CREED

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CREED
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• I BELIEVE
• Faith is a free, responsible,
• non-transferable decision of the individual.
• I am an adopted child of God
• WE BELIEVE
• The choice for Faith must be passed on
• One Christian alone is no Christian
• We are the community of believers

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• I believe
• can be seen to mean,
• I join in that which
• we believe.
• This joining in the common faith is the
  confession of faith.
• It is the rock of our foundation.

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• Holy Scripture is the Original Record and Soul of
  the Proclamation of Faith
• Jude 3
• Ephesians 220

Encounter, communion, and friendship with GOD
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• The Old Testament brought no clear and distinct
  Revelation of the existence of a plurality of
  persons in God but rather provided hints to be
  fully realized in Jesus.
• Divine Plurals of Genesis and Isaiah
• Let us make man in our own image, in the
  likeness of ourselves (Gn. 126)
• See, the man has become like one of us (Gn.
  322)
• Come, let us go down and confuse their language
  (Gn. 117)
• Whom shall I send? Who will be our messenger?
  (Is. 68)

From Yahweh to God the Father, Son and Holy
Spirit
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• Just as the Old Testament speaks of Yahweh.
• The New Testament speaks to us of
• God, Jn. 11
• God the Father, Gal. 11
• The only-begotten Son of God, Jn. 316
• God the only-begotten Son,
• Jn. 118
• The Spirit of the Father,
• Jn. 1526
• The Spirit of the Son, Jn.167

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• The Churchs confession of faith is both a
  summary of the central content of the Holy
  Scriptures and their binding interpretation.
• The first
• profession of faith
• is made during Baptism.
• Since Baptism is given
• in the name of the Father and of the Son and of
  the Holy Spirit.

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Truth is Trinity St. Gregory of Nyssa,
(557) It is not possible to exchange money, to
buy bread or to go to the baths without getting
involved in discussions on the problem of whether
one can or cannot speak of generation in the
Trinity. The Trinity is the object par
excellence of a reflection that puts all the
resources of an historical and rational
investigation at the service of faith and
revelation.
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Truth is Trinity J. Danielou, S.J. (1968) I
maintain that I have the right to demand of any
atheist today not only that he believe in man,
not only that he believe in God, but that he
believe in the Trinity, because the trinity is
the truth. It is the absolute itself, the abyss
of being, the ultimate ground which is revealed
to us in Jesus Christ, so that on the day when
opacities are dispelled, the opacities that go
with this present existence, all without
exception, the Mohammeds, the Confuciuses, the
Karl Marxes, all whoever they may be, will be
confronted ultimately with the Trinity.
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Creed envisions not only a presence of the
indivisible Trinity in the totality of human
history, but an analysis of the manifestation of
the Trinity to the Church in the course of its
history and to the world through the history of
the Church. Such manifestation continues today
and will continue into the future until the
Trinitys perfect revelation at the time of its
Parousia. No Study Will Ever Exhaust the Object
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The reason for the Churchs existence, like that
of Jesus himself, is to announce the Three, to
become steeped in the Three, to consecrate the
ensemble of men and of human relations to the
Three and to their mutual relations. St.
Augustine, De Trinitate for the Son, to be sent
is to be known by his origin from the Father
for the Holy Spirit, to be sent is to be known
in his procession from the Father.
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• And so the Creed is divided into three parts
• The first divine Person and the wonderful work of
  creation
• The second divine Person and the mystery of his
  redemption of men
• The third divine Person
• the origin and source of our sanctification
• These are the three chapters of our Baptismal
  seal

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• There have been many creeds throughout the
  history of the church all expressing a response
  to the needs of a particular era but two occupy a
  special place in the churchs life
• THE APOSTLES CREED
• A faithful summary of the apostles faith, it is
  the most ancient symbol of the Church of Rome,
  the See of Peter.
• THE NICENE CREED
• Developed during the first two ecumenical
  councils (325 and 381), it remains common to all
  the great churches of both the East and the West
  even today.

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The First Divine Person

• We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker
  of heaven and earth,
• Genesis 1419
• of all that is seen and unseen.
• Colossians 116
• The other articles of the creed all depend on the
  first.
• The confession of Gods oneness, which has its
  roots in the divine revelation of the Old
  Covenant, is inseparable from the profession of
  Gods existence and is equally fundamental.
• God is unique there is only one God in nature,
  substance and essence.
• (Deut. 64-5)

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• It means coming to know Gods greatness and
  majesty
• It means living in thanksgiving
• It means knowing the unity and true dignity of
  all men
• It means making good use of created things
• It means trusting God in every circumstance, even
  in adversity

The importance of believing in one God
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The Second Divine Person

• We believe in one Lord Jesus Christ,
• the only Son of God,
• eternally begotten of the Father,
• Luke 135
• At the heart of the Christian faith we find a
  person Jesus of Nazareth, the one anointed to
  save.
• His is the divine name that alone brings
  salvation.
• We can cry out in his name because he united
  himself to us in his incarnation.
• The title Son of God signifies the unique
  relationship of Jesus Christ to God his Father
• he is the only Son of the Father he is God
  himself.
• To be a Christian, one must believe that Jesus
  Christ is the Son of God.

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The Second Divine Person

• God from God, Light from Light, true God from
  true God, begotten not made, one in Being with
  the Father.
• Hebrew 13
• Jesus Christ is true God and true man, in the
  unity of his divine person
• for this reason he is the one and only mediator
  between God and men
• Jesus Christ possesses two natures,
• one divine and the other human,
• not confused but united in the one person of
  Gods Son.
• Christ, being true God and true man, has a human
  intellect and will, perfectly attuned and subject
  to his divine intellect and will, which he has in
  common with the Father and Holy Spirit.

