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The project is called \ldblquote The Exodus Project\rdblquote because it is based on the teaching of the Bible first found in Exodus 19 and then restated in 1 Peter 2 that the redeemed of the LORD are to be a kingdom of priests. Accordingly, Deuteronomy 33:10 teaches that the ministry of the priests included:\par \pard\li720\ri720\sb60\sa60\qj Teaching the Word of God,\par Making intercessory prayer (\ldblquote burn incense\rdblquote ), and\par Enabling people to find access to God through the sacrifice.\par \pard\fi360\sb60\sa60\qj Part One, which will be posted on this web site in the spring, is a series of lessons designed to help people be able to teach the Bible. It will include the full introduction to this project and how it can be used in the churches.\par Part Three, which will appear later in the spring, will focus on intercessory prayer and the related spiritual services LVALthat derive from it.\par Part Two, presented here, is a survey of biblical doctrine. Israel\rquote s priests were to make the sacrifices so that others could find access to the living God. This required that they understand what the sacrifices were all about, and how everything worked in God\rquote s program to bring people into communion with Himself. In other words, those intrusted with this service had to know God, understand His attributes and works, be able to explain forgiveness and salvation, instruct others in the rituals of the congregation, and be able to articulate the covenant promises and the hope of glory. Being a worship leader, then, goes way beyond singing a song in front of the congregation--it requires that people be articulate in the doctrines of the faith. Sadly, what is missing in the church today is the articulate Christian, the one who knows the faith and can explain it clearly. And, even more sadly, that quality is disappearing in the clergy as well.\par It is, of course, impossible to study all the doctrines included in the Bible, or even a creed like the Nicene Creed in a short period of time. Each doctrine deserves the full attention of a separate course of studies; in that way the doctrine could be fully defined and all the supporting evidence from Scripture and the subsequent writings on the doctrine could be taken into account. Nevertheless, in a survey such as this we will be able to gain a full picture of the beliefs of the historic Christian faith in one sweep. The survey should then inspire individual Christians to read further on the doctrines, or on a particular doctrine.\par The doctrines of the church have come under attack again in this generation. Whereas in the past they have simply been denied, now they are being reinterpreted to mean something very different. This survey is not designed to be a defense of the faith, for that would have to include all the false teachings that have arisen over the centuries. But in surveying the historic faith oLVALne will be better equipped to discern these subtle challenges that if embraced will change the church completely.\par There are a number of ways that this material could be surveyed. I have chosen to focus more on certain passages of the Bible that are basic texts for the doctrines. After the first part on the meaning of faith, each section will give a brief statement of the doctrine and its meaning, and then use a Bible study to elucidate it. In other words, this will be a series of Bible studies on doctrinal themes. But the point of each section will be that the believer who is going to function as a part of this kingdom of priests--which should be every believer--should understand the doctrine involved.\par In passing we shall consider what the Nicene Creed left out, or why it said things the way that it did. This will lead to additional studies in other creeds for those who are interested. \par \pard\cf1\lang3082\kerning28\f1\fs22\par \pard\keepn\s1\sb240\sa60\qc\cf0\f0\fs28 Introduction: \ldblquote I Believe\rdblquote\par \pard\keepn\s2\sb180\sa60\kerning0\fs24 Early Creeds\par \pard\fi360\sb60\sa60\qj\lang1033\fs20 The word \ldblquote creed\rdblquote comes from the Latin verb \i credo\i0 , the first word of the creed, which is translated into English as \ldblquote I believe.\rdblquote Essentially, then, a creed is a collection of doctrines or beliefs that a religious order or denomination holds as distinctive.