THIS I BELIEVE!

This reflection is based on what is commonly known as the Nicene Creed. The Nicene Creed was written by the Ecumenical Councils of Nicea (325 AD) and Constantinople (381 AD). Ecumenical Councils were major conferences of the all the Elders of the Christian Church, who would come together to discuss and decide on matters of great importance to the life of the Church. Mostly, they discussed matters of doctrine. Such Councils are still held by the Roman Catholic Church, the latest being Vatican II. Other "mainline" denominations also hold similar conferences.

The Nicene Creed is the accepted Creed of Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholics, Anglicans, Lutherans, Calvinists, and many other Christian groups. Many other groups again also recognise the Truths contained in the Nicene Creed.

I have tried here to reflect my personal understanding and beliefs under the Creed and I do not purport to represent the official teachings of any church or denomination. I trust that the reader will use these reflections to delve deeper into the mysteries of the Christian faith.

If you wish to discuss any of my thoughts with me, please write. I would love to hear from you.

All Scripture quotations are taken from the Revised Standard Version (RSV) of the Bible.

The words of the Creed are set out below in phrase brackets. I recommend that you work through the reflection from the beginning, but, if you wish to look at a particular phrase, simply click on the link.

[We believe] [in One God, the Father, the Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth, of all that is, seen and unseen] [We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,] [the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father.] [Through Him all things were made.] [For us and for our salvation He came down from Heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit He became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man.] [For our sake He was crucified under Pontius Pilate;] [He suffered death and was buried. ] [On the third day He rose again in accordance with the Scriptures;] [He ascended into Heaven] [and is seated at the right hand of the Father.] [He will come again in glory] [to judge the living and the dead,] [and His kingdom will have no end.] [We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life, Who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son He is worshipped and glorified. He has spoken through the prophets.] [We believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.] [We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.] [We look for the resurrection of the dead ] [and the life of the world to come.] [Amen.]

We believe...

I am first of all struck by the notion that I am not alone in my belief. There are many people who stand with me and who are ready (at least in theory) to support me. We form a Body - the Body of Christ. Scripture says (1 Cor 12:12) "For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ."

Belonging to a group with whom I can relate is very important to me. Isolation is a tragic thing - no one to talk to, to share with. It drives you mad after a while. I need someone to share my life with. Someone who will laugh with me, cry with me, share my secrets. Someone who will encourage me, challenge me, support me. And with whom I can do the same. Sounds like marriage.

"Husbands love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her, that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the Word, that He might present the Church to Himself in splendour, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that She might be holy and without blemish." (Eph 5:25-27)

So the Church is like a marriage and a marriage is like the Church. Marriage, in fact, is a microcosm of the wider Church. And marriage within the Church would have to be the epitome of the Body of Christ - "the two shall become one flesh" (Eph 6:31 cf. Gen 2:25). And the "one flesh" unites in a belief structure surrounded in love and mystery. We believe! [Return]

...in One God, Father, the Almighty, maker of Heaven and Earth, of all that is, seen and unseen

The Internet is a wondrous place to me. Through it I have discovered so many marvellous things. One of my favourite places is the image archives of NASA. The beauty and wonder of the universe fills me with awe. I often just close my eyes and try to imagine the incredible size of the thing. And then there is the wonder and beauty of the world in which we live.

All of these things are so magnificent and so complex and so full of life and growth. I cannot conceive that it all "just happened." Sure, I can accommodate the scientific theories of how it all started and the millions of years of growth. But Someone must have set it off. My experience tells me that change is governed. There is a pattern and a plan that it all fits into. Even the most minute things are governed by some law. Someone must have defined it all.

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." (Gen 1:1). A primitive concept, but one which readily lends itself to logic. Coupled with the experiences of history and scientific discovery, it becomes even more plausible. A "Super" being of supreme intelligence with power and authority; One who is above and outside the created existence we know and accept; One who owns all things and from whom everything gets its basis for existence. "I am the Alpha and Omega," says the Lord God, "Who is and Who was, and Who is to come, the Almighty." (Rev 1:8)

This Absolute Supreme Being, this One and Only God (can't be more than one - that's a contradiction in terms), is the essential Father figure of creation. And not only the Father, but the Mother as well. All of our social structures, in fact, must have their source in God, who is the Source of all. Society becomes perfect as it models itself on God. It, therefore, behoves us all to study God, to dig as deep as we can into the Mystery of who and what God is, in order to discover the essence of ourselves. Only then can we build a society which has strength and security. "So I turned my mind to know and to search out and to seek wisdom and the sum of things and to know the wickedness of folly and the foolishness which is madness." (Eccl. 7:25)
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...We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,

"And He asked them, 'But who do you say I that am?' Peter answered Him, 'You are the Christ.' " (Mk 8:29). The New Testament was written in Greek so the names "Jesus" and "Christ" are Greek words for "Yeshua" meaning "God saves his people" and "Messiah" which means "anointed one of God." See below ...for our salvation...".

