I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth,
and 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 into hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into 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 catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting.
Amen.
Discussion
[Click here for a YouTube video on the Apostles’ Creed]
There are two categories of creeds: baptismal and conciliar. The Original Nicene Creed and the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed are conciliar since they were formally approved by an ecumenical councils. Baptismal creeds, in contrast, developed organically for use in baptismal ceremonies. This started with the Rule of Faith, which expanded into the Old Roman Creed, and then further expanded to become the Apostles’ Creed.
The Apostles’ Creed can be divided into 12 articles. Sometime, probably in the 6th century, a tradition arose that assigned each of these articles to a specific apostle (with Matthias replacing Judas). In this legendary account, each Apostle contributed their associated article, making the Apostles’ Creed a compilation of what each of the apostles thought to be theologically important. Although this is a legend, it is a fun way to think about the Apostles’ Creed.
The content of the Apostles’ Creed will be examined by noting how it compares to the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed. For example, the “I believe” section on the God the Father as creator of Heaven and earth are very similar.
The “I believe” section on the God the Son in the Apostles’ Creed is much shorter than the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed and more closely resembles the Rule of Faith. This is because the Apostles’ Creed, unlike the Original Nicene Creed and the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed, is for baptismal purposes and is not trying to refute the Arian heresy. However, the Father and Son sections taken together can be thought of as refuting another heresy called Marcionism (see p. 53).
In Marcionism, the God of the Old Testament is a lesser God, called the Demiurge, who created a world tainted with sin. The creeds refute this by stating that God is the creator of heaven and earth. In Marcionism, the God of the New Testament is the true and pure God who cannot be associated with the tainted physical universe. Jesus is therefore a purely spiritual entity and only appears to have a physical body. The Apostles’ Creed also refutes this by stating that Jesus Christ was born of the Virgin Mary, suffered, and died.
The Apostles’ Creed section on the Holy Spirit is very short. In fact, it is identical to the Original Nicene Creed, only stating, “I believe in the Holy Spirit.” The section on the church, however, is almost identical to the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed. It affirms belief in “the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting.” Notice, however, that it affirms belief in the forgiveness of sins, but does not refer to baptism for the forgiveness of sins, thereby avoiding this theological difficulty.
The Apostles’ Creed also states that Christ, “suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried; he descended into hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead.” The Apostles’ Creed adds that Christ “descended into hell,” which does not appear in the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed.
There are several common interpretations about what it means for Christ to have descended into Hell. In the original Greek, Christ is said to have literally descended to the bottom (katelthonta eis ta katôtata). In the Latin translation of the Greek, Christ is said to have descended to those below (descendit ad inferos). And so, it is possible that Christ, being a dead person, simply went to where all dead people go with nothing more to the story.
Other think that Christ descending into hell has more significance. Ephesians 4:9 reads, “Now this expression, ‘He ascended,’ what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth?” Perhaps more interesting is 1 Pt, which reads, “[Christ] also went and made proclamation to the spirits in prison … For the gospel has for this purpose been preached even to those who are dead.” And so, there are those who believe that Christ descended to preach to the unsaved souls in hell, those who think that Christ descended to release OT saints, and those who think that Christ descended to proclaim victory to Satan and his minions. In any case, a better modern English translation is probably that “Jesus descended to the dead” rather than “Jesus descended into hell.”
Although not as universally affirmed as the Nicene Creed, the Apostles’ Creed is still widely used in baptismal ceremonies. It is used by the Roman Catholic Church, the Lutheran Church, the Anglican Church, the Episcopal Church, the Methodist Church, and others.
Leave a Reply