Historic Creeds is designed to guide you through three months of lectio divina passages that relate to each element of the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed. I have selected 90 texts from Numbers through Revelation that are particularly well-suited to the process of sacred reading. These texts range from one to several verses, and they are arranged in biblical sequence to attune you to the flow of progressive revelation.
This is Part I: the Apostles Creed.
Part II: the Nicene Creed is available here, and
Part III: the Athanasian Creed is available here.
Kenneth Boa
Website: http://www.kenboa.org
Commentary: http://www.kenboa.org/blog
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“There is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him” (1 Corinthians 8:6).
We do not exist for ourselves—we exist for the Father and through the Son. The world tells us that we derive our existence from it and that we should live for ourselves, but the Word teaches us that all we are and have comes from the Father who formed us for His pleasure and purposes.
Ultimate reality is not the cosmos or a mysterious force, but an infinite and loving Person. The implications of this, if we think about it, are astounding and pervasive. The infinite-personal Lord of all is an unbounded loving community of three timeless and perfect Persons. In the superabundance of His joy and life, He is at once solitude and society, the one and the many, supernal being as communion. The magnificent God who abounds in personal plenitude has no needs, yet He invites us to participate in the intense and interpenetrating life of the three eternally subsistent Selves. Jesus prayed on our behalf “that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us . . . . I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me” (John 17:21, 23). The impenetrable mystery of us being in the divine Us, and the divine Us being in us transcends our imagination, but if it is true, all else pales in comparison.
Devotional spirituality revels in the glorious attributes of God and aspires to lay hold of God’s aspiration for us. It prepares our souls for the “mystic sweet communion” of living entirely in God and in one another as the three Persons of God eternally live and rejoice in One another. It instills in us a passion for Christ’s indwelling life and inspires us to swim in the river of torrential love that flows from His throne of grace.
In 1677, Henry Scougal observed in his little book, The Life of God in the Soul of Man that “The worth and excellency of a soul is to be measured by the object of its love.” Our souls become emaciated when their pleasure is affixed to position, possessions, and power, because these things are destined to corrupt and perish. But as we gradually (and often painfully) transfer our affections from the created and finite world to the uncreated and infinite Maker of the world, our souls become great and glorious. As we take the risk of seeking God’s pleasure above our own, we discover the ironic byproduct of a greater satisfaction and contentment than if we sought these things as ends in themselves. As we learn to fix our eyes on Jesus, not for His benefits but for Himself, we find that we have all things in Him.
Scripture teaches us that we steadily become conformed to what we most love and admire. Hosea declared that the people of Israel “became as detestable as that which they loved” (Hosea 9:10). But when we turn the focus of our love away from the idols of this world system to the beauty of Christ, we discover the liberty of the Spirit of the Lord. We become like our focus; as we behold the glory of the Lord, we are being “transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18). We gradually come to resemble what we worship. If our heart’s desire is fixed on something in this world, it becomes idolatrous and soul-corrupting. But if we draw our life from loving communion with the caring, radiant, majestic, and unfathomable Being who formed us for Himself, our souls become noble as they grow in conformity to His character.
God in His inner essence is a mystery beyond our comprehension; we will never know Him as He knows Himself. The great pilgrims along the way have discovered that progress from superficial to substantive apprehension of God is not so much a movement from darkness to light as it is a plummeting into the ever-increasing profundity of the cloud of unknowing. Kallistos Ware in The Orthodox Way distinguishes the essence of God and the energies of God. In His essence, God is radically transcendent, but in His energies, He is immanent and omnipresent. As Ware notes, “The Godhead is simple and indivisible, and has no parts. The essence signifies the whole God as he is in himself; the energies signify the whole God as he is in action. God in his entirety is completely present in each of his divine energies.” As we reflect on God’s revelatory actions, we come to know Him more clearly, and this enables us to love Him more dearly, and to follow Him more nearly. God makes Himself known to us through His world, His word, His works, and His ways.
“The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands” (Psalm 19:1). “O Lord, how many are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all; the earth is full of Your possessions” (Psalm 104:24). Read Psalm 19:1-6 and Psalms 104 and 148 carefully and prayerfully and you will be struck by the manifold ways in which God designed the heavens and earth to display His glory, wisdom, and greatness.
