The Bible’s Viewpoint

Creeds​—Any Place in True Worship?

“I BELIEVE in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ . . .”

Do you recognize those words? Millions of Catholics and Protestants recite them, or slight variations thereof, as a declaration or statement of their religious beliefs. Commonly called the Apostles’ Creed, this as well as other creeds, such as the Athanasian and the Nicene creeds, has occupied an important place in public worship in the churches of Christendom.

In view of this, the questions come up: Are creeds essential to Christian faith and unity? Did Jesus Christ and the apostles recite creeds? Does the Bible mention them?

Standard reference works, such as Hastings’ Encyclopædia of Religion and Ethics and McClintock & Strong’s Cyclopedia, tell us that church creeds as we know them today had their origin in the baptismal confessions used in the early churches. Candidates had to demonstrate that they had accepted at least the fundamental beliefs by reciting some formal summary of them. There existed many such confessions, and churches in different areas had their own versions. It was not until the fourth century that certain creeds came to prominence over others.

Viewed against this background, it is clear that creeds were used as a means to define the beliefs of a church to distinguish it from other churches. Various creeds developed as doctrinal changes were adopted. For example, at the Council of Nicaea, the statement that the Son was ‘of one substance’ with the Father was added to an earlier baptismal creed. And at the Council of Constantinople the further statement that the holy spirit is ‘adored and glorified together with the Father and the Son’ was added.

Interestingly, even though creeds developed over a long period of time, according to Avery Dulles of the Catholic University of America, “probably no period in history has seen such a burgeoning of new credal formulas as our own.” Today, among the churches of Christendom, “there are over 150 officially recognized creeds and confessions,” says the Encyclopædia Britannica.

Did Jesus and the Apostles Use Creeds?

On the night before he suffered, Jesus Christ prayed to his heavenly Father regarding his disciples: “Sanctify them by means of the truth; your word is truth.” (John 17:17) He was praying for his disciples to be sanctified, or set apart. But did he refer to any written code or creed? No! Rather, he showed that what God has said, as recorded in the Bible, set them apart from others.

When discussing the matter of prayer, Jesus said: “Do not say the same things over and over again.” (Matthew 6:7) Since Jesus disapproved of repeating written or memorized prayers, does it not stand to reason that he also would disapprove of reciting creeds in public worship? The fact is that nowhere in the Bible can we find any reference to Jesus’ using or instructing anyone to use creeds in worship. “God is a Spirit,” he said, “and those worshiping him must worship with spirit and truth.”​—John 4:24.

What, then, about the Apostles’ Creed? Because of its name, many people believe that it was actually drawn up by the apostles of Jesus Christ. In fact, some even claim that each of the apostles contributed a sentence in composing this creed.

On this point, Professor G. C. Stead wrote in The Expository Times: “Anyone who has read at all extensively in early Christian literature is bound to come to a different conclusion.” He argued that if there was in existence a creed formally designed and approved by the apostles, it would be difficult to explain why there were so many different ‘confessions’ and ‘statements of faith’ in existence among the early churches. The fact is that “a statement of Christian belief which approximately agrees in wording with the Apostles’ Creed cannot be found in any surviving writing earlier than A.D. 340.”

The Bible, in Acts chapter 15, does speak of a council of the apostles and older men in Jerusalem. But the purpose of that meeting was not to draw up or to amend a creed but to consider whether it was necessary for Gentile Christians to be circumcised.

How to Prove “I Believe”

The opening words of a creed invariably are, “I believe” or, “We believe.” This expression is translated from the Latin word “credo,” from which comes the word “creed.” But does the repetition of such words prove that one really believes?

In the famous Sermon on the Mount, Jesus stated: “Not everyone saying to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the kingdom of the heavens, but the one doing the will of my Father who is in the heavens will.” He also condemned the religionists of his day for holding on to traditions of men.​—Matthew 7:21; 15:8.

What do we learn from Jesus’ words? That it is valueless in God’s eyes for one merely to repeat what one claims to believe. Rather, it is “doing the will of [Jesus’] Father” that will bring God’s approval.

To know what God’s will is, one must turn to the Bible and diligently study it. Thus, rather than memorizing or repeating creeds, we must do what Jesus said in prayer to his Father: “This means everlasting life, their taking in knowledge of you, the only true God, and of the one whom you sent forth, Jesus Christ.”​—John 17:3.

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I believe . . . I believe . . .