"Pilate said to Him, 'So you are a king?' Jesus answered, 'You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the Truth. Everyone who is of the Truth hears my voice.' Pilate said to him, 'What is truth?'" (Jn 17:37-38)

It's a question I have searched to answer for many years. I cannot find truth in what I see of humankind. "Vanity of vanities! All is vanity." (Eccl 1:2) We are full of arrogance and wanting to get the better of the next person. So we lie and cheat and scheme our way through life, because we see everyone else do it and if we don't look after ourselves no one else will.

Wherever I see people not being arrogant, people looking out for others instead of themselves, I find that there is a meaning to their lives which goes beyond themselves. Jesus said, "You have heard that it was said, 'an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' ... (and) '...love your neighbour and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you..." (Mt 5:38,43,44).

It is this extraordinary attitude that draws me to this man Jesus. He fought and died for the principle of love of everyone and, more: He held Himself up as the source of this love ("I am the Way and the Truth and the Life" (Jn 14:6)).

We cannot, I believe, follow this way in our own strength. I have found that I need the power that Jesus has - a power that does not come from within me but through my life in him (Gal 3: 20-21; Rom 8:31-39). That is why I proclaim "Jesus is Lord!"
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...the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father.

This is a mystery, something which cannot be fully understood but which is accepted through the gift of Faith. The Scriptures say: "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) The mystery is, how can God have a son and how can that son be the same as God? Full explanations are impossible but, the way I see it is that God eternally speaks, and, because He is God, the Word He speaks is of the same essence as He is. There cannot be more than one God, so the Word is mysteriously but integrally united to the One Who speaks It, such that the Two are One and yet they are separate. It's an absorbing ponderance! See also my thoughts regarding the Holy Spirit, Who is the Third Person of the Trinity of God. Many people baulk at this but there is no need - God is God and can do anything; just because we can't understand it doesn't mean anything other than we are obviously not God! :-)

The mystery of God is worth contemplating because, as we meditate on God, we open up to His power in our lives and the wonder of His Love for us and the amazing truth of Who and What He is. (cf. Ex 34:6-7)
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...Through Him all things were made.

The beginning of the Gospel of John says: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God; all things were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made." (Jn 1:1-3) And in the Book of Genesis: "...And God said: 'Let...' " (Gen 1:3,6,9,11...etc). As God speaks things happen! God's Word is so powerful that it is God (See above).

John's Gospel proclaims Jesus as the Word of God. John has Jesus, Himself, saying "I am in the Father and the Father in Me. The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does His works" (Jn 14:10), and again "I and the Father are one." (Jn 10:30). The whole tenor of the Gospel of John is to present Jesus as God who became man to bring us back to Himself (cf. Jn 3:16-17). It is at once intense, mystifying, deeply spiritual and believable. I recommend it to all who want to understand who Jesus really is.

The strength and truth of this spirituality allows us to understand that the Father created all things by his Word who is His Son, Jesus, the Lord.
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...For us and for our salvation He came down from Heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit, He became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man.

Humankind was created by God "in His own image" (Gen 1:26,27) to be the master of the world and to live (abide) with Him forever (cf 1 Jn 2:17, 4:16). But we were seduced into evil, into thinking that we could be like God (Gen 3:5) so we defied God and destroyed ourselves in the process (Gen 3:16-24).

The conundrum of evil is that only God, who is pure Love, can overcome it, but only a human being can represent humankind in the act of propitiation (reconciliation). So God needs to become a human!

I believe it is impossible for us to understand fully how God does this - and I guess that's why Christianity is hard to accept for non-spiritual people - but I know that He has done it and I am forever in His debt!