Meditation on the created order is too often neglected as a meaningful component of devotional spirituality. This is unfortunate, because creation abounds with resplendent wonders on every order of magnitude from the microcosm to the macrocosm that point beyond themselves to the beauty and unimaginable brilliance of the Creator of the cosmos. Consider these marvels of order and design: particles and atoms, light and colors, microbes and diatoms, snowflakes, insects, seeds, flowers, leaves, shells, rocks and minerals, fruits, vegetables, plants, small and large birds, small and large fish, whales, small and large animals, trees, mountains, clouds, weather, the seasons, our earth, the planets, stars, nebulae, our galaxy, clusters and superclusters of galaxies.
“You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well” (Psalm 139:13-14). Of all God’s created works, the human body best displays God’s creative skill and design. I recommend two books that will help you worship God by reflecting on the marvels of the human and spiritual body: Fearfully & Wonderfully Made and In His Image by Dr. Paul Brand and Philip Yancey. These books portray the way physical systems like cells, bone, skin, motion, blood, the head, and the sensation of pain teach spiritual truth.
Let me mention two things that have helped me love God through His world. The first is an occasional trip to special places where I am encompassed in the natural order. In such places I sometimes sit back and stare at the stars until I realize that I am no longer looking up, but also down, and that I am wholly enveloped by the splendor and grandeur of the heavens. An experience like this is humbling because it dramatically shifts my perspective and reminds me that apart from God and His grace, I am nothing. I gain a similar sense of awe by looking at recent photographs of star clouds and distant galaxies. The veritable explosion in scientific knowledge in our time gives us access to new avenues of appreciating God that were never before available.
The second thing I use to stimulate wonder is a set of field lenses and a miniature high intensity flashlight. I use this “nature kit” from time to time to observe otherwise invisible colors and patterns in flowers, insects, rocks, and so forth. The very act of slowing down enough to observe and appreciate the rich intricacy and diversity of the created order is a healthy exercise in recollection and renewal.
There is no limit to the images and insights that can be gleaned from nature if we take the time and have the eyes to see. We would do well to cultivate a childlike sense of amazement and awe at the things we tend to overlook every day. Our artificial environments and busy schedules make us forget that we are surrounded by mystery and majesty. I encourage you to make the effort to enjoy more frequent and deliberate contact with God’s creation and to develop a deeper appreciation for the complexity, beauty, and resplendence of the heavens and earth. As you do this, you will sense that the God who designed all this and spoke it into being is utterly competent, trustworthy, and lovable.
“Open my eyes, that I may behold wonderful things from Your law” (Psalm 119:18). The Word of God restores the soul, imparts wisdom, rejoices the heart, enlightens the eyes, reveals God’s righteousness, and endures forever (Psalm 19:7-9). Scripture was revealed not merely to inform us, but to transform us. In Shaped by the Word, M. Robert Mulholland, Jr. contrasts two approaches to Scripture:
INFORMATIONAL READING |
FORMATIONAL READING |
Seeks to cover as much as possible |
Focuses on small portions |
A linear process |
An in-depth process |
Seeks to master the text |
Allows the text to master us |
The text as an object to use |
The text as a subject that shapes us |
Analytical, critical, and judgmental approach |
Humble, detached, willing, loving approach |
Problem-solving mentality |
Openness to mystery |
There is an important place for informational reading of Scripture and for exegetical and topical methods of Bible study. But those who approach Scripture in this way often overlook the formational approach that centers on speaking to the heart more than informing the mind. The Bible is not merely an object, but a divinely inspired oracle that is “living and active” (Hebrews 4:12) and has the power to transform those who receive it in humility and obedience (James 1:21-22). Devotional spirituality stresses the formative power of revealed truth and encourages us to love God through His Word. We will look at a time-tested method of doing this in the pages ahead.
Say to God, “How awesome are Your works!”
Come and see the works of God,
Who is awesome in His deeds toward the sons of men.
I shall remember the deeds of the Lord;
Surely I will remember Your wonders of old.
I will meditate on all Your work
And muse on Your deeds.
You are the God who works wonders;
You have made known Your strength among the peoples.
You have by Your power redeemed Your people.
