Creeds and Conclusions

A Creed of a Church, congregation or individual is written as a profession of faith and is not meant to be all inclusive nor limit the beliefs of the faithful. It is a brief outline of the tenets by which and individual or group choose to live.

If Christ thought particular teachings were important we would see Jesus teaching those doctrines. If Christ not in us we will not be found seeking the Kingdom and the righteousness of God, nor striving to do the will of the Father, nor will we be keeping His commandments.

No matter what Creed we write or speak Christ will not be made manifest in us or in the fruit of what we do.

In examining Creeds of the many churches that have professed Christ from the second century to the present we see a lengthening of creeds, an addition of many ideas the were not prevalent in the early Church, and the wanton neglect or even deletion of the directives of Christ.

If there was an original Creed written by the apostles we should expect to find it in everyone of the Gospels and perhaps we do. It simply is not labeled the creed. An early form of a creed is presented as an Apostle's Creed. It declared:

 

We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten of the Father ,Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father;

By whom all things were made;

Who for us men, and for our salvation, came down and was incarnate and was made man;

He suffered, and the third day he rose again, ascended into heaven;

From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

And in the Holy Ghost.

There was a possible source of this creed in the writings of Hippolytus, in the early third century. It presents a creed in the form of questions asked at a water baptism saying:

“'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 under 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 says: '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

When someone was Baptized in the early church they were saying there was “another King, one Jesus”. They were saying they believed in Jesus and His governing ways of faith, hope and charity through love, and caring, in the pure religion of the early Church and not the men of the world who called themselves benefactors but who exercised authority one over the other.

This baptism, as a public profession of faith in Christ changed, not only their thinking, but their whole way of life and their status with the rest of the world. They no longer prayed for their daily bread from men benefactors who exercised authority, like Caesar. The no longer ate the free bread of Rome. Their welfare systems or programs provided care through the church for the widows and orphans and any other needy people of their society. Everyone was compelled to contribute according to their means under threat of punishment according to the statutes of Rome or the Pharisees.

The creed that is written and associated with HHC is not an all inclusive creed as stated on the web site but a simple basic statement of fundamental beliefs in words that are commonly defined in the text.

A Creed of His Holy Church1

I believe in the Father, God Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth, His words in the garden to man, to dress it and to keep it, in the faith of Abraham, the obedience of Isaac, the resolution of Jacob, the forgiveness of Joseph, and the sacrifice of Moses.

I believe in the birthright of Jesus, His Holy Designation by John the Baptist, His Exalting as the Highest Son of David, His Anointing as Heir to the Throne, the Proclamation of Him as King by Pontius Pilate sealed in His blood, And that He is ascended as Highest Judge and is seated at the Right Hand of the Father in the Kingdom of Heaven.

I believe in the revelation of the Holy Spirit,

The appointment of His Church in service,

The communion of saints in liberty,

The forgiveness of transgressions in love,

The rebirth of the body in the profession of faith.

Some have suggested the adoption of a creed like similar to what is contained in the Assembly of God Constitution, Section V. There are sixteen points in that Creed. http://ministers.ag.org/pdf/2007ConstitutionBylaws.pdf

Why is that Creed needed today and other much simpler Creeds were sufficient years ago at the beginning of the Church. Is it because so much more is need in our belief system at this time which was simply not that important in the early days of the Church.

Why were men so much closer to Christ satisfied with these simple Creeds and men like Ambrose found a need to add more and more?

But an even more important question is why don't we hear more of what Jesus actually seemed to be emphasizing with his words? Is Christ not sufficient?

The Doctrines of Christ?

http://www.hisholychurch.org/doctrines2.pdf