Creeds and Confessions

JESUS IS EVERYTHING

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the_holy_trinity“And in Jesus Christ his only Son, our Lord.”

Christianity has always been Trinitarian. There are many rebels, thieves and plunderers who would attempt to steal that crown and change the glory of the incorruptible Creator into the image they desire-but it will not happen.

The word “Trinity” comes from the Latin noun “trinitas” meaning “three are one.”  God is one Being made up of three distinct persons who exist in co-equal essence and co-eternal communion as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I have found by a thorough study of scripture and the interpretation of scripture by the Creeds and Councils of the church, that this is the best expression of this biblical truth. They are great bunker busters for those who are heretics and deny the human or divine nature of Christ.

When we speak of Christ we speak of him as the Son of God or God the Son, the second person of the Trinity. He was begotten before all worlds. This is called the doctrine of eternal generation which will really bake your noodle. He did not become Son when he was born; he always was the Son by eternal generation.

“The doctrine of eternal generation essentially teaches that God the Father ETERNALLY and BY NECESSITY generates or begets God the Son in such a way that the substance (divine essence) of God is not divided. The Person of God the Son derives His deity from this generation. In other words, there is a communication of the whole, indivisible substance of the Godhead so that God the Son is the exact representation (or express image) of God the Father.

The book of Colossians says, “The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.”  (Col. 1:15). This verse is replete with meaning and in conjunction with this series presents powerful truth.

Paul teaches that Jesus Christ is not merely a chip off the old block, he just does not look like the Almighty God.  It entirely a different thing when Adam was made in God’s image (Gen 1:26) and Jesus being God’s image. How?

Jesus Christ is whatever God is-omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient. Jesus Christ is the perfect, absolutely accurate image of God. He did not become the image of God at the incarnation, but has been that from all eternity.

Paul affirms that Jesus is the Creator of all things (Col. 1:16-17) in which He calls Christ “firstborn” of all creation. As Creator, Christ has supremacy over all creation. Christ existed before all created beings and is not a created being. Hebrews 1:3 describes Jesus as “the radiance of [God’s] glory.” Christ reflects God’s attributes, as the sun’s light reflects the sun.  Jesus is the exact likeness of God.

YOUNG CREATION AND THE NEW YOU

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a-new-earth-and-heaven“The Creator of Heaven and Earth”

Before I move on in this series on the Apostles Creed, I want to point out that a true understanding of creation will give a clear focus on biblical salvation.  Salvation is by grace. It is not a process it is a miracle.  It happens as an event by grace not a progressive evolution of works. Scripture also uses Earth’s birthday as an analogy for salvation and calls it “new creation” (2 Cor. 5:17).  I do not think that is a coincidence. It is the new creation of the world of our hearts, souls and minds in which old things pass away and all things become new. This is only a work God can do by grace and truth that came by Jesus Christ.

It is uncanny how the New Testament alludes to the old Creation in teaching a New Creation theology. Matthew 1:1 speaks of what is translated “the genealogy of Jesus Christ” or the record of his human ancestors.  That is the context of that passage. But the KJV uses “the generation of Jesus Christ” and the word used in Greek for generation is “genesis.”  The Holy Spirit is showing us that new thing promised in the scriptures (Isa. 42:9; 43:19) was  happening in the confusion and emptiness of human hearts (Gen 1:2; Eph. 2:1-3) by the coming of grace and truth in Jesus  We also see the comparison of Adam with Christ (Rom 5:12-21; 1 Cor. 15: 45-49).

John starts out his gospel referencing God’s speaking the world into existence saying, “In the beginning was the Word” (John 1:1) and then ends it with, “It is finished” (John 19:30) looking back on how God completed the Creation (Gen 2:1).  It is not a stretch, that there are seven signs in John’s Gospel looking at the days of creation and when God “rested” and the eighth day or miracle is the resurrection of Christ which number signifies newness or the new creation. Many a preacher has spoken on how Jesus breathed on the disciples, saying “Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:22) which sounds exactly like when God breathed into Adam, “the breath of life” in Genesis 2:7. I thought it profound when I read in one place how that when Adam and Eve fell, “their eyes were opened” (Gen 3:7) to the knowledge of good and evil and that was paralleled with the story of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus and how “their eyes were opened” to the wonderful revelation of Jesus (Luke 24:31) .