How did Mary feel, I wonder? Just an "ordinary" Jewish maiden, but with a great love for her God and the Law of Moses. Suddenly here is this heavenly creature (what did it look like, I wonder) saying things like "favoured one" and "you will conceive ... the Son of the Most High." The Scriptures say that she was "greatly troubled" but that she submitted herself fully to the power of God: "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord." (Lk 1:26-38)

Through that act of submission by Mary (she could have said "no") the Almighty God was able to take on humanity and commence that process of bringing humankind back to Him. Mary became pregnant without having intercourse - the power of God caused it to happen.
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...For our sake He was crucified under Pontius Pilate;

When Jesus was in His early thirties, He began to preach to the Jewish people about the coming of the Kingdom of God. He spoke with firmness and authority but with compassion and love. He drew many people to His cause. His main theme was to bring people back from a ritualistic acceptance of the Law to a heart response which submitted to a need of God and a willingness to turn back to Him.

While this was acclaimed by the general populous, it was not accepted by the Jewish leaders who saw it as an affront to their authority and an attack on their power. So they plotted to have Him executed for treason.

Pontius Pilate was the Roman governor of the province of Judea from 27-37 AD. My study of Roman history tells me that the Romans found the Jews "troublesome" because they would not submit to Roman polytheistic spirituality. The Jews, on the other hand, hated the Romans because they dominated and overtaxed them and because of the polytheism which the Jews saw as blasphemous in the extreme. Only the Roman authorities could approve an execution.

Through the betrayal of Judas Iscariot, one of the apostles of Jesus, the Jewish authorities captured Jesus and brought Him first before the Sanhedrin, their own court, which condemned Him to death because of blasphemy, and then to Pilate to have the sentence approved - they convinced Pilate that Jesus preached sedition.

Pilate approved the execution and Jesus was crucified.
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...He suffered death and was buried.

Mark's gospel tells us that Jesus hung on the cross for six hours before He "uttered a loud cry and breathed his last" (cf Mk 15:25-37). John tells us that the soldiers, on seeing Jesus was dead, speared Him through His side, to make sure (cf Jn 19:33-35).

The family and friends of Jesus then took His body down from the cross and buried him.

The death of Jesus is important. If He was to redeem us back to God, which is what His whole life was about, He had to take on the responsibility for all of the evil perpetrated by humankind (Rom 5:6-7). He then had to die because death is the result of sin (Rom 6:23). See below "... We acknowledge one baptism... "
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...On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures;

The two major Scriptures that the Church sees as foretelling the resurrection of Jesus are Isaiah 53:11-12 and Psalm 16:9-10. The psalm is quoted by the Apostle Paul in his speech to the Jews at Antioch (Acts 13:30-41).

The resurrection of Jesus is the pivotal circumstance of the foundation of Christianity and the event upon which the Church stands or falls. St. Paul says "If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins." (1 Cor 15:17)

When I was having my "change of life" crisis some years ago, I decided that my faith was futile, because, for all my good intentions, I saw myself as a complete failure. So I discarded all my beliefs one by one - until I came to examine the resurrection of Jesus. I could not refute it! The evidence from the apostles, particularly John and Paul, is too genuine. They had no reason to lie about the resurrection; in fact, they had every reason to disclaim it! I told God that if it was real, He would have to show me, because, in my state of mind at the time, I was at rock bottom in my faith.

I cannot explain to you the miracle of faith in my life. All I can say is that I KNOW Jesus is alive because, like Paul, I have had a personal revelation of it (not as spectacular as Paul's, however!). My life has changed and, being the weak willed person that I know I am, it could not have come from anything that I did (I deliberately did not go to any counselling or seek any assistance for my faith crisis) but, the fact that my life has changed proves, to me at least, that the resurrection of Jesus is true.
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...He ascended into Heaven

Well, if he didn't, where did he go? :-) If you believe that Jesus rose from the dead; that in doing so, He overcame the need to die, then it follows that the Scriptures which point to His extraordinary departure from this earth are quite believable. I have no reason to doubt it.

The theological point about the Ascension (as we call it) is that, even though Jesus rose from the dead, while He was still on earth He was confined to influencing His immediate environment. In other words, because He was a physical entity (ie. He had a body) His ability to touch people's lives was limited to what He could do within His physical body.

Through his Ascension, Jesus moves from the world of time and physical constraint into the eternal metaphysical. Although He still has a real (albeit glorified) body, He can spread His Power across the whole universe.
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...and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

There are two "parts" to Jesus: Firstly, He is truly human - born of a woman, lived in a particular part of the world and died ("A man like us in all things but sin" (cf Heb 4:15). Secondly, He is God, the Second Person of the Trinity ("The Word was with God and the Word was God" (Jn 1:1).

"Seated at the right hand of the Father" is an ancient way of saying that the human and divine natures of Jesus are inextricably linked and that He takes His place in the Trinity which is God. How weak human words are in trying to describe this mystery!

