Sermon

An exploration of the Apostles Creed.

'I believe in Jesus Christ'.

So now to the second part of exploring the Apostles Creed – the full part it gives to I believe in Jesus. Why such a full part? It was the revelation that Jesus was God that set the Christians apart from all other religious movements, and therefore many of the words of the creed are spent driving this point home. So we say together: I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come to judge the living and the dead.

So let us explore line by line what the Apostles’ Creed says about Jesus. Firstly, In Jesus Christ, his only Son our Lord. The heart of the Christian faith is a person not a set of abstract ideas or beliefs. The name Jesus literally means "God saves" while "Christ" is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew word "Messiah" meaning "anointed one." The Jewish people had been looking forward to the coming of a deliverer, as revealed in the Old Testament writings, who would rescue them from the oppressive rule of Rome. For many Jesus a descendant of the great King David was the one who would restore his people Israel to a golden age and fulfil the Old Testament prophecies. However, when Jesus actually came he was a very different kind of king from that which they had expected and this led people to reject him and ultimately crucify him.

Jesus is God's "only Son." In one sense we are all God's children but in another sense Jesus is unique. Paul distinguishes between Jesus as the natural Son of God, and believers as adopted sons (Rom. 8:23). It is hard for us to imagine what God is like, language is simply inadequate. But the bible tells us that by looking at Jesus we can see what God is like. "The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being," (Heb. 1:3a). To know Jesus is to know God in human form. In the Old Testament God's name YAHWEH was regarded as too holy to be spoken. Instead the Jews used the letters YHWH as a substitute. When the Jewish Scriptures came to be translated from Hebrew into Greek, the Greek word "kyrios" - "the Lord" was used to translate this sacred name of God. In the New Testament we find that a word that was previously used with reference to God is now applied to Jesus.

The confession "Jesus is Lord" (Phil 2: 11) is thus a superb summary of the gospel. To confess Jesus as Lord is to proclaim his equality with God. The question is as Christians how should we seek to apply this in our lives? If Jesus is our Lord then we should seek to do his will and obey his commands. Secondly, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary. Jesus was born of a human mother (Gal. 4:4). He is a human being just like ourselves. However, he was also conceived by the Holy Spirit. From the moment of his conception he was marked out as unique. Jesus was both God and man. Fully divine and really human at one and the same time. The virgin birth confirmed Old Testament prophecy (Isa. 7:14). It stressed that Jesus was divine by nature not adoption at a later date. It provided an important defence against early Jewish opponents of Christianity, who suggested that Jesus was the illegitimate child of Mary by a Roman soldier. The intention being to discredit Jesus in the eyes of his own people. If Jesus was not God and man our redemption would be impossible. If he is just a man he is part of our problem, not the solution to it. But if Jesus is God alone, he has no point of contact with our predicament. What is required is a mediator, a go-between. In other words the incarnation.

jesus Jesus is both God and perfect man and thus he is able to redeem us and reconcile us to God. Jesus knows what it is like to be human. He understands our weaknesses and we can bring our struggles and temptations to him. "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are -- yet was without sin," (Heb. 4:15). Suffered under Pontius Pilate.

The creed now recounts a series of events that firmly establish that Jesus was a real human being of flesh and blood. The reference to Pilate firmly anchors the Creed to history. The New Testament writers saw in the suffering of Jesus Christ the fulfilment of the Old Testament prophecies concerning the Suffering Servant (Isa. 52:13-53:12) who was pierced for our transgressions and took upon himself the punishment that was due for our sin. Jesus is the one who suffers along side us. God is found in suffering. The rejection of Christ by the world does not mean that he rejects us. Quite the opposite. Was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead.

The Creed now brings us to the scene at Calvary. Crucifixion was a barbaric form of execution favoured by the Romans as a deterrent and used against rebellious subjects and the lowest criminals. It was a shameful and degrading death. However, we read in the New Testament that it was for us that Jesus "endured the shame of the cross, scorning its shame" (Heb. 12:2). It was because of the scandal of the cross that the Christian gospel was seen by many to be "utter foolishness" (1 Cor. 1:23-25). But the gospel is not just about the fact that Jesus died and the circumstances of his execution. The true significance of his death is that he died for our sins (1 Cor. 15:3). "He descended to the dead" is a statement of the belief that Jesus really did die and in so doing shared the fate of us all.

Even though he was God, he had to taste death just like each of us. He really was human in every way. Fully God and truly human. God's love was demonstrated by the death of his Son (John 3:16). A scene of hopelessness was about to be transformed to one of joy and hope. On the third day he rose again. The resurrection singles out Jesus as unique. Jesus is not merely another human being suffering an unjust and cruel punishment at the hands of an oppressive government; he is the Son of God, suffering pain and rejection on our behalf. The Cross reveals the deep love of God for humanity. Romans 5:8: "the proof of God's amazing love is this: that it was while we were still sinners that Christ died for us." Through adoption, we become the children of God and are entitled to share in the same riches which Christ has gained.

Christ is the "first fruits" of the resurrection harvest (1 Cor. 15:20). It is our belief in the resurrection of Jesus that sets Christianity apart from all other religions. As Saint Paul says "if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins." (1 Cor. 15:17). We however, can be confident in our future hope because Jesus is alive today. He ascended into heaven; he is seated at the right hand of the Father. Faith in the ascension does not mean a diminished interest in the world. It means a renewed commitment to that world (Acts 1:11). For the ascended Christ now lives in each Christian through the gift of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 2:20).

This world though is "a distant country" not our home (Luke 15:13). We are to pass through it "as though it were a foreign country, treating all earthly things lightly and declining to set our hearts upon them," John Calvin. We are in the world, but not of the world. We are committed to the world, because it is God's world for which Christ died, and because there is work to be done - but in the end, we must recognise that the world cannot be an end in itself. The world can too easily become a substitute for God (John 17:16) and lead us into idolatry.

The ascension helps us to recall that our destiny does not lie on this earth, but with the ascended Christ, who has gone on ahead of us to prepare a place for us. "Our citizenship is in heaven" (Phil. 3:20). To be allowed to sit at the right hand of a dignitary was a sign of special favour (Ps. 16:8). Not even the angels are allowed to sit at God's right hand. Jesus being allocated this place of honour confirms his unique status as God's Son (Heb. 1:13). Jesus, having come down to earth from heaven to redeem us, now returns to heaven to intercede for us. Christians pray in the name of Jesus acknowledging that the effectiveness of their prayers rests upon what Jesus Christ has achieved in the past, and will achieve in the future (Heb. 7:25).

Finally, and he will come to judge the living and the dead. The perspective now changes to the future. The "Second Coming" of Jesus is a significant theme in the New Testament. It is then that the Kingdom of God will be finally established and the Judgment will take place. The writer of Hebrews tells us that all human beings are "destined to die once, and after that to face judgment," (Heb. 9:27). It is important to realise that we are judged by someone who knows what it is like to be human and understands our situation. Hebrews 4:16: "Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." (Heb. 4:16). We will be called to give an account of the things we have done but our place with God will be secure. There is "now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus," (Rom. 8:1).

Amen.