As Creation was entirely the work of God, solely by the power of God-so is salvation. He is the one who creates a new heart and a new spirit by gospel preaching. Paul declares the very first words of God used in narrative, “Let there be light” (Gen 1:3). God spoke with sublime power and authority and it happened.  He says, “For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.” (2 Cor. 4:6NLT).  God acts in power. He speaks his Word. In the beginning God. In the beginning was the Word with God. The Word was God. He called into existence something that did not exist before-not something that developed on its own. The universe owes its existence to the Word of God.

This Word that is spoken to-day is THE GOSPEL.

“It is the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ.” (2 Cor. 4:3NIV).

It brings light where there is only darkness.

The gospel says, “Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” (Eph. 5:14NIV).

Let there be LIGHT. Christ is that light that dispels heavy darkness (Isa. 60:1-2).

You do not earn salvation, it is not something that will happen in the future. You will not evolve into a Christian. “I tell you, NOW is the time of God’s favor, NOW is the day of salvation.” (2 Cor. 6:2NIV).

In closing, Matthew Henry says, “Oh, the power of the word of God! And in the new creation, the first thing that is wrought in the soul is light: the blessed Spirit works upon the will and affections by enlightening the understanding. Those who by sin were darkness, by grace become light in the Lord.”

© 2013 Soul Heath Care Ministries

DEFINED AND CHISELED CREATIONISM

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day-one-creation-of-man-by-lester“The Creator of heaven and earth”

This short article may give some offense, but I stopped attempting to ‘relate’ to unbelievers and started just giving them the Word.  I recommend you do the same. Why?  I like what Matt Slick says,   “No matter how convincing the evidence or good the logic, an unbeliever cannot come to the faith because his fallen nature will distort how he perceives the truth.  The only thing that can ultimately change him is regeneration.

People cannot believe the truth because they are dead spiritually. The Creator must give them new life before they can. That explains a lot.

God is our awesome Creator (Isa 40:28).  The Bible insists in calling the world and the universe “creation” (Mk. 10:6; Rom. 1:20; Heb. 4:13). The things in the world were “created” (Ps. 148:5; Rom. 8:39).  The Bible admonishes us to “remember our Creator” (Eccl. 12:1).  We need our memories refreshed  as we read the Bible and it shows God power to heal, restore, give life by referencing Creation.  Isaiah says, “God, the LORD, created the heavens and stretched them out. He created the earth and everything in it. He gives breath to everyone, life to everyone who walks the earth…” (Isa. 42:6).  And again, “For the LORD is God, and he created the heavens and earth and put everything in place. He made the world to be lived in, not to be a place of empty chaos. “I am the LORD,” he says, “and there is no other. (Isa. 45:18).

The young earth/Creationism doctrine is the result of the plain reading of the Bible. There is no room for any other interpretation and you cannot use the Bible to prove any form of evolution. There are so many idiotic moderates even in the church and they water down the gospel with the spittle of human philosophy. Evolution, plain and simple,  is a great anti-Christ heresy, yet it stirred up lazy theologians and believing scientists to go back to scripture. Most apologetics come about that way.

So let me begin with this. For starters, you can only call yourself a Creationist if you believe:

  • In the existence of the Trinity-the God of the Christian Bible. 
  • The Earth is only thousands not millions of years old.
  • God Created the Heavens and Earth in a literal six 24 hour days by his spoken word.
  • Adam and Eve were a literal couple, male and female and that is God’s model for spirituality and sexuality.

By the way, it seems that the things that get attacked most are the existence and nature of God, the age of the earth, the days of creation and the heterosexual model of marriage.

