Are The Ancient Creeds And The Historical Faith Still Relevant Today?

For Anglicans, ... As for all genuine Christians, ...authentic Christianity ... is Apostolic ... Christianity.

And Apostolic Christianity ... rests on the historic, ...eyewitness testimony ... of Jesus's followers, ... the apostles, ... and to the facts of Jesus life, ... death, ... resurrection, ... ascension, ... his present reign, ... and his promised return.

Anglicans affirm ... that the Scriptures, ... both the old and New Testament together, ... are "God's word ... written".

By the 2nd century, ... these key facts of Apostolic faith ... had been organized into a syllabus of topics for what the early church called ... catechetical teaching.

Catechetical teaching ... is ... also known as ... the rule of faith.

And these syllabus of teachings ... where combined together and became the apostle's creed.

So called ... because it sums up the Apostolic faith.

This creed, ... one of three ... found in our prayer book, ... took its place ... as the baptismal declaration ... by most of western Christianity.

The Apostles Creed ... is the earliest of the three creeds.

It is the briefest ... and most easily memorized, ... but is complemented ... and enlarged upon ... by both the Nicene and Athanasian creeds

This Creed ... focuses on the central truths ... of the Apostolic faith, ... as the scriptures present them.

It is arranged ... in three paragraphs or articles, ... which highlight ... the person ... and work ... of the Father, ... the Son, and ... the Holy Spirit.

It is a curriculum of truths ... that leads inquirers into grounded ... personal faith.

The Apostles creed exists, ... as all creeds ... and confessions do, ... to define ... and to defend this commitment ... that is basic ... to being a follower ...of the Christ.

The creed testifies ... to the vital core ... of God's self-revelation.

The Apostle's Creed is a consensus document, ... coming to us ... with the resounding endorsement of faithful believers ... over nearly 2000 years.

Beloved ... it has been recited by all Christian communities ... and in all places ... throughout the history ... of the Christian Church.

And it is the benchmark of orthodoxy, ... that is, the benchmark of right belief.

And Creed making ... preceded the coming of Christ into the world.

Ancient Israel had a creed ... known as the Shema.

Beginning with these words:

Hear O' Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One Blessed is the name of His glorious kingdom for ever and ever. (Deuteronomy 6:4)

The Shema ... to this very day ... is the central creed of Judaism.

Almost every synagogue ... proclaims the Shema ... in their worship service.

New Testament Christians also had creeds.

Many early Churches recited the Words from Philippians 2:6-11 as a type of Creed.

Hear God's Word: BIBLE "Jesus, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." END (Philippians 2:6-11)

Most scholars ... are convinced that this was a creed of the church during Paul's travels.

And that Paul inserted into his letter to the believers gathered at Philippi.

Our English word "creed" comes from the Latin "credo," which means ... "I believe." (John 20:24-29)

Beloved ... A creed is a statement of Faith.

A creed expresses ... (Slow) what we believe.

The purpose of the creeds ... is to declare and safeguard God's truth about himself, ... ourselves, and creation, ... as God has revealed it in Holy Scripture. (2 Peter 1:19 -21 - John 20:31 - 2 Peter 2:1-22 )

No creed ever states all there is about God; rather, a creed is our attempt ... to say some things about our faith.

The Christian church... in all its denominations and variations ... has many creeds and affirmations, ... but the Apostle's Creed... is the most widely used creed ... in the church.

More Christians around the world proclaim this creed ... than any other.

We are not exactly sure about the origins ... of the Apostle's Creed.

The earliest actual copy we have of the Apostle's creed ... dates from around A.D. 710.

However, ... we know ... that the Apostle's Creed was based on early baptismal creeds ... of the church.