Subject 12 : The Faith of the Apostles Creed
● God the Father
There are three confessions manifested in the Apostles’ faith.
The
first confession is that they believed in God the Father Almighty, the
Creator of the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1); secondly, they
confessed that Jesus Christ the Son of God had given them the remission
of their sins; and the third confession is that they believed that Jesus
Christ was conceived of the Holy Spirit. We must also confess that we
believe in God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, for we must
have the same faith as the Apostles.
For
us, the Father is God, just as the Son and the Holy Spirit are also
God. Insofar as the essence of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit
is concerned, they are all the same God, as our faith in them is the
same faith. For instance, because the Father is the Almighty God, the
Son is also the Almighty God. The three Persons of the Holy Trinity, in
other words, are in their essence the same God. We thus believe
accordingly, that the three Persons of the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit are fundamentally and completely one. As such, in order for us
to build the foundation of our faith in the Word of God, we must be
anchored in this Word of truth.
Scriptural Evidence
1. From the Old Testament
(1)
First of all, the Old Testament clearly shows that God is one: “Hear, O
Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one!” (Deuteronomy 6:4).
(2)
At the same time, however, the Old Testament also tells us unmistakably
that God exists in several persons: “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in
Our image, according to Our likeness…” (Genesis 1:26); “‘Come, let Us
go down there and confuse their language, that they may not understand
one another’s speech’” (Genesis 11:7). From these passages we can see
and believe that God exists not in single person but in multiple
persons.
2. From the New Testament
The
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are God to us. But God exists in
three independent persons. This truth is revealed in unequivocal terms
also in the New Testament.
(1)
That the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit exist as separate persons
is clearly evidenced by the account of Jesus’ baptism that marked the
beginning of His ministry: “When He had been baptized, Jesus came up
immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him,
and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting upon
Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘This is My beloved
Son, in whom I am well pleased’” (Matthew 3:16-17).
This
passage describes the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist, when the
Triune God is revealed. From this passage we know that Jesus is the Son
of God, that the Holy Spirit works with Him, and that the Father
declared Him to be “His beloved Son, in whom He is well pleased.”
Through these manifestations the Triune God is revealed. Jesus could
fulfill all the righteousness of God because He took all the sins of
mankind with His baptism received from John. This is why He had to die
on the Cross for us, and this is “the righteousness of God” that the
Father fulfilled through His Son. That Jesus took all our sins on Him by
His righteous act of baptism is the very righteousness of God, and this
truth is affirmed by both the Father and the Holy Spirit. Thus, the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit exist as separate persons, but are
the same God for us.
(2)
Matthew 28:19 also reveals that the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit are one God, as Jesus commanded His disciples to “make disciples
of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Spirit”—that is, in names of the three separate
persons of the Trinity.
The
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are each an independent person,
but at the same time they are the same in that they all are the same
God. As such, when we believe in God, we believe in one God as the
united entity of the three persons.
God
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit as professed by the Christian
faith is the self-existing God, different from all other deities. Some
other religions believe that Jesus is only one of the many prophets, but
this is simply not true.
For
us, God is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Despite the fact
that this truth is readily and sufficiently attested by the Scriptures,
there are many who do not realize this. This is so because those who do
not know the gospel of the water and the Spirit approach the concept of
Holy Trinity with their human rationality and logic, which makes them
impossible to understand. Those who are not born again cannot understand
the Triune God. But for those of us who are born again, God the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Spirit is our one God, in whom we place our
absolute faith.
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