The World was created by God speaking it into existence. He exists and he creates. “For when he spoke, the world began! It appeared at his command.” (Psalm 33:9NLT). The entire universe owes its existence to God, “By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.” (Heb. 11:3). We have already discussed the Bible’s and the creedal view of who God is and the great reward of believing in him and seeking him out in prayer (Heb. 11:6).

 The Bible was created in six literal days. (Ex 20:11; 31:17). “If you think about it, an infinite Creator God could have created everything in no time. Why, then, did He take as long as six days? The answer is given in Exodus 20:11 Here we find that God tells us that He deliberately took six days and rested for one as a pattern for man—this is where the seven-day week comes from. The seven-day week has no basis for existing except from Scripture. If one believes that the days of creation are long periods of time, then the week becomes meaningless.”

God created Adam and Eve and “God made them male and female from the beginning of creation.” (Gen 1:27; 5:2; Mt. 19:4; Mk. 10:6). Marriage and sex was a gift from God to be shared among a man and woman in lifelong relationship of marriage. The account of Adam and Eve is not an allegory. It is not a fairytale. That was the way God made them. It is a defiance and rebellion against God to believe anything other because he made them in his image (Gen 1:26-27; Rom 1:21-25). It is idolatry of the worst kind for someone who claims to be a Christian to promote any other lifestyle.  If you claim to be homosexual, you cannot use the Christian Bible to endorse your lifestyle. So stop doing it. Use some other book if you like. All that is being promoted today, let’s be honest, is all about politics and people who have perverted genuine sexuality and spirituality who want to build their own tower of Babel and be the pathetic gods of their own lives.

But that is yet another Bible account which explains much of what is happening today.

(c) 2013 Soul Health Care Ministries

GRACE AND PEACE

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peace“The Maker of Heaven and Earth”

God is the Creator of the universe and he demonstrates two specific things: His Grace and Peace.

The book of Genesis is one of the most important books in the Bible because it introduces us to God as the Creator and well, like any book, many people go for the beginning chapters.

They read, “In the beginning God.”

Here they learn about God right out of the starting gate. Here God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are seen at work planning, speaking and active. God cares and is involved because he made everything. That says it all.

He is “the God of all grace.” (1 Pet 5:10). He is “the God of Peace” (1 Thess. 5:23). Grace and Peace kick off in the Bible and we should see that and talk about that to others. Believe in this God of grace and peace. When there was nothing and no one and what is now our planet was unformed and unfilled, the all-powerful Yahweh made all things. God brings his light and life. He monopolizes all goodness grace and peace.

God was not only involved but he was copious and meticulous in his actions. Creation seems so mysterious, people read about earth’s birthday more as a play by-play of the Creator’s actions all the time overlooking God’s creativity (Prov. 8). We see more of his muscle than his genius. His motive for creating all things was Jesus. “For through him God created everything and without him nothing was made that has been made (Col 1:16; John 1:3). He extends the gift of his Son by his grace. Grace is God’s detailed initiative to act in generosity and love. We are still discovering the wonders of creation that show us how caring and doting our Heavenly Father really is. We see he brings life where there is no life and when he does it is a spectrum of light.  He fills all emptiness with his gifts and His presence.  When he acts in grace, he is eager to show his goodness. His grace causes everything to multiply, it has endless variety and it is done with eagerness. When God made a paradise for men and women in which to live, He did so out of His lavish kindness, His grace. In fact, the book of Genesis gives the most used illustrations for grace by the prophets and apostles. Grace is all about God: His initiative, intervention and involvement. It shows the wisdom and understanding of his grace and how he enjoyed to plan ahead to save us, to shower down the wealth of His forgiveness and grace upon us bring us into his own family through Jesus.

