The Apostles’ Creed Part 1

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, 
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit 
and born of the virgin Mary. 
He suffered under Pontius Pilate, 
was crucified, died, and was buried; 
The third day he rose again from the dead. 
He ascended to heaven 
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty. 
From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, 
the holy universal church, 
the communion of saints, 
the forgiveness of sins, 
the resurrection of the body, 
and the life everlasting. Amen.

Each generation is called to affirm and pass on the core elements of the Christian faith (Psalm 78:1-8, Titus 1:8-9). From the Second Century A.D, the church has often used the Apostle’s Creed as one way to affirm these elements. It is a well-crafted summary of core biblical teaching. Each month this year we will affirm our core beliefs in our Sunday morning gathering.

This month we are focusing on the opening statements and drawing out their biblical foundation.

The opening lines are foundational affirmations. The universe did not come into existence out of nothing. It was not created by any other god, but the God revealed in the Bible. This God exists as the Trinity. God the Father is the architect of creation and is the stated spokesman in Genesis 1:1. The OT and NT affirm throughout that God is to be worshiped as creator.

Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”

Psalm 95:6 “Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!”

Revelation 4:11 “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”

We are affirming something radically different than secular science claims. The God of the Bible alone is due worship. We offer him worship by thanking him for all things He has given. We worship by giving him due credit as our Father and Maker. We worship him by submitting ourselves to his will for us.

Dan Jarms

Dr. Dan Jarms is teaching pastor and team leader at Faith Bible Church in Spokane Washington, as well as associate dean at TMS Spokane. He has been married for over 30 years to Linda, and has three adult children. He earned his B.A. in English at the Master’s College, B.Ed. at Eastern Washington University, M.Div and D.Min in Expository Preaching at The Master’s Seminary. His other interests include NCAA basketball, gardening, brick oven cooking.

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