9. The Apostles’ Creed
The earliest-known post-Biblical statement of
faith is the so-called “Apostles’ Creed”. This statement is
known to have been in existence by the middle of the second century. While it
cannot be directly traced to the apostles, its almost elegant brevity and
simplicity argue for a fairly close connection to the apostolic
period:
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 Spirit, born of
the virgin Mary;
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, dead, and
buried;
the third day he rose from the
dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and sitteth at the right hand of the
Father;
from thence he shall come to judge the quick
and the dead.
I believe in the Holy
Spirit;
the holy church;
the communion of saints;
the forgiveness of sins;
the resurrection of the body;
and
the life everlasting.
It is interesting how closely this mirrors the
“statement of faith” compiled by our earlier investigations, both as
to items included and items omitted. While we might wish for fuller definitions
of certain doctrines, we may see that the fundamental matters are all found
here, if not the specific repudiation of all that we might call “false
doctrines”.