"And in Jesus Christ, His Son, our Lord."

"And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord."
The Creed sets the stage with faith in God the Father, creator of heaven and earth, but immediately moves to faith in the Son. Again, the Creed is a succinct statement. It is ultimately not concerned with what happened in the desert with Israel, or with David writing the Psalms nor with numerous prophecies proclaimed in Scripture. These certainly are important, but they are not necessary for the purposes of the Creed. So for a Creed based on the teaching of the apostles, faith in Jesus Christ is fundamental.

With so many views on the person of Jesus Christ, an appropriate definition is essential for knowing the truth of his real person. As the Son, he does the will of the Father (John 5.19-23; 6.40; 8.28, 42; 10.18, 29-32; 12.49-50; 14.10). While having a different role, he is not of unequal being. Just as an earthly father has the same human value as his son, God the Son has the same divine value as the Father. This is an oversimplification but it helps to illustrate the point. The Council of Chalcedon (451 A.D.) uses the word "con-substantial" meaning "co-essential" or more simply put, of the same essence. That same essence is described of the Holy Spirit, with a different function yet without loss of oneness. A Trinitarian understanding of God is essential for Christian belief, yet we stray from our focus on the Son.

Jesus is Lord. If one claims belief in this statement, I believe this has two important implications. First, Jesus has authority in regards to deity. He is God, our Lord. The same word describing God in the Old Testament is used for Christ in the New. He is the one we look to for authority. The Father has granted him all authority, and he is the head of the church (John 5.27; 10.18; 12.49; Eph. 1.22). Second, Jesus has authority in regards to the life of a believer. Faith in Christ should naturally be followed by making him the Lord of your life. This includes following the commands of Scripture, seeking to make his name known to the nations, and seeking to model Christ-likeness. It's a pledge of loving obedience to the one whom your obedience is due. To have a Lord is to say that your own life's priorities are not as important as his.

With so many views of Christ, ranging from a God-inspired man to merely a mythical character, it is important to understand the true nature of faith in Jesus Christ. As the Son, he has authority over life and death given to him by the Father. He is equal with the Father, yet also sharing equality with mankind. He is truly the God-Man. Because he is so, he is also our Lord. Our Lord in respect to authority, both in spiritual life and the physical life of believers. The relationship of the Son and Father is ultimately one of mystery. Despite our (appropriate) attempts to understand the relationship, the fact that "the Word became flesh" (John 1.14) is ultimately a matter of faith. The Creed makes a statement which we appropriate by faith, not by scientific reasoning. As I close this week, I will leave you with the words of theologian and teacher J.I. Packer: "Love prompted it (that is, God becoming man); and our part is not to speculate about it and scale it down to but to wonder and adore and love and exalt 'Jesus Christ...the same yesterday and today and forever' (Hebrews 13.8)."1

Peace in Him,

Coleman

1. J.I. Packer. Affirming the Apostles' Creed. Wheaton: Crossway, 2008. 70.

"I Believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator and heaven and earth."

We're off to a great start in LIFEgroups and The Gathering with our fall study in the Apostles' Creed. We have discussed the meaning of the statement "I believe" and what biblical faith means for us. Not only is it belief in something, namely God, its also a commitment to a relationship and a attitude of obedience. When we say we believe in God, we don't just mean that we believe that there might be some kind of being out there which we call God, rather, we believe in God the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth.

"I Believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth."
God is a Father above all fathers. Even the best of our earthly fathers are not perfect, and at worst they are the exact opposite of who God has called them to be. Many of us may have negative feelings towards our fathers as they were not the men they were supposed to be. Others of us may truly love and appreciate and admire our fathers. In the end, none of them compare to God as our father. He will take care of us and counts us as important and worthy of his love (Matthew 6:30-33, John 3:16, 1 John 4:16, 2 Peter 3:9). He's the dad that truly can beat up your dad!

When we say we believe that God is the Creator of Heaven and Earth, we affirm his sovereign hand in creation. Genesis 1 and 2 affirm that God is the one who spoke creation into being. He did not do so haphazardly nor without thought. He was careful and thorough in his design. As Christians, we affirm that God has created and he is the originator of all that is. He himself was not created nor did anything exist before or apart from him (Job 38-39, Romans 1:20). Other creation stories show God (or whatever deity) as existing within the creation already, however Scripture affirms that God is the eternal one who has existed since before time began. There is no random chaos in which creation arose, rather, there is a God who by his mighty hand and word made all that is.

As we continue through the Creed, it is important for us to lay this foundation as it is found within the Creed. Without a proper foundation for faith, we can not continue to affirm the remainder of this belief statement. Without a firm acknowledgment of God the Father and his acts, we can't possibly proceed and claim belief in remaining lines of the Creed. These are foundational. The early church recognized this necessity as an initial "weeding out" process against other notions of deity found within their day, many of which continue to our present day. I am excited to see how the Lord will use this study to enhance our faith and I am thankful in the tradition of the faithful brothers and sisters who came before us who used the Creed to affirm their faith. May we see it as such as well. Take care and have a great week in the Lord!

The Gathering Tonight

The Gathering tonight from 6-8pm. We continue our look at the Creed and what it means to believe on God as "Maker of heaven and earth." Plus, we've got chocolate. See you there!

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Feed My Starving Children

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Fall 2010 LIFEgroups

We're back for the fall! Tonight we meet at MyCherryo next to Sonic on Hebron and Huffines from 6:30-8pm. We're kicking things off by stuffing our faces full of yogurt.

This semester we'll be going through the Apostle's Creed which is a Christian baptismal belief statement dating back at least 1600 years! In a world of pluralism and new age religion, its important for us to understand the basics of our faith and the continuing relevance it has for today's culture. Our faith is historic, Biblical, relevant and the only hope for mankind. Do you believe?

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Touchstone Archives: A Stunted Ecclesiology?

Hey peeps! So in the interest of further our knowledge of who we are as Christians and taking an honest look at our modern day church surroundings, I thought this article would really help to understand the pros and cons of how we do church today.

Touchstone Archives: A Stunted Ecclesiology?

We're Back

OMG The Gathering is back for the fall! 6-8 pm tonight . Bring a pal. Tonight we kick off our semester look at the Apostles Creed. Our faith is alive and active.

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