Posts tagged ‘Apostles’ Creed’
ABC Extra – The Descent Into Hell
This past weekend in worship and ABC, we continued our “Credo!” series with a look at the doctrine of the resurrection of Jesus, based on this line from the Apostles’ Creed: “Christ descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead.” The fact that Christ “rose again from the dead” is the linchpin of our faith. Indeed, the apostle Paul says it is “of first importance” (1 Corinthians 15:3). Without the resurrection, our “faith is futile” (1 Corinthians 15:17). Thus, in ABC, I spent a great deal of time defending the resurrection’s historicity against skeptics would try to undermine this cornerstone of Christian doctrine.
Blessedly, most Christians believe in Christ’s resurrection. And they appreciate its centrality to our faith. Thus, Christians proudly confess, “The third day He rose again from the dead.” What many Christians do not understand, however, is the line that comes before this: “Christ descended into hell.” In fact, the most common question I receive concerning the Apostles’ Creed is, “Does the Bible really teach that Christ descended into hell?” And, if so, “Where does the Bible teach this?” Though I touched on it in ABC, I wanted to take a slightly more in-depth look at the doctrine of Christ’s descent into hell in today’s blog.
The line, “He descended into hell,” is a relatively late addition to the Apostles’ Creed. It first appears as part of the Symbol of Sirmium in 359 and reads, “Christ died, and descended to the underworld, and regulated things there, whom the gatekeepers of hell saw and shuddered.” It first appears in the Apostles’ Creed in 570. However, just because it appears in the Creed at a late date does not mean it does not have an early origin. Consider, for instance, these quotes, from Irenaeus (c. 180) and Tertullian (c. 200):
It was for this reason, too, that the Lord descended into the regions beneath the earth, preaching His advent there also. (Irenaeus, Against Heresies, 4.27.2)
But it was for this purpose, say they, that Christ descended into hell, that we might not ourselves have to descend thither. (Tertullian, A Treatise on the Soul, 55)
Clearly, the church fathers had no problem with the notion that Christ descended into hell. Nevertheless, because of its late incorporation into the Creed, the phrase, “He descended into hell,” has caused much controversy among Christians. Indeed, some even go so far as refusing to speak this line when they recite the Creed. For those who do speak this line, there are multiple interpretations as to what this line means.
Some interpret this line simply as meaning that Christ descended into the grave, that is, He was buried and truly dead. The Greek of the Creed reads, “Christ descended into ta katotata,” meaning, “the lowest.” These interpreters take this phrase simply to mean not the lowest place of hell, but the low place of a grave in the ground. Roman Catholic interpreters believe that Christ did indeed descend into hell in the traditional sense, but did so to free virtuous people who had gone before Him, but nevertheless could not be saved because they had been born before His advent. The Catechism of the Roman Catholic Church explains: “In His human soul united to His divine person, the dead Christ went down to the realm of the dead. He opened heaven’s gates for the just who had gone before Him” (Catechism of the Catholic Church 637).
Finally, it is probably best to understand Christ’s descent into hell as it is explained in 1 Peter 3:18-19: “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, through whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison.” The phrase “spirits in prison” is often taken to refer to the eternal prison of hell. As I mentioned in ABC, the Greek word for “preached” is kerysso, a word that was used in ancient Greek games to declare the victor of a contest. Thus, when Christ descended into hell, He did not do so to free the virtuous who had come before Him, for they had already received their salvation through faith in the promise of a coming Messiah (cf. Romans 4:3-8, 18-25). Rather, He descended into hell to kerysso Himself the victor over sin, death, and the devil. The descent into hell is Christ’s victory tour, for through the cross, He has conquered all things wicked. And this is good news!
At Jesus’ empty tomb, the angels sing, “Christ has risen” (Luke 24:6)! Perhaps it is appropriate to add as well, “Christ has descended!” For His descent gives a reason for us to celebrate and for hell to shudder. For Christ’s descent and resurrection, finally, point to the same promise: Christ has conquered the cross and has secured for us eternal life. Praise be to the One who descended and resurrected!
Want to learn more on this passage? Go to
www.ConcordiaLutheranChurch.com
and check out audio and video from Pastor Tucker’s
message or Pastor Zach’s ABC!
ABC Extra – Credo! The History and Value of the Creeds
This past weekend, we kicked off a new series at Concordia titled, “Credo! Trusting in the Truth.” In this series, we are examining some of the foundational doctrines of biblical Christianity using the contours of the Apostles’ Creed. Because we are using to the Apostles’ Creed to guide us through our doctrinal foray, I thought it might be helpful to offer a little bit of background on the origin and formulation of this creed.