For me it means that humankind, in the person of Jesus, is by His resurrection and ascension, linked to God - Paul says that "we are the children of God, and if children then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ" (Rom 8:17). This is the amazing miracle of Jesus - that, through Him, with Him and in Him we have been granted a place in the very being of God!
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...He will come again in glory

Jesus Himself said that He will return to earth one day: "... and then they will see the Son of man coming in a cloud with great power and great glory." (Lk 21:27) Certainly it has been a belief in the Church since the time of the Apostles that Jesus is to come back to bring the Kingdom of God to its fulfilment. In fact, many of the Apostles and early Christians believed that the Second Coming of Jesus was imminent in their lifetime. But of course it hasn't happened yet.

When will it happen? Only God knows - "It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has fixed by His own authority." (Acts 1:7) But seeing the world as it is today, I pray with many who say "Maranatha!" "Come Lord Jesus."
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...to judge the living and the dead,

Just as the Second Coming has been a belief in the Church from the earliest times, so has the Truth that Jesus will bring judgement upon the human race (Mt 25:31-46, Jn 5:17ff). This will not be in anger or condemnation (cf Jn 3:17, Rom 8:1) but in a full revelation of what sin is and how people have chosen to live their lives in rejection of God. Those who have deliberately taken this path will condemn themselves to an eternity without the power of God. Eternity is a very long time! :-)

This is why it is so important for those who believe and understand these things to proclaim the message of the Gospel to as many people as possible. In Jesus we have eternal life, without Him there is eternal death, and I don't mean physical death (see "We look for the resurrection of the dead" below).

Surely an eternity with God, living in happiness and peace, is far better than an eternity without Him.
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...and His kingdom will have no end.

This is a great mystery and an exciting one. Caught in the world of time, watching things start life, grow, then die, we have no concept of eternity. As the song says: "Though we've been there ten thousand years, bright shinning as the sun, there's no less days to sing God's praise than when we'd first begun." Jesus promises us that we will live forever in the Kingdom of God (Jn 11:25-26). What will it be like? Where will it be? These are questions that only those who have gone before us can answer. But I can't wait!

Through my life in Jesus, I already know something of the happiness and peace His love brings to me. But it is not at its fullest, because I keep backsliding into sin. Paul says "Now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall understand fully." (1 Cor 13:12) Having known it, even slightly, I know it is what I want, because of the real joy it brings me. "As the hart longs for flowing streams, so longs my soul for Thee, O God." (Ps 41:1)
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...We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son He is worshipped and glorified. He has spoken through the prophets.

The Holy Spirit brings life to everything that Christians do and believe. Without the Holy Spirit, prayer is no different from secular meditation, sacred ceremonies are meaningless rituals, the Bible is just another book and the Christian life is reduced to merely another lifestyle.

The Holy Spirit is God. It is how we understand the Power and Love of God. Because the Holy Spirit is God, He is a personality, just like the Father and the Son. There is only one God. But God is three Persons. I cannot fully explain it - if I could I would be God, and, obviously I'm not. :-)

Here is how I understand the mystery of the Trinity of God. The Eternal Father speaks, or thinks, a single Word. That Word is so magnificent that it is indeed of the same essence as the Father, but has It's own personality (John 1). Because They are of the same essence, the Father and the Word, also called the Son, are eternally united in a bond of Love, which is also so immense that it, too, is a personality. This Love between the Father and the Son is the Spirit of Love which is the life force of God.

Iraneus, one of the early Fathers of the Church (c.130-200 AD), explained it like this: "It is impossible to see God's Son without the Spirit [1 Cor 12:3] and no one can approach the Father without the Son, for the knowledge of the Father is the Son [Jn 14:9-10] and the knowledge of God's Son is obtained through the Holy Spirit [Jn 16:14-15]."

There is much evidence in the Bible for the Trinity of God, but it is hard to understand. I don't really try. I just allow the One God to work His power in me, in whatever way He choses. (See also One God, the Father, the Almighty and the only Son of God,)
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...We believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.

Up front I need to clarify that "catholic" does not refer to the Roman Catholic Church, but means "universal," in the sense of "according to the totality" or "in keeping with the whole." In other words, it refers to the Church of Jesus Christ, established by Him to be present throughout the whole world (cf Is 49:6).

The Church is Jesus. The Holy Spirit came upon the disciples at Pentecost to empower them to preach the Gospel. That same Holy Spirit, Who is the Spirit of God, and therefore of Jesus, comes to each Christian when they are baptised (1 Cor 12:13). Every Christian is part of the Church - every Christian IS the Church.