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The Second Divine Person

• Through him all things were made.
• John 11-4
• For us men and our salvation he came down from
  heaven
• John 313
• Christ then was, is and will be with the Father
  from all eternity and for all creation.
• Jesus knew and loved us each and all during his
  life, his agony, and his Passion and gave himself
  for each one of us.
• He has loved us all with a human heart.
• For that reason the Sacred Heart of Jesus pierced
  by our sins and for our salvation is the chief
  sign and symbol of eternal love.

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The Second Divine Person

• by the power of the Holy Spirit he was born of
  the Virgin Mary,
• and became man.
• Matthew 118
• Mary is truly Mother of God since she is the
  mother of the eternal Son of God made man, who is
  God himself
• Mary is ever virgin through her conceiving,
  giving birth, her nursing of Jesus at her breast,
  always a virgin
• Mary cooperated through free faith and obedience
  in human salvation.
• Her yes guaranteed fullness of grace and her
  conception without the stain of original sin, the
  Immaculate conception.
• The mission of the Holy Spirit is always
  conjoined and ordered to the Sons.

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The Second Divine Person

• For our sake He was crucified under Pontius
  Pilot
• John 1916
• he suffered died and was buried.
• On the third day he rose again in fulfillment of
  the scriptures
• I Corinthians 153-4
• Jesus freely offered himself for our salvation.
• Beforehand, during the Last supper, he both
  symbolized this offering and made it really
  present This is my body which is given for you
• By his loving obedience to the father unto death
  even death on a cross, Jesus fulfills the atoning
  mission of the suffering Servant, who will make
  many righteous and he shall bear their
  iniquities.

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The Second Divine Person

• He ascended into heaven
• Luke 2451
• and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
• Colossians 31
• Faith in the Resurrection has as its object an
  event which is historically attested to by the
  disciples, who really encountered the Risen One.
• Christs ascension marks the entrance of Jesus
  humanity into Gods heavenly domain
• So that we the members of his body, may live in
  the hope of one day being with him forever.

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The Second Divine Person

• He will come again in glory to judge the living
  and the dead,
• 2 Timothy 41
• and his kingdom will have no end.
• Luke 133
• On judgement day at the end of the world, Christ
  will come in glory to achieve the definitive
  triumph of good over evil which, like the wheat
  and the tares, have grown up together in the
  course of history.
• When he comes he will judge the secret
  disposition of hearts and will render judgement
  as each of us deserve.

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The Third Divine Person

• We believe in the Holy Spirit,
• the Lord, the giver of life,
• Acts 217
• who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
• With the Father and Son he is worshipped and
  glorified.
• John 1416
• From the beginning to the end of time, whenever
  God sends his Son, he always sends his Spirit
• Their mission is conjoined and inseparable.

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The Third Divine Person

• He has spoken through the prophets.
• I Peter 110-11
• Theophanies (manifestations of God) light up the
  way of the promise, from the patriarchs through
  Moses and from Joshua through the missions of the
  great prophets.
• John the great precursor was filled with the Holy
  Spirit even from his mothers womb.
• The Holy Spirit prepared Mary by his grace to
  become the greatest and for all time most blessed
  mother of the living.
• The Holy Spirit, whom Christ the head pours out
  on his members, builds, animates,and sanctifies
  the Church.
• She (the Church) is the sacrament of the Holy
  Trinitys communion with men.

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• We believe in the one holy catholic and apostolic
  Church.
• Romans 125
• We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of
  sins.
• Acts 238
• The Church is both the means and the goal of
  Gods plan
• prefigured in creation,
• prepared for in the Old Covenant,
• founded by the words and actions of Jesus Christ,
  
• fulfilled by his redeeming cross and his
  Resurrection,
• The Church has been manifested as the mystery of
  salvation by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
• She will be perfected in the glory of heaven at
  the assembly of all the redeemed of the earth.
  (Rev 144)

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• We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the
  life of the world to come.
• Romans 65
• The holy Roman Church firmly believes and
  confesses that on the Day of Judgement all men
  will appear in their own bodies before Christs
  tribunal to render an account of their own
  deeds.
• At the end of time, the Kingdom of God will come
  in its fullness. Then the just will reign with
  Christ forever, glorified in body and soul, and
  the material universe itself will be transformed.
• God will then be
• all in all
• (1 Cor 1528),
• in eternal life.

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The Nicene Constantinopolitan Creed We believe
in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven
and earth, (Genesis 1419) of all that is seen
and unseen. (Colossians 116) We believe in one
Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally
begotten of the Father, (Luke 135) God from
God, Light from Light, true God from true God,
begotten not made, one in Being with the Father.
(Hebrews 13) Through him all things were made.
(John 11-4) For us men and for our salvation he
came down from heaven (John 313) by the power
of the Holy Spirit he was born of the Virgin
Mary, and became man. (Matthew 118) For our sake
he was crucified under Pontius Pilate (John
1916) he suffered, died and was buried. On the
third day he rose again in fulfillment of the
Scriptures (I Corinthians 153-4) he ascended
into heaven (Luke 2451) and is seated at the
right hand of the Father. (Colossians 31) He
will come again in glory top judge the living and
the dead, (2 Timothy 41) and his kingdom will
have no end. (Luke 133) We believe in the Holy
Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, (Acts
217) who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and
glorified. (John 1416) He has spoken through the
Prophets. (I Peter 110-11) We believe in the one
holy catholic and apostolic Church. (Romans
125) We acknowledge one baptism for the
forgiveness of sins. (Acts 238) We look for the
resurrection of the dead, and the life of the
world to come. (Romans 65)