\par \pard\keepn\s3\li360\sb240\sa60\lang3082\fs22 Israelite Creedal Expressions\par \pard\fi360\sb60\sa60\qj\lang1033\fs20 From the very beginning the redeemed of the LORD found it necessary and helpful to clarify their beliefs in the world. After all, when Abraham made sacrifices in the land of Canaan, they would have appeared very much like the sacrifices of the Canaanites, or Babylonians, or other religious groups. So he had to make sure every one knew which God he was worshiping. So in \cf2\ul Gen_12:1-9\cf0\ulnone , we have the report of the beginning of his creedal worLVALship. He made an altar to Yahweh. The first duty was to name the God being worshiped. And then the text says that \ldblquote he proclaimed the name of Yahweh\rdblquote at the altar. He publicly declared the nature, the person and the works of this God Yahweh. The clue to what he said is found in Exodus 34 where the exact same expression is used of Yahweh\rquote s activity of proclaiming his name to Moses--a long list of attributes. This list became part of the ritual faith of Israel because it is repeated so frequently in the Bible. As time went on the worshipers would add to the name and to the attributes great works that God had done, such as \ldblquote Creator of heaven and earth,\rdblquote or \ldblquote the one who delivered me from all my enemies.\rdblquote\par The nation of Israel was then instructed by the LORD at various times concerning their use of statements of belief to be used in conjunction with worship. Deuteronomy 26 is perhaps the clearest example of this; in this chapter the Israelites were told what to say when they offered the first fruits to the LORD. Their words expressed their own personal faith and their part in the heritage of the faith. \par Many other creedal statements were used at the Temple over the centuries, but perhaps the most important was the famous \ldblquote\i Shema\i0\rdblquote (\ldblquote Hear\rdblquote ) of \cf2\ul Deu_6:6\cf0\ulnone . It says, \ldblquote Hear, O Israel. Yahweh is our God, Yahweh alone.\rdblquote There are other possible translations, but this one captures the idea well. It was a statement of faith in the sovereignty of Yahweh--He alone is the true and living God. The rest of the passage reports how important such a statement of faith was to the people.\par In time expressions from the Law and the Prophets were used in the worship services of the Temple and later the Synagogue. Later prayer books recorded the most frequently used of these. But in the biblical period, the Book of Psalms provided most of the creedal statements and benedictLVALions because it was the prayer book of the Temple.\par \pard\keepn\s3\li360\sb240\sa60\lang3082\fs22 Early Christian Creedal Statements\par \pard\fi360\sb60\sa60\qj\lang1033\fs20 More importantly for our study is a brief survey of fragments of creeds and confessions of faith found in the New Testament, suggesting that the early Christians found it necessary to summarize their distinctive beliefs. The basic pattern of these early statements is concerned with two things: (1) the naming of Jesus, who lived and died and rose again in history, and (2) the ascription of a title or titles to him, marking his divinity. Here are some of the fragments that the early church used:\par \pard\li720\ri720\sb60\sa60\qj\ldblquote Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God\rdblquote (Mk. 8:29; 14:61; 15:2)\par \ldblquote Jesus is the Son of God\rdblquote (\cf2\ul Joh_1:34\cf0\ulnone ; \cf2\ul 1Jo_4:15\cf0\ulnone ; \cf2\ul Act_9:20\cf0\ulnone ; \cf2\ul Heb_4:14\cf0\ulnone )\par \ldblquote Jesus is Lord\rdblquote (\cf2\ul 1Co_12:3\cf0\ulnone ; \cf2\ul Rom_10:9\cf0\ulnone ; \cf2\ul Php_2:11\cf0\ulnone )\par \pard\fi360\sb60\sa60\qj These confessions in time were enlarged to include the resurrection, as well as the divine nature of Jesus, the Christ, who was with the Father in the beginning and became the mediator between God and people. The most extensive one is found in \cf2\ul 1Co_15:3\cf0\ulnone b-7, the summary of the Gospel, the essence of the Christian faith:\par \pard\li720\ri720\sb60\sa60\qj\ldblquote That Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve, then to more than five hundred brethren at one time \'85 then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles\rdblquote etc.