Believing
The Creed and the Word teach that the communion of saints unites all believers in Christ in a family of faith called to live in unity, mutual support, and spiritual discipline. It also affirms that although sin is an intentional and destructive reality, God offers complete forgiveness and adoption as children through Christ. Finally, it proclaims the hope of bodily resurrection, which comforts us in pain, frees us from the fear of death, and motivates us to live in holiness.
The Apostle’s Creed
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth;
And in Jesus Christ, his only 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 sitteth on the right hand of God the Father almighty.
From thence he shall come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Ghost,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
“The communion of saints”
The saints are all those who have put their faith in Christ, in heaven and on earth.
To be holy means to be set apart and transformed by the grace of God; it is a continuous process.
Communion means unity: in the Trinity, in the Body of Christ, and in the local church.
Practical life includes gathering together, praying for one another, encouraging one another, and supplying needs (Hebrews 10:24–25).
We are part of a family of faith with authority, pastors, and spiritual discipline.
“The forgiveness of sins”
Sin is to miss the mark intentionally: to desire something more than God and to act on that desire.
There can be no talk of forgiveness without recognizing the reality of sin.
God offers forgiveness through Christ: we are justified by His blood and adopted as children (Romans 5:8–9; Galatians 4:4–7).
God disciplines us as a Father, but always receives back the repentant one.
“The resurrection of the body”
The Fathers of the Church affirmed the resurrection of the flesh as essential doctrine.
Christ rose, and therefore we also will rise.
Reasons for hope:
It comforts us in the pain of death (1 Thessalonians 4:13).
It frees us from the fear of dying (Hebrews 2:14–15).
It motivates us to live apart from sin (John 5:29).
There are 4 qualities that are part of the resurrection of the flesh:
Real identity: the same body, not another.
Incorruptibility: without corruption or decay.
Integrity: without defects, without sickness.
Perfect Age: in the perfect age, similar to the resurrected body of Christ.
