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1: a
brief authoritative formula of religious belief
2: a set of fundamental beliefs; also : a guiding principle Merriam-Webster, Inc: Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. Eleventh ed. Springfield, Mass. : Merriam-Webster, Inc., 2003 Old Testament Creed Deut. 6:4: Hear O Israel, the LORD is our God, the LORD alone. Three early Christian creeds found in the Scriptures. Matt. 16:16: Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." 1 Cor. 15:3-7: For I delivered to you as of first impor- 1 Tim. 3:16: Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of The Apostle's Creed
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 Ghost, born of the Virgin
Mary
Suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead and
buried; He descended into hell
The third day he rose again from the dead
He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God
the Father Almighty
From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead
I believe in the Holy Ghost
I believe a holy catholic church; the communion of saints
The forgiveness of sins
The resurrection of the body
And the life everlasting. Amen.
The Nicene Creed
I believe
in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things
visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God,
begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God
of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by
whom all things were made.
Who, for us men for our salvation, came down from heaven,
and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man; and
was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried;
and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended
into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father; and He shall come
again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have
no end.
And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of
Life; who proceeds from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the
Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets.
And I believe one holy catholic and apostolic Church. I
acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; and I look for the
resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.
The Confession of Chalcedon 451 AD (The majority of orthodox theologians believe this statement of faith comes closest to reflecting the Christ of the Bible.)
Following, then, the holy fathers, we unite in teaching all
men to confess the one and only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. This selfsame one
is perfect both in deity and in humanness; this selfsame one is also actually
God and actually man, with a rational soul {meaning human soul} and a body. He
is of the same reality as God as far as his deity is concerned and of the same
reality as we ourselves as far as his humanness is concerned; thus like us in
all respects, sin only excepted. Before time began he was begotten of the
Father, in respect of his deity, and now in these "last days," for us and
behalf of our salvation, this selfsame one was born of Mary the virgin, who is
God-bearer in respect of his humanness.
We also teach that we apprehend this one and only Christ-Son, Lord, only-begotten -- in two natures; and we do this without confusing the two natures, without transmuting one nature into the other, without dividing them into two separate categories, without contrasting them according to area or function. The distinctiveness of each nature is not nullified by the union. Instead, the "properties" of each nature are conserved and both natures concur in one "person" and in one reality {hypostasis}. They are not divided or cut into two persons, but are together the one and only and only-begotten Word {Logos} of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. Thus have the prophets of old testified; thus the Lord Jesus Christ himself taught us; thus the Symbol of Fathers {the Nicene Creed} has handed down to us. Athanasian Creed
Whosoever
will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the catholic
faith; Which faith except every one do keep whole and undefiled, without doubt
he shall perish everlastingly.
And the catholic faith is this: That we worship one God in
Trinity, and Trinity in Unity; Neither confounding the persons nor dividing
the substance. For there is one person of the Father, another of the Son, and
another of the Holy Spirit.
But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy
Spirit is all one, the glory equal, the majesty coeternal. Such as the Father
is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Spirit. The Father uncreated, the
Son uncreated, and the Holy Spirit uncreated. The Father incomprehensible, the
Son incomprehensible, and the Holy Spirit incomprehensible. The Father
eternal, the Son eternal, and the Holy Spirit eternal. And yet they are not
three eternals but one eternal. As also there are not three uncreated nor
three incomprehensible, but one uncreated and one incomprehensible. So
likewise the Father is almighty, the Son almighty, and the Holy Spirit
almighty. And yet they are not three almighties, but one almighty. So the
Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God; And yet they are
not three Gods, but one God. So likewise the Father is Lord, the Son Lord, and
the Holy Spirit Lord; And yet they are not three Lords but one Lord. For like
as we are compelled by the Christian verity to acknowledge every Person by
himself to be God and Lord; So are we forbidden by the catholic religion to
say; There are three Gods or three Lords. The Father is made of none, neither
created nor begotten. The Son is of the Father alone; not made nor created,
but begotten. The Holy Spirit is of the Father and of the Son; neither made,
nor created, nor begotten, but proceeding. So there is one Father, not three
Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; one Holy Spirit, not three Holy Spirits. And
in this Trinity none is afore or after another; none is greater or less than
another. But the whole three persons are coeternal, and coequal. So that in
all things, as aforesaid, the Unity in Trinity and the Trinity in Unity is to
be worshipped. He therefore that will be saved must thus think of the Trinity.
Furthermore it is necessary to everlasting salvation that
he also believe rightly the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. For the
right faith is that we believe and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son
of God, is God and man. God of the substance of the Father, begotten before
the worlds; and man of substance of His mother, born in the world. Perfect God
and perfect man, of a reasonable soul and human flesh subsisting. Equal to the
Father as touching His Godhead, and inferior to the Father as touching His
manhood. Who, although He is God and man, yet He is not two, but one Christ.
One, not by conversion of the Godhead into flesh, but by taking of that
manhood into God. One altogether, not by confusion of substance, but by unity
of person. For as the reasonable soul and flesh is one man, so God and man is
one Christ; Who suffered for our salvation, descended into hell, rose again
the third day from the dead; He ascended into heaven, He sits on the right
hand of the Father, God, Almighty; From thence He shall come to judge the
quick and the dead. At whose coming all men shall rise again with their
bodies; and shall give account of their own works. And they that have done
good shall go into life everlasting and they that have done evil into
everlasting fire.
This is the catholic faith, which except a man believe
faithfully he cannot be saved
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