In the business world, entrepreneurs, salesmen and job seekers are taught to formulate their “elevator pitch”. This is a summary of who they are and what they have to offer, presented concisely enough to be done during a typical elevator ride: about two minutes or less. (Examples can be found here and here.)
The “creeds” of Christianity have a surprisingly similar function. They state the basics of our faith in a way that is simple, concise, and easy to understand. They have a history going back to the very beginning of the church. Some are included in the New Testament; some were written by church councils in the first three or four centuries; some date to the Protestant Reformation; others have been done throughout the centuries. The Wikipedia article on the subject lists dozens of them. Some are still being written today: The inspiration for this article came from a contemporary Christian praise song/creed written in 1996.
“Confessions” are longer than creeds, going into more detail on each point of theology. Rather than an elevator pitch, they are more like a political party platform.
“Catechisms” are the curriculum for teaching these basics. They are phrased in a question-and-answer format that allows for easy retention. Students can be drilled by having them respond with the correct answer…and be able to explain that answer.
Examples of Creeds
Biblical Creeds
In Paul’s letter to the church of Corinth is a passage thought to be a very early Christian creed. Paul describes it as something that was given to him, and that he had already passed along to the Corinthian Christians.
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles;
1 Corinthians 15:3-7
Another early creed is 1 Timothy 2:5: “For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus“. Another, also in Paul’s letter to Timothy, is stated in poetic form. It was probably already known as a song.
By common confession, great is the mystery of godliness:
1 Timothy 3:16
He who was revealed in the flesh,
Was vindicated in the Spirit,
Seen by angels,
Proclaimed among the nations,
Believed on in the world,
Taken up in glory.
Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi prefigured the Nicene and Chalcedonian creeds in its description of the Person and work of Christ Jesus.
Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in 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. 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.
Philippians 2:5-11
Apostles Creed
This creed is probably the oldest post-Biblical creed still in common use. The name suggests that the original Apostles, the twelve closest disciples of Jesus, has something to do with the writing of it. There is nothing to substantiate that idea, however. The earliest version is very close, though: It dates back to about 215 A.D., which would be only 150 years after the writing of the New Testament.
I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic* Church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting.
AMEN.
*In all these creeds, the lowercase word “catholic” has the meaning of “universal”, the worldwide body of believers. It is a separate meaning from capital-C “Catholic”, the Roman Catholic Church as headed by the Pope.
Nicene Creed
This creed is only a hundred years newer than the Apostles Creed. It was written at the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D. Noticeable in this creed is its emphasis on the Trinity, and especially on the God/Man identification of Jesus Christ. There were heresies to be countered, saying that Jesus was either not fully God, or else not fully Man.
The concept of the always-existent Second Person of the Trinity taking on real humanity in order to provide for our redemption has always been the most astounding teaching of the Gospels. However, it is also the very clear and emphatic teaching of those Gospels. As the Apostle John put it:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:1, 14
…
And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Without this fundamental truth, the rest does not make sense. Christ’s death, and even His resurrection, would have no power if He were only human. And they would be impossible and meaningless if He were only God. He is both, as this creed emphasizes.
Like the Apostles Creed, the Nicene Creed is short and easy to memorize. These two are probably the most commonly quoted creeds of today’s Christianity.
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, one in being with the Father.
Through Him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation He came down from heaven. By the
power of the Holy Spirit He was born of the Virgin Mary and became man. For our sake He was
crucified under Pontius Pilate. He suffered, died, and was buried. On the third day He rose again, in
fulfillment of 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.
Chalcedonian Creed
This creed also addresses the dual nature of Christ. It was written by a church council in the city of Chalcedon in 451 A.D. It reinforces the Nicene Creed with expanded definition and detail.
Following, then, the holy fathers, we unite in teaching all men to confess the one and only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. This selfsame one is perfect both in deity and in humanness; this selfsame one is also actually God and actually man, with a rational soul and a body. He is of the same reality as God as far as his deity is concerned and of the same reality as we ourselves as far as his humanness is concerned; thus like us in all respects, sin only excepted. Before time began he was begotten of the Father, in respect of his deity, and now in these “last days,” for us and behalf of our salvation, this selfsame one was born of Mary the virgin, who is God-bearer in respect of his humanness.
We also teach that we apprehend this one and only Christ-Son, Lord, only-begotten in two natures; and we do this without confusing the two natures, without transmuting one nature into the other, without dividing them into two separate categories, without contrasting them according to area or function. The distinctiveness of each nature is not nullified by the union. Instead, the “properties” of each nature are conserved and both natures concur in one “person” and in one reality. They are not divided or cut into two persons, but are together the one and only and only-begotten Word of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. Thus have the prophets of old testified; thus the Lord Jesus Christ himself taught us; thus the Symbol of Fathers has handed down to us.
Athanasian Creed
This creed goes into expanded detail on the Trinity. It is again addressing heresies: those that tried to separate the three Persons into three separate gods, or else to diminish them by making them each only partly God. They are all unique as Persons but are entirely One in nature, character, and power. Human minds can’t completely grasp this multi-dimensional Being, but that is clearly what the Bible teaches.
The creed is too long to quote in full here. I’ll include just a few of the lines, and link here for you to read the entire thing.