\par \pard\sb60\sa60\qj Other condensed versions of creeds may be found in \cf2\ul Rom_1:3-5\cf0\ulnone a, 8:34, and \cf2\ul 1Ti_3:16\cf0\ulnone . In fact, some of the creeds wereLVAL preserved in the early hymns of the Church, such as in \cf2\ul Joh_1:1-18\cf0\ulnone , \cf2\ul Col_1:15-20\cf0\ulnone , and \cf2\ul Php_2:6-11\cf0\ulnone . \cf2\ul 1Ti_3:16\cf0\ulnone will serve as a good example:\par \pard\li720\ri720\sb60\sa60\ldblquote And by a common confession, great is the mystery of godliness;\line God was revealed in the flesh, was vindicated in the Spirit,\line was seen of angels, proclaimed in the world, taken up to glory.\rdblquote\par \pard\fi360\sb60\sa60\qj These confessions of faith by the early Church served several purposes: (1) they became the center of the teaching of the Church, the essential doctrine; (2) they formed the basis of the Gospel, the proclamation to be made to the world; (3) they provided new converts with the proper things to say at the time of baptism; and (4) they provided worshipers with a nucleus of expressions for their liturgy.\par But the important point that comes out of a study of the Old and New Testament about creeds is that \ul\b they were formed out of necessity\ulnone\b0 . The new community of worshipers of Christ found it necessary to formulate what they believed in common when they were confronted by old religions, false teachings, and established heresies. The early Church was confronted and attacked on every point, but held onto the belief in the person ad work of Jesus the Christ by these fixed formulas.\par \pard\keepn\s2\sb180\sa60\lang3082\fs24 The Nicene Creed\par \pard\fi360\sb60\sa60\qj\lang1033\fs20 The creed that is used in services with holy communion today is the Nicene Creed. There are many creeds that could be studied to gain a survey of Christian doctrine, but this one is both fairly complete and still concise. The creed was composed at a Church council at Nicaea in 325 A.D. Nicaea was located just south of Constantinople (today, Istanbul), and a little inland, in what today is Turkey.\par It is helpful to understand why this council ever came about in order to appreciate the doctrines it includes. At the risk oLVALf oversimplifying it, we can say that a man named Arius, an elder under the Bishop of Alexandria in Egypt, began teaching that Jesus was a being who had been created by God before time and then was himself the agent of creation. His teaching made Jesus less than God, and more than man, somewhere between the two, but fully neither. This, in sum, came to be known as Arianism. The teaching spread throughout the world quickly, sparking a lot of controversy. And so the emperor Constantine called a council of some 300 bishops to assemble in Nicaea and settle the matter. This council was significant in that it was the beginning of the functioning of the catholic (=universal) Church. It had never been so visible as an organized entity before. The bishops were considered to be the Church, and since there was a worldwide gathering of the bishops, this represented the assembled Church.\par At the council the creed of Arius was promptly and soundly rejected. Bishop Eusebius offered a creed that he had been using, but it was too general--the Arians were willing to adopt it. Then Athanasius, a deacon from Alexandria and a champion of the orthodox view, presented his creed which stressed the oneness of Christ with the Father. The new creed was adopted, and a condemnation was made on anyone not accepting it (now the Church was using power that formerly they had seen in the Roman government used against them). Constantine himself chaired the meeting, interrupting whenever he wished, and directing the choices. But it is probable that he knew very little doctrine, and certainly did not conform very well. Later in his life he seems to have come more to understand and accept the truth.\par \pard\keepn\s2\sb180\sa60\lang3082\fs24 The Nature Of Belief And Beliefs\par \pard\keepn\s3\li360\sb240\sa60\fs22 The Church as a Believing Community\par \pard\fi360\sb60\sa60\qj\lang1033\fs20 It is the central teaching of the Bible that the Church is a community of believers, individuals who have come to faith in the person and worLVALk of Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul asserts, \ldblquote For by grace are you saved \ul\b through faith\ulnone\b0 , and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, so than no one can boast\rdblquote (\cf2\ul Eph_2:8\cf0\ulnone ; \cf2\ul Eph_2:9\cf0\ulnone ). This is clearly based on the teaching of Jesus, who in the night explained to Nicodemus, \ldblquote For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that \ul\b whosoever believes in Him \ulnone\b0 shall not perish, but have everlasting life\rdblquote (\cf2\ul Joh_3:16\cf0\ulnone ). It is simply not possible to please God without faith.