With the close of the six days of the spectacular show of his power, he stopped creating. He made a day of rest. “His works have been finished since the creation of the world.” (Heb. 4:3). It was not just for ritual observance, for cessation of work does not mean one is at rest. A vacation can be more stressful than restful. Holy activity springs from being at rest in one’s relationship with God.  Rest is seen right away as God takes one day and makes it holy. He sanctified it. “For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day he stopped working and was refreshed.'” (Ex 31:17NLT).  God has given us a new creation and that is the rule we walk by, not being propped up by religious do’s and don’ts. Paul says, “God’s peace and mercy be upon all who live by this principle; they are the new people of God.” (Gal 6:16). Rest and refreshment are the inheritance of the child of God because of Jesus (Heb. 4). How does he do this? As the God of peace he sanctified us (1 Thess. 5:23) so we need not struggle for what we already are and have been given. The God of peace puts an end to confusion (1 Cor. 14:33) and through his peace he produces everything in us that is pleasing to him (Heb. 13:20-21). There are so many preachers teaching how people can attain rest, by doing this or that. However, the Bible says it is simply accomplished by believing what Jesus has said.

Let me finish up with a quote by Martin Luther, “Grace remits sin, and peace quiets the conscience. Sin and conscience torment us, but Christ has overcome these fiends now and forever. Only Christians possess this victorious knowledge given from above. These two terms, grace and peace, constitute Christianity. Grace involves the remission of sins, peace, and a happy conscience. Sin is not canceled by lawful living, for no person is able to live up to the Law. The Law reveals guilt, fills the conscience with terror, and drives men to despair. Much less is sin taken away by man-invented endeavors. The fact is, the more a person seeks credit for himself by his own efforts, the deeper he goes into debt. Nothing can take away sin except the grace of God. In actual living, however, it is not so easy to persuade oneself that by grace alone, in opposition to every other means, we obtain the forgiveness of our sins and peace with God.”

ALL POWERFUL

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Alpha and Omega“Almighty”

When we come such words we can only worship God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  John says, “Then I heard again what sounded like the shout of a vast crowd or the roar of mighty ocean waves or the crash of loud thunder: “Praise the LORD! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.” (Rev. 19:6).

God, Father, Son and Holy Ghost is ultimate uniqueness and there is none like Him.  He is the A to Z, the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the Ending  of totality. He is the Trinity three in One.  One God, not three. He has control of everything natural and supernatural. He is absolutely invincible. He cannot be cannot be stopped or reversed.

Yahweh, God is invincible, in every sense and aspect such as strength, speed and intellect.  He is beyond cause and effect, logic and reason, and can make anything happen without limits and imagination.

El Shaddai, rules all things. He handles any situation. He has all-incredible skill and wisdom.  He creates anything and everything from nothing. He is self existent and self sufficient.

The one God the Bible declares, exists outside of everything and yet is concerned with even the smallest thing.  He knows no bounds. He is immutable and immune to change.  He is everywhere, at once, at all times. He knows everything and anything and has full comprehension of the the smallest quark to the immense universe and eternity.

He manipulates and creates concepts, shapes and destroy all forces.  He can create or erase life all at once. He is beyond life and death.  He is immortal. He brings everything back to its original state. He renews all things.  He controls the extent of existence itself.  He is  totally unstoppable. It is amazing how there is a certain sense in the Apostles Creed of not only defense of the faith but holy defiance in these words against those who would attempt to make the Christian God less than He is or compare him to false gods of pagan religions. 

Arthur Pink says, It is very beautiful to link together the following passages: “He walketh upon the waves of the sea” (Job 9:8), which expresses God’s uncontrollable power. “He walketh in the circuit of Heaven” (Job 22:14), which tells of the immensity of His presence. “He walketh upon the wings of the wind” (Ps. 104:3), which signifies the amazing swiftness of His operations. This last expression is very remarkable. It is not that “He flieth,” or “runneth,” but that He “walketh” and that, on the very “wings of the wind”—on the most impetuous of the elements, tossed into utmost rage, and sweeping along with almost inconceivable rapidity, yet they are under His feet, beneath His perfect control!”

© 2013 Soul Health Care Ministries. If you use this article tell people about us and where you found it. Don’t plagiarize.

GOD, THE ULTIMATE MALE

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God2“God the Father”

GOD is the ultimate male the Bible uses the terms  “he” or “him” to refer to God. God is NOT seen in terms of female at any time and there is no generic Deity as well.  This idea was not the invention of man, nor a preferred translation, it is a revelation of God.

