The Apostles Creed is the oldest Creed, which aided as a foundation in the formulation of many latter Creeds.[1] It holds a close resemblance to Irenaeus’ “canon of truth,” aka, “rule of faith.”[2] However, the “rule of faith” was never considered confessional, as has been the case of the Apostles Creed. The “rule of faith” is a “summary” of the “apostolic message,” rather than a doctrinal document.[3] Furthermore, Justin Holcomb notes that the Creed had its foundation in the “so-called Old Roman Creed that was used during baptisms, which can be dated from the middle of the second century (about AD 140) in Greek and in Latin around AD 390.”[4] The Old Roman Creed, or the Old Roman Symbol, was no small matter. According to the Apostolic Tradition, adherents affirmed the Apostles Creed during baptism as an agreement with the apostolic faith.[5] Considering the doctrinal disunity and eventual separation of the Eastern and Western churches, it should be noted that the Apostles Creed was never adopted by the Eastern church.[6] Everett Ferguson does add the idea that even though the Creed was functional as a declaration for baptism, no document was used “as confessions of faith to become tests of fellowship” until the Council of Nicaea in 325.[7] Thereby, Eastern churches were not bound to use this model, and free to use their own Scriptural formulas for baptism.
This summary of apostolic teaching, however, was certainly revered. In Twenty-Five Writings that Changed the Church and the World, Jennifer Freeman conveys, “According to tradition, the Apostles’ Creed was composed by the 12 apostles and correspondingly divided into 12 articles. But there is no actual evidence of an apostolic origin.”[8] Holcomb affirms the reason for preserving the name, “Apostles Creed,” “is that it preserves the “rule of faith” that was transmitted from the apostles.”[9] Which makes it easy to see why many Christians in the early church period took great stock in the document. To them, the Apostles Creed represented the fundamental foundation of the faith.
From the early church to the Middle Ages, to the Reformation to our contemporary setting, the Creed has been present with the most important documents of church history. Holcomb summarizes this point, writing:
“During the Middle Ages, it became commonplace to recite the Apostle’ Creed throughout the day in Western monasteries, and this practice was retained in the Book of Common Prayer in the Church of England after the Reformation, where it is still recited during morning and evening prayer… Early theologians, like Irenaeus, Tertullian, and Origen, affirmed various parts of the Creed. John Calvin devoted an entire chapter to the Apostles’ Creed in the first edition of his Institutes of the Christian Religion (1536), and Karl Barth presented his entire system of doctrine through the framework of the Creed in Dogmatics in Outline.”[10]
In recent history, leading up till now, the Apostle’ Creed has largely been used to promote church unity. Although, it should be noted that the Creed itself has expanded as it progressed from the Old Roman Creed. What we have today “is longer and more recent, was probably not compiled until the fifth century.”[11] However, a simple examination shows that its extension was not a revision to suit the times, rather, it added the missing development of “the relationship of Christ to God, and the identity of the Holy Spirit.”[12] In line with some of the examples above, Holcomb shares two examples of the Creed being used to effort unity in the church: “in 1920 the Lambeth Conference of the Anglican Communion appealed to it as a basis of unity among all Christian churches, and in 1927 at the World Conference on Faith and Order that met at Lausanne, Western and Eastern Christians recited the Apostles’ Creed in unison during the opening session.”[13] The unique element of the Apostles’ Creed is that it establishes such an essential foundation of Scriptural truth that it may be agreed upon by Christians of all sectors of Protestantism.[14]
Although I am “merely” a layman, I can speak to the power of the Apostles’ Creed as a wonderful catechism. Every night before bed, my wife and I gather our children for devotion and prayers. We sing the Lord’s Prayer, the Apostles’ Creed, and a rotation of choice hymns. Its summarization helps believers identify the most important truths of the gospel. We would do well to refresh its relevance for Evangelical America. Meaning, not only does the Creed show us how to relate to our Trinitarian God and their essential nature, but it also reminds us that the universal church has a high calling to work toward and steward a unified church.
[1]Justin S. Holcomb. Know the Creeds and Councils. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2014. P. 25. Print.
[2]Everett Ferguson. Church History, Volume One: From Christ to the Pre-Reformation: The Rise and Growth of the Church in Its Cultural, Intellectual, and Political Context. Grand Rapids MI: Zondervan Academic, 2013. P. 108. Print.
[3]Ibid., Ferguson. P. 109.
[4]Ibid., Holcomb. P. 25.
[5]Ibid., Ferguson. P. 109.
[6]Ibid., Ferguson. P. 110.
[7]Ibid., Ferguson. P. 110.
[8]Jennifer Freeman. “The Apostles’ Creed: #26.” Christian History Institute, 2024. Web. https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/article/the-apostlesandrsquo-creed-26
[9]Ibid., Holcomb. P. 25.
[10]Ibid., Holcomb. P. 26.
[11]Ibid., Holcomb. P. 26.
[12]Ibid., Holcomb. P. 27.
[13]Ibid., Holcomb. P. 26.
[14]Ibid., Holcomb. P. 26.