One Holy Catholic Church -- By: John Boonzaaijer

Journal: Reformation and Revival
Volume: RAR 08:3 (Summer 1999)
Article: One Holy Catholic Church
Author: John Boonzaaijer


One Holy Catholic Church

John Boonzaaijer

Introduction

During the last century, the Church has suffered from the neglect and abuse of its creeds and confessions. Mainline churches have decided they scarcely believe them; independent and evangelical churches have concluded that the historic creeds have little or nothing to offer to the Church’s witness in this modern age. Often they are mistakenly viewed as Roman relics of the past or as a competitive challenge to the authority of the Scriptures. Yet historically, the creeds and confessions have been highly valued by all serious Christians.

A creed is a statement of faith; it comes from the Latin word, credo, “I believe.” Several statements in the Scriptures are regarded as early creeds: the Shema of Deuteronomy 6:4 in Judaism, with Christianity quickly continuing this pattern with its “Jesus is Lord” (Rom. 10:9), and “Jesus Christ is the Son of God” (Acts 8:37) used as early baptismal confessions. Paul rephrased the Shema in 1 Corinthians 8:6, referring to Jesus as the “one Lord.” The doctrine of Christ is sung in poetic form in Philippians 2:5–11, apparently for regular use by the Christian Church. As heresies arose and doctrinal questions were asked, the Church saw a need to continue in this tradition of stating their faith through more developed confessions. These creeds were never intended to supplant or dominate the

Scriptures; rather, they were an attempted summary and response to them.

Virtually all of the content of the Apostles’ Creed can be traced to within fifty years following the death of the apostles, and is arranged around the doctrine of the Trinity. It was used as a baptismal confession as well as a teaching device. The Nicene, Athanasian and Chalcedonian creeds were all forged through debates concerning the Trinity and the nature and person of Jesus Christ. The Church used them as a means for discriminating whether or not one was confessing the biblical faith; but even more importantly, she used them to express what she believed was the testimony of the Holy Scriptures. While this essay is written from within the context of independent Baptists, where confessional Christianity tends be disparaged, the truths explored are evangelically ecumenical and universally applicable.

It is a wonderful privilege in the world of unbelief to be able to confess with God’s people: “I believe....” And the creeds are a wonderful, biblical, a...

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