We worship one God in trinity and the Trinity in unity, neither confusing the persons nor dividing the divine being.
For the Father is one person, the Son is another, and the Spirit is still another.
But the deity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is one, equal in glory, coeternal in majesty.
…
Thus the Father is Lord; the Son is Lord; the Holy Spirit is Lord: And yet there are not three lords, but one Lord.
As Christian truth compels us to acknowledge each distinct person as God and Lord, so catholic* religion forbids us to say that there are three gods or lords.
….
And in this Trinity, no one is before or after, greater or less than the other; but all three persons are in themselves, coeternal and coequal; and so we must worship the Trinity in unity and the one God in three persons.
Examples of Confessions
The three Confessions mentioned below are examples of the “platform” adopted by these particular Christian denominations. One could ask “Don’t all Christians believe the same thing? Why are there denominations at all?” That is a good question (which will possibly become a future article on this site! š). The short answer is that Christians are humans, and therefore approach even faith from their individual perspectives.
However, we have much more in common than otherwise. If you compare these documents, they will seem quite repetitive. We all answer ultimately to the same Bible, to the God it reveals, and to the Christ it presents as our Savior. There is plenty of room for grace when we differ on some details while agreeing on all major points.
Augsburg Confession
This Confession dates from the Protestant Reformation. Written in 1530, it lays out the doctrines professed by the Protestant believers, in some cases contrasting them with the practice of the Roman Catholic church that they were protesting. Based on the movement begun by Martin Luther, this document remains an important statement of the Lutheran church.
Westminster Confession
This Confession is a doctrinal foundation of the Presbyterian church. It was written in 1646 to be a standard of the Church of England.
Southern Baptist Faith and Message
This Statement of Faith was originally written in 1925, revised in 1963, and then most recently revised in 2000 1. In a departure from other Christian denominations, Southern Baptists do not consider this — or any other specific document other than the Bible — to be binding on individual believers or churches 2. Each is autonomous; however, most would agree with the majority of the Statement published by the Southern Baptist Convention.
Examples of Catechisms
These are some of the better-known catechisms in use today. All of them are at least 350 years old, but are still relevant even in today’s culture.
Westminster Catechisms
The Westminster Catechisms were written in 1648. They include two different documents. The Larger contains quite a bit of detail, suitable for use by clergy. The Shorter is easier (or at least quicker) for the average person to grasp. Both begin with my all-time favorite question-and-answer:
Q: What is the chief end of man?
A: To glorify God and enjoy Him forever.
Anglican Catechism
This Catechism from the Book of Common Prayer is used by the Anglican Church (surprise!). Originally the Church of England, this denomination now has congregations in the U.S. and elsewhere.
Heidelberg Catechism
This Catechism, written in Germany in 1563, is used by the (Calvinist) Reformed Churches. These churches trace their roots to the teaching of John Calvin, a contemporary of Martin Luther. Other denominations making use of this teaching tool are Presbyterian, Congregational, and Anglican (Episcopal) churches.
Roman Catholic Catechism
The longest of the doctrinal documents that I found, at nearly 700 pages, this catechism is less a teaching tool than it is a university-level curriculum!
Personal Creeds
I didn’t consider it a “creed” when I wrote it, but the home page of this site would meet the definition. When answering the question “Why do you choose to be a Christian?”, my response was “Because I believe that the Bible is telling the absolute, literal truth. What it says about God, mankind, and the relationship between us is the way things really areā¦and that is good news!” I followed up with these points:
- God is real.
- God is the reason we, or anything else, exist.
- God’s purpose for us is to receive His love and to return love back to Him.
- We have, collectively and individually, rebelled against that purpose.
- We have thereby broken the close, loving fellowship we were meant to have.
- God loves us in spite of our rebellion. Our problem is separation from Him; He provides the solution via Jesus Christ.
- We acquire the reconciliation that Jesus provides simply by admitting that we need it and accepting it as a free gift.
- Once we accept Jesus’ gift, our relationship with God is restored.
- Because of Jesus, we can go back to what we were meant to be.
You might find it helpful to write your own version. Whether Christian…or atheist…or Buddhist…or Hindu…or Muslim, everyone can make a short elevator pitch describing the faith that informs their life choices. What is yours?
I mentioned at the beginning that this article was inspired by a relatively recent creed/praise song. That song is entitled “Because We Believe“. Here is a link for your listening pleasure. The verses say what we believe:
We believe in God the Father
We believe in Christ the Son
We believe in the Holy Spirit
We are the Church
And we stand as one
We believe in the Holy Bible
We believe in the virgin birth
We believe in the resurrection
That Christ one day
Will return to earth
We believe in the blood of Jesus
We believe in eternal life
We believe in His love that frees us
To become the bride of Christ
And the chorus gives the result of that belief:
Holy holy
Holy is our God
Worthy worthy
Worthy is our King
All glory and honor
Are His to receive
To Jesus we sing
Because we believe
Footnotes and Scripture References
- A comparison of the three versions can be found here.
- In fact, the preamble to the document includes the paragraph:
“Baptists cherish and defend religious liberty, and deny the right of any secular or religious authority to impose a confession of faith upon a church or body of churches. We honor the principles of soul competency and the priesthood of believers, affirming together both our liberty in Christ and our accountability to each other under the Word of God.”