\par And this principle of faith has been at the heart of the ancient Israelite community as well, so that by the time the early Church began to formulate the doctrines they could see the unity and the continuity of the faith revealed in the Holy Scriptures. The cardinal passage in the Old Testament is \cf2\ul Gen_15:6\cf0\ulnone (I say \ldblquote cardinal\rdblquote because Paul quotes it twice to establish justification by faith). Genesis 15 says, \ldblquote Now he [Abram] believed in Yahweh, and He [Yahweh] reckoned it to him for righteousness.\rdblquote The Hebrew word \ldblquote believed\rdblquote is related to our familiar Hebrew word, \ldblquote Amen.\rdblquote The verb means \ldblquote to be reliable, dependable, firm.\rdblquote In the verbal conjugation that means \ldblquote believe,\rdblquote the basic idea is to consider something dependable and therefore count on it, or, act on it. When Abram believed in Yahweh\rquote s word, he left Ur of the Chaldees to become a great nation in the land of Canaan. If he had never left, he would not have been counted a believer, no matter how much he considered to be true in the call from God. And this is the point Hebrews 11 makes of all the greats of the faith: by faith they did what they did. Or, as James puts it, their faith was evidenced by their works.\par The principle of faith should not be hard for us to grasp, for almost LVALeverything we do requires some faith. When we get up in the morning, we turn of the light switch, believing that it will work. We turn on the water, believing that water will come out of the lines. We start our cars, believing that by the switch of the key it will all work. Our faith in these things is based on two things: the reliability of the things we trust, and our experience that has proven them reliable over and over again. If, however, we have a car that is ready for the junk heap, our faith in it will not be very high. If it has failed us time and time again, we will not have much confidence when we turn the key. The same principle works with people. If you are looking for a person to repair something in the house, you have to hire someone that you trust. If that person says that he has never actually done this kind of work, but has always been fascinated by it, your confidence will drop dramatically. Now in the realm of religion we see the principle of faith is similar, just on a higher level, for the stakes are higher. Our faith will only be as strong as the object of our faith; and we will only feel confident if we have proven him again and again. \par Abram believed in Yahweh, and Yahweh credited him with righteousness. That Abram was credited with righteousness for his faith shows that his faith was saving faith. It was a faith that responded to the revelation of the word of God in obedience. And throughout the Bible true faith is similarly described as obedience to divine revelation.\par \pard\keepn\s3\li360\sb240\sa60\lang3082\fs22 Belief as Commitment to the Truth\par \pard\fi360\sb60\sa60\qj\lang1033\fs20 Now, we must understand what we mean by the word believe. There is a major difference between the way we use the word \ldblquote believe\rdblquote in general discussions and the way we use it in theological discussions (where \ldblquote trust\rdblquote might serve us better). If I accept the trustworthiness of the biblical and historical accounts, I might say that I believe thaLVALt Jesus lived, taught, and did many wonderful things. But this takes no commitment on my part, and so is not what the Church means by faith that is credited with righteousness. Knowledge may compel te assent of the intellect, but it does not compel the act of the will to trust. So when I say \ldblquote I believe\rdblquote when saying the creed, that is not meant to say, \ldblquote I have sufficient data to support these ideas as valid and viable philosophical tenets.