Ancient Paths Blog

From the Creed - Our Lord...

Lastly, in the opening line about Jesus the creed confesses that He is Lord - "and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord..."  This is an assertion that hardly needs verification from scripture, but let me quote Paul to the Philippians --

From the Creed - His Only Son...

When many people say, "Yeah, I believe in Jesus Christ" what they mean is they believe there was a man named Jesus, that He was a historical figure.  But Christians mean so much more than that when they say "I believe in Jesus Christ" and the creed explains why - because He is the Son of God!

More Meditations For Serving At the Lord's Table

Here are some more meditations I've used to direct the thoughts of God's people at the Lord's Table:

Bread, Wine, and the Obedience of Christ

In the Bible leaven or yeast is often a symbol for sin.  Thus unleavened bread alone was used in the ceremonies of the old testament, particularly Passover, from which the Lord's Supper comes.  Wine is often referred to as "the blood of the grape."  It's no surprise then that Jesus incorporates these things into a ritual to commemorate the redemption under the new covenant.

From the Creed - and in Jesus Christ...

Jesus, the Anointed One

Having emphasized the name of Jesus the creed calls Him the Christ, which, as I've mentioned earlier, is a title rather than a surname.

Alister McGrath points out the significance of this title:  "In calling Him 'the Christ,' the new testament writers are pointing to Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah." I Believe, p.38.

From the Creed - and in Jesus Christ...

Jesus, the Savior

Perhaps thankfully for most, the creed avoids the theological subtleties of the doctrine of Christ, steering a course instead for the more personal and Biblical emphases of His name and title, Jesus Christ.  Now, let's be clear on that last statement since many people hear the address "Jesus Christ" and take that as His full name - Jesus being His first name and Christ His last.  But this is not the case.  As I've just said, Christ is actually more of a title as in "Jesus, the Christ."

From the Creed - and in Jesus Christ

Jesus, the Person

All the theological wrangling of the early centuries of the Church begs the question - why was there so much ado about Christ?  Can't we just grant there are many things we don't understand and live with the ambiguity? 

Why I Think Tithing is for Christians

One of my least favorite areas of ministry is the business end - the forming of budgets and accounting for funds.  I'm just not a numbers guy.  I don't do spread sheets.  Don't ask me to balance anything.  Our pastoral staff is composed of generalists rather than specialists but one thing our church (wisely) never does is put me in charge of administration.  (Neither does my wife for that matter...).

From the Creed - and in Jesus Christ...

Jesus, the Doctrine

One reason why the creed devotes so much space to Jesus Christ is because of the controversy which surrounded the person of Jesus in the early Church.  In its first 500 years or so the Church wrestled with many deficient explanations of and beliefs about Christ.

When It's Ok Not To Enjoy Church

There's a prevailing - and I think unfounded - assumption among American Christians that church should be enjoyable.  Most people approach church involvement as if they were about to attend a dinner theater production: we dress up; we leave in time so as not to be late; we expect to be greeted at the door and escorted to our choice of seating; we hope the music is to our taste and that the pastor's speaking is winsome, engaging, and delightful.  Then, of course, on the way home we review the whole as if we were critics about to write a column for the "Arts & Entertainment" section of the paper.  I say this perspective is unfounded and want to suggest that, sometimes, not enjoying church is an expression of genuine Christian faith.

From the Creed - and in Jesus Christ...

Creation and Redemption

The second and largest section of the Apostle's Creed begins with a shift in focus to the very heart of the Christian faith - the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

In this transition from creation - "maker of heaven and earth" - to the Son the creed reflects a biblical flow of thought