Creed
The following E-sermon was taken from the message entitled, "Creed" presented on Sunday, February 11, 2007 by Pastor Bryan Pugner.
Do you know what you Believe? Many of us know what the Apostles Creed is and can recite it, but do we truly know the meaning. The next few weeks we will study the CREED and look at its meaning.
What is a creed?
A creed is a confession, a declaration, an affirmation. It is the summary of the major teachings of the Bible into a personal statement of beliefs and convictions.Where does the Creed come from?
Paul penned one of the first models of an early creed. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians:
For us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.
Of all the Creeds, the Apostle's Creed is the most widely used summary of Christianity the church has ever composed. It is simple, brief, teachable, historically rooted, practical, and most importantly theologically sound. Parts of the Apostle's Creed is found as early as 115 AD.
Today, we are going to focus on the following portion of the Creed:
I Believe in God the Father Almighty,
Maker of Heaven and Earth
"I"- From the first word, a creed is suppose to be personal, it is the declaration of a persons individual faith.
"I Believe"- the emphasis is put on belief, but it requires more than that! There are two parts of believing, Knowing and Trusting. In other words, if I truly believe something, it will affect my behavior.
"I Believe in God"- This does not just declare his existence but also that He is the One! The One and only true God. This statement also invites the mystery of the supernatural. It declares that there will be something that we will not understand.
"I Believe In God the Father"- The supreme name of God is "father". This concept of "father" is unique to Christianity. God is our father! He brought us into existence, we were created by Him, to be His children and join in His rich heritage.
"Maker of Heaven and Earth"- God is the creator!
"In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth!"
Four Common Positions Concerning Creation:
- Naturalistic Evolution – Nothing spiritual or supernatural.
- Fiat {FEAT} Creation – God was directly involved in Creation.
- Theistic Evolution – God created matter and then used that matter to create man.
- Progressive Creationism
Random atoms in perfect motion.
He did not use previously existing evidence.
He did not modify existing species.
This view would see God as creating everything in one calendar week.
Major conflict within the scientific community.
In other words, God created dust (loose sense of the word) then formed man through that dust by evolutions.
God created Adam's spiritual nature but his physical nature was a product of the process of evolution.
God made the first kind and then various species evolved.
God must be our creator. If life is by chance then His image placed within us is diminished. But what about science? I believe that as science evolves, it will line up more and more with the Biblical account.
Created in His Image
God created all of us and His image is in each one of us. No matter what nationality, race, social or economic status, Christian or Non-Christian, we all bear Christ's image. It is not greater or lesser in any of us! You can not get more or less of it here on Earth. It's just there. Our role is to be open to building a closer relationship with God by living in closer harmony to His design for us!
This is why sin is so serious! When we sin, we use His gifts, His power, His abilities, and His image to do things that are hurtful to Him - Our Maker. With this in mind, let us live our lives in worship to Him as we honor God the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth who stamped His image upon us!