\rdblquote No, it says much more; it says that these are the truths from God that I have believed in, that I have committed my life to, that I have made the center of my life and the basis of my hope. \par We have to think a little more about this kind of faith so we are clear. We cannot dissociate knowledge from faith, for we gave to know the word of God and the claims of Christ found in that revelation in order to believe. We do not scorn knowledge, for that would make faith a subjective experience without solid content; the Church is built on the truth of divine revelation (the word of God), reason (the use of the intellect in studying and knowing the truth), and tradition (the ideas and writings of the greats of the faith who have gone before). But when we use the words \ldblquote I believe,\rdblquote we are using the language of faith and not certainty (in the sense of verifiable data). We can have assurance and certainty based on the reliability of the word of God, the witness of the Holy Spirit, the shared experience of the Church in its pilgrim journey, and on supporting evidence and experience. But we do not have the certainty of seeing fully--that will come in the presence of God in glory.\par \pard\keepn\s2\sb180\sa60\lang3082\fs24 The Content Of Belief\par \pard\fi360\sb60\sa60\qj\lang1033\fs20 The Reformers had to deal with this question of faith because it was such a critical issue in their day. Justification is indeed by faith and not by works--but what does that faith involve, what does it include? They went to great LVALlengths to show that saving faith including the clear \ul\b understanding\ulnone\b0 of the doctrines to be believed, the \ul\b assent\ulnone\b0 to the truthfulness of those doctrines, and then the \ul\b commitment\ulnone\b0 to them. Thus, saving faith was not a general belief, a hoping against hope; and it was not merely the assent to the truthfulness of the things being taught, for even the fallen angels and Satan believe this way, and tremble (\cf2\ul Jas_2:19\cf0\ulnone ). Saving faith is present when the message has been properly apprehended, assented to, and appropriated as the basis of one\rquote s relationship with God. Saving faith then is characterized by a life that is committed to living out the truth of the faith.\par So what is the content of the faith? Well, that will be the focus of the survey of these meditations on the creed, for the doctrines that the creed contains express the essence of the Christian faith. This kind of creed is the full explanation of the Christian Gospel. Scripture itself says that we must believe the Gospel to find eternal salvation; and the description of the Gospel is that Christ died according to the Scriptures, was buried, and rose again according to the Scriptures. But the key in this statement is \ldblquote according to the Scriptures.\rdblquote It is not sufficient to believe that Jesus died, was buried, and rose again. We have to believe these facts as explained by Scripture. This will require us to determine who Christ is (why did his death redeem), how he is related to the Father and the Spirit, what kind of death it was, why the death was necessary (sin), why he was buried, what the resurrection revealed, as well as what all this does for us when we accept it by faith. In other words, the simple Gospel formula assumes a good number of biblical doctrines--and these were included in the creed because the Gospel cannot be properly understood without them.\par But knowing only the creed is inadequate. The creed is meant to be a summation of what ScrLVALipture says on the various doctrines. To summary revelation we use a creed; to understand the creed we have to know revelation, the word of God. So in this series of studies we will not simply define doctrines, but we shall look at various key passages that give us a full picture of what these brief expressions say. But we will have to be brief, for there is so much available. We could, after all, use up all our time, and more, on just one of these expressions in the creed. The plan, however, will be to define the doctrine briefly and then look at a passage that with teaches it or clarifies what it means.\cf1\lang3082\kerning28\f1\fs22\par \pard\par \lang1033\kerning0\f2 Formatted for e-Sword by David Cox\par Copyright \'a92008 Biblical Studies Press, reprinted with permission from \cf0{\field{\*\fldinst{HYPERLINK "www.bible.org"}}{\fldrslt{\ul\cf3 www.bible.org}}}\cf1\f2\fs22 for free redistribution.