The Apostles' Creed

Monday, August 24, 2015

Jesus Christ, His Only Son, Our Lord

...And in Jesus Christ, His Only Son, Our Lord.

Scriptures
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life" (Jn.3:16).

"For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all" (1 Tim. 2:5).

"God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Phil. 2:9-11).

"Thou art my Son, today I have begotten thee" (Heb. 1:5).

"He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation" (Col. 1:15).

Clement of Rome, Letter to the Corinthians 36, 1 (C. 96-98 AD):
"This is the way, beloved, in which we found our salvation, Jesus Christ, the High Priest of our offerings, the defender and helper of our weakness. Through Him we fix our gaze on the heights of heaven; through Him we see the reflection of the faultless and lofty countenance of God; through him the eyes of our heart were opened; through him our foolish and darkened understanding shoots up to the light; through him the Master willed that we should taste of deathless knowledge; who, being the brightness of His majesty, is as much greater than the angels as the more glorious name which He has inherited."

Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Ephesians Address (C. 110 AD):
"Ignatius, also called Theophorus, to the Church at Ephesus in Asia...united and chosen through true suffering by the will of the Father in Jesus Christ our God...There is one Physician, who is both flesh and spirit, born and not born, who is God in man, true life in death, born both of Mary and from God, first able to suffer and then unable to suffer, Jesus Christ our Lord...For our God, Jesus Christ, was conceived by Mary in accord with God’s plan: of the seed of David, it is true, but also of the Holy Spirit..."

Justin Martyr, First Apology 13 (Inter 148-155 AD):
"Our teacher of these things, born for this end, is Jesus Christ, who was crucified under Pontius Pilate, the procurator in Judea in the time of Tiberius Caesar. We will prove that we worship Him reasonably; for we have learned that He is the Son of the True God Himself, that He holds a second place, and the spirit of Prophecy a third. For this they accuse us of madness, saying that we attribute to a crucified man a place second to the unchangeable and eternal God, the Creator of all things; but they are ignorant of the mystery which lies therein."

Tertullian, Apology 21, 6 (197 AD):
"So also, that which proceeds from God is God and Son of God, and both are one. Likewise, as He is Spirit from Spirit, and God from God, He is made a second by count and in numerical sequence, but not in actual condition; for He comes forth from the source but does not separate therefrom."

Athanasius, On the Incarnation of the Word of God Against the Arians 21 (C. 365 AD):
"And when (Christ) says, ‘Father, if it be possible, let this chalice pass from Me; yet, not My will be done, but Yours;’ and ‘the spirit is ready, but the flesh is weak,’ He gives evidence therein of two wills, the one human, which is of the flesh, and the one divine, which is of God. That which is human, because of the weakness of the flesh, shrinks from suffering. That, however, which is divine, is ready."

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Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Other Scriptures taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®, unless otherwise noted.

Author's Note: Also see Is Jesus God?, Supremacy of Christ, The Eternal Firstborn of All Creation, and The Bodily Form of the Lord Jesus Christ. You may also access my complete blog directory at Writing for the Master.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus. Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15). He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

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Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International. He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

Conceived by the Holy Spirit, Born of the Virgin Mary

...Who was Conceived by the Holy Spirit, Born of the Virgin Mary...

Scriptures
“This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.” (Mt.1:18)

“…An angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.’” (Mt.1: 20).

“All this took place to fulfill what was said through the prophet: ‘The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’ – which means God with us. When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.” (Mt.1: 22-25).

“In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, ‘Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.’” Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.’…Mary asked the angel, ’How will this be, since I am a virgin?’ The angel answered, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God.’” (Lk.1: 26-31, 34-35).

"When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law" (Gal. 4:4).

Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Ephesians 18, 2 (C. 110 AD):
"For our God, Jesus Christ, was conceived by Mary in accord with God’s plan: of the seed of David, it is true, but also of the Holy Spirit. He was born and baptized so that by His submission He might purify the water. The virginity of Mary, her giving birth, and also the death of the Lord, were hidden from the prince of this world: — three mysteries loudly proclaimed, but wrought in the silence of God."

Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho the Jew 100 (C. 155 AD):
"He became Man by the Virgin so that the course which was taken by disobedience in the beginning through the agency of the serpent, might be also the very course by which it would be put down. For Eve, a virgin and undefiled, conceived the word of the serpent, and bore disobedience and death. But the Virgin Mary received faith and joy when the angel Gabriel announced to her the glad tidings that the Spirit of the Lord would come upon her and the power of the Most High would overshadow her, for which reason the Holy One being born of her is the Son of God. And she replied: ‘Be it done unto me according to thy word’."

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Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Other Scriptures taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®, unless otherwise noted.

Author's Note: Also see The Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ and Miraculous Birth of Jesus. You may also access my complete blog directory at Writing for the Master.

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Suffered, was Crucified, Died and was Buried

...Suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried...

Scriptures
"Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." (Phil 2:5b-8)

"He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief" (Is. 53:3).

“He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed…” (Mk.8: 31).

Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Smyrnaeans 1, 1 (C. 110 AD):
"…you are confirmed in love by the Blood of Christ, firmly believing in regard to our Lord that He is truly of the family of David according to the flesh, and God’s Son by the will and power of God, truly born of a Virgin, baptized by Jn. so that all justice might be fulfilled by Him, in the time of Pontius Pilate and Herod the Tetrarch truly nailed in the flesh on our behalf…"

Origen, Homilies on Numbers Hom. 24, 1 (Post 244 AD):
"If there had been no sin, there would have been no necessity for the Son of God to become a lamb; nor would it have been necessary for Him to take flesh and be slain. He would have remained that which He was from the beginning, the Word of God...in all these sacrificial victims there was one lamb who was able to take away sin from the whole world. Therefore have other victims ceased to be, because this victim was such that, although one alone, he sufficed for the salvation of the whole world."

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Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Other Scriptures taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®, unless otherwise noted.

Author's Note: You may also access my complete blog directory at Writing for the Master.

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He Went Down to the Dead and Rose Again from the Dead

He went down to the dead, the third day he rose again from the dead.

Another version states: “He descended into hell. On the third day He rose again."

Scriptures
"The Son of man is to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him, and He will be raised on the third day." (Mt.17: 22-23).

"He went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison." (1 Pet. 3:19).

"For the gospel has for this purpose been preached even to those who are dead, that though they are judged in the flesh as men, they may live in the spirit according to the will of God." (1Pe 4:6)

"...He also descended to the lower, earthly regions..." (Eph 4:9b, NIV)

"For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." (Mt 12:40)

“For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve.” (1 Co.15: 3-5).

“We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.” (1 Th.4: 14).

“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Ro.10: 9).

“But God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen.” (Ac.10: 40).

Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies 5, 31, 2 (C. 180 AD):
"For since the Lord went away into the midst of the shadow of death where the souls of the dead were, and afterwards arose in the body, and after the resurrection was taken up, it is clear that the souls also of His disciples, on account of which the Lord underwent these things, will go away into the place allotted them by God."

Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures 4, 11 (C. 350 AD):
"(Christ) descended into the subterranean regions so that He might ransom from there the just...David was there, and Samuel, and all the Prophets; and [John the Baptist], the same who, through his messengers, said: ‘Are You the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?’ Would you not want Him to go down to free such men as these?"

Gregory of Nyssa, The Great Catechism 1 (Post 383 AD):
"God (the Son) did not impede death from separating His soul from His body according to the necessary order of nature, but has reunited them to one another in the resurrection, so that He Himself might be, in His person, the meeting point for death and life, by arresting in Himself the decomposition of nature produced by death and so becoming the source of reunion for the separated parts."

Augustine of Hippo, Commentary on Psalm 120 4 (Date Unknown):
"It is no great thing to believe that Christ died. This the pagans, Jews, and all the wicked believe; in a word, all believe that Christ died. But that He rose from the dead is the belief of Christians. To believe that He rose again, this we deem of great moment."

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Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Other Scriptures taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®, unless otherwise noted.

Author's Note: Also see Jesus Christ Descended Into Hell, which treats this topic more fully You may also access my complete blog directory at Writing for the Master.

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His Ascent, Exaltation, and Return in Judgment

He ascended into heaven; sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty wherefrom He shall come to judge the living and the dead.

Scriptures
"So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God" (Mk. 16:19).

“After he had said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. ‘Men of Galilee,’ they said, ‘why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” (Ac.1: 9-11)

"Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us" (Rom. 8:34).

"He raised him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come" (Eph. 1:20-21).

“We do have a high priest who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven.” (Heb. 8:1; c.f., 12:2b).

"For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Phil 2:9-11)

“And the high priest asked him, ‘Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?’ Jesus said, ‘I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.’” (Mk.14:61,62).

"But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God.” (Lk 22:69, NIV)

“Look, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of Him. So shall it be! Amen.” (Rev.1:7).

“Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with Me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” (Rev. 22:13).

“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.” (2 Co. 5:10).

Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies 5, 31, 2 (C. 180 AD):
"For since the Lord went away into the midst of the shadow of death where the souls of the dead were, and afterwards arose in the body, and after the resurrection was taken up, it is clear that the souls also of His disciples, on account of which the Lord underwent these things, will go away into the place allotted them by God."

Tertullian, The Demurrer Against the Heretics 13, 1 (C. 200 AD):
"Thenceforth He preached a new law and a new promise of the Kingdom of heaven; worked miracles; was crucified, rose again on the third day; and having ascended into heaven, sat at the right of the Father; and sent the Holy Spirit with vicarious power to lead those who believe."

Leo I, Sermons 73, 4 (Ante 461 AD):
"There was great and indescribable cause for rejoicing when, in the sight of the holy multitude, above the dignity of all heavenly creatures, the nature of the human race went up, to surpass the ranks of Angels and to rise beyond the heights of the Archangels, to have its being uplifted, limited by no sublimity until, received to sit with the eternal Father, it was associated on the throne of His glory, to whose nature it was joined in the Son."

