Essay 82 (7-16-05)

THE APOSTLES' CREED AS COMMON GROUND (5)

We noted at the outset of this series that this Creed is an expansion of Christ’s charge to his apostles in Mt. 28:19, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." This is the threefold framework of the Creed – Father, Son, Holy Spirit. Then there are attending doctrines growing out of these.

The Creed refrains from theorizing or theologizing. It doesn’t even use the term Trinity. It simply states facts– what God has said or done. My thesis is that herein is our common ground – the basic truths of the Christian faith.

In my comments I am enlarging upon what the Creed actually says, in view of better understanding our faith and to confront problems that arise. But my theology of the Creed is only suggestive, and is only my opinion or interpretation. It is the core gospel upon which we unite. We allow for differences in opinions. This distinction gave rise to a meaningful slogan in our Stone-Campbell heritage: "In essentials, unity; in opinions, liberty; in all things, love." In view of what we say in this essay, it could read: "In things catholic, unity; in particulars, liberty; in all things, love."

In this installment we move on to the third part of the Trinity, and then begin to look at the attending propositions.

We believe in the Holy Ghost

It might better read, "We believe in the Holy Spirit," as nearly all modern translations of the Bible recognize. But when we ask just what the ancient church meant by this, the answer is challenging. The Holy Spirit has had a vast and sundry ministry throughout the history of redemption, in the Old and New Testament alike. And to this day there are countless theories as to what the Spirit does and how he does it. It runs all the way from a quiet Quaker service where the Spirit "moves" in an unobtrusive way to a boisterous charismatic service where the Spirit inspires not only dancing and shouting, but tongue-speaking and miracles.

Some are very vocal about the "leading" of the Spirit and the "baptism" of the Spirit, while others are suspicious of such emphasis. Some converse with the Spirit directly, while others listen to the Spirit only through Scripture.

But they all have common ground. They all believe in the Holy Spirit, and this is what the ancient church and Holy Scripture bequeaths to us. We can differ, and do so graciously, on the particulars. The quiet Quaker and the excited charismatic can be one in Christ as well as if both were quiet or both were excited. According to l Cor. 12:11 the Spirit allows for such diversity in the body of Christ.

There is one thing in particular that the church has always believed about the Holy Spirit – the Holy Spirit is the Comforter that came to be with the church, and to guide, teach and comfort the church once Jesus ascended into heaven. It was the clear promise of Jesus: "I will not leave you as orphans, but I will come to you" (John 14:18). He was speaking of the Spirit, as when he said in verse 16, "I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever."

There are two Greek words for another, one meaning another of the same kind, and the other refers to another of a different kind. John has Jesus using the another of the same kind. – "another Helper" just like Jesus! This means that Jesus continues to be with his church in the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Another general agreement is that the Spirit’s mission is to conform the believer more and more into the image of Christ, as in 2 Cor. 3:18: "We all with unveiled face behold as in a mirror the glory of the Lord are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord." It is a thrilling promise. If the apostles were missionaries to the world to make disciples for Jesus, the Spirit is a missionary to the church to transform those disciples into the likeness of Christ.

This is the context for the fruit of the Spirit – love , joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Gal. 5:22-23). They spell Christlikeness. This is the ultimate purpose of God, both in spirit and in body. As Paul put it in 1 Cor. 15:49: "As we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the Man of heaven."

To be like Christ – now and forever – that is God’s purpose for us. And that is the mission of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Catholic Church

We would suppose the Apostles’ Creed would have included all four of the church’s essential marks – as the Nicene Creed had done before it – rather than just two: We believe in one, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. The church has always believed that it must have all four of these marks to be the true Church of Christ.

Inasmuch as Christ cannot be divided, his body the church cannot be divided. It is by its very nature one, and it cannot be other than one. Our own Thomas Campbell in his Declaration and Address, which is arguably the founding document of the Stone-Campbell Movement, captured this truth in a stunning and captivating sentence: "The Church of Christ upon earth is essentially, intentionally, and constitutionally one." The one body of Christ may have parties, sects, and factions imposed upon it, but the church remains one even as Christ is one.

The church’s unity may not be realized, but it is nonetheless real. This means that all of us – in however many sects – who are "in Christ" are one in Christ. Not because of the sects, but in spite of them. There is but one church, and all of us who are "the elect," are in that one church.

A few years ago when Elizabeth Achtemeier, a noted theologian, lectured at a Presbyterian church here in my home town of Denton, Texas I was there to hear her. An interesting exchange took place between us. In one of her lectures she said something like: "Well, after all, there’s only one church, and we’re all members of that one church." In a discussion session afterward I referred to what she had said, and then asked, "Here I am visiting from the Church of Christ, and you are a Presbyterian, are you saying that we are members of the same church?" She responded with an emphatic, "Yes, of course!" and then said something about denominations having nothing to do with it. The audience – mostly Presbyterian – got a bang out of that exchange, and I think they were surprised at what she said. There is only one church, and we are all members of that one church! Denominations? They don’t matter!

If one insists at this point that the denominations, therefore, ought not to exist, that would be right. And one day – in God’s tomorrow when the church’s oneness is more fully realized – there will be no denominations. That is where Prof. Achtemeier was going on that occasion.

In the meantime, one might be in a denomination – and faithfully serve God – and yet not approve of denominationalism. What matters is that one realizes the true nature of the church, and works and prays for the realization of its four essential marks of identity.

Just as the church is essentially one it is also essentially holy, even when it is not sinless. One who is yet far from perfect can still be holy. If not, then there would be no saints, which is what holiness means. Paul described the church at Corinth as "called to be saints" and as "sanctified in Christ Jesus." He even said to them, "Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you" (1 Cor. 3:16).

And yet that church had its failures, moral as well as doctrinal. It was holy, and its members were saints, not because it was without sin, but because of its relationship to Christ – not because it was perfect, but because the Holy Spirit dwelt in it.

The church is holy in that it is called out of the world to follow Christ. Despite its failures it is a community of saints that has a heart for God and a passion for Christlikeness.

That the church is catholic means that it cannot be parochial or sectarian. It isn’t provincial or racial. The church catholic is universal, not only in outreach but in its acceptance – receiving others on the same basis that Christ received it. It is not only color blind, but it has removed all social and economic barriers. Some in the Corinthian church had been covetous, drunkards, revilers, idolaters, homosexuals, and thieves, but they were washed and sanctified by the Spirit of God the same as the others (1 Cor. 6:10-11).

The church is apostolic in that it has a long history, tracing itself back to Christ and the apostles. Its basic doctrine – its core gospel is rooted in the teaching and preaching of the apostles. The church is apostolic when it is "built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone" (Eph. 2:20).

When the church is apostolic it doesn’t need gimmickry or "show place" edifices. Nor will it think in terms of what the people want as much as what they need. It has an ancient gospel to preach, that which was proclaimed by the apostles.

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