141. 

We present two tables which show the gradual growth of the Apostles’ Creed, and its relation to the Ante-Nicene rules of faith and the Nicene Creed in its final form.

Comparative Table of the Apostles’ Creed

Showing the Different Stages of Its Growth to Its Present Form. The Additions Are Shown in Brackets.

Formula Marcelli Ancryani About a.d. 340 Formula Roma From the 3rd or 4th Century Formula Aquileiensis From Rufinus Formula Recepta Since the 6th or 7th Century (Later additions in brackets) The Received Text   

Πιστεύω εἰς θεὸν πάντακράτορα Credo in Deum Patrem omnipotentem. Credo in Deo Patre omnipotente [invisibili et impassibili]. Credo in Deum Patrem Omnipotentem, [Creatorem coeli et terrae]. I believe in God the Father Almighty, [Maker of heaven and earth]   

καὶ εἰς χριστὸν Ἰησοῦν, τὸν υἰὸν αὐτοῦ τὸν μονογενῆ, τὸν κύριον ἡμῶν, Et in Christum Jesum, Filium ejus unicum, Dominum nostrum Et in Christo Jesu, unico filio ejus, Domino nostro; Et in Jesum Christum, Filium ejus unicum, Dominum nostrum; And in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord;   

τὸν γεννηθέντα ἐκ Πνεύματος ἁγίου καὶ Μαρίας τῆς παρθένου, qui natus est de Spiritu Sancto et Maria Virgina qui natus est de Spiritu Sancto ex Maria Virgine; qui [conceptus] est de Spiritu Sancto, natus ex Maria Virgine; who was [conceived] by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary;   

τὸν ἐπί Ποντίου Πιλάτου σταυρωθέντα καὶ ταφέντα cruicifixus est sub Pontio Pilato, et seultus; crucifixus sub Pontio Pilato, et sepultus [descendit ad inferna] [passus] sub Pontio Pilate, [suffered] under Pontius Pilate,   

καί τῇ τρίτῃ ἡμέρᾳ ἀναστάντα ἐκ τῶν νεκρῶν, tertia die resurrexit a mortuis; tertia die resurrexit a mortuis; crucifixus, [mortuus], et sepultus; [descendit ad inferna] was crucified, [dead], and buried. [He descended into Hades];   

ἀναβάντα εἰς τοὺς οὐρανούς ascendit in coelus ascendit in coelos; tertia die resurrexit a mortuis the third day He rose from the dead   

καί καθήμενον ἐν δεξιᾷ τοῦ πατρός, sedet ad dexteran Patris sedet ad dexteram Patris; ascendit ad coelos He ascended into heaven;   

ὅθεν ἔρχεται κρίνειν ζῶντας καὶ νεκρούς inde venturus judicare vivos et mortuos. inde venturus est judicare vivos et mortuos. sedet ad dexteram Dei Patris [omni-potentis] and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father [Almighty];   

καὶ εἰς Ἅγιον Πνεῦμα Et in Spiritum Sanctum; Et in Spiritu Sancto. inde venturus judicare vivos et mortuos. from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead.   

ἁγίαν ἐκκλησίαν Sanctam Ecclesiam; Sanctam Ecclesiam; [Credo] in Spiritum Sanctum; Sanctam Ecclesiam [catholicam], [Sanctorum communionem]; [I believe] in the Holy Ghost; the holy [catholic] church, [the communion of saints];   

ἄφεσιν ἁμαρτιῶν remssionem peccatorum remissionem peccatorum; remissionem peccatorum; the forgiveness of sins;   

σαρκὸς ἀνάστασιν [ζωήν αἰώνιον] carnis resurrec-tionem. [hujus] carnis resurrec- tionem. carnis resurrec-tionem; [vitam aeternam. Amen]. the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting Amen.  

Comparative Table of the Ante-Nicene Rules of Faith

As Related to the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed.