(Psalm 66:3, 5; 77:11-12, 14-15)
The psalmists frequently reviewed and reflected upon God’s historical acts of redemption, protection, and provision. Both testaments abound with accounts of how God has worked in specific and dramatic ways in the lives of people and in the destiny of nations. He has demonstrated His just and loving purposes in the arena of human history, and prayerful consideration of His mighty works of creation, redemption, and consummation is another way of enhancing our worship and devotion for the triune Godhead.
“Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created. . . . Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth. . . . Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing. . . . To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever” (Revelation 4:11; 5:9-10, 12-13).
“He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the sons of Israel” (Psalm 103:7). Moses not only knew the Lord through His works, but he also knew and loved the Lord through His ways. God’s ways concern His personal involvement in our lives and our experiences of His peace, power, provision, protection, compassion, and care. It is good to build a personal “history” of God’s providential care by reviewing and remembering the things He has done at various points along your spiritual journey. Remember His surprising answers to prayer, the way He drew you to Himself, the way He carried you through turbulent waters, the way He provided for your needs when circumstances looked hopeless, the way He encouraged and comforted you in your distress, the way He exhorted you through others and disciplined you for your good, and the way He seeks to strip you of your hope in the things of this world so that you will learn to hope only in Him.
Come and hear, all who fear God,
And I will tell of what He has done for my soul.
Certainly God has heard;
He has given heed to the voice of my prayer.
Blessed be God,
Who has not turned away my prayer
Nor His lovingkindness from me.
Your way, O God, is holy;
What god is great like our God?
(Psalm 66:16, 19-20; 77:13)
“I will tell of what He has done for my soul.” Grateful reflection on what God has done for your soul is a vital component of devotional spirituality.
God’s ways also relate to the multifaceted attributes of His person, powers, and perfections. Since our capacity to love God is related to our image of God, we do well to pray for the grace of growing apprehension of the glories of His attributes: His unlimited power, presence, and knowledge; His holiness, justice, goodness, truthfulness, and righteousness; His goodness, grace, compassion, mercy, and love; His beauty, glory, greatness, transcendent majesty, and dominion; and His self-existence, eternity, infinity, and immutability. As Dallas Willard puts it in The Divine Conspiracy, God is “an interlocking community of magnificent persons, completely self-sufficing and with no meaningful limits on goodness and power.” He is the absolute answer to the perennial quest for the true, the good, and the beautiful.
The ancient art of sacred reading (lectio divina) centers on loving God through His word. It was introduced to the West by the Eastern desert father John Cassian early in the fifth century. The sixth-century Rule of St. Benedict that guided Benedictine and Cistercian monastic practice ever since, prescribed daily periods for sacred reading. In spite of the simplicity and power of this method of praying through sacred Scripture, it gradually fell into disuse and obscurity. Unfortunately, by the end of the Middle Ages it came to be seen as a method that should be restricted to the spiritually elite. As time passed, even monastics lost the simplicity of sacred reading as it was replaced by more complicated systems and forms of “mental prayer.” In recent decades, however, this ancient practice has been revitalized, especially by those in the Cistercian tradition. Writers like Thomas Merton (Contemplative Prayer, New Seeds of Contemplation, Spiritual Direction & Meditation), Thomas Keating (Open Mind, Open Heart), Michael Casey (Sacred Reading, Toward God, The Undivided Heart), and Thelma Hall (Too Deep for Words) have been promoting sacred reading in Catholic circles, and Protestants are now being exposed to this approach as well. Lectio divina involves a progression through the four movements of reading, meditation, prayer, and contemplation.
In his study of monastic culture, The Love of Learning and the Desire for God, Jean Leclercq distinguished two distinct approaches to Scripture that were used in the Middle Ages. While Medieval universities were urban schools that prepared clerics for the active life, rural monasteries focused on spiritual formation within a liturgical framework to equip monks for the contemplative life. The scholastics approached Scripture by focusing on the page of sacred text (sacra pagina) as an object to be studied and investigated by putting questions to the text (quaestio) and by questioning oneself with the subject matter (disputatio). By contrast, the monastics approached Scripture through a personal orientation of meditation (meditatio) and prayer (oratio). While the scholastics sought science and knowledge in the text, the monastics sought wisdom and appreciation. Those in the schools were more oriented to the objective, the theological, and the cognitive; those in the cloisters were more oriented to the subjective, the devotional, and the affective.
