Creedal Faith

Creedal faith, the Apostles’ Creed, is common faith. It is the faith we share, and it is as important as biblical faith. There is no difference between creedal faith, biblical faith, and faith in God’s church. They are different expressions of the same thing, the same Truth. Belief, Bible, and believers are in unity, one with another, as are Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. None are trustworthy when apart from the others, but all are trustworthy when in unity with the others. Like Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, belief, Bible, and believers are a kind of a trinity. There are important distinctions between them, but they always exist in unity. They all serve the same purpose. They are together one great movement of God in the world.

Human beings are creedal creatures, by which I mean that we cannot function in this world without common or shared belief. Sure, sometimes what we believe is found to be wrong or inaccurate. And when such a discovery is made, we adjust our belief. Our beliefs shape our world because people always act on the basis of their beliefs, right or wrong, good or bad.

“Jesus is Lord!” is a simple statement of belief that all Christians necessarily share. And because this faith is shared, it is both personal and communal. To say it is to confess one’s commitment and submission to Jesus Christ, and to unite with others who do the same. This confession, this creed is more than the words that are personally spoken because to speak them is also an act of allegiance to the people of God in Christ. To say the words involves a change of identity, which brings about various changes of behavior that bring one into increasing conformity with the character of Jesus Christ and all who are engaged in such conformity—the church, His church, our church, the church or people of Jesus Christ on earth and in heaven. As we grow in Christ, as we increasingly conform to the character of Christ as found in the pages of the Bible, we continually adjust our various behaviors to make them better conform to Christ’s character. And we find more words to add to our confession, our creed, our belief, our understanding of reality. …