The Apostles Creed (Rome.) About a.d. 340 Later addition in italics. Iranaeus (Gaul) a.d. 170. Tertullian (North Africa.) a.d. 200. Cyprian (Carthage) a.d. 250 Novatian (Rome) a.d. 250 Origen (Alexandria) a.d. 230   

I believe We believe We believe I believe We believe [We believe in]   

1. In God the Father Almighty Maker of heaven and earth; 1…. in One God The Father Almighty, who made heaven and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is; 1 … in One God, the Creator of the world, who Produced all out of nothing .. 1. in God the Father; 1. in God the Father and Almighty Lord; One God, who created and framed every thing… Who in the last days sent   

2. And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord 2. And in one Christ Jesus, the Son of God [our Lord] 2. And in the Word, his Son, Jesus Christ; 2. in his Son Christ; 2. in the son of God, Christ Jesus, our Lord God; 2. our Lord, Jesus Christ…born of the Father before all creation…   

3. Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost born of the Virgin Mary 3. Who became flesh [of the Virgin] for our salvation; 3. Who through the Spirit and power of God the Father descended into the Virgin Mary, was made flesh in her womb, and born of her; 3. born of the Virgin and the Holy Ghost… made incarnate while remaning God…   

4. suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; 4. and his suffering [under Pontius Pilate]; 4. Was fixed on the cross [under Pontius Pilate], was dead and buried; 4. suffered in truth, died;   

5. He descended into Hades;  the third day he rose from the dead; 5. and his rising from the dead; 5. rose again the third day; 5. rose from the dead;   

6. He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; 6. and his bodily assumption into heaven; 6. was taken into heaven and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father; 6. was taken up…   

7. from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. 7. and his coming from heaven in the glory of the Father to comprehend all things under one head, .. and to execute righteous judgment over all. 7. He will come to judge the quick and the dead.   

8. And I believe in The Holy Ghost; 8. And in the Holy Ghost .. 8. And in the Holy Ghost the Paraclete, the Sanctifier, sent by Christ from the Father. 8. in the Holy Ghost; 8. in the Holy Ghost (promised of old to the Church, and granted in the appointed and fitting time). 8. the Holy Ghost, united in honor and dignity with the Father and the Son.   

9. the holy catholic Church; the communion of saints;   

10. the forgiveness of sins; 10. I believe in the forgive-ness of sins,   

11. The resurrection of the body: 11. And that Christ shall come from heaven to raise all flesh … and to adjudge the impious and unjust … to eternal fire, 11. And that Christ will, afterthe restoration of the flesh, receive his saints   

12. And the life everlasting. 12. and to give to the just and holy immortality and eternal glory. 12. into the enjoyment of eternal life and the promises of heaven, and judge the wicked with eternal fire. 12. and eternal life through the holy Church  

The Apostle’s Creed Gregory (Neo-Caesarea) a.d. 270 Lucian (Antioch) a.d. 300 Eusebius (Caesarea, Pal.) a.d. 325 Cyril (Jerusalem) a.d. 350 Nicaeno-Constantinopolitan Creed a.d. 325 and 381   

I believe [We believe in] [We believe in] We believe We believe We [I] believe   

1. in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth; 1. One God the Father; 1. One God the Father Almighty Maker and Provider of all things; in One God the Father Almighty, Maker of all things visible and invisible; in One God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible; in One God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible;   

2. And in Jesus Christ, His only Sun, our Lord; 2. One Lord…God of God, the image and likeness of the Godhead,… the Wisdom and Power which produces all creation, the true Son of the true Father 2. And in one Lord Jesus Christ his Son, begotten of the father before all ages, God of God, Wisdom, Life, Light… And in one Lord Jesus Christ, The Word of God, God of God, Light of Light, Life of Life, the only-begotten Son, the first-born of every creature begotten of God the Father before all ages; by whom all things were made And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all ages; very God, by whom all things were made And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; [God of God], Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, beign od one substance with the Father (ὀμοούσιον τῷ Πατρί) by whom all things were made   