Most contemporary approaches to Bible study have more in common with the scholastics than with the monastics. Recalling a distinction we made earlier, they are more concerned with informational reading than with formational reading. There is a legitimate need for both approaches, since an overemphasis on one or the other can lead to the extremes of cold intellectualism or mindless enthusiasm. But when evangelicals study Scripture, they typically look more for precepts and principles than for an encounter with God in the depths of their being. The practice of lectio divina can correct this lack of balance, because it stresses the reading of Scripture for spiritual formation through receptive openness to God’s loving call of grace. Lectio is not an intellectual exercise that seeks to control and to gather information, but a voluntary immersion in the Word of God that seeks to receive and to respond. Spiritual reading melds revelation with experience. It is done in the spirit of the collect for the second Sunday in Advent in the 1928 Book of Common Prayer:
Blessed Lord, who hast caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning; Grant that we may in such wise hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that by patience and comfort of thy holy Word, we may embrace, and ever hold fast, the blessed hope of everlasting life, which thou hast given us in our Saviour Jesus Christ.
May we learn to hear the holy Scriptures and to “read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest” them.
As you move from reading to meditation, you are seeking to saturate and immerse yourself in the Word, to luxuriate in its living waters, and to receive the words as an intimate and personal message from God. The purpose of meditation is to penetrate the Scriptures and to let them penetrate us through the loving gaze of the heart. The term “mental prayer” is often associated with meditation, but this could be misleading, since lectio, meditatio, and oratio involve not only the mind, but also the heart. Meditation attunes the inward self to the Holy Spirit so that our hearts harmonize and resonate with His voice. Meditation is a spiritual work of holy desire and an interior invitation for the Spirit to pray and speak within us (Romans 8:26-27) in such a way that our whole being is transformed into greater conformity with Jesus Christ. It is an intentional process of building our passion for Christ by meeting with Him and spending time with Him to know Him more clearly, to love Him more dearly, and to follow Him more nearly. By meditating on God’s truth, we are inviting Christ to be formed in us (Galatians 4:19) by a deliberate dwelling on His words. Thus, mental prayer should not be seen as an abstract exercise but as a vital vehicle for the metamorphosis of the soul.
“This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success” (Joshua 1:8). This familiar verse tells us that the path to success as God defines it is the habit of making space in our lives to meet with God in His holy Word with a heart intention to apply what He reveals through obedient action. Only those who delight in God’s Word and habitually meditate on it (Psalm 1:2) will experience the fullness and stability of God’s purpose and calling. May you be one of them.
The discipline of prayer is usually associated with a personal dialogue (colloquy) with God, though the majority of our prayers appear to be petitionary monologues. In lectio divina, prayer is specifically related to the two prior movements of sacred reading and meditation on the text. Oratio is the fruit of meditatio, and it is the way in which we “interiorize” what God has spoken to us through the passage. The transition from meditation to prayer may be subtle or unnoticed, but it is a response of the heart to what has been largely occupying the mind. It is a movement from truth to implication, from hearing to acknowledgment, from understanding to obedience.
Depending on how the “living and active” word is shaping us (Hebrews 4:12), this period of prayer can be sweet and consoling, or it can be painful and revealing. The two-edged sword of the Spirit has a way of exposing the thoughts and intentions of the heart, and when our selfish, distorted, and manipulative strategies are “open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do” (Hebrews 4:13), oratio becomes a time for compunction, confession, and repentance. When the soul is exposed and we see our interior and exterior lives more as God sees them, this experience can be both devastating (in light of God’s holiness) and exhilarating (in light of God’s forgiveness and compassion). At other times, we may be gripped by the power of spiritual truth (e.g., the kindness and love of the Father, the grace and faithfulness of the Son, the fellowship and presence of the Spirit) and respond in adoration or thanksgiving. Oratio is a time for participation in the interpenetrating subjectivity of the Trinity through prolonged mutual presence and growing identification with the life of Christ.
Some who use the term lectio divina limit it primarily to slow, careful, and prayerful reading of a biblical passage, book, or other spiritual text rather than the whole movement from reading to meditation to prayer to contemplation. As I see it, however, the process of lectio divina should begin with reading and culminate in contemplation. Contemplation is often confused with meditation, but as we will see, they are not synonymous.