\lang3082\kerning28\f1\par }  Fp/ ;  07 The Ascension of the Lord_q7J>06 The Bodily Resurrection of Jesus the MessiahJsWg7pd05 Death, Burial & Resurrection of Jesus Messiah4Kg7rf04 And Was Made Man@S78,03 Son of God, Creator, Redeemer, Light of Life5I7pd02 Son of God, Begotten, Not Made*)?7TH01 God Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth+7fZ00 Ross - Sound Doctrined6B6LVAL+7{\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\deff0{\fonttbl{\f0\froman\fprq2\fcharset0 Times New Roman;}{\f1\fnil\fcharset0 Georgia;}} {\colortbl ;\red0\green128\blue0;\red0\green0\blue0;} {\stylesheet{ Normal;}{\s1 heading 1;}{\s2 heading 2;}{\s3 heading 3;}} {\*\generator Riched20 5.40.11.2210;}\viewkind4\uc1\pard\keepn\s1\sb240\sa60\qc\lang3082\kerning28\b\f0\fs28 1. God Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth\par \pard\keepn\s2\sb180\sa60\kerning0\fs24 The Doctrine Of God\par \pard\fi360\sb60\sa60\qj\lang1033\b0\fs20 The Nicene Creed begins:\par \pard\li720\sa60\ldblquote I believe in one God, the Father Almighty,\par \pard\li1080\sa60 maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.\rdblquote\par \pard\fi360\sb60\sa60\qj It was natural for the creed to begin with the doctrine of God the Father, for the creed is trinitarian in its arrangement and content--Father, then Son, and then Holy Ghost. And although there are only a few brief ideas stated here about God the Father, those ideas cover a wide range of theological ideas. It is simply impossible for us to do justice to them all in one short meditation on the doctrine; but at least we can affirm the major points. The rest of this series of studies will keep coming back to the nature of God the Father in relation to all the other doctrines.\par \pard\keepn\s3\li360\sb240\sa60\lang3082\b\fs22 The Trinity\par \pard\fi360\sb60\sa60\qj\lang1033\b0\fs20 The first point that we must make about the creed in general is that it affirms the biblical teaching that there is only one God. The mystery of the trinity is that this one God exists in three persons (not three people, or three separate Gods). There is a unity to the Godhead, one essence, but three persons. And this makes the study of the doctrine of God the Father a little complicated, because all three persons of the Godhead are actively involved in every work of God. We normally say that the Father decrees the work, the Son carries it out, and the Spirit enables the work to be done--whether itLVAL is creation, salvation, judgment, or any other of the works of God. Moreover, when we survey the attributes of God, all the attributes likewise apply to all three persons of the Godhead. Therefore, faith, prayer, praise, and all other forms of worship and service must include the entire Godhead.\par The Bible is filled with this revelation about the triune God. True, in the Old Testament it is only hinted at, but nonetheless, when the full revelation of the New Testament is brought to the discussion, it is easy to see that the foundation of the trinitarian faith was laid down from the beginning. The creed of \cf1\ul Deu_6:4\cf0\ulnone may be interpreted with this fact in mind: \ldblquote Yahweh is our God; Yahweh is one\rdblquote ; or, \ldblquote Yahweh is our God, Yahweh alone.\rdblquote The Scripture affirms through the teachings of the prophets and the apostles that there is one God; and yet the Scripture reveals that God exists as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (\cf1\ul Mat_28:19\cf0\ulnone ; \cf1\ul 2Co_13:14\cf0\ulnone ). Knowing this we are more keen to note how in the Old Testament there are intimations of the tri-unity of the Godhead (see \cf1\ul Isa_6:8\cf0\ulnone ; \cf1\ul Isa_9:6\cf0\ulnone ; \cf1\ul Isa_48:15\cf0\ulnone ; \cf1\ul Isa_48:16\cf0\ulnone ; \cf1\ul Pro_30:1-4\cf0\ulnone ; Mal. 3:1-5, et al). Moreover, as we shall see later in the doctrine of Christ, Jesus claimed that he and the Father were one and the same (\cf1\ul Joh_10:30\cf0\ulnone ) and that he was the I Am of the Old Testament (\cf1\ul Joh_8:58\cf0\ulnone ). We cannot fully understand the trinity, not with our finite minds, but we must believe it if we accept the revelation of the Bible for the faith. And we cannot separate the three persons of the Godhead as if they were in some way independent beings. There is one God; but this one