We are intrinsically united both to the humanity of Jesus, Who died for all of us, and to the divinity of Jesus, Who, because He is God, makes us part of God - "you have received the spirit of sonship" says Paul (Rom 8:10). This makes us holy. Holiness means "separated from others for God's purposes" (cf 1Pt 2:9,10). We are, therefore, duty bound, as well as bound in love and thankfulness, to "seek the things that are above" and "put to death what is earthly" (Col 3:1,5) so that "being rooted and grounded in love, (you) may have the power to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth... " (Eph 3:18)

The Church is catholic because each member is joined to the others through their unity with Christ Jesus. Paul describes it beautifully in 1 Cor 12:14-26. We are parts of a Body - the Body of Jesus. He is the head and we are the other parts, each with their own special purpose. Everyone, even the weakest member, has a part to play and everything that happens to one member affects the others.

The Church is apostolic (meaning "sent") because it traces it's history in a direct line back to the apostles of Jesus, who were sent by Him to spread the Gospel (cf. Mat 28:19). As they went about the known world of their time, teaching and baptising, they left their authority to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus with others (cf 2 Tim 2:1-2). This authority has been faithfully passed on from generation to generation, fulfilling the commission of Jesus to "go... make disciples of all nations..." (Mt 28:19). Today, the Church is established in every country and continues to grow as more and more people come to find the Life of Jesus as a reality in their own lives.
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...We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.

"Baptism" (Gk baptizein) means to "plunge" or "immerse." Christian baptism is about "immersion" into the death of Jesus.

Jesus died to break the nexus between sin (arrogance towards God and other people) and humankind's inability to have full relationship with God (cf Gen 3:14-24). Only someone not tainted by sin could do that. God is the only one not tainted by sin (cf Rom 3:10-18); but because it was a human who first sinned (Rom 5:12), only a human could make expiation. Thus "God sent forth His Son born of woman... to redeem..." (Gal 4:4).

Because He died for all (cf Rom 5:6-21), if we acknowledge this then we can be part of this expiation/redemption (Rom 10:9).

As part of that acknowledgment we submit to Baptism (Acts 2:38). Through our Baptism we are set free from sin and death and are raised to life in Jesus (cf Jn 3:16-17; Rom 8:28-30; Gal 5:1).

But, it is only through this acknowledgment that anyone can be saved. "There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12)

...We look for the resurrection of the dead

This physical body that I live in will die, but I - that is the part of me made in the image of God (Gen 1:26) - will not die (Jn 3:16; 4:14; 6:54, 58; 11:25-26). What happens to me when my body dies, I don't know (no one has come back from the dead to tell me, except Jesus, and he doesn't specify , but see Lk 16:22). What I do know is that I live as part of Jesus (Gal 2:20), so I assume that after the death of my body, I will somehow be united to the Spirit of Jesus (cf. Col 3:1-4)

At some time in the future, my body will rise again from the grave (cf Dan 12; 1 Cor 15:20-28). If the Resurrection of Jesus is any guide, then I will look something like I do now, but different - "glorified" (cf Jn 20:14; 21:4; Lk 24:16; 1 Cor 15:42-44).

It is very hard to accept this as fact. We have seen death and it looks pretty permanent. But, in Jesus we see the Power of God to overcome even death (1 Cor 15:12-19) and we rely on this for our faith.
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...and the life of the world to come.

Jesus will return again ("The Second Coming") (Acts 1:11). His promise is that He will raise up, on the Last Day, all who believe in Him (Jn 6:40). The wonders of that final act upon this world are taken up in great poetry by the Book of Revelation (Rev 21:1 - 22:20). We can only dream of what it will be like, and when it might be, and how, etc., etc., etc. But the Scriptures are full of the promise and we wait.

Many people over the years have tried to predict the end of the world as we know it and failed dismally! Jesus said: "It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has fixed by His own authority." (Acts 1:7) What we do know is that He has given us Himself by the power of the Spirit. Through this power we have become sons and daughters of God, co-heirs in the Kingdom. Already we have a taste of the joy and peace which comes to us through our unity with Jesus. We wait in hope, therefore, for the fullness of this union to come to us. To be with Him eternally.

"Though we've been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun, we've no less days to sing God's praise than when we first begun!"
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...Amen

"Amen" means "let it be as has been said" or "spoken, it shall be." It is our affirmation that, with all our being, we believe in the Truth of what we have just stated.

Amen.
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