The Value of Creeds

We are a creedal church. We recite the historic Christian creeds: the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed. Is this vain repetition? Hollow formalism? I say no. Here are my reasons:

First, when we recite a creed during a worship service, we are acknowledging that there is an objectivity to our worship. We do not worship a god who is a figment of our collective imaginations; we worship the God who has revealed himself in Scripture. We are acknowledging that Christian worship must not only be "in Spirit" but also "in truth" (John 4:24).

In reciting creeds, we are saying to God, "here are the main things we believe as we come together to worship You." The word creed itself comes from the Latin word, credo, which means "I believe."

Second, reciting the historic Christian creeds underscores the unity of the church down through the ages. It is a way for a congregation of Christians to say, "we stand shoulder to shoulder with the church across the centuries. We hold to the faith 'that was once for all entrusted to the saints' (Jude 3)."

There are a couple phrases in the Apostles' Creed that often confuse people. Let's discuss them. The first is the statement that Christ "descended into hell."

Our English translation of the Apostles' Creed can be misleading because the word hell is used differently today than it was when the English version of the Creed was fixed in the eighth century. (Incidentally, it is called the Apostles' Creed not because the apostles wrote it but because it summarizes their teaching).

Originally, the English word hell meant the place of the dead, corresponding to the New Testament Greek word Hades and the Old Testament Hebrew word Sheol. This is the sense in which the word "hell" is being used in the Creed, echoing Psalm 16:10 and Acts 2:27, "Thou wilt not abandon my soul to Hades" (NAS; NIV reads "the grave"; KJV reads "hell"); in other words, "Thou will not leave me in the state of death."

Since seventeenth century, the English word "hell" has come to be used to refer only to the place of "eternal fire" (Jude 7) reserved for those who reject God's grace. The Greek word in the New Testament for the lake of fire is Gehenna.

In the Apostles' Creed we are saying that Jesus entered Hades (the grave). We are not saying that he went to Gehenna (the lake of fire). As J.I. Packer put it, the Creed is merely stating that Jesus really died and "that it was from a genuine death, not a simulated one, that he rose."

A second phrase in the Apostles' Creed that can be confusing is the phrase, "I believe in the holy catholic church." The word catholic means "universal." Protestants do not understand this phrase to refer to the Roman Catholic Church but to the universal church (Matthew 16:18; Ephesians 5:25): all those who truly are resting upon, have rested upon, or will rest upon Christ alone for salvation.

The phrase, "I believe in ... the communion of the saints" is just another way of saying, "I believe in the fellowship of believers." A Christian is a saint, not because he has achieved holiness, but because God has clothed him in the holiness of Christ. This is why Paul addresses the Ephesian Christians as "the saints in Ephesus" (Ephesians 1:1). The communion of the saints is that vast multitude who have trusted, are trusting, or one day will trust in Christ for salvation.

I love to be in church when the worship leader asks, "Christian, what is it you believe?" and the worshipers respond firmly, "I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth...." It's unlikely that the historic creeds of the faith will be improved upon as summaries of what the Bible teaches. Let's hold on to them.

Peter Kemeny, Pastor
Good News Presbyterian Church
P.O. Box 1051, Frederick, MD 21702

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