, heard, touched, and even eaten with the resurrected Jesus; and that their lives were undeniably changed as a result.  This is the central point of all Christian belief.

“…He ascended into heaven…”  According to Scripture, this was an event prophesied by Jesus [John 14:2] and witnessed by dozens of persons at the time.  If we can accept the rest of Jesus’ story, we should have no trouble believing this.

“… to sit at the right hand of God the Father Almighty …”  Sitting to the immediate right of someone was seen as the place of highest honor that could be bestowed by a ruler or person of authority and power.  To sit at someone’s “right” said to everyone else at the gathering that the person was favored above everyone else.  As God’s only begotten Son, and as a Member of the Holy Trinity, Jesus’ rightful ‘place’ would be at the right hand of God.

“… From thence He shall come to judge the Quick and the Dead …”  This is referring to Jesus’ Second Coming [John 14:3].  In other words, “He will come down from Heaven.”  As God’s Right Hand Jesus has been given all authority over Heaven and Earth [Matthew 28:18-19], and as such has the responsibility to “judge” each person, whether they are alive at the time of His coming (i.e. “Quick”) or having died beforehand (i.e. “the Dead”).  Each person will be “judged” according to his life and his relationship with God.

“… I believe in the Holy Spirit…” See above.  This is but an assertion that the person reciting the Creed believes in the Holy Spirit.

“… the Holy Catholic Church …”  This does not refer to the catholic church that is headquartered in Rome.  When referred to with a capital “C” the Catholic Church refers to all Christian churches of all denominations across the world.  Another way to think of it is to envision One Universal Church made up of all the Christian churches in the world, bound together by their belief in the fundamentals of Christianity as expressed in the Apostles Creed. The Holy Catholic Church is also frequently referred to as the “Bride of Christ.”

“…the Communion of Saints …”  This phrase is somewhat open to interpretation.  Believers/Christians were frequently referred to as “Saints” in the New Testament, even when they were still living.  My understanding is that this phrase refers to the communal collection of all Christian believers, alive and dead, who, as a result of their belief in Jesus, are in “communion” with one another.  In other words, through our belief in Him and Jesus’ sacrifice we are all “one in Christ” [Romans 6:5-7], and at “one with Christ”.  We are seen as one ‘body’, each of whom is in ‘communion’ with all other believers in Christ.

“… the forgiveness of sins …”  This refers to the assurance we have from Jesus that as a result of His sacrifice, all sins of the repentant Believer are forgiven.  We still committed the sin.  But, if we repent of that sin, we can rely on the fact that God has forgiven that sin as a result of Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross, no matter how grave or awful the sin was.

“… the resurrection of the body …”   This phrase asserts that Jesus’ body which had died, was resurrected; not just that His Spirit was resurrected, but that his actual, physical body was resurrected.  This fact is testified to several times in the Scriptures.  We have accounts of people not just seeing Jesus, but also touching Him, and even eating with Him … all ‘proofs’ of the physical resurrection of His body.  Some Christian sects maintain that this also means that each Christian who had died at the time of His Second Coming will be physically resurrected.  I personally don’t see this particular connection, but this is an article of Faith for some Denominations.  Regardless, it is difficult to believe that the first Apostles would have been ‘energized’ and dedicated to spreading “the Word” as they subsequently became if they hadn’t personally seen, touched, and spoken with the resurrected Jesus.

“… and the life everlasting.”.  Of course, this refers to the assurance that “all who believe in Me will, though they die, have everlasting life.” [John 11:26] This was a central point of Jesus teaching.  It basically says, “All who believe in Me (and act accordingly) are reconciled to God by and through Me.  Their innate sinning will not be held “against them” at the time of their Judgment.  As a result, each of them/us who believe will live with My Father in Heaven for eternity.”

O.K., that’s your “Richard’s” version of the meaning of the Apostles Creed.  There are a number of other “creeds” pertaining to the Christian Faith.  Some are almost as ancient as the Old Roman and the Apostles Creeds.  Some are of more recent composition.  All are intended to summarize, codify, or condense the respective writer’s basic tenets of his respective “takes” on Christianity.  This is the one I refer to most often.

I urge you to read, study, think, and pray about the things said in this (or your own) Creed, and to decide for yourself the validity of these beliefs for you and your own relationship to and with God.

More topics will follow.  Feel free to suggest ones you’d like me to explore.  I look forward to hearing from you.  Until then, may God be with you!

Richard

June 29, 2018