Download discussion questions: 1 John 2:18-3:3
Download a copy of the Apostles’ Creed
A four-week study of the Apostles’ Creed will of necessity be a cursory overview.[1] Cursory does not mean superficial. The goal is to use Scripture as our foundation and starting point. We want to examine each section of the Creed (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) in light of Biblical teaching: Does the Bible really say that? Does the Creed provide an accurate (if not exhaustive) description of our faith? Are there topics not in the Creed that are essential to saving faith? Are there parts of the Creed that are not necessary?
A previous study of the Apostles’ Creed looked at one phrase at a time, and a relevant passage of Scripture was used each week as a starting point. Most books on the suggested reading list provide a variety of proof-texts. This method offers a broad view of the Bible’s teaching on each topic. However, it loses the benefit of an inductive study of a longer passage. Looking at longer passages inductively may not exhaustively explain every aspect of the statement in the Creed. Since Scripture is our focus, we will use the methodical, inductive approach.
Misunderstanding God
The Calvary Institute study for January 2018 in the book of 1 John leads us very naturally into an examination of the Apostles’ Creed. John warned his readers about antichrists and liars and deceivers (1 John 2:18-3:3). We began our discussion with the questions, “How do people tend to misunderstand God? What do people often get wrong about Jesus?
- “God is love” becomes His only characteristic, ignoring justice and righteousness, etc.[2]
- The God of the Old Testament is set at odds with Jesus, the “angry God” versus the “loving Jesus.”
- God created Jesus.
- God chose Jesus as a prophet, and He eventually elevated the man to divinity.
- There are three Gods in the Bible – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
- There is one God with three modes or masks – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
- God is important; Jesus is optional (one of many paths)
- God sent Jesus as a spirit who looked like a man.
- Jesus was a good man who was persecuted and died.
- Jesus was a good man who was persecuted but didn’t actually die on the cross.
Some of these distortions are recognizable in popular thinking today. Some characterize current religious cults. Some were prevalent in the early centuries of the church. Many overlap various periods of history. The passage in John’s letter was probably addressing the misunderstandings or misrepresentations that were plaguing the church near the end of the first century.
John on the Father and the Son
Our group noted the repeated references to the Father and the Son (as we had seen in earlier parts of the letter). One person pointed out that most of the occurrences in this passage referred to the Son first and then the Father (v. 23 twice, v. 24). The exception is in verse 22, where denying Jesus is the Christ is equivalent to denying both “the Father and the Son.” Another member mentioned that even in that verse, Jesus the Son is seen as “the key to the Father.” John was strongly affirming Jesus as the exclusive One to follow, and the reason to follow Him was to know the Father. (Remember John’s opening paragraph in this letter. His intention was to promote “fellowship with the Father and with His Son” that leads to “complete joy.” – 1 John 1:3-4).
If Jesus is the key to the Father, then it would seem important to know as much as we can about each one of the two Persons. We discussed some of the “he” and “him” pronouns in the passage, trying to determine from the context which Person John meant. “He Himself” (v. 25) would seem to be the Son who made promises about eternal life during His earthly ministry. Likewise, the pronouns at the end of verse 27 and verse 28 about remaining in Him and about His coming and “His” appearing (3:2-3) sound like clear references to the Son. However, “the anointing you received from Him” and “His anointing” in verse 27 might be either the Father or the Son. (How this “anointing” might, or might not, relate to the Holy Spirit is considered below.) If the anointing is from “the Holy One,” it might suggest the Father. God is frequently called “the Holy One of Israel” over thirty times [3]in the Jewish Scriptures (Psalm 71:22, Isaiah 1:4, etc.)
Making Distinctions
Someone in our group raised the question, “Is it important to make distinctions? Does it matter if John (or other New Testament writers) meant the Father or the Son?” There’s nothing like a good question to stimulate more thought and discussion.
On the one hand, perhaps the distinctions might not be crucial. If the Son and the Father, Jesus and God, are both divine, then does it matter who the anointing comes from, or which Person made the promises, or who we are to remain in?