As I have written in my related article, The Son of Man, I prefer to describe Christ's exaltation in the following manner, instead of the way that Leo said it: At that moment, in the sight of the holy multitude, the Son of Man was exalted above the dignity of all heavenly creatures, as Christ in His deity and humanity went up to take His rightful place. There He surpasses the ranks of angels and archangels, and among all the heavenly beings there is none who is His equal. The glorious God-Man sits with the eternal Father, where His humanity that was joined to Him as the Son of Man is now inseparably connected with Him on the throne of His glory forever.

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Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Other Scriptures taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®, unless otherwise noted.

Author's Note: Also see The Son of Man and Christ's Two Ascensions. You may also access my complete blog directory at Writing for the Master.

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We Believe in the Holy Spirit

We believe in the Holy Spirit.

Scriptures
"And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever..." (Jn.14: 16).

“There is one body and one Spirit…” (Eph.4: 4)

"Likewise the Spirit helps in our weakness…the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God" (Rom. 8:26-27).

"And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption" (Eph. 4:30).

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Ac.1:8).

“Therefore go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I will be with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Mt.28: 19,20).

Tertullian, Against Praxeas 25, 1 (Post 213 AD):
"The Father and the Son are distinguished by what is proper to each. He promises to send the Paraclete also, for whom He will ask the Father, after He has ascended to the Father; and He calls the Paraclete ‘another.’ How it is that He is ‘another’ we have already explained. Further, He says, ‘He will receive of what is mine,’ just as He Himself had received from the Father. Thus the connection of the Father in the Son, and of the Son in the Paraclete, produces three who, though coherent, are distinct one from another. These three are one, and yet not one: for ‘I and the Father are one’ was said in regard to their unity of substance, but not in regard to a singularity of number."

Hilary of Poitiers, The Trinity 2, 29 (Inter 356 - 359 AD):
"Concerning the Holy Spirit, however, I ought not remain silent, nor yet is it necessary to speak. Still, on account of those who do not know Him, it is not possible for me to be silent. However, it is not necessary to speak of Him who must be acknowledged, who is from the Father and the Son, His sources. Indeed, it is my opinion that there ought be no discussion about whether He exists...I think, however, that the reason why some remain in ignorance or doubt about this, is that they see this third name, that by which the Holy Spirit is named, applied frequently also to the Father and to the Son. But there need be no objection to this, for both Father and Son are spirit and holy."

Athanasius, Four Letters to Serapion of Thmuis 1, 24 (C. 359-360 AD):
"We are all said to be partakers of God through the Holy Spirit. ‘Do you not know,’ it says, ‘that you are a temple of God, and the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone ruins the temple of God, him will God ruin; for it is holy, this temple of God, which is just what you are.’ If the Holy Spirit were a creature, there could be no communion of God with us through Him. On the contrary, we would be joined to a creature, and we would be foreign to the divine nature, as having nothing in common with it...But if by participation in the Spirit we are made partakers in the divine nature, it is insanity for anyone to say that the Spirit has a created nature and not the nature of God."

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Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Other Scriptures taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®, unless otherwise noted.

Author's Note: Also see The Person of the Holy Spirit, The Holy Trinity, The Holy Spirit Speaks, and The Bodily Form of the Holy Spirit. You may also access my complete blog directory at Writing for the Master.

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The Holy Apostolic Church

...the Holy Apostolic Church...

Scriptures
"…You may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the Church of the living God, the pillar and bulwark of the truth" (1 Tim. 3:15).

"You are Peter, and on this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven" (Mt.16: 18-19).

“…Christ is the head of the Church.” (Eph.5: 23).

“He is the head of the Body, the Church.” (Col.1: 13).

"There is one Body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all." (Eph 4:4-6)

"So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit." (Eph 2:19-22).

"But now there are many members, but one Body...Now you are Christ's body, and individually members of it." (1Co 12:20,27)

The So-Called Second Letter of Clement of Rome to the Corinthians 14, 2 (C. 150 AD):
"I presume that you are not ignorant of the fact that the living Church is the body of Christ. The Scripture says, ‘God made man male and female.’ The male is Christ, and the female is the Church. Moreover, the Books and the Apostles declare that the Church belongs not to the present, but has existed from the beginning. She was spiritual, just as was our Jesus; but He was manifested in the last days so that He might save us. And the Church, being spiritual, was manifested in the flesh of Christ."

Clement of Alexandria, Miscellanies 7, 17, 107, 3 (Post 202 AD):
"From what has been said, then, it seems clear to me that the true Church, that which is really ancient, is one; and in it are enrolled those who, in accord with a design, are just...We say, therefore, that in substance, in concept, in origin and in eminence, the ancient and catholic* Church is alone, gathering as it does into the unity of the one faith which results from the familiar covenants, — or rather, from the one covenant in different times, by the will of the one God and through the one Lord, — those already chosen, those predestined by God, Who knew before the foundation of the world that they would be just."

*Catholic means "universal", not the Roman church, which has many unbiblical practices.

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Attribution notice: Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Most other Scriptures taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®, unless otherwise noted.

Author's Note: You may also access my complete blog directory at Writing for the Master.

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