The Apostles’ Creed

Around the world, hundreds and hundreds of millions of Christian recite The Apostles’ Creed. It is a summary of what Christians believe. A “creed” is simply a brief, authoritative formula of religious belief, a set of beliefs, a guiding principle. The author is unknown, yet is founded on Apostolic teachings. The Apostles’ Creed is the oldest known creed of the Christian faith and was a foundation of the church’s belief statement. It was widely used for memorization before a copy of the Bible was available for most people. The statements in the Apostles’ Creed are Biblical and were often used by Christians before baptism as a way to verbally recognize their repentance and faith.

The Apostles’ Creed

I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth;
And in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord,
Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost,
born of the Virgin Mary,
Suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, dead and buried.
He descended into hell;
The third day he rose again from the dead;
He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Ghost;
I believe in the holy catholic church, the communion of saints;
The forgiveness of sin;
The resurrection of the body;
And the life everlasting. Amen.

These words are a beautiful prayer of confession and statement of salvation. The creed symbolizes the full Gospel – beginning with God, salvation through Jesus, the growth of the church, and the resurrection. Note that the use of the term “catholic” refers to the universal Christian church and not specifically the Roman Catholic Church. It is declaring the body of Christ, the church as a whole across world as one fellowship.