3. who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary; 3. who was born of a Virgin, according to the Scritures, and became man… 3. who for our salvation was made flesh and lived among men; 3. who was made flesh and became man; 3. For us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven. And was incarnate by the Holy Ghost and [of, ex] the Virgin Mary, and was made man;   

4. (suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; 4. who suffered for us; 4. who suffered; 4. was crucified and was buried; 4. He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered, and was buried;   

5. He descended into Hades; the third day be rose from the dead; 5. and rose for us on the third day; 5. and rose on the third day 5. rose on the third day; 5. and on the third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures   

6. He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father, Almighty; 6. And ascended into heaven and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father; 6. and ascended to the Father; 6. and ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father 6. and ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father   

7. from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. 8. One Holy Ghost,…the minister of sancitifcation, in whom is revealed God the Father, who is over all 7. And again is coming with glory and power , to judge the quick and the dead; 7. and will come again with glory to judge the quick and the dead. 7. and will come again in glory to judge the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end; 7. and he shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end   

8. And I believe in the Holy Ghost. things and through all things, and God the Son who is through all things — 8. And in the Holy Ghost, given for consolation and sanctification and 8. We believe also in the Holy Ghost 8. and in the Holy Ghost, the Advocate, who spake in the Prophets. 8. And [I believe] in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of life, who proceedeth from the Father [and the Son, Filioque], who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified, who spake through the Prophets   

9. the holy Catholic Church; the communion of saints; a perfect Trinity, not divided nor differing in glory, eternity and sovereignty… perfection to those who believe… 9. and in one baptism of repentance for the remission on sins; 9. And [I believe] in one holy Catholic and Apostolic Church;   

10. the forgiveness of sins; 10. and in one holy Catholic Church; 10. we [I] acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins;   

11. the resurrection of the body; 11. and in the resurrection of the flesh; 11. and we [I] look for the resurrection of the dead;   

12. and the life everlasting. 12. and in life everlasting (Ζωὴν αἰώνιον) 12. and the life of the world to come (ζωήν τοῦ μέλλοντος αἰῶνος)  

The words in italics in the last column are additions of the second ecumenical Council (381); words in brackets are Western changes.

142. God and the Creation

E. Wilh. Möller: Geschichte der Kosmologie in der griechischen Kirche bis auf Origenes. Halle, 1860. p. 112-188; 474-560. The greater part of this learned work is devoted to the cosmological theories of the Gnostics.

In exhibiting the several doctrines of the church, we must ever bear in mind that Christianity entered the world, not as a logical system but as a divine-human fact; and that the New Testament is not only a theological text-book for scholars but first and last a book of life for all believers. The doctrines of salvation, of course, lie in these facts of salvation, but in a concrete, living, ever fresh, and popular form. The logical, scientific development of those doctrines from the word of God and Christian experience is left to the theologians. Hence we must not be surprised to find in the period before us, even in the most eminent teachers, a very indefinite and defective knowledge, as yet, of important articles of faith, whose practical force those teachers felt in their own hearts and impressed on others, as earnestly as their most orthodox successors. The centre of Christianity is the divine-human person and the divine-human work of Christ. From that centre a change passed through the whole circle of existing religious ideas, in its first principles and its last results, confirming what was true in the earlier religion, and rejecting the false.

Almost all the creeds of the first centuries, especially the Apostles’ and the Nicene, begin with confession of faith in God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, of the visible and the invisible. With the defence of this fundamental doctrine laid down in the very first chapter of the Bible, Irenaeus opens his refutation of the Gnostic heresies. He would not have believed the Lord himself, if he had announced any other God than the Creator. He repudiates everything like an a priori construction of the idea of God, and bases his knowledge wholly on revelation and Christian experience.