Meditation and the prayer that flows out of it bring us into communication with the living and transcendent Lord, and as such, they prepare us for contemplation. Meditative prayer should be more than an intellectual exercise; when it is accompanied by affective intention it leads to the love and communion of contemplative prayer. Because of its very nature, it is notoriously difficult to communicate the characteristics of contemplative prayer. It is a mysterious territory in which the language is silence and the action is receptivity. True contemplation is a theological grace that cannot be reduced to logical, psychological, or aesthetic categories. Perhaps these general contrasts between meditative and contemplative prayer will help:
MEDITATIVE PRAYER |
CONTEMPLATIVE PRAYER |
Speech |
Silence |
Activity |
Receptivity |
Discursive thought |
Loss of mental images and concepts |
Vocal and mental prayer |
Wordless prayer and interior stillness |
Natural faculties of reason and imagination |
Mysterious darkening of the natural faculties |
Affective feelings |
Loss of feelings |
Reading and reflection |
Inability to meditate |
Doing |
Being |
Seeking |
Receiving |
Talking to Jesus |
Entering into the prayer of Jesus |
When he witnessed the miracle of the transfiguration of Jesus on the holy mountain, the awe-struck Peter inappropriately broke into speech and was silenced by the voice out of the cloud that said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!” (Matthew 17:4-5). When we enter into the numinous territory of contemplation, it is best for us to stop talking and “listen to Him” in simple and loving attentiveness. In this strange and holy land we must remove the sandals of our ideas, constructs, and inclinations, and quietly listen for the voice of God. Periods of contemplation can be little “dark nights of faith.” During these times, God may seem absent and silent, but His presence and speech is on a deeper level than what we can feel or understand. By preparing a peaceful place in the soul we learn to “Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him” (Psalm 37:7).
A number of people have been exposed to aspects of contemplative prayer through “centering prayer,” a practice that was recently revived and updated by three Cistercian monks, Thomas Keating, William Meninger, and Basil Pennington. This method of prayer is based on the 14th-century classic of mystical theology, The Cloud of Unknowing. Another approach to contemplative prayer is the “prayer of the heart” that is described in the Philokalia, an anthology of quotations from Eastern monastic Fathers from the third century to the Middle Ages. In this tradition, the invocation of the name of the Lord Jesus is used to create a state of receptivity and interior recollection of the presence of God.
My colleague George Grove uses the following set of analogies to integrate the four components of sacred reading:
LECTIO |
MEDITATIO |
ORATIO |
CONTEMPLATIO |
Read |
Meditate |
Pray |
Abide |
Lips |
Mind |
Heart |
Spirit |
Seek |
Find |
Knock |
Open |
Food |
Chew |
Savor |
Fill |
Lectio divina engages the whole person from the physical to the psychological to the inward spiritual center of our being. It promotes a harmonious unity through an organic process that uses a variety of means. Fidelity and consistency in this long-term activity will gradually enhance and enrich your life.
The polarity between the contemplative life and the active life has been a source of tension for many centuries. St. Gregory advocated a more contemplative approach to prayer as rest from exterior action in the quest for communion with God. St. Basil promoted a more active approach to prayer in association with work. Carried too far, the contemplative extreme could divorce our primary calling to know God from our secondary calling to express this knowledge in the world. On the other hand, the active extreme tends to elevate our secondary calling of work to the point of replacing our primary calling. A more balanced approach integrates and honors both callings and unites the contemplative and active vocations. St. Benedict encouraged this blended rhythm of rest and action, interior aspiration and exterior obedience, devotion and discipline, prayer and labor, desire for God and service of neighbor, the spring of living water and the stream that flows out of it. By uniting the strengths of both Mary and Martha, we can learn to be contemplatives in action.
Devotional spirituality is like a delicate grapevine that flourishes only when it is planted in the right soil and carefully cultivated in a good climate. Unless it is nurtured, it will wither through neglect and fail to bear fruit. The fruit of spiritual passion can be threatened by natural enemies, but it can also be stimulated by several sources:
As you can see, A Journal of Sacred Readings is designed to guide you through three months of lectio divina passages. I have selected 90 texts from Numbers through Revelation that are particularly well-suited to the process of sacred reading. These texts range from one to several verses, and they are arranged in biblical sequence to attune you to the flow of progressive revelation. This is my translation, and in several cases I have adapted and personalized these passages.
