As a child, I encountered Christianity in the context of various independent churches in Australia and Papua New Guinea. None of those churches accepted the authority of creeds and confessions in their liturgy or discipleship.
We had the Bible and a couple of hymn books, and there was structure to our worship, but no creeds. Creeds were from “Christendom,” and we were informed that Christendom had long ago sold its soul to the devil.
Imagine my surprise, then, to discover that the New Testament writers quoted early creeds.
Biblical creeds are not always easy to spot. One is alluded to in 1 Timothy 6:13 where Paul, writing to his protégé Timothy, refers to the arraignment of Jesus before the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, during his trial.
Paul says that Jesus “gave a good confession.” Presumably, Paul had in mind the point where soldiers bring Jesus before Pilate, who asks, “Are you the king of the Jews?” Jesus answers, “You say so” (Mt 27:11; cf Mk 15:2; Lk 23:2; Jn 18:33-38).
What is this “good confession”? Encouraged to confess to sedition, Jesus used the situation to expound the nature of his kingship.
Negatively, Jesus declared that his kingdom was “not of this world”: rather, it was spiritual, and its tactics under threat were the inverse of the political or military tactics of this world (Jn 18:36). Positively, he declared that the purpose of his birth was “to testify to the truth,” and added, “Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice” (v. 37).
This encounter convinced Pilate that Jesus posed no criminal threat to imperial authority. Concluding his interrogation, and wanting to escape responsibility for the fate of his prisoner, Pilate announced to the Jewish leaders, “I find no grounds for charging him” (Jn 18:38).
This interaction highlights two general characteristics of creeds and confessions. They involve basic truths about God and the kingdom of God; and they focus on the identity of the true king, Jesus Christ, his mission and his works. Christian faith involves learning the truth about God, the world, and ourselves, as revealed in and through Jesus, the embodiment of eternal truth.
The John 18 and parallel passages offer a glimpse of the self-identity of Jesus, and his understanding of his divinely appointed mission. Theologian David F. Ford observes, reflecting on John 18:33-38, “Who Jesus is is the key issue of the trial … and other identities and commitments are tested and judged in responding to him.”[1]
Most credal statements in the New Testament, by contrast, refer to what others believed about Jesus, God, and the mission of God.
A creed is more than a statement of mental assent to a doctrine. It is a personal confession of faith and a personal affirmation of trust in the God in whom one believes. The affirmation “that there is one God” (Jas 2:19) and the phrase, “Abraham believed God” (Rom 4:3) are not the same kind of statement. A creed appeals to both head and heart.
The New Testament writers accepted the witness of the Hebrew Bible and its absolute commitment to monotheism. It is not surprising to discover echoes of Israel’s Shema (Deut 6:4-6) in the New Testament, such as in Mark 12:29-31; Romans 3:29; 1 Corinthians 8:4-6; 1 Timothy 2:5 (cf 3:16), and James 2:19. Early Christianity was resolutely monotheistic.
On the other hand, the first Christians also believed that Jesus was divine. While the term “Trinity” does not occur in Scripture, the New Testament writings clearly contain affirmations identifying Jesus and God as separate divine persons.
The “baptismal formula” in Matthew 28:19 and the benediction in 2 Corinthians 13:13 are examples of this. Both read like creeds. Matthew 28:19 has been recited by the church for almost 2,000 years as candidates submit to the rite of Christian baptism. Church historian Hans Lietzmann says, “It is indisputable that the root of all creeds is the formula of belief pronounced by the baptizand, or pronounced in his hearing and assented to by him, before his baptism.”[2]
There are many other arguably creed-like statements in the New Testament referring to faith in God, often but not always linking faith in God with faith in Jesus Christ. These are of three types.
Firstly, there are texts that confess belief in God (Jn 1:12; 3:16-18; 5:24; 9:35-38; 11:25-27; 12:42-46; 14:1; Ac 8:37; 10:43; 16:30-34; 18:8; 20:20f; 26:17f; Rom 4:5; 4:23-25; 10:9f; Gal 2:16; Eph 4:4-6; 1 Tim 3:16; 1 Pet 1:21; 1 Jn 5:5).
Secondly, there are texts that refer to God and Christ as Creator of the universe (Jn 1:1-3; Col 1:15-20).
Thirdly, there are texts that refer to attributes of God such as uniqueness, immortality, invisibility, eternity, and omnipotence (Jn 1:18; 5:44; 17:3; Eph 3:14-17; 1 Tim 1:17; Rev 1:8; 4:8; 11:17; 15:3; 16:7; 19:6).
With one voice, creeds such as the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed all draw on this biblical testimony, and deny or depart from none of it. We can have every confidence that the ecumenical creeds express, in succinct, memorable and theologically nuanced language, the apostolic teaching of the New Testament writers.
Dr Rod Benson is Research Support Officer at Moore Theological College, Sydney. He previously pastored four Baptist churches in Queensland and NSW, and served for 12 years as an ethicist with the Tinsley Institute at Morling College. The previous column in this series on creeds is available here.
References:
[1] David F. Ford, The Gospel of John: A Theological Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2021), 363.
[2] Quoted in J. N. D. Kelly, Early Christian Doctrines (New York: Harper & Bros., 1958), 30.
Image source: CSBC
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