We begin with the general idea of God, which lies at the bottom of all religion. This is refined, spiritualized, and invigorated by the manifestation in Christ. We perceive the advance particularly in Tertullian’s view of the irresistible leaning of the human soul towards God, and towards the only true God. “God will never be hidden,” says he, “God will never fail mankind; he will always be recognized, always perceived, and seen, when man wishes. God has made all that we are, and all in which we are, a witness of himself. Thus he proves himself God, and the one God, by his being known to all; since another must first be proved. The sense of God is the original dowry of the soul; the same, and no other, in Egypt, in Syria, and in Pontus; for the God of the Jews all souls call their God.” But nature also testifies of God. It is the work of his hand, and in itself good; not as the Gnostics taught, a product of matter, or of the devil, and intrinsically bad. Except as he reveals himself, God is, according to Irenaeus, absolutely hidden and incomprehensible. But in creation and redemption he has communicated himself, and can, therefore, not remain entirely concealed from any man.

Of the various arguments for the existence of God, we find in this period the beginnings of the cosmological and physico-theological methods. In the mode of conceiving the divine nature we observe this difference; while the Alexandrians try to avoid all anthropomorphic and anthropopathic notions, and insist on the immateriality and spirituality of God almost to abstraction, Tertullian ascribes to him even corporeality; though probably, as he considers the non-existent alone absolutely incorporeal, he intends by corporeality only to denote the substantiality and concrete personality of the Supreme Being.

The doctrine of the unity of God, as the eternal, almighty, omnipresent, just, and holy creator and upholder of all things, the Christian church inherited from Judaism, and vindicated against the absurd polytheism of the pagans, and particularly against the dualism of tile Gnostics, which supposed matter co-eternal with God, and attributed the creation of the world to the intermediate Demiurge. This dualism was only another form of polytheism, which excludes absoluteness, and with it all proper idea of God.

As to creation: Irenaeus and Tertullian most firmly rejected the hylozoic and demiurgic views of paganism and Gnosticism, and taught, according to the book of Genesis, that God made the world, including matter, not, of course, out of any material, but out of nothing or, to express it positively, out of his free, almighty will, by his word. (Gen. 1-2; Psa_33:9; Psa_148:5; Joh_1:3; Col_1:15; Heb_1:2; Heb_11:3; Rev_4:11). This free will of God, a will of love, is the supreme, absolutely unconditioned, and all-conditioning cause and final reason of all existence, precluding every idea of physical force or of emanation. Every creature, since it proceeds from the good and holy God, is in itself, as to its essence, good (Gen_1:31; Comp. Psa_104:24; 1Ti_4:4). Evil, therefore, is not an original and substantial. entity, but a corruption of nature, and hence can be destroyed by the power of redemption. Without a correct doctrine of creation there can be no true doctrine of redemption, as all the Gnostic systems show.

Origen’s view of an eternal creation is peculiar. His thought is not so much that of all endless succession of new worlds, as that of ever new metamorphoses of the original world, revealing from the beginning the almighty power, wisdom and goodness of God. With this is connected his Platonic view of the pre-existence of the soul. He starts from the idea of an intimate relationship between God and the world and represents the latter as a necessary revelation of the former. It would be impious and absurd to maintain that there was a time when God did not show forth his essential attributes which make up his very being. He was never idle or quiescent. God’s being is identical with his goodness and love, and his will is identical with his nature. He must create according to his nature, and he will create. Hence what is a necessity is at the same time a free act. Each world has a beginning, and an end which are comprehended in the divine Providence. But what was before the first world? Origen connects the idea of time with that of the world, but cannot get beyond the idea of an endless succession of time. God’s eternity is above time, and yet fills all time. Origen mediates the transition from God to the world by the eternal generation of the Logos who is the express image of the Father and through whom God creates first the spiritual and then the material world. And his generation is itself a continued process; God always (ἀεί) begets his Son, and never was without his Son as little as the Son is without the Father.