The Apostle's Creed Series #3

"I Believe in Jesus Christ!"
Matthew 16:13-16

Jesus Christ dominates the Apostles' Creed. In just 78 words this Creed sums up the historic Christian belief in a Triune God. Nine words refer to God the Father, four words refer to God the Holy Spirit, but 65 of the words refer to God the Son. He is the focus and fullness of our faith as Christians.

The first line of the Apostle’s Creed, "I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth," unites us with two other of the great world religions: Judaism and Islam. We all are in basic agreement at the beginning. However, as soon as we move to the second line, "and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord," we begin to move into the territory of what sets us apart as Christians. Today we are looking at the phrase, "I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary." It is truly a mouthful, but it is also the heart of our faith.

I believe that Jesus is the Christ. Jesus was a real person, who lived and died. The name Christ was not a last name like Polk, Smith, or Johnson. Rather, it was a title Jesus held, and it identified him as the appointed messiah for whom the Jews had been waiting for centuries. In fact, the word Christos is the Greek form of the Hebrew word for the Messiah, and it literally means, "anointed one. We affirm in the Apostles' Creed our conviction that Jesus is the Christ, the anointed one of God. Jesus is the prophet Moses predicted would come to speak God’s word. Jesus is the priest who served as the sacrificial Lamb of God who came to take away the sins of the world. Jesus is the king whose reign will never end. All this is wrapped in the title Christ.

I believe that Jesus is God's Only Son.

Peter’s bold confession in Matthew 16 also claims that Jesus was not only the Christ, but also the Son of the living God. On many occasions in Scripture Jesus is described as God's only begotten Son. The word that is translated begotten is the Greek word monogenas, which literally means "one of a kind." When we say that Jesus is the only begotten Son of God, we are not saying that he came from God, or that he was created by God. Rather, we are saying that Jesus is God! Jesus the Son is the same kind, the same nature, and the same essence as God the Father. This is the mystery of the Trinity: that there is one God, but he exists eternally in three persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

It is easy enough to find people today who believe that Jesus Christ was a figure of history, that he did a lot of good, and that he pointed people to God. It is harder to find people who truly affirm that Jesus was God himself. This may be the most radical affirmation of the entire Creed.

I believe that Jesus is Lord.

The word Lord speaks of Jesus’ sovereignty, his authority, and his majesty. If Jesus is indeed God in the flesh, He is the sovereign King of the universe, and all authority in heaven and on earth has been given unto him. The Bible says that one day every knee shall bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. In the Apostle’s Creed we affirm that Jesus is not just the Lord, but he is our Lord. It is that personal affirmation of faith that brings salvation to our souls. Jesus is the one we will follow. Jesus is the one we will obey. Jesus is the one who has the right to guide and direct our lives. Jesus is the Lord.

I believe that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. At least, that's what I say I believe. In a nutshell, the Apostle’s creed teaches that Jesus Christ was, and is, fully God and fully man. The doctrine of the virgin birth is what ties these two thoughts together.

The virgin birth was the way God chose to unite full humanity and full deity in one person. God could have sent Christ to us in other ways. Jesus could have simply descended from heaven to Bethlehem just as he actually ascended before the eyes of the disciples after his resurrection. In this way, Jesus could have come without the involvement of any earthly birth or parent. However, who among us would truly feel that Jesus was fully human, just as we are human? We might have respected him as a divine visitor from another realm, but few of us would actually believe he could relate to us in any meaningful way.

The virgin birth holds together the full deity of Jesus as God's only Son and the full humanity of Jesus Christ as a member of the human race. Because Jesus had an earthly mother, he is fully human. Because he was conceived of the Holy Spirit, rather than any earthly father, he is fully God, and his deity is graciously manifested right from the moment of conception. The virgin birth allows for God and man to come together. It also makes it possible for Jesus to be fully human without the taint of inherited sin. Certainly the angel of the Lord rested the sinlessness of Jesus the Christ on the foundation of his virgin birth: "The angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God" Luke 1:35. In other words, the holiness of the child was due to the fact that the conception of the child was from the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit, in ways we can't fully understand or explain, both created that special life in Mary's womb and prevented any sinful traits of Mary herself being passed on to Jesus, as would normally be the case.

I believe that Jesus is fully God and fully man. I do believe that Jesus is the Christ, God’s Son, Lord of all, conceived by the Spirit, born to a virgin. All of this points to an inescapable conclusion: Jesus is fully God and fully man. Because Jesus is as fully human as he is divine, he is able to understand and sympathize with our weaknesses and temptations. Don't allow yourself to think of Jesus as just being God in human skin. That isn't even close to the reality of the incarnation.

The Bible constantly emphasizes this truth. Hebrews 2:17-18 says, "Therefore, he had to be made like his brethren in all things, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since he himself was tempted in that which he has suffered, he is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted." Hebrews 4:15-16 says, "For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need."

If I didn’t believe that Jesus is God, I couldn’t hold out any hope of salvation for anyone, including myself, because believing that Jesus is God tells me that God is the true author of "No child left behind." The life of Jesus says to me that God will go to any and all lengths to help us get it. But if Jesus is not God, then I have no indication that God will try to meet me or anybody where we are.

If Jesus was just a great teacher or even a mighty prophet, then we are all lost, because God is still far from us, and who knows whether what we do will be acceptable in God’s sight. But if Jesus is God, there is hope that God will communicate with me in a way that I can understand and will forgive me when I blow it.

If Jesus is not God, then statements like "I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father, but by me" make Jesus a blasphemer and those who follow him idolaters. If Jesus is God, however, he was making perfect sense, for God is the way, God is the truth, and that God is the life... and that the way to understanding that comes through recognizing t God did in Jesus.

"I believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary." Here is laid down for us the full humanity of Jesus, the Messianic mission of Jesus, the full divinity of Jesus, and the Lordship of Jesus. The core of Christian faith is not an abstract set of ideas or beliefs, but a person. Jesus Christ, Lord and Savior, is the reason we are here today, and he should be the focus of everything we do.