BIBLE CREEDS
The following scripture passages are considered by many to be
creeds or declarations of faith. These are taken from both
Lieth's Schaff's books to which I have referred in previous
postings:
Deut. 6:4: Hear O Israel, the LORD is our God, the LORD
alone.
1 Kings. 18:39: And when all the people saw it, they fell on
their faces; and they said, "The LORD, he is
God; the LORD, he is God."
Matt. 16:16: Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ,
the Son of the living God."
Matt. 28:19: Go therefore and make disciples of all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit.
John 1:49: Nathan'a-el answered him, "Rabbi, you are
the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!"
John 6:68-69: Simon Peter answered him, "Lord to whom
shall we go? You have the words of eternal
life; and we have believed, and have come to
know, that you are the Holy One of God."
John 20:28: Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!"
Acts 8:36-37: And as they went along the road they came to
some water, and the eunuch said, "See, here
is water! What is to prevent my being bap-
tized?" And Philip said, "If you believe
with all your heart, you may." And he
replied, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the
Son of God.
Acts 16:31: And they said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus,
and you will be saved, you and your house-
hold."
1 Cor. 8:6: yet for us there is one God, the Father,
from whom are all things and for whom we
exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through
whom are all things and through whom we
exist.
1 Cor. 12:3: Therefore I want you to understand that no
one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says
"Jesus be cursed!" and no one can say "Jesus
is Lord" except by the Holy Spirit.
1 Cor. 15:3-7: For I delivered to you as of first impor-
tance what I also received, that Christ died
for our sins in accordance with the scrip-
tures, that he was buried, that he was
raised on the third day in accordance with
the scriptures, and that he appeared to
Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he
appeared to more than five hundred brethren
at one time, most of whom are still alive,
though some have fallen asleep. Then he
appeared to James, then to all the apostles.
Phil. 2:6-11: who, though he was in the form of God, did
not count equality with God a thing to be
grasped, but emptied himself, taking the
form of a servant, being born in the like-
ness of men. And being found in human form
he humbled himself and became obedient unto
death, even death on a cross. Therefore God
has highly exalted him and bestowed on him
the name which is above every name, that at
the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in
heaven and on earth and under the earth, and
every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is
Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
1 Tim. 3:16: Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of
our religion: He was manifested in the
flesh, vindicated in the Spirit, seen by
angels, preached among the nations, believed
on in the world, taken up in glory.
Hebr. 6:1-2: Therefore let us leave the elementary doc-
trine of Christ and go on to maturity, not
laying again a foundation of repentance from
dead works and of faith toward God, with in-
struction about ablutions, the laying on of
hands, the resurrection of the dead, and
eternal judgment.
1John 4:2: By this you know the Spirit of God: every
spirit which confesses that Jesus Christ has
come in the flesh is of God.
There are also several early summaries of the Christian faith
which predate the creeds, such as the "Rule of Faith" as
recorded by Irenaeus:
. . . this faith: in one God, the Father Almighty,
who made the heaven and the earth and the seas and
all the things that are in them;
and in one Christ Jesus, the Son of God, who was made
flesh for our salvation;
and in the Holy Spirit, who made known through the
prophets the plan of salvation, and the coming, and
the birth from a virgin, and the passion, and the
resurrection from the dead, and the bodily ascension
into heaven of the beloved Christ Jesus, our Lord,
and his future appearing from heaven in the glory of
the Father to sum up all things and to raise anew all
flesh of the whole human race . . .
And Hippolytus's account of the baptismal service:
When the person being baptized goes down into the water,
he who baptizes him, putting his hand on him, shall say:
"Do you believe in God, the Father Almighty?" And the
person being baptized shall say: "I believe."
Then holding his hand on his head, he shall baptize him
once.
And then he shall say: "Do you believe in Christ Jesus,
the Son of God, who was born of the Virgin Mary, and was
crucified inder Pontius Pilate, and was dead and buried,
and rose again the third day, alive from the dead, and
ascended into heaven, and sat at the right hand of the
Father, and will come to judge the living and the dead?"
And when he saya: "I believe," he is baptized again.
And again he shall say: "Do you believe in the Holy Spirit,
in the holy church, and the resurrection of the body?"
The person being baptized shall say: "I believe," and
then he is baptized a third time.
-- Hippolytus, early third century, quoted on page 115.
Both the _Rule_ as recorded by Iranaeus and the baptismal
service as recorded by Hippolytus bear very close similarity
to the Apostles' Creed.
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Posted by: Lon Mendelsohn
Source: CHRISTIA File Archives
BIBLE CREEDS
(for more info send INDEX CHRISTIA to listserv@asuvm.inre.asu.edu)
jab/15-Mar-94