The daily four-part sequence of reading, meditation, prayer, and contemplation invites you to engage personally with the text and to record your thoughts and prayers in the process. This journaling component will enhance your interaction with each of the readings, and it will yield a valuable record of your reflections and prayers during these months. When you have completed this journal of sacred readings, you will profit from reading through the comments and prayers you have recorded.
I also suggest you go through this process a second time and visit each of these passages once again. You will discover new things in the Scripture texts that you did not see the first time through.
May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the full knowledge of Him, and may the eyes of your heart be enlightened, in order that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the incomparable greatness of His power toward us who believe. (Ephesians 1:17-19)
O my soul, above all things and in all things always rest in the Lord, for He is the eternal rest of the saints.
Grant me most sweet and loving Jesus, to rest in You above every other creature, above all health and beauty, above all glory and honor, above all power and dignity, above all knowledge and precise thought, above all wealth and talent, above all joy and exultation, above all fame and praise, above all sweetness and consolation, above all hope and promise, above all merit and desire, above all gifts and favors You give and shower upon me, above all happiness and joy that the mind can understand and feel, and finally, above all angels and archangels, above all the hosts of heaven, above all things visible and invisible, and above all that is not You, my God.—Thomas à Kempis, The Imitation of Christ
I believe in God,
O Lord, God of heaven, You are the great and awesome God, keeping Your covenant of loyal love with those who love You and obey Your commands. Let Your ear be attentive and Your eyes open so that You may hear the prayer Your servant is praying before You day and night. I confess the sins I have committed against You. (Nehemiah 1:5-6)
the Father almighty,
Are You a God nearby,
And not a God far away?
Can anyone hide in secret places
So that You cannot see him?
Do You not fill heaven and earth? (Jeremiah 23:23-24)
maker of heaven and earth;
You made the earth and created man upon it.
Your own hands stretched out the heavens,
And You ordered their starry hosts. (Isaiah 45:12)
and in Jesus Christ His only Son our Lord;
Lord Jesus, I have nowhere else to go; You have the words of eternal life. I believe and know that You are the Holy One of God. (John 6:68-69)
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
What the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin; He condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. (Romans 8:3-4)
born of the Virgin Mary;
Behold, a virgin shall be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call His name Immanuel, which means, “God with us.” (Matthew 1:23)
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
Fight the good fight of faith; lay hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. In the sight of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate, keep this command without blemish or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which God will bring about in His own time. (1 Timothy 6:12-15a)
was crucified, dead, and buried.
If we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, cannot die again; death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. In the same way, consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. (Romans 6:8-11)
He descended into hell.
Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in His steps. “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” When He was reviled, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats, but entrusted Himself to Him who judges righteously; and He himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that you might die to sins and live for righteousness; by His wounds you have been healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. (1 Peter 2:21-25)
The third day He rose from the dead.
Since you have been raised with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on the things above, not on the things on the earth. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. (Colossians 3:1-4)
He ascended into heaven,
Since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we confess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are, yet without sin. Therefore, let us approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:14-16)
and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father almighty.
The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being, upholding all things by His powerful word. After He cleansed our sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name He has inherited is more excellent than theirs. (Hebrews 1:3-4)
from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
God sent His word to the children of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. He commanded the apostles to preach to the people and to testify that He is the One whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. To Him all the prophets witness that through His name, everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins. (Acts 10:36, 42-43)
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
You did not receive a spirit of slavery again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God. (Romans 8:15-16)
the holy catholic Church,
Just as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we who are many are one body in Christ and individually members of one another. And we have different gifts, according to the grace given to us. (Romans 12:4-6)
the communion of saints,
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for we are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:28)
the forgiveness of sins,
In Christ we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. (Ephesians 1:7-8)
the resurrection of the body,
I know that my Redeemer lives
And that in the end He will stand upon the earth.
And after my skin has been destroyed,
Yet in my flesh I will see God;
Whom I myself will see
And behold with my own eyes and not another.
How my heart yearns within me! (Job 19:25-27)
and the life everlasting. Amen.
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty, I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be My son. (Revelation 21:6-7)