Bumpers! The Use of Ancient Creeds and Confessions in the Church Today

“No creed but Christ!”

If I had a dollar for every time I heard that from people in the Word of Faith movement, I could have a lot of really nice steak dinners and still be able to help a lot of less fortunate people. I’m not even joking. One pastor had his church, around 200 people, chant this phrase for a good five minutes because someone tried to read part of the Nicene Creed to him in his office.

People do some strange things when they don’t understand what they are coming against.

Most people who do not know what the ancient creeds and confessions are see them as extra-biblical, anti-biblical, or evil. But the reality could not be further from the truth. (Please note that, although the phrase “ancient creeds” is used most prominently throughout this article, I am referring to orthodox creeds and confessions throughout history. That is just a lot to type out and I am not really trying to build a word count for this article. Ancient creeds = creeds and confessions)

The oldest of the ancient creeds, what we know as the Apostles’ Creed, is the foundation on which the other creeds build. Look at what it says:

The Apostles’ Creed

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,

born of the Virgin Mary,

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,

He is seated at the right hand of the Father,

and He will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

the holy catholic Church,

the communion of saints,

the forgiveness of sins,

the resurrection of the body,

and the life everlasting.

Amen.

Anyone who is even slightly biblically literate will tell you that there is nothing in there that is anti-biblical. In fact, it is a summary statement of what the Bible teaches regarding the Christian faith. Where a lot of people get hung up is the word “catholic” near the end. What they fail to understand is that when this creed was written, the word “catholic” simply meant “universal.”

However, because the Roman Catholic Church has highjacked the word “catholic” and, at least in many people’s minds, changed the meaning of the word, many reject the statement, “The holy catholic Church” as swearing allegiance to the Roman Catholic Church. I assure you; this is not the original meaning of the phrase. It means the whole Church, all those who believe in Christ and are called by His Name, throughout all of time and in all the world. It means that the Church consists of all true believers from the Day of Pentecost in Jerusalem until Jesus returns to establish His kingdom.

The Nicene Creed and the Niceano-Constantinopolitan Creed build upon the Apostles’ Creed. They take the foundation that was laid in this short, easily memorized statement of faith, and expand the thoughts concerning Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

Why expand on these thoughts of the Apostles’ Creed?

The Council of Nicaea met when the Christian Church was in turmoil. Certain men had begun teaching that Jesus was simply a man who had been gifted with the Holy Spirit and that is why He was able to do the miracles He performed. Others taught that He was God and human, but that the two natures resulted in two separate beings occupying the same physical space. (It really is a lot more complicated than that, but that is a simplified version. For more information, read about the Arian Heresy, or Arianism online.)

It was at the Council of Nicaea that bishops from all over the Christian world came together to discuss the nature of Jesus. They spent countless hours searching through the Scripture, praying, and debating and their final determination was the original Nicene Creed.

Fast forward only 56 years and we come to the First Council of Constantinople. Again, people had been teaching errors concerning the nature of Jesus, but this time they added in the Holy Spirit and who sent Him. Unfortunately, this was one of the things that caused a rift in the church. While the bishops at Constantinople agreed that Jesus was fully God and fully man, they could not come to an agreement concerning the wording of the sending of the Holy Spirit.

This is why there are two versions of the Nicene Creed. The first version states that the Holy Spirit is sent by the Father. The second version, known as the Niceano-Constantinopolitan Creed, states that the Holy Spirit is sent by the Father and the Son. Both sides of the argument have Scripture references to back up what they believe. I would advise that, if you are confused, please read both versions of the Creed and then read John chapters 14-16. This will help you to see that both sides have some legitimacy, but in the end, the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and is sent by the Father and the Son. It is really just a matter of word choice at that point.

And now to get back on track.

Why are the creeds necessary today?

Have you ever been bowling with young children?

When I was a teenager, I worked at a bowling alley. We didn’t have the fancy bumper gates that you can pull up from the sides of the lane like many do now. We had large plastic tubes that we would drag across the lanes to put into the gutters when young children were bowling. Why would we do this? The bumpers keep the ball from going into the gutter, taking the fun out of the experience for the children.

Children would roll their ball down the lane, and it would bounce from side to side and sometimes stop in the middle of the lane because they just didn’t have enough strength to roll it hard enough. But at the end of the lane, it would always hit the pins. This would cause an eruption of cheers from the parents, adults, and other children. It really is a fun time that everyone should experience at some time.

I like to think of the ancient creeds as bumpers. When used properly, they help to keep us on the right path so that we hit our mark. It is easy for us to get off track when we are talking about things concerning God. However, with knowledge of the ancient creeds, we can narrow our lane and make sure that we do not stray into unbiblical and heretical areas.

Does knowledge of the ancient creeds replace the need for biblical understanding?

Absolutely not!

The ancient creeds simplify what Scripture says. They are a summary of beliefs. They help us to form our thoughts concerning the Father and who He is in relation to the Son and the Holy Spirit. They help us understand our place as believers. However, they are not a substitute for the Bible.

And, I will go further, if you find something in an ancient creed or confession that you are having trouble finding in Scripture, question that creed or confession, just as you would a pastor or teacher who says something that you cannot find in Scripture. It may be that what the ancient creeds say is conceptual in Scripture rather than exact, such as the doctrine of the Trinity. We know that the word “trinity” is not in the Bible. It was coined by Tertullian long after the Bible was completed. However, the concept of the Trinity (one God eternally manifest in three distinct persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) is in the Bible, which is why we can accept it as true.

But really, why do we need to know this? Can’t we just rely on Scripture?

Please allow me to answer that question with a question:

Which would be easier to remember: every single Scripture reference concerning the belief of the Christian faith, or the Apostles’ Creed?

If everything in the Apostles’ Creed is located in Scripture, and it is a summary statement of the Christian faith, then why wouldn’t we want to know what it says and make use of it in our lives? The same goes for the Nicene/Niceano-Constantinopolitan Creeds, the Westminster Confession, the 1689 Baptist Confession, the Augsburg Confession, and many other creeds and confessions of faith that have come to us throughout history.

What is an easy way to understand these things?

The easiest way to understand these ancient creeds and confessions of faith is to go through a catechism. I know, that’s another one of the things the Roman Catholic Church has taken and turned into a dirty word in Christianity. But catechisms teach the basics of the Christian faith in a simple question and answer format.

Most of the Confessions have a corresponding catechism. (Westminster has 2, the Longer Catechism and the Shorter Catechism) Many theologians through history have written catechisms to instruct their children and new church members. Find one that agrees with your theological statement (Presbyterian, Lutheran, Baptist, Anglican, etc.) and go through it. You may find that you have only scratched the surface of the basics of Christianity.

To simplify what I am saying, don’t dismiss the ancient creeds and confessions just because your church or denomination thinks they are “evil” in some way. They are not a substitute for the Bible; they are the bumpers, keeping us in the right lane when we are prone to wander off into error. Learn to use them and you will hit your target.

-          While I was not trying to write a long advertisement for anything, if you are looking for a catechism and you are of the credobaptist position (that is, you believe that only believers should be baptized and not infants) I do have a book that you can check out. Click here to find A Catechism for the Church, exclusively on Amazon.