The Need for Creeds
An ancient Christian creed has the power to burst through prison razor wire. I experienced this many years ago when visiting a theology class in prison. The class began with worship led by inmates. The guys first sang a few songs, and then one of them strode to the podium and with the voice of a drill sergeant he barked, “Brothers! Who are we?!” All the inmates jumped to their feet and started booming the words of the Nicene Creed from memory. I got to my feet a bit slower than everyone and started mumbling along, hoping that no one would notice that I didn’t know this creed as well as these students. A bit dazed, I wondered why these guys were so enthusiastic. Then about the time they were proclaiming the phrase, “We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church,” it dawned on me: these guys were no longer merely in prison! The words of this creed elevated them beyond the razor wire and united them with the body of Christ in all times and places. “Who are we?” For these prisoners, the creed was their identity statement. Their identity was not the worst thing they had done in life. Their identity wasn’t to belong to the Michigan Department of Corrections. Their identity was to belong to Jesus and to Jesus’ community – the one holy catholic and apostolic church.
Teaching Tool and Identity Statement
The spirit of those inmates also was found in the early church. During the first few centuries when the church was being persecuted, the Apostles’ Creed was developing. Early Christians used the creed as a teaching tool to evangelize and disciple new Christians. Before someone was baptized, they learned Christian practices, heard the grand story of Scripture, memorized the creed and were taught the meaning of each line.
After a person was discipled to live into the story summarized in the creed, she was baptized. Standing in the water at baptism, the candidate was asked, “Do you believe in God the Father Almighty?” And she would answer, “I believe in God the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth.” As a reward for getting the right answer, she would be dunked. As the candidate came sputtering back to the surface, she was asked, “Do you believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son our Lord?” The candidate would answer with the second part of the creed, and again, it resulted in a near drowning. Rising from the watery grave, she would be asked the third question, “Do you believe in the Holy Spirit?” She responded by reciting the third part of the creed and then received a third immersion.
The creed was embedded in baptism. Declaring one’s identity while dying and rising with Christ in baptism (Rom. 6:1-3) was good practice in the period of persecution. Because someday a Roman officer might ask, “Who are you?” Christians were trained to answer boldly, “I believe in God the Father Almighty….” That answer might get them drowned in their own blood. But, no worries. These martyrs knew that a baptism in blood was a sharing in the death of Christ, and therefore, as the creed had taught them, their story would end with resurrection and life.
Bible Guide and Heresy Defeater
In addition to being a discipleship tool and an identity statement, creeds are necessary to read Scripture rightly. People may read the Bible as an authoritative text, but draw all sorts of conclusions. The many Gnostic Christians in the first few centuries are a good example. They were one of the greatest threats the church has ever faced, because they were selling a popular story about God, the world, and salvation that incorporated Scripture but was a very different story than the one orthodox Christians were proclaiming. The Church Father Irenaeus and other Christian leaders did not try to poke holes in the logic of Gnostic Christians; they did not try to debate points of doctrine. The basic argument that orthodox Christians used was quite simple: “You Gnostic Christians have a fascinating story of the world, and it might very well be coherent with Scripture. But, I’m sorry. You have the wrong story. The true story that’s been handed down is this, ‘I believe in God the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth….’”
For early Christians, as for John Calvin, God’s people need a readers’ guide to Scripture. That’s why the Apostles’ Creed forms the basic structure of Calvin’s Institutes. The Bible is our only infallible authority, but Calvin and his fellow Reformers knew that we also need a tradition that has been handed down (1 Cor. 11:2; 2 Thess. 2:15; 3:6), a summary of apostolic teaching, a succinct story that guides our interpretation of the Bible. Sola scriptura is potentially misleading if people assume it means “no creed but Christ,” or that I only need my Bible and my enlightened common sense to read it. A person can read the Bible and end up being a Gnostic or Arian or Jehovah’s Witness or Mormon…. We need creeds.
One Church and One Faith
Ancient creeds express the faith of those in the spiritual house that God is building. Christ is the cornerstone, apostolic teaching (which creeds summarize) is the foundation of the house, and God’s people are living stones (Eph. 2:19-22; 1 Pet. 2:4-8). If you listen closely during worship, you can hear those living stones proclaiming their faith together through the words of a creed. This unified, catholic (i.e., universal) chorus of voices has been reverberating down through the ages – one body in one Spirit, declaring one hope and one faith (Eph. 4:4-5).
The voices in the house speak with many different accents. One accent is Reformed. Its emphases contribute to the strength and beauty of the chorus. When I stand to recite a creed, my Reformed accent joins many others. I stand with brothers and sisters in prison, I stand with persecuted Christians—past and present, I stand with former students dispersed on six continents who belong to every major Christian tradition…. Across time and space, we stand with gratitude for our shared identity: we belong to our faithful savior Jesus Christ and to his body, the one holy catholic and apostolic church.
