The Apostles' Creed

Article I Article II Article III
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only son our Lord,
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
and born of the virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended into hell.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the
right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
What does this mean?
[Robert E. Smith translation, 1994] I believe that I cannot come to my Lord Jesus Christ by my own intelligence or power. But the Holy Spirit called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with her gifts, made me holy and kept me in the true faith, just as she calls, gathers together, enlightens and makes holy the whole Church on earth and keeps it with Jesus in the one, true faith. In this Church, she generously forgives each day every sin committed by me and by every believer. On the last day, she will raise me and all the dead from the grave. She will give eternal life to me and to all who believe in Christ. Yes, this is true!

On Becoming Holy (Sanctification) I cannot come to my Lord Jesus Christ by my own intelligence or power.  The  spirituality popular even among Christians does not believe that statement.  Surely there must be something I must do!   the believer complains. But no, there is nothing we do. Even our faith is a gift of divine grace. I do not make a choice to believe in Jesus. I find myself believing in Jesus. I discover that I have this faith. There is no explanation, nothing about me or you or anyone else that makes us worthy to receive this gift. 

What this view of faith does is get us off the hook of worrying about our spiritual status. We can begin to enjoy living the faith as a gift. No bragging rights, either! Just pure amazement (Amazing Grace!) that I, you, believe!  This all the work of the Spirit.

Prayer

Holy Spirit, we honor your life in us and among us. You even pray for us as we try to find words to express our need and our gratitude.  For this we thank you, as our poor lives, like sighs, ascend to the throne of God, by your grace and favor. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Commentary by Pastor David G. Mullen
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