On the other hand, John, like Paul, frequently makes intentional distinctions between the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Those Biblical distinctions are indeed important if we want to know the Triune God of the universe as deeply and intimately as possible. I enjoy the fellowship and dynamics of small groups I am in, but I also want to know each person in the group individually. With the true Biblical distinctions, we can know God more intimately as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Even from this brief passage in 1 John, we see the distinction that Jesus is the key to knowing the Father. Trying to know the Father apart from the Son is ineffective. Trying to know the Son without seeing how He continually points to the Father is incomplete. “It is precisely when we do focus on the simple facts of Jesus that we find ourselves drawn into the theological grappling which keeps ending up at the doctrine of the Trinity.”[4]
John had very clear statements about the Father and about the Son. However, up to this point in his letter he had not even used the word “spirit” (pneuma, πνεῦμα), much less any mention of the Holy Spirit. The hints about “anointing” might be John’s early clues about the third Person of the Holy Trinity. Remember, the main issues confronting churches in the first century (and too many churches today) were about the Person and nature of Christ. Was Jesus a man? Was He God? Was He a god? I suspect John was keeping his focus on the main issue of the moment. Later chapters in 1 John mention the Spirit more explicitly. For now, our discussion centered on John’s mention of “anointing” three times (v. 20 and twice in v. 27, the only occurrences in his letter).
The Anointing
Because of our limited discussion time (always a challenge), we were able to explore John’s description of the anointing. However, if John’s original readers were familiar with his Gospel, those hints may have reminded them of things Jesus had to say:
- And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever. He is the Spirit of truth. The world is unable to receive Him because it doesn’t see Him or know Him. But you do know Him, because He remains with you and will be in you. John 14:16-17
- But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you. John 14:26
- When the Counselor comes, the one I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father—He will testify about me. John 15:26
- Nevertheless, I am telling you the truth. It is for your benefit that I go away, because if I don’t go away the Counselor will not come to you. If I go, I will send Him to you. John 16:7
John’s words about the “anointing” teaching truth and remaining in them (1 John 2:20, 27) sound like specific reminders from Jesus’ teaching about the Holy Spirit. Even before the church ever used the word “Trinity,”[5] John was following the teaching of Jesus and clarifying the distinct personal attributes of the different Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. For example, Jesus said that He was sending the Spirit from the Father, or that the Father was sending the Spirit in His (Jesus’) name. That distinction is found consistently in the New Testament. In the ancient church the role of the Holy Spirit was included: “activity was from the Father, through the Son and in the Holy Spirit, in respect of God-manward relations; and in the Spirit, through the Son and to the Father, in respect of man-Godward relations.”[6]
The Creed
John’s letter warned his original readers, and our culture makes it clear to us today that antichrists, liars, and deceivers are a serious concern. The church continued to wrestle with doctrinal deviations after John wrote. As early as the mid-second century[7] Christian leaders were formulating what became the Apostles’ Creed. J. I. Packer describes the Creed as “a power-point declaration of the basics of the Christian message – in other words, of the gospel itself.”[8]
The following outline is a brief summary of the introduction to the Creed used in our discussion group. For more detail, see “Christian Creeds – A Brief Introduction.” Also, a question came up during our discussion about the phrase “holy catholic church” in the Creed. J. I. Packer has an excellent, brief comment about what these words mean (and what they do not mean) and the value of the phrase. See the blog entry from March 6, 2017 on “…the holy catholic church, the communion of the saints.”
A Framework for the Faith – An Outline of Orthodoxy
The cover of Christianity Today magazine, October 2015 issue, used a wonderful illustration. The theme of the issue was “How to Define Heresy.” That text was superimposed over a box. Within the boundaries of the box the letters were highlighted, “How to deFINE HEREsy.” The highlighted “FINE HERE” was inside the boundaries, and the background within the boundaries was the text of the Nicene Creed. What a great illustration! The creeds provide boundaries so we can know when we are at the edge of orthodoxy, to avoid going “too far.”