The Apostles’ Creed finds its birth between AD 100 and 120 when it was used as a baptismal liturgy to guide new converts in the true faith. A legend from the fifth or sixth century conjectures that the Creed was written by the twelve apostles themselves, each contributing a line to it. According to the legend, Peter opened the Creed: “I believe in God, the Father Almighty,” with Andrew then adding, “And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord,” while James the elder continued, “Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit.” Although this legend may seem pious, it is also certainly apocryphal.
In reality, the Apostles’ Creed was formalized, though not completely standardized, among Christians by the second century. Writings from the early church fathers echo creedal language. Consider, for instance, these two passages:
Be deaf, therefore, whenever anyone speaks to you apart from Jesus Christ, who is of the stock of David, who is of Mary, who was truly born, ate and drank, was truly persecuted under Pontius Pilate, was truly crucified and died in the sight of beings of heaven, of earth and the underworld, who was also truly raised from the dead. (Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Trallians 9:1-2, c. AD 107)
We also know in truth one God, we know Christ we know the Son, suffering as He suffered, dying as He died, and risen on the third day, and abiding at the right hand of the Father, and coming to judge the living and the dead. And in saying this we say what has been handed down to us. (Hippolytus, Profession of the Presbyters of Smyrna, c. AD 180)
In both of these statements from Ignatius and Hippolytus, we find creedal language. Thus, the great doctrines of Christianity as confessed in the creeds are as old as Christianity itself.
Whenever I speak on or write about the creeds, an inevitable objection, often stated as a question, arises: “But why do we need the creeds? We already have the Bible! Shouldn’t we have no other creed than the Bible?” The Bible, as God’s inspired, inerrant, infallible Word most definitely gets the first – and for that matter, the last – word. The creeds, however, are nevertheless invaluable to the Church and ought to be retained by the Church for three reasons.
The Bible itself contains creeds. The idea for Christian creeds comes directly from the Bible itself! Creeds contained in the Bible include, “Jesus is Lord” (1 Corinthians 12:3), “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, He was buried, and He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:2-3), and, of course, the beautiful and poetic confession of Christ as God in Philippians 2:5-11. And these are just a few examples of creeds contained in the Scriptures. Christians have always wanted to be able to confess their faith and creeds afford opportunities to do this. So it is only natural that Christians would have creeds.
The creeds hit the high points. There is a reason the children’s song “Jesus Loves Me” has stood the test of time. It simply and whimsically expresses the foundational truths of the gospel in a compact and comprehendible way. So it is with the creeds. If you want to know Christian doctrine in a nutshell, then turn the creeds! Indeed, in my ABC, I cited this insight from Cyril of Jerusalem:
For since all cannot read the Scriptures, some being hindered as to the knowledge of them by want of learning, and others by a want of leisure, in order that the soul may not perish from ignorance, we comprise the whole doctrine of the faith in a few lines…So for the present listen while I simply say the Creed, and commit it to memory…For the articles of the faith were not composed as seemed good to men; but the most important points collected out of all the Scripture make up one complete teaching of the Faith. (Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures, V:12, AD 347)
Even in the fourth century, not every Christian was as familiar with his faith as he should have been. Thus, Cyril employs the Apostles’ Creed as a tool to teach the cardinal canons of the Christian faith. The creeds can do the same for us.
The creeds guard against error. The Apostles’ Creed was, in ancient parlance, referred to as “the rule of faith.” That is, it served as a guideline by which to distinguish orthodoxy from heresy. Indeed, part of the problem with those who say, “I have no other creed than the Bible” is that many sects pervert the Scriptures to suit their own twisted teachings, even as the apostle Peter warns: “Ignorant and unstable people distort…the Scriptures to their own destruction” (2 Peter 3:16). For example, the Jehovah’s Witnesses claim only to use the Bible to arrive at their doctrines, yet they deny the doctrine of the Trinity. The creeds, especially the Nicene and Athanasian Creeds, will let you do no such thing. I had a professor in seminary who would tell his classes, “You need the creeds because they keep you from getting weird.” This precisely right. The creeds guide us along the course of true faith.
It is with this in mind that we hope you’ll join us these next several weeks at Concordia as we revisit the basics of Christian doctrine to which we can joyfully proclaim, “Credo!” – I believe!
Want to learn more on this passage? Go to
www.ConcordiaLutheranChurch.com
and check out audio and video from Pastor Tucker’s
message or Pastor Zach’s ABC!
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