I read that the word Father is from the Greek root Pater (where we get the word patriarchal) which means one who supports, nourishes and protects. In God’s created order, the father is the head of the household and demonstrates a likeness to that of God the Father over his creation and love for his family. When it comes to salvation everyone is equal male and female but this structure has not changed and the patriarchal template cannot be distorted by liberal theology. It is a great infidelity and heresy to call God “mother” or “goddess.”

God the first person of the Trinity was always the Father. In the accounts of Jesus Christ in the gospels God is seen as the Eternal Father, first person of the Trinity.  James Orr says,

“To reach the heart of the truth of the Divine Fatherhood it is necessary to begin, not with man, but with the Godhead itself, in whose eternal depths is found the spring of that Fatherly love that reveals itself in time. It is first of all in relation to the eternal Son-before all time-that the meaning of Fatherhood in God is made clear (John 1:18).”

He is Father to the world like an inventor only in a way where he made all things out of nothing. But think of this: it was through the eternal Son of God, that God secured our souls salvation and changed our status from illegal aliens to dearly loved family.  

We should ask, “Did God have to have us as children to be called “Father”? Is it because he is the Creator and cares for all his creation?”

The answer is a definite, “No.”

It is because He has always had a Son, Jesus, the eternal Son of God. This is the beauty of the Trinity. He is the Eternal, Heavenly Father. Christ offers us through his blood, the status and relationship he enjoyed with God before the universe began.

I must say that although is through Christ as a mediator we have been brought into relationship with God, the Father has always loved us with the love he has for his Son in his sovereignty and good pleasure (Eph. 1:4).  Jesus says now, “The Father himself loves you dearly because you love me and believe that I came from God.” (John 16:27).

© 2013 Soul Health Care Ministries. If you use this article tell people about us and where you found it. Don’t plagiarize.

I BELIEVE

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NiceneWordle“I BELIEVE” is more like a stated opinion than an admission of what a person considers to be truth these days.

Pluralism teaches that there can be more than two kinds of ultimate realities. Christianity takes an exclusive position on  truth not such a silly outlook on life.

There is only one God and one truth.

We live in a day where it seems everyone is entitled to their opinion but where no one knows what is right from wrong.

On the other hand we have entire groups who base their fellowship on what that group believes-but they are usually side issues-they are marginal not cardinal.  Groups for years have taken sections of the Bible where they attempt to make a distinctive of one doctrine: prophecy, worship styles, dress codes, baptism in water or the baptism in the Spirit and even diet. I do not mean to be uncharitable, but in most of those instances they make other Christians either sub-Christian or refuse to call them Christians at all.

That is why I espouse to the apostles creed. It helps me avoidsconfusion and produces a unity based on scripture rather than just warm, cuddly feelings.

“The oldest usage of the term “Rule of Faith” (regula fidei), now commonly given to the Scriptures, has reference to this creed.” (James Orr).

I base my fellowship with other Christians on the Apostles Creed. The Apostles Creed teaches what Christians everywhere no matter their denomination should believe or accept as true. These are truths at the heart of the Christian faith. This way I do not compromise the scriptures and do not fellowship at the lowest common denominator. Dodd comments,

“The Apostles’ Creed is a declaration of things which are most surely believed among us, and its several parts or articles are founded upon the contents of Scripture, which is our one rule of faith. It does not begin with the words I think or I know, but with the statement “I believe.”  “Belief” is used in various senses, but here it means the assent of the mind and heart to the doctrines expressed in the Creed. When we repeat the form we declare that we accept and adopt all the statements which it covers.”

What do you believe?

You say, I believe in God.”

I believe in “The Bible.

Or you say, ” In Jesus.”

But which God are you referring to? What is the Bible and what does it teach and what does it say about Jesus?

The Apostles Creed has the basic summary for all Christians to accept as truth.

© 2013 Soul Health Care Ministries. If you use this article tell people about us and where you found it. Don’t plagiarize.