Category: Creeds

Four marks of the church

September 21, 2026

Towards the end of the Nicene Creed there is a line that describes the church as a whole. It says, “We believe in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church”

These four thoughts or words are echoed in the Book of Ephesians.

The Church is One

In Ephesians 4:4-6 it says, “For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. [5] There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, [6] one God and Father of all, who is over all, in all, and living through all.”

These verses tell us that we have one unified faith in and under Christ.

The Church is Holy

Throughout the Bible God describes Himself as holy and he calls as Christ followers to be holy. Ephesians 5:27 tells us that, “He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault.”

When we strive for holiness in our daily lives, we not only obey God’s command, but we let our lights shine to the world around us which brings glory to our heavenly Father (Matthew 5:14-16).

The Church is Catholic

The word Catholic was first used by Saint Ignatius of Antioch in 107AD, it means universal or everywhere. As Christians we are Christ’s body. And even though we are spread all over the world and throughout time, we are one in Him.

Ephesians 2:19 says, “So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family.” We are members of God’s Catholic or universal church.

The Church is Apostolic

Ephesians 2:20 tells us the church is built on a solid foundation. “Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself.”

Jesus hand picked His disciples, who He trained and equipped for service after He returned to heaven. These Apostles continued to build on the work of the Prophets in the Old Testament era. Now the church learns from their teaching in the Bible every Sunday in church.

I really love this description of the church as a whole – one, holy, catholic and apostolic church. Though we may have slightly different beliefs and practices in how we do church in our small settings, the reality is we are one in Christ because of our faith and trust in Him.

He will come again

May 8, 2026

Here are some more catechisms from the book “To be a Christian”. This talks about Jesus coming again.

What does the Creed mean when it says,“He will come again”?

Jesus promised that he would return (Luke 21:27–28). His coming in victory with great glory and power will be seen by all people and will bring this age to an end. The present world order will pass away, and God will usher in a fully renewed creation to stand forever. All the saints will be together with God at that time.(Proverbs 30:4; Daniel 7:13–14; Luke 21:27–28; Acts 1:10–11; 1 Thes­ salonians 4:13–18; 2 Peter 3:3–13; Revelation 21:1–4)

Can we know when Jesus will return?

No. We cannot know when Jesus will return. Jesus patiently waits for many to repent and trust in him for new life; then he will return unexpectedly, which could be at any moment. (Matthew 24:36–44; 1 Thessalonians 5:1–3)

(Source: To be a Christian. #76, #77)

Jesus prayer on prayer beads

April 2, 2026

Here is another version of the Jesus prayer that you can pray on the Anglican prayer beads. It includes the Apostle’s Creed, the Lord’s prayer, the Trisagion, the Jesus prayer, the Fatima prayer, and finishes with the Glory Be.

On the Cross

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come 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.

The Invitatory

Matthew 6:9-13 KJV

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom,
the power and the glory are yours
now and for ever. Amen.

The Cruciforms

Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

The Weeks

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God. Have mercy on us, sinners.

End cruciform

O my Jesus, forgive us our sins,
Save us from the fires of hell.
Lead all souls to heaven,
Especially those in most need of Your mercy.

End Invitatory

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
a world without end. Amen.

The Cross

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Amen

A simplified faith statement

May 5, 2025

One of the things it is easy to do as a Christian is to complicate our faith and our practices. By this I mean I must believe all this list of things and do all of these practices religiously to be okay.

I know this because I can fall in to this trap at times. I can have a list of things I “must” do and a lot of boxes I “must” tick off, to be a good Christian. It can be tiring.

When I am in my best place, I have a simplified faith that has been passed down to me from the Apostles. In simple terms I need to hold fast to the Apostles Creed as my true north or compass.

The Apostles Creed in its earliest version, the Old Roman Creed, has been around since the second century AD. It is very similar to the later version…

The Old Roman Creed

I believe in God the Father almighty;
and in Christ Jesus His only Son, our Lord,
Who was born from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary,
Who under Pontius Pilate was crucified and buried,
on the third day rose again from the dead,
ascended into heaven,
sits at the right hand of the Father,
whence he will come to judge the living and the dead;
and in the Holy Spirit,
the holy Church,
the remission of sins,
the resurrection of the flesh,
[life everlasting].

As you can see it has nearly all the wording of the later version from the fifth century AD. The latter Apostles Creed is a bit more fleshed out and has been accepted by all major Christian traditions as a rule of faith.

The Apostles Creed

I believe in God the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth;
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord,
Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born from the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried, descended into hell, (or to the dead)
on the third day rose again from the dead,
ascended to heaven, sits at the right hand of God the Father almighty,
thence He will come to judge the living and the dead;
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy Catholic Church, (or holy Christian church)
the communion of saints,
the remission of sins,
the resurrection of the flesh,
and eternal life.
Amen.

While there is some disputed phrases (see brackets above) depending on which branch of christianity you belong to, the vast majority is accepted worldwide today and has been accepted down through the ages.

The Apostles’ Creed, like all creeds, functions like a filter for an orthodox faith and belief. It indicates what is and what is not “Christian.” It is a public profession of belief in historic Christianity.

As I type I am reminded of a statement by the famous theologian Karl Bath. At a Q&A session he was asked by a student if he could summarise his theology in one sentence. He replied, “Yes, I can. In the words of a song I learned at my mother’s knee: ‘Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.”

For me this is enough to say I need to stick to a simple definition of my faith. I need a simplified statement to hang on to. Thankfully Christians down through the ages have prepared one for me in the Apostles Creed.

What I look for in a church?

April 8, 2025

What makes a church a church? What sort of things should they do or believe to make them a genuine church that Jesus is building? What should we look for?

  1. Do they believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God? If so, is it held up above all other books as God’s Word to us? Some groups have other books they add to the Bible or hold them up as equally important, this makes them cults. (2 Timothy 3:16-18, Revelation 22:18-19).
  2. Do they hold true to the ancient creeds like the Apostles creed, the Nicene creed and the Athanasian creed? Holding firm to these means they have an orthodox christian faith that the church has held on to for centuries. You can find them on our about page.
  3. Do they trust Jesus as the only way to salvation? Do they believe Jesus is the eternal Son of God? Do they believe Jesus died on the cross for our sin and was physically raised to life? Have they accepted Jesus as Lord and Saviour? (John 14:6, Acts 4:12, Romans 10:9-10).
  4. Do they regularly practice the Lord’s Supper (Holy Communion, the Eucharist) where we take Jesus’ body in the form of bread or a wafer, and His blood in the form of juice or wine. Jesus told us to do this in remembrance of Him and His sacrifice for us (Luke 22:18-20, 1 Corinthians 11:23-25).
  5. Do they practice baptism for new believers? Some churches may baptise with full immersion or by pouring water on the head. The main thing is to baptise in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit as Jesus taught us (Mathew 28:18-20, Acts 2:38).
  6. Do they meet together and focus on what the early church did? Acts 2:42 says, “All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching [the Bible] and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer.”
  7. Do they rely on the Holy Spirit to make them more like Jesus, to empower them to be His witnesses, to give them gifts to serve, and to display the fruit of the Spirit? (Galatians 5:22-23, Acts 1:8, Romans 8:11, 1 Corinthians 12:4-11).

These are some of the things that I think are important when deciding on which church you attend if you are a new believer or new to an area.

Most churches have websites with a statement of faith on there. I would always check it out before attending.