Exploring Creeds: Why a Faith Statement Matters

"It's a relationship, not a religion." "No creed but Christ."

When I hear these phrases, I can't help but sigh inwardly. The latter recalls a movement to bring the church back to what was represented in the New Testament without manmade afterthoughts, and the former is a response to complex rites and formality of "high" church, favoring a more fluid and personal experience with God during worship. 

The reason why I feel bothered when I hear these phrases is that, while both come from noble intent, in the end, substance and context for nuanced, complicated matters of doctrine simply aren't there. It's not enough to "feel" your way through knowing God's nature, will, and sovereignty, nor is abandoning discourse and careful, collective consideration in rightly dividing issues that aren't clearly addressed in Scripture. This is where creeds, particularly those of the early church, become an essential component of forming, solidifying, and internalizing the details of our faith and enriching our worship.

Looking at historical creeds from the early church and examining modern iterations provides both individuals and communities a framework for defined faith, leaving no ground uncovered in articulating exactly what the essentials of belief are to be for the church. Let's explore what a creed is, along with three historical creeds that have been used for centuries to unite believers from generation to generation in a common confession.

What Is a Creed?

Simply put, a creed is formal statement of belief. Within the Christian faith, creeds have been used by all denominations and factions to thoroughly encompass what their faith demands to be true, and they are phrased in a hybrid individual/collective sense. You're probably familiar with the Apostles' Creed:

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.

Within these words, we see a full scope of who God is (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—the Trinity), the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the promise of final judgement and restoration, and a universal reckoning and gathering of God's people unto Him. Indeed, because of its thoroughness and brevity, the Apostles' Creed is recited in worship services by millions across the world.

There are a host of other creeds, though, that dig deeper and go broader in their confession; consider the Nicene Creed: 

We believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
begotten from the Father before all ages,
God from God,
Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made;
of the same essence as the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven;
he became incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary,
and was made human.
He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered and was buried.
The third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures.
He ascended to heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again with glory
to judge the living and the dead.
His kingdom will never end.
And we believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, the giver of life.
He proceeds from the Father and the Son,
and with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified.
He spoke through the prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church.
We affirm one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look forward to the resurrection of the dead,
and to life in the world to come. Amen.

Here, we dig further into Trinitarian theology, expanding the language that unites the Three Persons of God and examining more closely the life of Jesus. Even more detailed is the Athanasian Creed, which fully explores the theology behind each person of the Trinity (and is more stark in its admonishment):

Whoever desires to be saved should above all hold to the catholic faith.

Anyone who does not keep it whole and unbroken will doubtless perish eternally.

Now this is the catholic faith:

    That we worship one God in trinity and the trinity in unity,
    neither blending their persons
    nor dividing their essence.
        For the person of the Father is a distinct person,
        the person of the Son is another,
        and that of the Holy Spirit still another.
        But the divinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is one,
        their glory equal, their majesty coeternal.

    What quality the Father has, the Son has, and the Holy Spirit has.
        The Father is uncreated,
        the Son is uncreated,
        the Holy Spirit is uncreated.

        The Father is immeasurable,
        the Son is immeasurable,
        the Holy Spirit is immeasurable.

        The Father is eternal,
        the Son is eternal,
        the Holy Spirit is eternal.

            And yet there are not three eternal beings;
            there is but one eternal being.
            So too there are not three uncreated or immeasurable beings;
            there is but one uncreated and immeasurable being.

    Similarly, the Father is almighty,
        the Son is almighty,
        the Holy Spirit is almighty.
            Yet there are not three almighty beings;
            there is but one almighty being.

        Thus the Father is God,
        the Son is God,
        the Holy Spirit is God.
            Yet there are not three gods;
            there is but one God.

        Thus the Father is Lord,
        the Son is Lord,
        the Holy Spirit is Lord.
            Yet there are not three lords;
            there is but one Lord.

    Just as Christian truth compels us
    to confess each person individually
    as both God and Lord,
    so catholic religion forbids us
    to say that there are three gods or lords.

    The Father was neither made nor created nor begotten from anyone.
    The Son was neither made nor created;
    he was begotten from the Father alone.
    The Holy Spirit was neither made nor created nor begotten;
    he proceeds from the Father and the Son.

    Accordingly there is one Father, not three fathers;
    there is one Son, not three sons;
    there is one Holy Spirit, not three holy spirits.

    Nothing in this trinity is before or after,
    nothing is greater or smaller;
    in their entirety the three persons
    are coeternal and coequal with each other.

    So in everything, as was said earlier,
    we must worship their trinity in their unity
    and their unity in their trinity.

Anyone then who desires to be saved
should think thus about the trinity.

But it is necessary for eternal salvation
that one also believe in the incarnation
of our Lord Jesus Christ faithfully.

Now this is the true faith:

    That we believe and confess
    that our Lord Jesus Christ, God's Son,
    is both God and human, equally.

     He is God from the essence of the Father,
    begotten before time;
    and he is human from the essence of his mother,
    born in time;
    completely God, completely human,
    with a rational soul and human flesh;
    equal to the Father as regards divinity,
    less than the Father as regards humanity.

    Although he is God and human,
    yet Christ is not two, but one.
    He is one, however,
    not by his divinity being turned into flesh,
    but by God's taking humanity to himself.
    He is one,
    certainly not by the blending of his essence,
    but by the unity of his person.
    For just as one human is both rational soul and flesh,
    so too the one Christ is both God and human.

    He suffered for our salvation;
    he descended to hell;
    he arose from the dead;
    he ascended to heaven;
    he is seated at the Father's right hand;
    from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
    At his coming all people will arise bodily
    and give an accounting of their own deeds.
    Those who have done good will enter eternal life,
    and those who have done evil will enter eternal fire.

This is the catholic faith:
one cannot be saved without believing it firmly and faithfully.

Notice in all three creeds, not only the repeated themes of the unique personhood of God, but the repeated use of the word "catholic." Simply meaning, "universal," these faith statements highlight the necessity of unity for the entire church for all generations, for all time, not just individual expression or understanding, nor to be eschewed in favor of competing cultural values. 

Why Is This Important?

In the end, creeds are: 1) unavoidable; and 2) necessary for unifying believers in a shared, thoroughly articulated faith that rightly divides truth from error. Phrases like, "It's a relationship, not a religion," and "No creed but Christ"–while borne from good intentions—are creeds in function, and they don't hold up to scrutiny nor the demand of rightly teaching Scriptural truths for the church as it progresses from generation to generation. 

If you have an aversion to the heaviness and formality present in ancient creeds and other historical confessions, I would start by memorizing the basic tenets of your own church's statement of faith. After all, it's still a creed in essence—it's just localized to your particular body of believers. From there, you'll be aligned with the truth that you corporately confess with your community (or, you'll discover glaring errors that need to be addressed!), leading you to more unified worship of the Object of our faith: God in Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Further Reading

If you want to dive into the world of formal statements of faith, check out these links:

The Ligonier Statement on Christology

"Creeds and Confessions" by Justin Holcomb

"The contemporary relevance of Christendom's creeds" by Bruce A. Demarest

Be blessed 👊✌️