April 15, 2016

“I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.”

“This portrays and sets forth most briefly what is the essence, will, activity, and work of God the Father. For since the Ten Commandments have taught that we are to have not more than one God, the question might be asked, What kind of a person is God? What does He do? How can we praise, or portray and describe Him, that He may be known? Now, that is taught in this and in the following article, so that the Creed is nothing else than the answer and confession of Christians arranged with respect to the First Commandment. As if you were to ask a little child: My dear, what sort of a God have you? What do you know of Him? he could say: This is my God: first, the Father, who has created heaven and earth; besides this only One I regard nothing else as God; for there is no one else who could create heaven and earth.” (Martin Luther’s explanation of the Apostle’s Creed from the Large Catechism)

A creed statement is an “I Believe” statement. To recite a creed is to recite what it is you profess “faith in” or express “loyalty to”. My maternal grandfather was a member of The Order of Red Men, which is a fraternal organization, whose rituals and regalia are modeled after those assumed to be used by Native Americans. At one time, in the early 1900’s, they claimed a membership of almost 500,000. Today, there are only approximately 15,000 members. Their creed states in part:

“To connect in indissoluble bands of patriotic friendship citizens of known attachment to the political rights of human nature and the liberties of this country. Red men administer no oaths binding you to any political or religious creed. They bind neither your hands nor your feet. As you enter their wigwams so you depart a free man.” “If a stranger enter your abode welcome him and forget not always to mention the Great Spirit.”

As Martin Luther explains in the Large Catechism, a person may ask “What kind of person is G-d?” and “What does G-d do?” The answer comes in the form of the creed. The opening statement of the Apostle’s Creed says “I believe in G-d, the Father Almighty, creator heaven and earth.” So if we were to say what we know most about our G-d, is that there is only one, and that G-d created. What did G-d create? G-d created heaven and earth. G-d created everything.

Since the Apostle’s Creed is an “I Believe” statement, it seems natural that we begin with stating who we believe our G-d is – as mysterious as G-d remains to us. What we know, we profess – that G-d created us and everything around us.

Pastor Dave