Liturgy: Inhabiting the Story of God
Creed
After hearing God speak to us through his word preached, we often respond by declaring our faith—in the words of historic creeds. Many of the things we do in church on Sundays have parallels in other parts of life. Go to a football match and you’ll find people singing. Go to a political rally and you’ll find people listening to preaching (of a sort). Go to someone’s family home and you’ll find people sharing a meal. But a newcomer to church might be surprised to discover a room full of people reciting an ancient text out loud.
If it seems a bit odd, remember that creeds are actually very common. “I believe in science.” “I believe in humanity and the power of community.” “I believe in this company and what we can achieve.” “I believe in fate.” We hear people around us say these things all the time. To affirm what we believe in is part of what it means to be human. It’s not enough to simply believe it—we need to say it as well. [I]t is not whether or not we will confess our beliefs, it is who or what we will confess.
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As Christians, we confess “I believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth.” God is real. He is there and he is our Father. The world is not an accident—it was created by a loving God. “I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.” Jesus is Lord. He was born, he suffered, he died, he rose, he reigns and he is coming back. “I believe in the Holy Spirit.” God lives on earth in his Church. Forgiveness of sins is real, and just as Jesus rose from the dead so we will rise and live forever. These things are true.
It is stirring and encouraging to declare these things alongside other people. Each day we hear other creeds. They threaten to pull us away from Christ and his word. But the Apostles’ Creed grounds us in what we and other Christians have known to be true for thousands of years.
We don’t declare our faith on our own, but with Christians across the world and across the ages. Saying creeds is a way of participating in the “holy catholic church”, ‘catholic’ meaning ‘God’s people everywhere’. But also this is a declaration that the good news of Jesus Christ is true in every culture and at every time. Kingdoms rise and kingdoms fall. But God’s kingdom will last forever.