A Summary for the Faith – An Overview Map
“If life is a journey, then the million-word-long Holy Bible is the large-scale map, and the hundred-word Apostles’ Creed…is the simplified road map ignoring much but enabling you to see at a glance the main points of Christian belief.”[9]
For Sharing the Faith – Avoid a Truncated Gospel
In modern evangelism, “the question being explored was: how little do we need to tell people for them to become Christians? Was this a good question to work with?”[10]
Perspective on the Faith – A Link to the Ancient Church
“By studying [the Creed] you are reminding yourself of the many men and women who have used it before you. It gives you a sense of history and perspective. Think of how many others have found in the Apostles’ Creed a statement of their personal faith. You share that faith, and you can share the same words that they have used to express it.”[11]
Living the Faith – Saturate our thinking with God
Augustine “prescribed that the Apostles’ Creed should be recited several times a day, comparably to how the Jewish people cite the Shema from Deuteronomy 6:4-9 in the course of their daily business.”[12]
“This faith, as expressed in the Apostles’ Creed, is no list of stale facts. It tells a story about God, about Jesus, about us, and about the world to come. The challenge for us is to make sure that it is this story, this faith, and not something else, that shapes us and molds us into the God-lovers, the Christ-followers, and the Spirit-possessors that God chose us to be.”[13]
Alternatives?
Finally, one other question raised concerned the distinctiveness of the Apostles’ Creed: Does using or accepting the Apostles’ Creed mean we believe all other statements of faith are wrong or useless? Why use the Apostles’ Creed (or the Nicene Creed which will come into our discussions in the coming weeks)?
The Apostles’ Creed is particularly valuable for at least two reasons: its antiquity and its focus.
The Apostles’ Creed goes back to the early days of the ancient church, perhaps even to a time when followers of the original disciples were still living. More than most other statements or creeds, these words connect us with the blessed cloud of witnesses that have gone before us.
The Apostles’ Creed concentrates on the essence of the faith (remember Packer’s “power-point” picture, the bullet points of belief). Many other statements or confessions include the basics of the Creed along with particular denominational distinctives. Details about the sacraments or ordinances or particular doctrinal issues may be helpful to define a religious group and set them apart. The Apostles’ Creed unites orthodox Christians in spite of legitimate differences. Those other statements are valuable in further defining and delineating wider theological issues. The Apostles’ Creed helps us see that those differences are subordinate to our common faith in the Triune God and what the Father has done for us through the Son by the Spirit.
[1] In a previous study of the Apostles’ Creed in a discussion group, we spent thirteen weeks looking at one phrase at a time. The current study is in the Calvary Institute format at Calvary Restoration Church, a four-week unit.
[2] As C.S. Lewis (and others) pointed out, the truth “God is love” is often distorted to “love is God… and insinuates that any action which is sincerely done ‘for love’s sake’ is thereby lawful and even meritorious.” That unfortunate line of thinking is used frequently in our culture to justify a variety of clearly un-Biblical attitudes and practices. – The Four Loves (New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012), 7; Kindle Edition location 88.
[3] https://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?quicksearch=holy+one+of+israel&qs_version=NASB&limit=500 accessed February 5, 2018.
[4] Darrell W. Johnson, Experiencing the Trinity (Vancouver, British Columbia: Regent College Publishing, 2002), 14.
[5] Probably by Tertullian in the early third century;
https://bible.org/question/where-did-word-%E2%80%9Ctrinity%E2%80%9D-originate accessed February 5, 2018.
[6] Thomas F. Torrance, The Trinitarian Faith: The Evangelical Theology of the Ancient Catholic Church (London: T&T Clark Cornerstones, 1988) Kindle Electronic Edition: Location 656.
[7] Justo L. Gonzalez, The Apostles’ Creed for Today (Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2007), 3.
[8] J. I. Packer, Affirming the Apostles’ Creed (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books, 2008), 15.
[9] J. I. Packer, Affirming the Apostles’ Creed (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books, 2008), 11.
[10] J. I. Packer, Affirming the Apostles’ Creed (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books, 2008), 16.
[11] Alistair McGrath, “I Believe” – Exploring the Apostles’ Creed (Downers Grove, Illinois: IVP Books, 1997), 16.
[12] Michael F. Bird, What Christians Ought to Believe (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2016), 40.
[13] Michael F. Bird, What Christians Ought to Believe (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2016), 55; Kindle edition location 841.